by Oink Games Inc.

Editor's note: Here's a history of Oink Games' late 2023 release Rafter Five, told in the form of a Q&A session. —WEM

From Concept to Completion: The Making of Rafter Five

Question: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind Rafter Five?

Mashiu: I wanted to create a game that felt both lively and tense at the same time. The idea came from a lightweight variation of Bärenpark. I really liked how that game rewarded players for covering specific marks with polyominoes, and I thought it would be interesting to develop something based on that concept. Rather than forcing players to fit the pieces perfectly, I wanted to let them stack pieces at any angle, which I felt captured the essence of an analog board game. That was my starting point.

To simplify the mechanisms, I changed all the components into cards of uniform size and shortened the playtime by introducing a shared board with an elimination mechanism. The cards had multiple marks, and the game evolved so that covering those marks caused small penalties, eventually leading to elimination. The balancing aspect came later when I added the rule that tipping over the board results in losing. I was figuring things out as I went! (laughs)

Q: How did Rafter Five become a collaboration with Oink Games?

Mashiu: In the second half of 2022, Oink Games published a remake of my game Tekipaki Mogimogi (Quick to Pick), which became Quickity Pickity. At the launch party, Jun Sasaki invited me to bring unfinished game concepts to show the team. That's how this project started. I brought three prototypes to Oink Games, and after playing them together, we decided to move forward with one of them. That prototype was initially called "Burial".

Jun Saski: Rather than officially requesting a design, we told Mashiu that he was welcome to bring in unfinished ideas anytime. I had always been interested in his work and figured that even discarded ideas might have potential. That's how we ended up developing Rafter Five together.

From "Burial" to Rafter Five

Q: What were the key changes that led "Burial" to evolve into Rafter Five?

Keiko Inagaki: The original concept had players covering printed marks on cards. If you accidentally covered forbidden marks, you'd receive a penalty. On the other hand, strategically covering certain marks would earn points.

Mashiu: Players could place cards however they wanted, but if they caused the structure to collapse, they were eliminated. At one point, we experimented with stacking cubes on scoring marks. That version even included a second level! (laughs)

Rie: Even in the early stages, the way the structure balanced in unexpected ways was fascinating. It quickly became clear that balancing was the game's core mechanism.

Jun: The game originally rewarded careful stacking to maximize points. Most balance-based games end when a player knocks everything over, but Mashiu introduced the concept of scoring before the collapse. That added a layer of strategy, making it about more than just avoiding failure. I had been wanting to design a game with shifting weights that create surprising balances, so when I saw "Burial", I knew we could push it in that direction. That's when we introduced cubes as counterweights.

Keiko: Using cubes to weigh down the cards allowed for extreme overhangs without collapsing, which was fun to see in action.

Mashiu: We tested a two-tier version but ultimately abandoned it. The balance wasn't quite right.


Developing the Core Mechanisms

Q: When did the idea of placing meeple-like figures come into play?

Keiko: We introduced them during the second playtest. Initially, we used them simply as additional stacking elements. At this point, players weren't yet required to remove them when placing new cards.

Jun: We initially tested using playing cards, then switched to smaller prototype cards. At first, we kept the original "Burial" rule of covering and uncovering marks, but we realized that balancing itself was already a challenging mechanism. Adding more complexity was unnecessary. We decided to simplify things by removing the constant checking of covered marks.

Q: The game is played on top of the box itself. How did that come about?

Jun: That change came much later. When testing the physical components, we realized that a single box wasn't tall enough — it sometimes resulted in structures tilting but not falling. That's when we decided to stack two boxes to increase the height and make toppling more dramatic.

Shaping the Theme and Story

Q: When did you decide on the theme of Rafter Five?

Jun: Early on, we had the idea that players were expanding a raft. The original theme was a pirate shipwreck, with survivors salvaging wood to build a raft and carry back treasure — but that theme encouraged players to play conservatively, carefully loading the raft instead of trying to make others fail. The game is more fun when players want each other to collapse, so we simplified the theme to just five people piling onto a raft with treasure.

Q: Why was the original title "Burial"?

Mashiu: The game originally involved covering marks, which reminded me of burying artifacts, but looking back, it was an odd choice given how lighthearted the gameplay is! (laughs)


Refining the Components and Design

Q: How did you design the five meeple figures?

Jun: I wanted them to vary in size and weight, so we tested different shapes. They needed to be distinct yet feel cohesive, so I thought of them as meeples that have gained weight or changed shape slightly. I kept their silhouettes simple but unique.

Rie: We wanted them to be recognizable even when stacked on the raft, so we experimented with different proportions.

Q: The penalty board is designed with indentations for treasure pieces. Why?

Jun: Since the game often results in treasure pieces falling everywhere, we needed a way to clearly separate penalties from the general mess. That's why we added grooves to hold the fallen treasure securely.

Q: What was the most difficult part of the design process?

Jun: Definitely getting the meeple shapes just right. Balancing their variety with their function was tough.

Mashiu: Thanks to the Oink Games team, I had very little to worry about! (laughs)

Launch and Reception

Q: How was Rafter Five received at events?

Jun: We first tested it with the public at an event in Singapore in late 2023. Seeing how much fun people had reassured us that we were on the right track.

Mashiu: At Game Market 2023 Fall, seeing people play and enjoy it was incredible. The Oink Games booth had a fantastic set-up, and the enthusiasm was great to witness.

Q: A digital version was released in "Let's Play! Oink Games" at the same time as the physical game. How did that happen?

Mashiu: At first, I wasn't sure how a physics-based balance game would translate to digital, but it turned out great! Watching people stream their playthroughs, I realized it had its own appeal — especially the replay feature, which lets you relive the best moments.

Jun: It was a challenge, but it worked well. I was initially worried that the digital version might impact sales of the physical edition, but instead it seemed to increase interest.

Keiko: The game had the highest first-month sales in Oink Games history, which was a pleasant surprise!


Looking Ahead

Q: Any final thoughts or future plans?

Mashiu: I want to create games that become timeless classics. Seeing the buzz around Rafter Five makes me hopeful it will be one of them.

Jun: I just want to keep making games. It's always challenging, but I hope to never stop.