How to Design Take That Games with Steph and Jess Nguyen

May 18, 2022·1 hr·5 clips

Steph Nguyen's first prototype featured a photoshopped Channing Tatum potato, sparking a quirky game design journey.

Gabe opens with mischief. After the sponsor read, he describes Take That games as designs where players mess with opponents through cards. Jess and Steph come in easily, and the chat treats player conflict as something that can be funny, quick, and playful when the game gives everyone permission to laugh. The silliness is doing a lot of work. A silly image, like a rude potato card, makes an attack feel like a gag instead of a personal shot. Gabe sets that beside heavier battle framing. If the table feels like Romans fighting barbarians, the same move can hit with a sharper edge. Keep it light and the room has more room to recover. The guests agree that humor and pace help players take mean little moments without the game turning sour. Gabe then turns to time. A two-hour Take That game sounds rough because the joke gets tired when the retaliation keeps going. Playtesting is the filter. Jess says they have learned plenty by watching how long decisions take and how player count changes the feel of the game. Their target has some give, but not too much. The sweet spot is around twenty to sixty minutes, with a clear wish to stay under an hour. Familiarity changes the tempo as well. Players who know the rules move faster; new players slow down while they choose their next poke. The craft note is direct: if a game asks people to jab at each other, the designer has to watch tone, speed, and recovery. Gabe closes by thanking Jess and Steph, pointing listeners toward design resources, and repeating the nudge to keep designing, keep playtesting, and keep creating games.

As heard by us

A practical look at why playful cruelty works best when the table stays lighthearted.

Take-that games rise or fall on tone, and this conversation keeps circling the same question: how to stay mean enough to be funny without drifting into plain meanness.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want take-that games that stay funny instead of mean, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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