An interview with designer, Karen Knoblaugh!
3 months ago
– Sat, Aug 10, 2024 at 06:32:53 PM
Greetings foodies!
It's been a couple of days since our last update - thanks to everyone who has supported the campaign, wether from today or day one! We have passed so many stretch goals and hope to announce more very soon. Thanks for being a part of the Food for Thought story and for helping us make this game a reality.
We have now passed the halfway point of the campaign and thought it might be nice to share an interview with Food for Thought's designer to give you a deeper insight int how this fun game was put together... Enjoy!
An interview with designer, Karen Knoblaugh!
Q: What brought you into the board gaming hobby and community?
I have always loved board games and used to play them with the neighborhood kids all of the time when I was younger. When I started adulting, I lost touch with gaming, and though I dabbled a bit in video games, they didn’t do the same thing for me. About 13 years ago, a childhood friend of mine, also a board gamer, told me about Settlers of Catan. In my search to find the game, I stumbled upon a hobby game store very close to my house. When I walked into that store, I had found my happy place!
Q: If you could tell people one thing about Food for Thought before they sit down to play, what would it be?
I would say that it is really a game about balance. Balancing your food intake with physical activity is the main focus of the game. Kind of like real life. How you go about doing that is totally up to you! It's all about trying to balance your health and your happiness.
It's also important to have fun with it!
One of the things that I have found most enjoyable is when players really get into their role in the game. I had a play test using the food allergies (expansion module), and one of the players couldn’t have any nuts/seeds. The game ended, and about an hour later, this player found me to tell me that he took a bite of his Snickers bar and had a moment of anxiety as he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to eat nuts! We both got a good laugh from it, and he survived his “allergic reaction” to play another game!
Food for Thought was in development for years. Then it was released as Consumption. Now it's coming back again! How does it feel to see your game on the table?
Not gonna lie, it feels amazing. It's been my labor of love! I worked on it, off and on, for about four years before the original Kickstarter, so it was very exciting to see this project come to life. I feel that I am adding something different to the board game world that hasn’t been explored before, which is kind of cool. I get even more excited when I get to see it being played at conventions and at game nights.
In Food for Thought the players can play on a generic player board, or they can each have a specific dietary goal. What was your thinking when creating each of these specific diets in terms of game play, and which is your favorite?
When I first made the game, instead of different player boards there were role cards that you chose from. I remember some roles being Paleo Pete and Party Pam (ugh, I know).
When I further fine-tuned the game, I realized that these roles could simply be implemented into the player boards. The generic side is a bit easier because some of the food group requirements are a bit generous, but because all players are looking to fulfill the same requirements, it can get pretty interesting.
The diet-specific player boards bring different goals and more variety in game play. Some of the diets are real-world diets, like the Paleo diet and the Vegetarian diet, while others are fun variations on dietary habits. One of the key factors in developing the diet-specific player boards was that I had to be able to maintain the basic premise of the diet in game form, and it had to be significantly different from the other player boards.
I enjoy playing all of the boards as they all have unique things to consider, but I guess my favorite would be the Junk Food Junkie, simply because it’s kind of the opposite of my real-life diet. I can live vicariously through my game!
You're a dietitian. For the uninitiated, what does that mean? And what led you to create a game about diets and food choices?
A Registered Dietitian (RD) is someone who specializes in understanding the impact of food choices and nutrients on our health. To become a RD, you have to go through a specific course of education at a university, complete a six to nine-month internship, which usually includes working in a hospital, and then pass an exam that would be comparable to passing the bar exam for law students. Additionally, we need to maintain our professional standing by completing educational units that are assessed every five years. Because our work can literally mean the difference between life and death in some instances, it will also require a minimum of a Master’s degree in the near future. Fortunately, I’ve got that part covered already :)
How I came up with this idea is that I am always looking for games about food, but the ones that I found were always very light, or too silly, or both. One day I just drew up a game board for something that I thought I would enjoy playing, and before I knew it, I had begun the process of creating a game. I was able to combine two things that I am passionate about - my work and my hobby!
