Matthew Rodela 🔜 TantrumCon

PS - thanks to the uber talented @amanpossessed.bsky.social for the awesome 3D render of the game!

Other tile laying/path building games that inspired this one.

Let me know if you'd like to chat!

If you'd be interested in reviewing the game, please let me know and I can refer you to the publisher who can see about sending you a review copy after it's been released.

I had quite the journey with the art for the game. I could talk about why I went through a total of 4 artists for the game and the lessons I learned from that.

Music-themed games and why I am focusing on designing them.

My experience with playtesting evolved and matured over the 150+ times I play tested the game. I'd love to chat about my journey with playtesting and how to avoid some blind spots that may occur with new designers.

I switching from self-publishing to a modified co-publishing deal for the game. Why I did it and the pros and cons of each.

This is my first published design, and here are a few examples of topics I can speak about:

It features quick turns, rich strategic depth, multiple scoring paths, private objective, variable public goals, clever combos, and a player-determined end game trigger.

Twisted Trumpets is a lively, competitive tile-laying game where you vie for the prestigious title of “Royal Bugler” by crafting the most whimsical trumpet in the kingdom!

I'm looking for anyone interested in interviewing me about my upcoming game Twisted Trumpets which is being published by Play to Z Games and will be available to purchase at Essen and in retail shortly thereafter.

Shot of the Twisted Trumpets board game box with a bugle sitting next to it and a boardgame shelf in soft focus in the background.

Shot of the Twisted Trumpets board game box with a bugle sitting next to it and a boardgame shelf in soft focus in the background.

Shot of the Twisted Trumpets board game box with a bugle sitting next to it and a boardgame shelf in soft focus in the background.

Having fun taking some shots of my upcoming game. I have one pre-production copy of it to do with what I want until it releases sometime this fall. What should I do with this guy besides admire it with the lens?

Twisted Trumpets box on a demo table at GenCon.

Twisted Trumpets teach at Gencon.

Twisted Trumpets end-game at Gencon.

Love seeing the photos of #TwistedTrumpets being demoed at #Gencon this weekend! I couldn't be there, so I'm living vicariously through your photos. If you see it, snap a photo for me!

Photo credit: Isaac Hirschfeld

@playtozgames.bsky.social

Instructional photo of where to thumbs up on BGG. Red arrow pointing to the thumb on the left.

Please consider helping my buddy @muse-and-mettle.bsky.social and do the thumbs up thing on BGG! Twisted Trumpets is debuting at Essen! boardgamegeek.com/geekpreview/...

YouTube video by Matt Rodela - Muse & Mettle Games Twisted Trumpets Unboxing

I got an exciting package in the mail this weekend! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkN7...

Thanks for the assist my friend!

The Play to Z homepage with Twisted Trumpets in the "Upcoming Games" section.

It's starting to feel real!

Tied for first place in the ProtoTank event at #tantrumcon!

Got some great feedback on Djembe and I look forward to heading that advice to take the game to the next level!

Prepping Djembe to pitch at the ProtoTank event at #tantrumcon. Wish me luck!

Kicked off #tantrumcon with "Jesus Take the Wheel" and "Casino Fromage", both great unpublished games looking for a good home.

A work conflict came up and now I'm not able to go to Unpub this year. Does anyone want my ticket and tables? The tables I have are:

- Friday at 5-9pm ($60)
- Saturday 10-12pm ($35)
- Sunday 10-2pm ($60)

Let me know if you're interested!

Group shot of us all playing Wyrspan.

View of my fiefdom at the end of Middle Ages.

Mid-game table view of Middle Ages with tiles laid out.

Mid-game view of Only Murders in the Building.

Holiday games with the family included Only Murders in the Building, Middle Ages, and Wyrmspan. All were fun, though Wrysmpan was a little too complex for my parents to wrap their heads around, they were good sports about it as we helped them through their turns.

Artie the dog with his head in the book "Around the World in Eighty Games".

Artie and I are excited to dig into this new book!

Finalizing the rulebook for Twisted Trumpets, and trying my hardest to vanquish the "I'll get to that later" demons that keep telling me to skip the hard stuff (like creating diagrams and detailed examples for actions).

Yes!

HiFi Box

HiFi game on the table at the end of a game.

Quite enjoyed my first play of HiFi. It's a puzzly game with a unique shared tableau and great table presence! #boardgames

YouTube video by Matt Rodela - Muse & Mettle Games Prestige (After Launch) - KickSaga 14.2

In this episode I revisit Fritz Paull's "Prestige", a game that was previously dropped by it's publisher and almost didn't see the light of day. Learn about how it eventually got published and some of the pros and cons of the experience from the publisher who picked it up. youtu.be/rR6k5BIxZbU

Photo of Jerry sprawled across a board game.

Photo of Jerry looking at the camera.

RIP Jerry. Hopefully kitty heaven is full of nothing but board games you can sprawl across!

Thanks @amanpossessed.bsky.social for the great candid shot of folks playtesting Time Jam! It was great to see players so in love with the theme and invested in the mechanisms. If publishers can get over the connection to real-world music stars, I think this one has a good shot at going somewhere!

So. Much. Stuff.

Unexpectedly was gifted a block at Unpub from 1:30 - 4:30 today. Stop by and help me test "Time Jam", a gateway+ card drafting game about travelling back in time to assemble a super group of real-life famous musicians! #paxu #unpub