Guiding Questions

Guiding Questions

Cherry Picked Games now has four titles under our belts. It’s a diverse catalog, to say the least. Switching between genres and themes helps keep us engaged and excited, both for the new games and the old. What it doesn’t help with is creating a clear niche for gamers to associate with our brand. We’re not an RPG publisher or “the drinking game dudes”. So, we have to be consistent in our approach to games. There’s a Cherry Picked style that’s been cultivated over the years. We want people to have expectations about our games that go beyond simple mechanics or illustrative styles.

Emily's First Far Away Mission

Emily's First Far Away Mission

The first time I played Far Away was at SHUX in 2018. My friend and I had a scavenger hunt of sorts for the event which included the following activity: play a game with its designer. I had previously met game designer Alex Jerabek at a function in Seattle through some mutual friends, so he seemed like a great candidate to fulfill the scavenger hunt goal.

Catalyst - Five Year Retrospective

Catalyst - Five Year Retrospective

Catalyst has been a part of my life for over ten years. My mind has been drifting into the apocalypse for all my adult life. I rarely went a week without playing a session from late-2011 until the last campaign guide was released in mid-2015. I still play Catalyst regularly, though not with the same frequency. We wrapped up my first Roll20 campaign. All this play forces me to compare the five-year old RPG against both the current gaming ecosystem and my own design knowledge. With the anniversary at hand, I wanted to share some thoughts that have been percolating alongside visions of demon hordes razing cities and the badass heroes trying to stop them.