Harriet Cody on the launch of her board game development studio, Minty Noodles

Harriet, it’s great to connect. You’re new to the industry and are soon to launch your first board game – but talk me through how this all started?
I originally come from a graphic design background and have training in product design, while my co-creator and husband, Cole, is a video game designer, who recently released his game Shadows of Doubt. When an opportunity arose for us to create a board game together, our blend of skills seemed like the perfect match for the project.

Did you have an idea for the sort of game you’d want to design?
As fans of escape rooms ourselves, we knew our first game would have to be an escape room style board game. Cole did some of the mechanics and the puzzling – he’s got a great brain for that – while I sorted materials and the process side of it. We make a good team!

The game is called Interstellar Adventures, and it’s a collaborative puzzle game inspired by old-school sci-fi shows. Was there any in particular that you’re paying homage to?
Star Trek is a big part of our lives – as is sci fi in general! My mum used to speak to me in Klingon as a baby.

Ha! A true fan!
Exactly! And when Cole and I first got together, it was something that we watched all the time. Plus, some of the episodes are calling out to be adapted into an escape room game!

But for Interstellar Adventures, the game is set inside a retro TV show – and the game is very structures. It has a beginning, middle and end, as well as compelling characters. The puzzles in the game are built around the challenges that character’s face within the storyline. The hint system also stays within the world.

Ah, how does your hint system work?
We’ve themed it so it’s a character remembering something they learned in the academy. It’s them solving the problem, rather than us pulling you out of the experience to give you help with a puzzle.

How did you approach crafting the puzzles?
We wanted to have different types of puzzle types that would appeal to different brains. There’s visual puzzles, dexterity puzzles, logic puzzles… And they different across the three ‘episodes’ of the game. The first episode is a more traditional escape room game, while the second incorporates more board game elements. Then episode three is more story-driven, adding in a few moral dilemmas.

Sounds fun! Now, you’re new to the board game industry. How has it been ‘finding your feet’?
I’ve enjoyed being part of it so far and really enjoyed like meeting new people – and really interesting people! I’d also like to get involved in pitching ideas and working with other people on concepts. I think that’d be really fun.

In terms of other ideas, do you see yourself staying in puzzles or designing other types of games too?
I’ve got some really good ideas for some other stuff as well – including some offshoots of Interstellar Adventures that aren’t escape room games. So yes, not limiting ourselves to one type of game – we can do more.

Before what wrap up, what fuels your creativity?
Talking to people. I’ve figured out in the last few years that I don’t do any kind of internal thinking… It’s all external! So being around people, seeing what people are excited about and playing lots of games helps me be creative.

On the flipside, what kills creativity for you?
Repetition. If I have to do things again and again… That kills creativity for me. If I have to repeat something, I’ll try and find different ways of approaching it to keep it fresh.

Thanks again Harriet. And I should mention, you’re launching Interstellar Adventures on Kickstarter.
Yes! It’s launching very soon!

We’ll pop a link to the campaign in here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mintynoodles/interstellar-adventures. Thanks again!

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