by David Gordon

Pinched! Designer Diary
Written By David Gordon

In the spring of 2021, I became fascinated with yomi (the Japanese term that means reading your opponent) and found myself exploring it in several designs. The famous goblet of wine scene from the Princess Bride is an illustrative example of the moment I wanted to capture. One iteration eventually became the core loop of Jonathan Gilmour-Long and my game Making Monsters, which is currently available in stores. In Making Monsters, you’re rewarded for correctly anticipating what your neighbor will do.

For this new game, Jon and I wanted to craft a group yomi experience of one vs. many. The core concept of a single player choosing a location and everyone else trying to guess where it was provided the forum for a group think. We imagined lively discussions about where they might go, inspiring provocative “Princess Briding”. Sparks and magic were there in play test #1, and we knew we had something special.

Bohnanza is one of Jon’s and my favorite games –we love the way the scoring is so simple, yet provides varying incentives to different players, facilitating trading. For our scoring, we simplified some of the math and made sure the maximum number of points per card was no more than 1, so that we could use the cards for scoring and avoid an additional currency.

For the theme, my son Ben said he’d been playing a video game that had an underwater lab, and I immediately knew that setting would work here. We would be marine scientists exploring the ocean from an international sea lab. Each day of the week, a different player would have access to a ship, and all the other scientists would have to guess whether that player would use the ship that explores the deep, the trench, or even the abyss.

Sea Lab Board, Player Board, and some cards from July, 2021
Over the course of many months, we tested all different player counts, lengths of games, tweaks to the points systems, special twists for different locations, and the ins and outs of every system. One turning point was a test with Gil Hova, where he recommended that the players who guess incorrectly at least get a card from the deck. Yes, it would be random, but they would get something to build around. This helped the game keep pushing forward but also extended a hand to a player who might be super unlucky. This eventually became what we know as the River in Pinched. We also tested various complexities. We added a system of Community Projects, where you could find use for cards that didn’t match in your hand. We ultimately found the extra complexity wasn’t necessary.

The game quickly became a play tester favorite among our friends. Some grew into huge fans and asked to play it over and over. This is generally a good sign! By the end of the summer of 2021, we were pitching Sea Lab and by September, a publisher offered to sign it if they could get an IP they thought would be a great fit. They tried for a long time but were unable to secure it, so in the spring of 2024, Jon and I started pitching it again. We showed it to David Chircop and Gordon Calleja in April, and on May 2, they offered us a contract! Jon and I had wanted to work with Mighty Boards for a long time, so we were super excited. And yeah, I liked the idea of the publisher’s names being David and Gordon.

Soon after we signed the contract, David approached us about a new setting concept, which Jon and I thought would fit perfectly. Over the next nine months or so, they worked hard to revise every system and make sure it all made sense and felt seamlessly integrated. Jon and I appreciated how often they checked in with us to make sure we agreed with all the editing and art. That was easy, because the art is amazing, and the theme is perfect!

And I personally want to thank Mighty Boards for including my own beagle Gordon Gordon (he was named Gordon before we got him!) on one of the cards in the game!

We truly hope you will enjoy Pinched! and thank you so much for reading this diary.

Play Testers
Michael Addison, Phil Amylon, Jessie Batzel, Chris Chan, Glenn Cotter, Lydia Gallant, Tara Gilmour-Long, Ari Gordon, Ben Gordon, Jen Gordon, Micheal Guigliano, Myles Heffernen, Gil Hova, Nolan James, Jacob Keiser, Suzannah Keiser, Jamie Lichty, Travis Magrum, Pat Moreno, Ian Moss, Daniel Newman, Bryan Oemler, Cici Ogden, Rocco Privetera, Dhaya Ramarajan, Ryan Rodriguez, Jack Rosetree, Micah Sawyer, Catherine Stippell, Max Swietnicki, TAM, Willa Tracy, Bill Ward, Adam Young

In loving memory, Kevin Dunkelberger.