That’s my brother. Also known as dee*ah*chur. Also my long-time collaborator (see our chapbook of poetry and art: Constellation). Also the artist behind WyldeWood Studios.
He’s a game designer, and Boláe is the board game he designed based on one I’d invented for my world of the Sundered Houses. In that world, characters play the game, which might set a scene or advance a story line. They might borrow the pieces to plan their next battle, tabletop style. But in some ways, the game is the metaphor for what is happening to the characters, picked up and put down by forces outside their control.
I wanted a game of strategy–chess crossed with an East African game called Bao (or Bawo) that my mother (who served in Malawi in the Peace Corps) introduced to us early in our lives. (You may have heard its relative Mancala.) The name of Boláe is deliberate nod to Bao. (Pronounce our invented game ‘bowl-ay’.)
I’ve lost count of the versions (so many!) over at least a decade. Some more like Bao, some more like a role-playing game.
When my brother pulled the newest version out, a chorus of music started playing in my head. Friends and family applauded. We knew it was ready.
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