One of the things we like to do here at the Malted Meeple is give some extra attention to our favorite board game publishers and designers. In our monthly Publisher’s Spotlight we provide a bit of a background on the publisher, discuss a few of their games, and may even announce a visit to The Meeple by some of the publisher’s representatives!
Editor’s Note: Astute readers of our blog may recall that we featured North Star Games as a Publisher Spotlight several years ago. Why did we decide that this evolving publisher would be the first we have featured for a second time? Read on to find out!
The Malted Meeple is pleased to shine our Publisher’s Spotlight on North Star Games for the month of May!
Founded in 2003 by Dominic Crapuchettes, North Star’s mission is to bring people together through exciting and memorable experiences by inspiring laughter, cheering, creativity, and communication amongst friends and families. That sounds a lot like our mission here at the Meeple, and is definitely a cause we can get behind!
North Star Games is perhaps best known for their award winning party games Wits & Wagers and Say Anything. Both of these have a permanent place in the Malted Meeple library, as does their deeper, competitive game of survival of the fittest, Evolution, which now has expanded to include the evolutionary leap of Flight!
One of the things we really love about North Star Games is how approachable and fun their games are. North Star Games recognized the need for more happiness in the world and has recently created a line of games called Happy Planet, which includes one of our perennial favorites Happy Salmon.
The Happy Planet games are like an espresso shot of fun, with very simple rules and quick play time that have players interacting, laughing, and walking away from the table with a smile on their faces. New titles in this line include Funky Chicken (which can be combined with Green Happy Salmon for even more zaniness) and Monster Match, a game for all ages that has you frantically hunting for the right monster after each die roll. On its release Happy Salmon became an instant hit at both the Malted Meeple and Ravenwood Castle, and we expect Funky Chicken and Monster Match to do the same!
We are excited to have Nicole from North Star Games visiting The Malted Meeple on Thursday, May 18th from 7:00 to 10:00 PM for our monthly Meeple Mixer, and also Tuesday May 22nd as a special guest for our monthly Minis & Malts painting event. She will be available to teach you many of the North Star Games mentioned here, and is genuinely one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. We hope you’ll join us as we help North Star Games “raise the happiness level of everyone playing.”
Maureen McCardel is a game industry veteran and has worked with publishers, designers, and retailers. She loves the logistical side of marketing and events and digging into a good spreadsheet. She is obsessed with circuses and survives on sugar and tea. Her favorite games include Citadels, Lost in R’lyeh, and Here, Kitty, Kitty!