I’ve led the design for several games (like Boss Monster, Call to Adventure, and The Dragon Prince). I’ve contributed to the design of many others (including Super Boss Monster and the Cosmere RPG). But if I could convince you to play just one of my games, it would be Adulthood. Here’s why, along with 10 Life Lessons from a board game designer’s perspective.

Life Lesson 1: Meaning Matters

Adulthood is the first time I’ve collaborated on a game design with wife, Beverly. The first step in the game’s origin story came when I asked her, “if life was a board game, how would you win?” She and I spend a lot of time thinking about how to help our three sons (and each other) lead happy, fulfilling, meaningful lives.

Adulthood hints at some of what we understand to be true about life. We can’t claim to be experts, but we’ve tried to gather wisdom from a lot of sources: personal experience, advice from mentors, and research on mental health and happiness. The result is a game that’s mostly about fun, but has a few things to say about how to lead a meaningful life.

Life Lesson 2: You Can't Take It With You

When I first set out to design Adulthood, one thing was obvious: winning the game would not be about who dies with the most money. I’ve always loved the classic game of Life, but its goal of “be rich” is obviously not the most helpful message.

In fact, the night I sat down and designed the first draft of Adulthood, it was because I’d spent the morning playing playing Life with our youngest son, and the afternoon playing Ark Nova. From that critically-acclaimed zoo-building game, I grabbed the idea of two scoring tracks that can contribute to victory. In Ark Nova, it’s “Appeal” and “Conservation.” In Adulthood, it’s “Happiness” and “Impact.”

Life Lesson 3: It's Personal

Every player’s score in Adulthood is unique. Some folks will win by having a lot of Happiness (the yellow track). Others will focus on having a positive Impact on other people (the blue track). Your final score is the sum of the two, so you could end up skewed in either direction, but most folks will meet somewhere in the middle.

But you also have three Values that represent your inner sense of purpose, which are unique to you. This is where the old adage “know thyself” comes into play. You start out knowing one of our Values, but you have to spend time on introspection (the Meditate action) to learn the others. The better you understand yourself, the more you’ll be able to optimize your choices to get the highest endgame score. Your Values also determine your compatibility with Partners, indicated by who completes your heart (in the upper right-hand corner).

Life Lesson 4: There's No Single Right Answer

We wanted to make sure this wasn't a game that shows just one perspective on how to live a good life. While there are “Shady” cards in the game that reflect hedonistic or morally questionable choices, Adulthood recognizes that there are multiple ways to find Happiness and make a positive Impact.

There are a few cards in the game that specifically reflect my interests, like the “Community Theather” card. But I didn’t want this game to be too self-centered. Some cards, like “Church” and “Open Relationship,” were inspired by other Brotherwise team members. Others are based on friends, relatives, or acquaintances. Just like in real life, there's more than one way to play.

Life Lesson 5: Make an Impact

I think most people agree that helping other people gives life meaning. But I’ve always been fascinated by the question of how to do the most good. Do you focus on your loved ones or try to help the world? Do you shake the hands of a thousand, or hold the hearts of a few?

Adulthood doesn’t try to provide a definitive answer to that question, but it suggests that both types of Impact are important. You can earn points through community service and civic involvement, but also from cards that focus on family and close friendships.

Life Lesson 6: Don't Worry, Be Happy

To be there for other people, you have to take care of yourself. In Adulthood, you earn Happiness by having fun ...but certain activities have diminishing returns. We tried to (loosely) model what research tells us about actual happiness and mental health.

For example, you can get some short-term Happiness from social media, but it’s a little addictive.

Life Lesson 7: Furry Friends

Speaking of which, research is very clear that pets are good for us. They reduce our cortisol, increase our oxytocin, and have positive associations with community engagement and reduced anxiety.

Pets are a wonderful part of life, even if I’ve never understood cat people. So I'm glad the first expansion for Adulthood is all about pets!

Life Lesson 8: A Means to an End

Having said all this, it's hard to be happy and impactful without the right resources. In real life, wealth has a log-linear relationship with happiness: it plateaus at a certain point, but is pretty closely related to your well-being.

In Adulthood, "Money" won't give you points at the end of the game, but will help you pay for the cards that do.

