Cell Block 18 was loosely inspired by the old jailbreak movies of the 60s and 70s. Think The Escape from Alcatraz (1979)  with Clint Eastwood.

With that in mind, I knew from the start I wanted the game to be asymmetric, and since I was limiting myself to 18 cards, I decided it made sense to go with only 2 players.

Since prisoners work in secret to plan and execute their escapes, I decided the Prisoner would play their cards face-down. Meanwhile, the Warden's actions are face-up and much more reactive, as they essentially defend against the Prisoner and try to stop their escape. The prison is depicted via three rows in the center of the table, with the players playing their cards to the rows as they work against each other.

The prisoner also has more cards at the start of the game, 8 versus the Warden’s 5, but the Warden has more options in how they play and move their cards compared to the Prisoner, who primarily just plays a single card face down each turn.

As I mentioned, the game was in part inspired by old movies, so for the Prisoner cards, I tried to distill the essence of those movies. The Prisoner is trying to get a set consisting of clothes, tools, and one of three escape methods: Rope, Raft, or Tunnel. Mimicking the most common methods you see in old films.

For the Warden, I started with the two guard cards, giving them the ability to either search or block card play, which I felt fit the role of guards. The guards can also move about the prison, giving the Warden some flexibility. Then I thought about how a prison might secure itself against the three escape methods I had chosen. Thus, I devised the reinforced walls to stop the tunnel, underwater spikes to pop the raft, and razor wire to prevent using the rope to climb the walls. Naturally, these improvements to the prison can’t move, so they only limit escape using those methods from specific rows of the prison.

The Art

Going back to the themes that inspired the game, I really loved the sort of cutout pop art that was used on the covers of some mid-century pulp novels and in the front credits of some crime and spy movies of the 60s. A. Giroux translated that style amazingly to Cellblock 18. Creating these beautiful and unique looks for each card.

Another aspect of the art design was the iconography. I really wanted this game to be essentially language independent. No text on the cards. Between the clear icons and clean layout, she really knocked it out of the park. Once you know how to play, the game plays quickly and easily without having to read anything.

Thanks,
David