Rulebooks, Design, and the Future of Arcs | Josh Yearsley Interview

(TLDW Summary) In this interview we talk about Josh's career journey into board game design and development from freelance rulebook editor to project lead on the newest Root expansion (Homelands). We then talk about rulebook philosophy and how that changed with the latest Oath expansion (New Foundations). We talk a little bit about some of the design challenges with one of the Root factions in his last project and what mechanics he hopes to reexplore in the future. We then talk about Arcs! First we reflect on how it looks now and then we consider the game's long term future. Josh then gives me four sneak peeks about what Buried Giant Studios is working on for it's next Kickstarter launching in a couple of weeks (3/31/26)! Link to Arcs: Beyond the Reach (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...) Timestamps 0:00 Introduction and Career Journey 12:54 Rulebooks 22:27 Balancing Playtest Feedback between Hardcore and Casual Fans 27:40 Being the Project Lead for Root: Homelands 32:08 Dropped Game Mechanic Sill Thinking About 32:07 How Does Arcs Look Now in Retrospect 36:59 Long Term Vision for Arcs 42:32 Arcs: Beyond the Reach Talk Soli Deo Gloria