🐸 Board Game News – from the BGG forum

Today, the pond puts on its designer glasses: when a “simple” rule transforms into an idea you see on the table. And yes: we are talking about Sensu here.

🎴 Sensu: The History of the "Fan" (Designer Diary)

The diary tells something that Froggers always like: how a game is really born . First the spark, then the playtests, then the publishing… and at a certain point “boom”: the theme becomes mechanics.

📓 Designer diary 🧠 Behind the scenes 🇮🇹 Italy vibes

We start from Gioco Inedito and from a theme that was a beautiful trap: “Venti”. The designer makes it clear: the “wind” idea doesn’t take off… but the number 20 does. From there, a game heart is born, made of numbered cards and combinations that point to that number, with a well-timed, naughty choice: the combo value depends on the lowest card that you used (so you want to do big things… but you have to get your hands dirty).

Then comes the magic: someone thinks “ok, but how do you make it FEEL on the table?”. And here is the insight that changes everything: the scores become fans of cards . It's not just aesthetics: it's a way of making the game more readable, more immediate, more “Sensu”. The diary also recounts the editorial development process and the refinements that make the final version more solid.

🐸 The most beautiful part for us It's one of those cases where you realize that the "theme" is not wallpaper: it's a piece of design. And when that happens, the game stops being just rules… and becomes a gesture (you really do that fan).
✨ Extra (from diary) There is also mention of an evolution phase: testing on alternative objectives and small adjustments to make the experience smoother, without losing the tactical tension of the choices.
📌 Tags: board game news , designer diary , Sensu 🧠 Type: behind the scenes / design
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