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Live to Game, Game to Live
Your guide to board games, board game design, and the worlds greatest hobby!
Hi! My name is Jared Tolley, I'm the designer behind Studio Ardia. I absolutely love board games and the design of board games is one of the most fascinating things I've been a part of in my life. Join me in my journey and maybe learn a thing or two!
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Escape From Atalix Rulebook
Introduction After colliding with an asteroid in space, you and your crew of astronauts have been forced to make an emergency landing on...
tolleygamesco
Aug 17, 202320 min read
Cooperative Board Games 101
Today I will be exploring the world of cooperative board games including how they work, their advantages and disadvantages, and my...
tolleygamesco
Jul 26, 20237 min read
Mechanic: Deck Building
Intro Deck Building is a popular and varied mechanic in games. And it happens to be one of my favorite mechanics, due to its chance/skill...
tolleygamesco
May 16, 20235 min read
EFA Choose Your Own Adventure Ep. 1 "Crash Landing"
The rocky ground below you grows rapidly closer as you do everything in your power to slow your descent. The ship shakes and trembles as...
tolleygamesco
Apr 27, 20232 min read
Category: Party Games
The Importance of Categories This is entry #1 of my categories series where I go over the categories in the tabletop game market. I have...
tolleygamesco
Mar 21, 20234 min read
All You Need To Know About Black Tie
Black Tie Summary: A game of international espionage is afoot! You've been given a mission to protect hard drives containing your...
Jared Tolley
Feb 28, 20235 min read
Board Game Design 3: Payoff
I want to talk about a very important principle in board game design. It’s sort of an abstract concept and I have taken a lot of time...
tolleygamesco
Feb 26, 20234 min read
2 Big Black Tie Announcements
First, we're up on Board Game Geek. There's still a lot to do to flesh out the page, but I just had to show it off. I can't wait to see...
tolleygamesco
Feb 8, 20231 min read
Big Announcement!
We're officially announcing our next project! After the feedback received from our posts and some careful consideration we have chosen to...
tolleygamesco
Feb 1, 20232 min read
What is Drafting in Board Games?
What is Drafting? Drafting is a board game mechanism where players choose cards, actions, resources, or other opportunities from a shared...
tolleygamesco
Jan 30, 20233 min read
An Experiment...
In the limbo created by waiting for Black Tie and figuring out our next big project I’ve been prototyping a simple game that I’m pretty...
tolleygamesco
Jan 23, 20232 min read
Top 7 Simple Board Games For Strategy Lovers
If you’re anything like me you crave games with strategy and depth. Yet if you’re anything like many of my family members and friends you...
tolleygamesco
Jan 14, 20232 min read
We Need Your Help! (Vote On Our Next Project)
No matter how wrapped up I was with other things, there’s no way I could go a year without generating some new ideas. Lots of new ideas!...
tolleygamesco
Jan 12, 20232 min read
How To Find Excellent Two Player Board Games
THE TWO PLAYER CONUNDRUM Let's face it, many games claim to be 2 player but when you try it out the fun just isn't there. Something is...
tolleygamesco
Jan 10, 20233 min read
Status Update
I come to you after a long hiatus to bring a status update. As many of you know new ventures rarely go according to plan. I have...
tolleygamesco
Jan 10, 20232 min read
Novelty or Mastery?
This is just a fun discussion topic I wanted to bring up. Though there is definitely a bit of a spectrum, I have noticed that people that...
tolleygamesco
Apr 21, 20222 min read
Category Spotlight: Social Deduction
Ever wanted to solve a murder? Or maybe moonlight as a spy? Do you enjoy teamwork, strategy, and social interaction? All these and more...
tolleygamesco
Mar 31, 20221 min read
Learn more about yourself as a gamer!
Here's a link to a quiz site called Board Games for Me. This site asks you a few simple questions and then recommends games that fit your...
tolleygamesco
Mar 31, 20221 min read
TBK Update
It's been a while since I talked about the process going on with my latest game Toy Box Kingdom (TBK), so I wanted to give an update. If...
tolleygamesco
Mar 31, 20221 min read
Genre Definer: Coup
In every board game genre there are stand out games that are absolute classics. When it comes to bluffing games, one of my all time...
tolleygamesco
Mar 31, 20221 min read
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