TCG Interview #98: Here Be Monsters

I spoke with the creators of Here Be Monsters, here are their answers to my questions!

 Q: Please describe your trading card game!

A: Here Be Monsters is a pirate themed card game focused on big swings, easy to pick up gameplay, plenty of depth and nostalgic fun. Set sail epic ships, play a slew of pirates and arm them with ancient shanties to be the first one to grab the treasure and win the game!

Q: What inspired you to create your own TCG?

A: Well, the short answer is that one day Carson texted me and said “Hey, what if there was a pirate card game?” And obviously I didn’t need any more inspiration than that. The long answer, though, is that we both loved these kinds of games when we were kids, and we both made our own games with crayons and construction paper back in the day. As adults, though, trading card games are a lot harder to get into. It almost feels like trading card games pride themselves on their over complicated keywords and rulesets and their stratospheric monetary barrier to entry. Most TCGs require $100 spend every few months just to remain engaged. We’ve built Here Be Monsters to get away from that.

Q: What TCGs did you grow up playing as a kid?

A: Phil: The holy trinity of 2000s trading card games: Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Pokemon. I’ve also played a good bit of Netrunner and Hearthstone, and Carson has played a good bit of the new Digimon card game. 

Carson: We've dabbled in as many as we can, just to get a sense of what else is out there!

Q: What sets Here Be Monsters apart from other TCGs?

A: Phil: How much time do you have? Probably the most important difference is that, from a design perspective, fun comes first and foremost. Every card, effect, and interaction has been curated with a pretty religious devotion to the question, “Is this fun?” Other than that, there are lots of differences: No mana system, no “attacking” in the traditional sense, no life points. One thing I’m particularly proud of that we do differently is our art. Carson has done every iota of art for the game, he’s infused an amazing sense of cartoony, nostalgic fun into every single character, and he does it all in Apple Keynote (the powerpoint software). Literally all of it. Show me another game with our art style, with our pirate theming, and with our refusal to use an actual art/drawing program, and I’ll eat my shoe.

Carson: Thanks Phil. I want to highlight the no mana system. 90% of all TCGs at present revolve around some kind of cost-structure and I love how our 'Order structure' has played out. Each turn you get three Orders. Every pirate and shanty (with some special exceptions) costs a single Order to play. As such the strategy around how each turn plays out is so different than any other game I've played. I think players will get really excited about it once they dig in.

Q: How did you come up with the name Here Be Monsters?

A: As is (I think) often the case with these kinds of things, it was a placeholder name that we came up with probably less than a month into development. Fast-forward a couple of years and we asked ourselves if we should change the name, but at that point it was too late - the emotional attachment was too great. As for what the name itself actually refers to, ye olde maps would often have the phrase “here be monsters” to denote places on the map that had yet to be truly explored. That was perfect for us, since we were pirate themed and all of our pirates are monsters.

Q: How long have you been working on the game?

A: Phil: Nearly four years at this point. February 2021 is when the game was first conceived, and oh baby has it gone through a lot of iterations since then. Hard to believe that if our card game baby was an actual human baby, it’d be starting pre-school soon.

Carson: We actually have a great article about the whole process over on our website if anyone wants to check it out! 

Q: What is the illustration/design process like?

A: Phil: Carson you need to answer this one.

Carson: It has been one of the greatest joys of my life to do the artwork for Here Be Monsters. I feel like I'm finally at a point where my dreams of what they can be are approach the level of skill that I have. Not only am I learning a lot about illustration, but I'm also getting better and better at using Keynote, my program of choice. We mentioned above that Keynote is not known as a drawing platform... because it's not. It's a presentation platform, like Powerpoint. But for some reason it just makes sense to me and I love it. Perhaps we'll do a deeper dive sometime on it. I think I'm the world's only Keynote artist.

Q: When will the game officially be released?

A: Phil: We’re aiming for a Kickstarter campaign to launch in February of 2025, then at that point it will come down to how quickly we can arrange things like shipping and production. For those of you who want to play the game sooner, though, reach out to us on one of our many social media accounts! We have a playable Tabletop Simulator mod, or if we’re in your neck of the woods we can arrange an in-person play test with real cards!

Carson: We love showing new people the game!

Q: What are your future plans for Here Be Monsters?

A: Phil: By early to mid 2025, we fully expect Here Be Monsters to be a sprawling media empire larger than Star Wars, Pokemon, and One Piece, combined. There will be Netflix adaptations, plushies, video game tie-ins, the whole works. Joking aside, while we would love to turn these beautiful characters and their world into a TV show, we actually plan on keeping the game fairly small and accessible to new players. Instead of pumping out set after set of new cards, we want fans of the game to feel like Here Be Monsters is something they get to enjoy, not something they have to struggle to keep up with. We want our players to grow with the game, not chase after it with their whole paycheck. We're thinking a set or two a year at this stage. Small sets that feel more like a board game expansion than anything.

Carson: I don't think I could ever stop drawing pirates at this point... so I'm in this for the long haul. I hope you all come along for the ride.

Q: Will you be at any upcoming conventions?

A: Yes! We’ll be at PAX Unplugged in December. We won’t have a booth, but we’ll be set up in the free play area so anyone who wants to can come grab a seat and play a game against their friends or against one of the game’s creators! There are plenty of other conventions on our radar as well, but we aren’t confirmed for any of them yet. We'll post more updates on our socials!

Q: Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own TCG?

A: Phil: Do it! And don’t afraid to make it weird and different from the other TCGs out there. I’ve never raised a real life human child before, but I have to imagine that the sense of awe and pride at who your child grows into is similar to watching the maturation of a game’s art, mechanics, and vibe. And card games don’t poop themselves, which is great! Not that you shouldn’t also raise a real child if you want, I think that’s totally awesome, but also you should raise a card game!

Carson: Suuuuuuure Phil. I agree that you should just do it. Neither Phil nor I had any background in game design when we started. We were just good at asking questions each time we played, like "does this feel good to play" "is this the gameplay we want in our game" "should I make more cards that make me beat Phil". And slowly the game came together from there.

For more, follow @herebemonstersthegame on Instagram