One of the interesting ways that players can get food for their recipes is by shopping at the market. In Food for Thought you've implemented an interesting mechanic to throw some variability into this simple task. Tell us about the dice!
From the beginning, two dice were used as the mechanic for selecting groceries when you went shopping. How you used those dice went through various iterations, mostly related to how they impacted the price of the food that you were buying.
When you go shopping, especially when you’re hungry, you may have cravings that lead you to buy things that you didn’t intend to get, and that’s what the dice do in Food for Thought. You may want to get veggies and chicken for a recipe, but your cravings lead you down the bread aisle, and it’s on sale! You may still decide to get those veggies, but you may also be able to use that bread later and buy a few more things because you have extra money now – what to do!
One of the thematic elements that we really love is that you can just go out to eat to satisfy your food needs. What was the thinking that went into their design?
The restaurants were always in the game and have actually stayed mostly the same right from the beginning. Their inclusion is simply to reflect that most people eat outside of the home. Yes, the restaurants are quick and easy, but you may get more than you really need, which you’ll have to deal with later. Sound familiar? There are also a few other design aspects related to using the restaurants, but I want players to discover them when they play the game.
The other comment that I kept getting from play testers was that they wanted another way to be able to get food for their recipes, as the grocery store could be empty of what you needed, especially if you were that last one to go there.
The Farmer’s Market was the solution. I designed three “stalls” that would open and close through the day, and they provide different types of things from which you can choose. The Coffee Truck helps to get more water. The other two stalls are both ways to get food, and depending on what you choose, the food can either go into your kitchen to be used in a recipe, just like shopping, or go directly into your body. I loved how well it actually reflected a real farmer’s market, but more importantly, improved the play of the game.
Any recipes you'd like to share?
Here is a recipe that I created that makes Brussels sprouts a bit more palatable. It’s super easy and quick:
3/4 to I pound (about half a kg) of Brussels sprouts
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup ground pistachio nuts
Slice the Brussels sprouts thinly to form a slaw.
I always cut off the bottom of the sprout and remove the outer leaves as they tend to be dried out or damaged.
Pan roast the sprouts:
Heat a large pan on the stove over medium-low heat and place the sliced Brussels sprouts into the heated pan. I don’t use oil in the pan, but you can if you want to.
I cook them until they start to brown and caramelize, which gives them that wonderful roasted flavor, about 10-15 minutes. Stir them occasionally to prevent them from burning. Note: cooking them too long over low heat can cause them to get too mushy, which isn’t the best texture IMHO.
Add in the dried cranberries
Once the sprouts start to turn a little brown, add the dried cranberries and mix. You just
want the heat to soften the dried cranberries.
Remove from pan
When the Brussels sprouts are caramelized to your liking, remove them from the pan.
Sprinkle with ground pistachios
After I plate the Brussels sprouts, I sprinkle them with the ground pistachios, as much or as little as you like (I recommend spreading out the ground pistachios over several servings). I don’t recommend adding the nuts until you are ready to eat because the nuts will become soft and you will lose that great crunch.
Voila! Eat and enjoy!
Many times, I will just have this as my main meal for dinner. You get that wonderful roasted flavor, the touch of sweetness from the dried cranberries, and that great textural crunch from the nuts. Deelish! The flavor combinations are so good, it’s filling, and the nutritional quality of this dish is amazing.
I also make my own Muesli that I have for breakfast every day. I’m happy to share that too if there is interest :)
Finally, where can people find you on Social Media?
People can find me on Instagram (@karenknoblaugh) and Twitter (@KKnoblaugh).
Thanks Karen!
Another update coming soon!
That's all for now. Next time, we hope to announce our next set of stretch goals and highlight some of the parts of gameplay that make Food for Thought both fun and unique!
Have a nice weekend,
- David
Grail Games
