#144: Stellar Ventures & Satisfying Game Arcs

From Dads on a Map by Dads on a Map

January 26, 2026 · 1h 46m

About this episode

James discusses the upcoming Kickstarter launch of Stellar Ventures with Justin and Nahv from Tabletapas Games, covering game development and recent plays.

James is joined by Justin & Nahv of Tabletapas Games as they prepare for their Kickstarter launch of the new thematic economic game Stellar Ventures. We'll chat about the origin of their company, their experience in game development, and tie it all together with a discussion about satisfying game arcs. We'll also talk recent plays of Wiz War, Sol: Last Days of a Star, and For All Mankind. Enjoy the show! 00:47 Welcome Justin & Nahv 3:33 Stellar Ventures on Kickstarter now 7:52 Cube Rails meets 18xx? 16:35 Strong Cube Rails DNA 26:26 Components & Location challenges 36:36 Recent plays: Pax Ren Tournament 41:49 For All Mankind 48:25 Wiz War 51:59 Sol on boardtogether.games 56:01 The Gang 1:03:30 Kilauea 1:12:10 Game Arcs: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3 1:29:35 Developing the arc of Stellar Ventures 1:38:23 Collaborating with designer Pontus Nillson 1:40:05 Future Tabletapas Teasers? Check out Stellar Ventures on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tabletapasgames/stellar-ventures Information & Signups for DoaMcoN VI: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10h3wllpU-VjCqA7YcL3JUndSmZY2AqE1U9K1K4sRNuA/edit?usp=sharing http://www.dadsonamap.com…

People in this episode

Host: James

Guests: Justin, Nahv

Topics covered

Stellar Ventures
Kickstarter
game development
satisfying game arcs
Wiz War
Sol: Last Days of a Star
For All Mankind

Keywords

Tabletapas Games
game arcs
Pax Ren Tournament
Cube Rails
18xx

Mentioned in this episode

Products: DoaMcoN VI, Stellar Ventures, Wiz War, Sol: Last Days of a Star, For All Mankind

Books & works: Wiz War, Sol: Last Days of a Star

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