Editor’s Note: As an avowed content geek, I try new formats. People enjoy our 5 Quick Questions interviewette for tabletop designers since it’s a quick read. We promise no TL;DR. So let’s see how the amazing Jerry Hawthorne, storytelling game designer of Mice and Mystics, Stuffed Fables, and the thrilling new game Aftermath (which you can pre-order NOW) from Plaid Hat Games, does, shall we?

BGB: Attention is money, my friend. What is the elevator pitch for Aftermath?

Jerry Hawthorne: My new game is Aftermath. Humanity has mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind a ruined world. You are a group of young critters trying to provide for your colony in a cooperative adventure game you play inside a book.

BGB: Making games is hard work, so you best have a great reason for making this thing. What inspired this game?

Jerry Hawthorne: I have a fun and adventurous story to tell, and a fun new game mechanic that allows me to tell it.

BGB: There are too many games out there. What hole in my game collection does this fill?

Jerry Hawthorne: This game allows you to play through an apocalyptic story through the eyes of a tiny mouse. It is also a complete colony building experience, but done in such a user friendly way, it makes campaign play super easy (ed. note: Okay, I WANT IT).

BGB: This is Boardgame Babylon, so out with your dirty secrets. What DON’T you want to tell me about this game?

Jerry Hawthorne: There is only one way to lose and that is if your colony disbands due to poor leadership.

BGB: Thanks for telling us a bit about Aftermath. Let’s wrap up with the key specifics (play time, number of players, and the link to the game) and also, since I think you can tell a lot about a person by understanding their sense of humor, what’s a good joke to close this interviewette?

Jerry Hawthorne: Aftermath will be in retail stores this September but you can pre-order it now. It’s a cooperative adventure game for 1-4 players of all ages. It plays in 90-120 minutes depending on your mission.

Editor’s Note: I highly recommend Mice and Mystics and Stuffed Fables, which have helped my friend and myself introduce board games to his sons while I also inspiring my own son to play more RPGs. There’s a ton of fun and joy in theses boxes.

JOKE TIME

Guy walks into a doctor’s office with a duck on his head. The doctor asks “How can I help you?”

The duck says “Doc, can you get this guy off my ass?”