Robert Gelb’s Post

I love history, especially US political history, so getting to catch up with Tory Brown about both the board game Watergate as well as her awesome Votes for Women game was a real treat. We talk about everything from managing feedback, to handling being rejected by Facebook for advertising the 'potentially sensitive subject' of the rights of Woman to vote, and how Tory and her publisher brought the game to life. Thanks again Tory - had a great conversation! https://lnkd.in/e7ZqcZbF

Looking forward to this tomorrow. Come along, have some space to think about what you're looking for in a cofounder, and maybe meet someone who might be up for a new challenge.

I'm often struck by people like Judson Cowan (another Edinburgh-based board game designer). He's a musician, designer, artist, everything that jumps to mind when you think of the word 'creative'. So much talent, and yet (frustratingly 😉) so nice, humble, and supportive of others. I managed to sit down with him for a few minutes to learn about his journey from working in marketing into the world of full-time game design. We talk about falling in love with different mechanics, and how the journey into games has affected his mental health. I loved our conversation, and hope you'll give it a listen too. https://lnkd.in/gmEDGYNJ

If you're an early stage founder who finds pitching frustrating, we still have a few spots left for our Pitched Your Idea event first thing tomorrow morning. It's a *suuuper* low-stress way for you to get a huge amount of insight into how your pitch comes across. The process is pretty simple: 1) You share your business idea with a small group 2) Each person in the group 'pitches' your business back to you What ends up happening: You get to see how what you think you're conveying comes across back to you. You'll find that some might use different words than you had thought, and others might leave out parts you thought were crucial. Either way, you'll get some great prompts for improvement and alternative language that you'll be able to incorporate into your pitch going forward. All over coffee and pastries, generously provided by Johnston Carmichael Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers https://lu.ma/asdef0t8

🎙️The difference between creating an RPG and actually launching a successful Kickstarter can often be quite wide. I had a great time chatting with Roach and Stephan from 13th Moon Games about their journey through development, mistakes with the first time they did their Kickstarter and what they learned when they went back again. https://lnkd.in/eKKiPS_t

We did a special edition of Campfire today previewing Turing Fest and all the talks and events that are taking place, INCLUDING fringe events where you don't even need a TF ticket! Check it out here https://lnkd.in/eQWK38V9

Next Tuesday night, come along for some relaxed networking and drinks! Thanks very much to Shepherd and Wedderburn for hosting us!

📆 Next week we're hosting 2️⃣ events for founders: Tus 9th of July, 6pm it's Founder2Founder: An evening of networking drinks and learning from other founders. There are 2 parts: 1) 10-minute rapid-fire talks from founders offering practical things for founders to do to level up. 2) YC-style founder office hours where early stage entrepreneurs get public feedback by a group of experienced founders, with that insight often having lots of value for others in the audience. We're announcing the speakers and founders tomorrow! There's limited space, so be sure to register asap. Very kindly sponsored by and hosted at Shepherd and Wedderburn https://lu.ma/y2fxif9z Wed 10th July, 8am it's Pitched your Idea! Designed for early stage founders, this is a relaxed session where you experience your idea pitched to you by other people. If you're working on your pitch, and want to know better what lands and what goes over peoples' heads, this is a great, low stress way to gain valuable insight. Space is very limited, please make sure you register asap if you'd like a spot. Very kindly hosted and sponsored by Johnston Carmichael Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers https://lu.ma/asdef0t8

🔍 Fancy solving Sherlock Holmes-style mysteries every day? We've been quietly working away at a mobile game and we're ready for beta testers! If you like the idea of posing questions to suspects, examining crime scenes, and deducing clues, and don't mind a few bugs we'd love to see what you think of The Daily Case. We're especially looking for folks who enjoy games like wordle, sudoku, crosswords, or any other light puzzle game that forms part of a daily routine. Let us know if you're interested below and provide a few details like what kind of device you're running, and we'll be in touch with next steps!! https://lnkd.in/eWuV7wDE

🎙️"Focus on creating emotional moments." I sat down with Keith Matejka from Thunderworks Games to learn about his journey through the music and video games industries to starting Thunderworks Games. We talk about the business of board games, how to approach emotional mechanic design, and I get to experience him geek out about his favourite game, War of the Ring. Thanks so much for your time, Keith! It was great conversation. https://lnkd.in/dny-Bizh