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Michal: Hello David, Trevor & Brett and welcome to The Boardgames Chronicle blog! Thank you for agreeing to do the interview about your upcoming game, For the Gods. Can you please tell us a little about yourself, what do you do for a living, what games do you play? Also, what was your role in design & development of For the Gods?

David: I’m a board game designer, best known for titles like the Undaunted, War Chest, and Valiant Defense series, and I regularly collaborate with Trevor Benjamin on a variety of projects. I tend to gravitate toward strategy games with historical topics that fuse Euro- and wargame design sensibilities. Personal favorites include games like Maria and A Few Acres of Snow.

On For the Gods!, I was a co-designer alongside Trevor Benjamin and Brett J. Gilbert. Speaking for all three of us, the design was a very collaborative process. We worked closely on the core systems of the game, with a lot of iteration focused on keeping the rules clean while ensuring strong player interaction and tension across the board. 

Michal: Thanks for introduction! First thing which I would like to check is where did you get the inspiration for such an interesting game?

David: The original idea for For the Gods! dates back to around 2020, when I was playing a lot of Café Fatal with my children. That game sparked my interest in compact area-control systems with lots of interaction, and I reached out to Trevor and Brett to see if they’d be interested in collaborating on a design that combined some of that feeling with the bag manipulation found in War Chest.

From there, the design evolved very quickly. Brett, in particular, pushed the idea of having a single agent moving around the board to deploy pieces, which became central to the game. While the roots are in those early inspirations, the game went through so much iteration that it’s probably hard to see those origins directly in the final design.

Michal: Now, please elaborate a bit about the key game components and how many players it accommodates?

David: For the Gods! is designed for 2–4 players and plays in about 45 minutes. The game features a central board representing an ancient Greek archipelago, along with player ships, screens, bags, and a large set of stones.

The most striking components are the three-dimensional towers that players physically build in each region using their own stones, God stones, and foundation stones. Each region is scored at the end of the game using region tiles and medals, while the Olympian Gods are represented by cards and stones that grant powerful abilities when a tower is dedicated to them.

Michal: It seems that we are getting some very thematic graphics – who is the author?

David: The art direction and production are handled by Mighty Boards, with illustration work by Katarzyna Bekus and Max Kosek. While Trevor, Brett, and I focused on the game design, the visual identity of For the Gods! is very much the result of Mighty Boards’ art direction and the illustrators’ excellent work.

What a wonderful job they’ve done. It has been such a pleasure for all of us to see each iteration of the illustrations and graphic design come together.

Michal: What are key mechanics of For the Gods and how does the sequence of play look like?

David: The game combines point-to-point movement, area control, and bag-driven hand management. On your turn you follow a simple structure: Move, Build, Draw.

Players move their ship across sea routes by returning stones from their hand to their bag, then establish or elevate a tower in the region where their ship is located. Towers can be dedicated to Gods, unlocking special powers that can influence positioning, building, or interaction with other players. Finally, players draw a new hand of stones, which also drives the game’s end condition.

The turn structure is very approachable, but the interaction between movement costs, tower height, and God powers creates a lot of tactical depth, which is something we were all very focused on throughout development. 

Michal: How do players determine victory in For the Gods? What is our goal?

David: Players are trying to score the most points by building the tallest towers across the islands. At the end of the game, each region is evaluated: the tallest tower claims the region tile for points, and in three- or four-player games the second-tallest tower can earn an additional medal.

Because of the three-dimensional nature of the towers, players can clearly see where they’re winning, where they’re behind, and where competition is likely to intensify. Success comes from choosing the right places to contest and using the Gods’ powers at the right moments.

Michal: One of the key things which players look for in games is replayability. How are you achieving this in For the Gods?

David: Replayability comes from a combination of variable setup and player interaction. The arrangement of region tiles and the selection of Gods change from game to game, which alters both the geography of the board and the abilities in play.

On top of that, the bag-driven system means players must constantly adapt to the stones they draw, while the highly interactive nature of the game ensures that no two sessions develop in quite the same way.

Michal: If you would like to look at For the Gods and answer the question – what makes this game unique? What would you call out?

David: The most distinctive element of For the Gods! is how the physical tower-building directly drives competition and scoring. Tower height is immediately readable, which creates natural tension and invites response from other players.

Combined with the God powers, which can dramatically change how and where players build, the game creates a very dynamic board state where every decision is visible and consequential.

Michal: I had an opportunity to play the prototype of this game during Essen Spiel 2025 and it was a blast. Thus, can’t wait to see this game out. How are you going to publish this title and where the players interested in the project can get more information?

David: For the Gods! will be published by Mighty Boards and is planned to launch via Kickstarter in February. Players interested in the project can follow Mighty Boards through their website, newsletter, and social media channels for updates as the campaign approaches.

Here’s a link to the Kickstarter page:

Michal: Looking into the future, what new & exciting designs shall we expect from you in 2026? And what are a bit more long-term plans of yours?

David: For me, 2026 is shaping up to be a very exciting year. Currently on the slate are:

  • For the Gods! (with Trevor Benjamin and Brett J. Gilbert, published by Mighty Boards)
  • Flintlock! (with Roger Tankersley, published by Floodgate)
  • Moytura (with Trevor Benjamin, published by Bitewing)
  • Queen of Spies (with Liz Davidson, published by Salt & Pepper)
  • Sniper Elite (with Roger Tankersley, published by Rebellion Unplugged)
  • Night Witches (with Liz Davidson, published by Fort Circle)
  • War Chest: Shock Tactics (with Trevor Benjamin, published by AEG)

And maybe another surprise or two!

Michal: Thank you very much for the interview, David! Any last word you would like to add?

David: We’re just really excited to get For the Gods! into players’ hands. It’s been a joy to watch people interact with the towers, the Gods, and the constantly shifting board state, and we’re looking forward to seeing how different groups make the game their own.