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Designing Dragon Ball Z: The Board Game Saga with Tommy Gofton

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Get ready to power up! On this special bonus episode of Superhero Slate, Chris and guest host Patrick sit down with prolific game designer and founder of Lynnvander Studios, Tommy Gofton, to talk about his explosive new Kickstarter campaign: Dragon Ball Z: The Board Game Saga.

This game is a true survivor, having spent nearly a decade in licensing and development limbo across multiple publishers before finally breaking through to fully fund in just fifteen minutes! Tommy shares the incredible story of the game's resurrection, how his background in film helped shape his design philosophy, and why designing for massive IPs sometimes means throwing your own ego out of the window.

We dive deep into the game's actual mechanics, exploring:

  • The Pendulum System: Why you actually have to "fail to progress" and take a beating in order to scale your power level—just like a true Saiyan!

  • Stress as Health: How combining physical damage and psychic energy into a single "Stress" track cut down on creator's bloat to keep the gameplay fast and accessible.

  • Breaking Canon: Why the game lets you pit Yamcha against Perfect Cell on Namek, and how the Boss Decks adapt to keep the scaling balanced no matter who is in your party.

  • Cardboard vs. Miniatures: Why opting out of "74 waves of plastic" kept this massive game incredibly affordable and lightning-fast to produce.

Plus, Tommy gives us a sneak peek of what Lynnvander is bringing to Gen Con (Booth 518)—including a celebrity D&D stream with the cast of Arcane and Overwatch!

Whether you’re a die-hard Z-Fighter or a board game design nerd, this is one episode you do not want to miss.

 

Email us your questions and thoughts to superheroslate@gmail.com or tag us on twitter @SuperheroSlate to become a superfan!

Mike – Life Rewards Risk

Chris – @Valdan

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