Canopy: Evergreen – Interview with the Designer

Canopy Evergreen is a really cool card drafting and set collection experience where you will be planting and growing trees on your own personal board. The experience and components look fantastic, so we were instantly intrigued! We asked designer Tim Eisner a few questions about the game, check them out below! You can check Canopy Evergreen kickstarter page as well for additional details.

1. Can you give me an elevator pitch for Canopy: Evergreen? For our readers, if you would say it’s like any game (or a mixture of any game) what would that be?

Canopy: Evergreen is a rainforest growing game set in the Pacific Northwest. Players collect a mix of plants, wildlife, weather and tree cards to grow a bountiful rainforest. It features a unique card drafting mechanism, set collection and growable 3D trees. It draws a lot of inspiration from both 7 Wonders and Sushi Go with the added spatial element of the trees and unique abilities from wildlife.

2. I know Canopy: Evergreen is an extension of the work you did on Canopy. What was your inspiration for creating these games? 

I started with the drafting mechanism, which I originally learned as a 2 player drafting variant for Magic: The Gathering. In this style of draft you have a chance to look at up to three card piles each turn, but each time you pass a pile you add a card to it. This had a very organic feel to it and made me think of growing things. I was at the same time becoming increasingly concerned about climate change and it seemed like a great idea to make a game about rainforests.

3. There have been an abundance of nature themed games on Kickstarter in the last 12 months. Why do you think that is?

I think the answer is two-fold. First, the success of Wingspan, by Elizabeth Hargrave showed that the theme of nature games is very accessible. Secondly, I think nature games offer players and designers a connection with the nature world that is sorely lacking in our highly digitized age. I think we may be approaching peak nature game and that other genres and themes will likely come to the forefront, but as a designer I always love be inspired by the natural world in my designs.

4. This is the 7th campaign you’ve run via Kickstarter – what have you learned from the previous 6 to make this campaign the best it can be? 

So many things! It has been a wild ride and I’m always learning more. I think my biggest lessons have been to engage the community. I really like to take crowdfunding seriously so invite backers to help create cards, or suggest new species to introduce into the game. I also have learned to really listen to backer feedback. Even if something isn’t possible for the current project hearing what backers want and what they are excited for makes for better campaigns.

5. I looked at your previous projects. It is obvious that sustainability and protecting the environment is a KEY pillar of your company’s philosophy. Where did this strong desire come from? 

I’ve always loved hiking and being out in nature, but it wasn’t until I started working on Canopy that I realized that I could and should meld that with my designing and publishing business. I’d been designing games for about 6 years and was really enjoying it, but with the increasing threat of climate change I was seriously considering changing careers to try to have a more direct impact. But then I realized that as a designer and publisher I have a decent sized platform and ability to connect with an audience. I also hadn’t seen many other publishers that were working to make games in a more sustainable manner and wanted to see if that was possible.

6. The Treetop Bundle ($85) includes a deluxe version of Canopy on top of the Deluxe version of Canopy: Evergreen. Is the original Canopy currently easily available outside of this campaign?

Yes, we just got the 3rd printing of Canopy back in stock. It should be available at many FLGS and online sellers and on our website.

7. Where can people follow you on social media?

Tim Eisner Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/tim.eisner

Tim Eisner Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/timeisner1

Weird City Games Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/weirdcitygames