After years of enjoying Sam Calagione's Dogfish Head, Ben Rosset is taking his admiration for craft beer one step further. On a recent tour, Rosset found himself inspired to design a game about opening and running a brewery. Players of Brew Crafters by Rosset get to create their very own craft beer empire from the ground up. Now, the challenge to be a successful brewmaster is at your fingertips. So grab a pint and get to brewing!
If you are familiar with board games, you already know the name Ben Rosset. This game designer and developer is responsible for one of the most popular modern board games nowadays, Brew Crafters. If you're not familiar, Brew Crafters is an award-winning, highly engaging resource and time management game. But even more important than the game itself, is the story and ideas that led Ben to create it.
Ben Rosset, a native of the Washington DC area, started creating games 13 years ago and has created a total of 6 over the years. But it was Brew Crafters that has been truly successful. A visit to Dogfish Head brewery with world-renowned brewer Sam Calagione was the spark that lit the creativity flame in Rosset's mind. After the visit, Ben Rosset was inspired to design a game about brewing
The aim of Brew Crafters is simple and straightforward. Players are crafting entrepreneurs who manage their own brewery, create different beers, and build a business. Players acquire resources, hire personnel, research recipes and compete with other players for the business of taverns, shops, and thirsty citizens. It’s a race against time to make the most of your resources and wealth.
The game has several aspects, the core of which is the board. The board is made up of cards representing your resources, building materials, machinery and hired personnel. You need to manage these resources over a period of 4 turns. During each turn, you have 4 rounds to decide what to do with the resources and you are scored based on certain criteria.
Brew Crafters emphasizes resource and logic management. Players must carefully balance the complexity of the recipe and the cost of the ingredients to maximize the return on their efforts. They must also take special care to make sure that the ingredients used fit in with the flavors of the specific beer being made.
Brew Crafters has been highly acclaimed since its release and has won multiple awards. In 2012 it was acclaimed Family Game of the Year by Dice Tower and has also been nominated for multiple awards from Cardboard Republic and Mensa Select.
Ben Rosset heads the small development team behind Brew Crafters. His experience in game design, the help of his fantastic development team, combined with feedback from loyal playtesters, made Brew Crafters the hit it is today.
The Brew Crafters team are getting involved in activities and events. They create videos to review the game, they host a live show, they are active in board game forums and they even support local breweries. The team is constantly creating materials to attract new members and have been helping to promote the game on radio, television and social media.
Brew Crafters is about to start its second edition and according to Ben Rosset, there are plenty of new and exciting additions to the game. He has also hinted at a third edition, with new mechanics and more strategic elements. So it’s safe to say that the game will be around for a while.
Ben Rosset and his team have done a great job of making a truly engaging game about beer brewing and resource management. With an award-winning game under his belt, he is sure to stay in the game industry for a long time to come. Whether you are a fan of the game or not, it’s clear that Brew Crafters is here to stay.