Go Forth and Game: Bigfoot vs. Yeti

Tom chats with Diane Sauer of Shoot Again Games about her latest game, Bigfoot vs. Yeti.  The game is available for pre-orders right now. 

Welcome back GFGers! I’m glad you are sticking with me. This time I’m talking to Diane Sauer of Shoot Again Games about their latest, Bigfoot vs. Yeti. The game [is available for pre-orders] on Kickstarter right now. There’s a link below but first let’s see what Diane has to say about it.

    How did you arrive at this theme?

When I was a kid I loved all of the shows that feature cryptids and strange events. In Search of…which Leonard Nimoy hosted  was a favorite as was Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World. Bigfoot was especially, well, big, at the time. Anyone around my age will fondly remember the fight between Bigfoot and The Six Million Dollar Man. Cryptozoology is a theme that I think is fun, cool and not very often used. It was a natural follow up to Conspiracy! As that game sprang from an earlier cryptozoology game I’d work on.

I loved those shows too. And Legend of Boggy Creek was one of the big movies at the time too. This does feel like if flows out of Conspiracy!  Why Bigfoot and Yeti?

Of all the cryptids Bigfoot and Yeti were the two that I thought had the greatest chance of being real. To me it made sense they were related in someway and when I thought about it, I pondered why Bigfoot was more popular than Yeti. This lead me to wondering how Yeti might feel about it. My mind drifts into strange areas sometimes.

The game is subtitled “Battle of the Cryptids”. What other cryptids are in the game?  

Besides Bigfoot and Yeti the game features several well known and a few lesser known cryptids. Ahool, Loch Ness Monster, Mothman, Jersey Devil, Giant Squid, Chupacabra, Sewer Alligators and there are the Extraterrestrials which are not cryptids, but in the game as well.  There are even more should we unlock some stretch goals.

I still have a cryptids game in the back of my head that I need to get back to. Tourist Traps has some in it but they are not the focus. Not now anyway. Explain the game. How does it work?

Players draw from either the Unknown or from the Tabloids (discard pile). They can mount or join expeditions for the various cryptids (unknown creatures) each of which has a special power that will aid them in someway. Also a single Action card can be played each turn which will manipulate some facet of the game. At the end of each round the Tabloids are “read” and any cards in there that match cryptids in play will discredit them. Additionally the Extraterrestrials can provide a tricky way to prevent your opponents from scoring.

The art is very nice. Who is the artist?

The lead artist is Jennifer Williams who has worked on most of our other games though I originally found her when looking for someone that could do good cryptids which goes back before Looting Atlantis. Of course, she could do other things too, but her amazing cryptid art really pushed me to get to Bigfoot vs. Yeti sooner rather than later.

We also have two other artists, Justin Spice, who we use for the more realistic technology and horror based art like the Extraterrestrials and the Alien Autopsy Film and Rastislav Le who did the Mayan Apocalypse in Conspiracy!.  He did Fish Falls, Crop Circles and Ancient Prophecy in Bigfoot vs. Yeti.

Let’s talk about your previous game, Conspiracy! Are the Overlords pleased with its success?

I think so and they are especially happy to make an appearance on the back of the Bigfoot vs. Yeti box.

I saw that. Nice touch. Any expansions or riffs on the way?

We have something in the works that involves the MIBs though that won’t be until sometime later next year.

Keep me posted on this. 

Now, let’s talk Pinball Showdown. It has been very well received. I heard you actually won an award at BFIG. For? Congrats.

Thank you. The award was a CT FIG award (Connecticut Festival of Indie Games) for Best Artwork and it was a featured Showcase game at BFIG.

Any follow up?

We have been testing an expansion that will add a fifth player, more playfield devices and combos plus some new twists on Wizard Mode.

What’s Next for Shoot Again?

We are working on Born to Serve which is a game where you play out of work superheroes competing for a job as a waiter for next year and the already mentioned expansions.

I saw some prelim art for Born To Serve and I think I remember us talking about it on the podcast. I’m looking forward to hearing more about it.

Thanks Diane. It’s nice to talk to you and BvY looks like a really fun game.

Readers, you can find out more about the game here.  You can contact Diane at shootagaingames.com or @ShootAgainGames.

As always you can contact me @tomgurg on Twitter or goforthandgame.com. Drop me a line. I’d love to hear from you.

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