An Interview with the Author: Ben

So, as part of the run up to our games launch, we thought it might be worth having a quick chat with the authors of the two rulebooks we're releasing. Here we have Ben, author of 'Engage: Spaceship Combat'

Hi, could you tell us who you are and tell us a little about yourself?

Howdy, I'm Ben Greenman, lead designer of Engage, but in the real world I'm a customer service manager.

I love all things scifi, most things fantasy, and everything military (especially Tanks!).

What is your gaming background? What got you into gaming?

Man, I have been gaming for as long as I can remember. My cousin got me interested in Games Workshop when I was about 7, and I dragged Ian (co-Red Wyvern Games designer) down with me.

We played most games that came out across the time, and spent most of the time making up our own crazily unbalanced but uninhibitedly fun games, and when we met Craig (the other Red Wyvern Games designer) at age 11 it just got even worse!

You've taken the step towards publishing your own rules, where did the idea for Engage come from?

Engage is finished now, the first print run is completed and it's gone really well.

It's origin story was two-fold really; I'd always wanted to play a starship combat game that gave me the feeling of being a Star Trek captain, and the game came to be when I put all my ideas together for a “Game designing competition” with my friends. I put it all together, and we all really enjoyed playing it! So 3 years later it's a finished product, and I'm very, very proud of it!

In your opinion, what's the best feature of the game?

Well, in the game some ships (with decent crews) can utilize special actions called “Captains Actions”, which allow them to perform unusual things during the game. It really serves to add that “Zing” twist, and giving it the high end cinematic experience I wanted.

How do you hope the gaming community will respond to it?

I truly hope they enjoy playing it. I have no doubt it's not 100% perfect for everyone; every gamer likes something different. But I would be super happy if the gamers that play it get a good, fun game out of it that delivers that special TV-show feel with a slice of solid miniature spaceship battling!

Outside of red wyvern games, what is your favourite War game?

I am a huge “mechanics” guy; I have a massive amount of rulebooks, just because the way the game's engines work is my favourite part. So I would have to say; I don't have a favourite really. From Warhammer to Full Thrust, Tomorrow's War to Polemos, every game system I've played has given me something different!

If you could work with another author, who would it be?

Despite there being so many talented individuals out there, I really have to say Rick Priestley, he's the father of so many games adored by myself and thousands of others I would be truly honoured to work with him.

That said, after meeting Alessio Cavatore a few times at Salute, and listening to interviews with him – I think he'd be excellent too!

What are your thoughts on the current state of the war games industry at the moment?

I think it is really expanding at the moment, and that can only be a good thing for gamers.

So many new, and old, ideas and games are being released and created it keeps the hobby fresh, Variety is the spice of life as they say.

What is next on the books for you and red wyvern games?

As the other Wyverns would tell you; I am a list guy, I have lists of lists of ideas and projects in various stages of completion. Now Engage is done I get to focus on supporting it (I've got a campaign system and a few fleet lists almost complete) and working my way through a few new game ideas. So really it depends on which of my ideas is fun enough for them to let me polish it off!

'Engage: Spaceship Combat' is being launched at Valhalla this Sunday (16th) and ebook copies will be available from War Games Vault. See the website for more details. 
[You can see the interview with Ian here]