Rebel PRINCESS DELUXE EDITION

Developing a Modern Classic

- Jay Bernardo

There is an undeniable charm to Rebel Princess.

I smiled ear-to-ear when a friend first introduced the game to us: We’re all princesses at a 5-day all-girls party, but those pesky Prince Charmings have snuck in. And now, we’re doing everything we can to avoid unwanted marriage proposals and be the only single princess by week’s end. Who among us will be THE Rebel Princess?

Everyone at the table was immediately hooked.

We weren’t the only ones. Rebel Princess is now in Korea, Japan, and Germany. It was not only nominated by the BoardGameGeek community for a Golden Geek Award, but Rebel Princess also did this before it was officially released in the United States. Very few games can pull that off — undeniable charm.

We were tasked with developing a Deluxe Edition. However, developing someone else’s baby is always a delicate process. We wanted to respect the designers’ original intentions, the artist and publisher’s hard work, as well as please and entice the existing fan base. But with only a few months to complete this endeavor, we couldn’t afford to walk that razor’s edge; we had to run.

We established two hard guidelines to help streamline our process.

1. Is it in the spirit of the game?

2. Does it make the players’ lives easier?