Description

Schouten Games is a board game publisher specialised in Print-At-Home and digital roll-and-write games.

History

Inkwell Games

In 2018, while studying MSc IS Game Studies, Joey Schouten started Inkwell Games as the development side in the Netherlands together with Odin Phong, who would spearhead publishing from the US. After releasing ‘Dice and Ink Vol. 1: A Roll-and-Write Anthology’, Inkwell Games moved to publish GRBLD, designed by Joey Schouten, which was unfortunately cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the closure of Inkwell Games in 2021.

Starting Schouten Gaming Services

Not content with leaving board games, Joey founded Schouten Gaming Services (SGS) in 2021. Having picked up a set of skills after having gone through the entire design, development, and crowdfunding process, Joey would offer various services to assist independent board game publishers. However, the global shipping crisis in 2021 complicates matters, making small-scale board game publishing a difficult affair.

Mobile Development

Instead, SGS pivoted back to its roots in being a Roll-and-Write board game publisher to develop digital Roll-and-Write games for web and mobile. Pour Decisions is the first of these digital roll-and-write board games, published by Dutch mobile development company Eris BV. The second game, Project Lunar, has just started development and builds and expands on the work done for Pour Decisions. This iterative design process creates a framework for roll-and-write games and should allow for games in this genre to be developed more quickly, and with more polish. Pour Decisions and future games are developed with the support of Patreon supporters. After the global shipping crisis subsides, there are plans to bring the games created in this time period to Kickstarter to crowdfund a physical release, with special attention towards sustainability.

Rebranding as Schouten Games

Following a renewed focus on desigining and publishing games rather than providing services, SGS rebranded as Schouten Games in June 2022. In it's initial portfolio are Pour Decisions, the digital winemaking roll-and-write, as well as Islands of Atlantis, PenSylvania, and Scrapyard Rollbot - three games originally published in the Dice and Ink anthology under Inkwell Games. Schouten Games will primarily be focusing on Print-at-Home and web games through itch.io and digital games for iOS, Android, Steam, and (eventually) Nintendo Switch. 2023 will likely see the first crowdfunding campaigns to print currently unannounced projects.

Projects

• Islands of Atlantis
• PenSylvania
• Pour Decisions
• Scrapyard Rollbot