I have the privilege of talking to Jordan Plosky of Zoop Games today, publisher of Hack/Slash: The Card Game, their first and fourth release, as it happens—yes, its getting a second edition, which I’ve talked about elsewhere . In between, Zoop Games has published deck builders based on the Care Bears and Zenescope’s dark fantasy comic book series, Grimm Fairy Tales, both of which have been incredibly successful.
Welcome, Jordan.
Thanks, L.N.! Great to chat with you!
We’re here to talk mainly about Hack/Slash: The Board Game. Cassie Hack and Vlad are great characters, but how did you come to select the comic book theme for the game? Were there any other contenders—or would you prefer to keep that a secret for future games?
First and foremost, I’m more of a comic nerd than a gamer, I hope that’s all right! Zoop started as, and still is, a full-service crowdfunding platform that focuses on comics and graphic novels. We worked on a successful campaign with Hack/Slash creator Tim Seeley on another of his titles, and when it came time to really think about licenses and IPs, Hack/Slash was at the top of our list. It has been around for over 20 years, with a built in fanbase that also is crowdfunding savvy. Great title, characters, art, genre, and fanbase. We felt it checked all the boxes!
How did you get from the comic book to a successful game, and what was the reason for choosing this particular game mechanism?
Well, with crowdfunding, its all about the crowd”, and Tim and Hack/Slash have that fanbase to build off of. In terms of the game mechanism, we like Deckbuilding because it was a fully complete game, without having to continually buy new items. As a bit of a gaming newbie myself, I felt the deckbuilding game is an easy entry point, because you can focus on a core game, without having to worry about all the other things you might be missing. You have a complete experience that works for gamers of all levels.
The first version appeared late last year; what led you to create the current Kickstarter project for a second version?
Right, so we did our first campaign for Hack/Slash on our own Zoop platform in October/November 2024 and it performed moderately. It was our first gaming campaign, AND the first on the Zoop platform. We thought that there was still a lot of fans out there who would love this game, but maybe we didn’t reach them, and wanted to bring it to the Kickstarter audience. I’m glad we did! As of this writing, we have another 260 people who are going to get this game! We also learned a lot the first time around, and made some changes that we think will be better for the game and fans!
What was Tim Seeley’s reaction when you first suggested the game? Did he need much persuasion?
Tim is admittedly not a game guy”, but he’s had some of his work turned into TV shows, toys, and other mediums, so he was all for seeing his creations reach out to those who might not be aware of the comics. Fans of horror, slasher films, b-movies, and other genre related medium, that are also gamers would be a perfect fit for this game.
Has Tim had any influence on the direction of the game?
Well, the narrative of the game comes directly from the comics, so in that way, yes, his influence is all over the game. But as a licensor, yes, he has approvals on everything we do, and has been on board with how we’ve been doing so far!
The campaign ends on November 20. What happens then? Is the hard part over and its merelymanaging production and distribution, so you get a bit of a rest?
This is actually a hard part of the campaign to be honest! Dealing with the pledge manager, add-ons, making sure were on time with our schedule, and that everyone gets the correct items in their packages! Its all the little things that you really have to be on top of in order to properly deliver for the fans! There is NO rest period!
The worlds economy is a bit wobbly at the moment, with prices of everything hurtling upwards (and lets not mention the T-word)—what impact has that had on your ambitions for Hack/Slash: The Card Game and beyond?
I think its actually humbled us a lot. Meaning, we’ve tempered our expectations on our financial goals, because we see the news every day, of people losing their jobs, others struggling to get by, and realizing that buying a game might not be peoples top priority at the moment. So, for the campaign to be doing as well as it has been already, we are truly grateful that there are still people out there that want what were putting out!
What’s next for the game? I see you’re dropping additional material as the campaign passes stretch goal targets, but will there be more after the campaign ends? Further expansions, perhaps.
We have 3 expansions so far and 2 stretch goals announced, with more to be revealed! Were constantly iterating to make the best experience, and provide value to our backers. So, if we keep growing our funding, we’ll keep adding value to the stretch goals!
Please tell me Pooch is in there somewhere. He’s got to be my favourite character from the comic books, but I cant imagine him being much of an asset—what role does he play in the game?
Pooch is indeed in the game, though I cant remember exactly how we have him positioned! But yes, as a fan of the series, I agree that he’s a great character. To be fair, we did limit the heroes to Cassie and Vlad, so there’s not a lot of room for an ally like Pooch, but you do get to see him in the game!
What’s next for you—are there more game ideas waiting to burst out of your head? Can you give us any hints?
We have more IPs and licenses that were in discussions with, and some varying game mechanics for those. Not just sticking in the deck building space but venturing into other types of games.
What else can you tell us about Jordan Plosky, the person outside the game industry? What do you do in your spare time, if such a thing exists?
Well, I’m a dad first and foremost, so shuttling my kid around to school and all her other activities. I’m a pro-wrestling fan, comic nerd, and punk rock enthusiast.
Where can we find out more about you and your work?
The Zoop website is www.zoop.gg, and you can check out our other campaigns at:
Thank you, Jordan Plosky. It’s been a pleasure talking with you.
Pleasure speaking with you as well! Thanks for the chat!
About the Author:
When not playing boardgames or blogging about them, L.N. Hunter keeps himself occupied writing fiction: a comic fantasy novel, The Feather and the Lamp, sits alongside close to 100 short stories in various magazines and anthologies, and on websites and podcasts (see https://linktr.ee/L.N.Hunter for a full list). L.N. occasionally masquerades as a software developer or can be found unwinding in a disorganised home in Carlisle, UK, along with two cats and a soulmate.