Life Lesson 9: Be Well, Do Well

This is one of my favorite life lessons, because it’s been the hardest for me to internalize. In Adulthood, spending time on Wellness gives you "Energy," which you spend to play other cards, especially cards related to Creativity.

Even though I designed this, I constantly have to remind myself that it's true in real life. When I’m busy, I have a bad habit of telling myself that I don’t have time to work out. But there’s credible evidence that time spent on fitness actually pays for itself, making you more energetic and creative. I see this in my own life, and this little feature of Adulthood is one I have to remember to take to heart.

Life Lesson 10: Don't Forget to Smile

And of course, research is very clear about the benefits of laughter. Adulthood has you covered thanks to delightful artwork by Tim Brierly.

If any of these cards made you chuckle, be sure to check out timpostscomics on Instagram!

Thanks for joining me on this look at Adulthood, the most personal game I've designed. I think it's a lot of fun. It's the kind of game you can enjoy with just about anyone (though we’d call this one PG-13 for the occasional bit of “adult” humor).

You can find Adulthood at Barnes & Noble, your FLGS, or right here at BrotherwiseGames.com

Have a happy, impactful day!

⌚⚡💵💗😊👍

Meric has worked on numerous tabletop projects, including the Expanse RPG and Star Trek Adventures, prior to joining the Cosmere RPG team. There, he initially held the title of Writer before advancing to the Lead Writer for the Mistborn Campaign Setting. Johnny O’Neal, Brotherwise Games Co-founder and Cosmere RPG Creative Director, had this to say about Meric joining the team:

“Meric has been a rising star since his first days on the project, and has demonstrated a jack-of-all-trades ability to contribute to every aspect of RPG vision, development, and strategic planning. Everyone on our team has loved working with Meric, and we’re thrilled to be bringing him on full-time to direct Plotweaver.”

The plan for Plotweaver is ambitious. Meric will oversee the line development, publishing, and brand management of this new system. One of his main responsibilities will be to plan and implement a community-focused OGL that actively promotes independent content creators. He and the system’s core design team plan to bring Plotweaver to genres and settings that step beyond traditional high fantasy.

Chris O’Neal, CEO of Brotherwise, is feeling optimistic about the future of Plotweaver and Brotherwise. He says, “The Cosmere RPG has been an incredible first step, and I’m incredibly proud of the system our team has created. We can’t wait to see Meric take Plotweaver to the next level!”

• Chris has been working closely with our global fulfillment partners to get Stormlight Premium Miniatures into everyone's hands.

• Hayden has been working on development for new games by two of our favorite designers.

• Johnny has been art directing the first pixel art for Super Boss Monster.

• Jillian is promoting today's US release date of Empire's End and just launched the new Brotherwise website you're looking at right now!  

But the #1 reason we're working around the clock is to get ready for Dragonsteel Con in Salt Lake City next week! This convention unites thousands of Brandon Sanderson fans to celebrate the launch of his newest book, attend panels, and discuss the future of the Cosmere.

We have a packed schedule during the show, including several overlapping events:

Monday

• 10-noon: Stormlight RPG Playtest

• 11-noon: Miniatures Paint & Take

• 11-noon: State of Games in the Cosmere

• 1-3 pm: Stormlight RPG playtest

• 3-7 pm: Epic Stormlight

Tuesday

• 10 am - noon: Learn to play Call to Adventure

• 10 am - 1 pm: Stormlight RPG Live Play

• 11-noon: Miniatures Paint & Take

• 2-3 pm: Miniatures Paint & Take

Most of these events are already sold out, but you can still make it to our two big panels! During our State of Games in the Cosmere panel on Monday, Johnny will be joined by Katie Payne and Isaac Stewart to talk about the art and design for the Stormlight RPG, announce our new deck-building game, and more! On Monday night the "Epic Stormlight" adventure isn't be an official Brotherwise event, but will use the official playtest rules for the Stormlight RPG. Over 100 players will gather for one giant adventure set a year before Way of Kings.

During the event, audience members will be encouraged to donate to the Lightweaver Foundation and the Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital. As we hit charity milestones, we'll reveal never-before-seen art from the RPG -- and shake up the game with some surprising spren activity!

For anyone who can't make it to the show, keep an eye on our social media for all the big announcements and reveals we make during the show. We'll also be recording the live play to share in the future. To those who will be there, we can't wait to see you!