Philippe Thibaut: I have always been very interested in that key era of world History (mid to late 18th century), where the balance was tilting undecidedly one way or another. If fortune had swayed the other way round, we might well be doing this interview in French for instance. In fact, I am looking for unusual themes also to bring the story to the forefront and try to find the fun behind the books. That’s one of the reasons I did Great Invasions, a period of time where a good part of the world we live in today has originated.

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Great Invasions

ACG: All of your titles involve history to some degree. Do you have any formal training in history or was there something else which has driven you to design games set in these diverse periods of time?

Philippe Thibaut: I have an MBA and 20 years professional experience in international trade. But History has been a passion since I was a kid and still is. Reading History always made me dream. Similarly, confronting different books and writings told me there are so many diverse opinions and analysis of the same historical event that it could well has been the result of a game, which could have been different. So I guess the desire to create these games comes from the urge to explore other alternatives, but within realistic patterns. Something you could call “What if….”

ACG: Does Birth of America share anything in common with any of your previous games? Is there any comparison with Europa Universalis for example?

Philippe Thibaut: Both games share in common the time period and a long story of personal historical research, but also the possibility to rewrite History on one side, while staying within the bounds of plausibility on the other. I guess BoA is more accurate as far as North America is concerned, especially in the way warfare was conducted there in the late 18th century.

ACG: I can see you are involved in all aspects of this new game — including forum support, press contacts, and of course working on the code. Are you finding it difficult to be so involved in many different parts of a game company?

Philippe Thibaut: Yes, this is crushing… Seriously, I feel it is important to get the feedback of the players and stay in touch with them, because their input is a must for designing our next (and hopefully successful) design. At some point of course, I’ll be a bit less present on the forum and press, which will be a good hint that another of our games is looming over the horizon…

ACG: We know you are deep in the middle of Birth of America but have you looked ahead to your next title yet?

Philippe Thibaut: I am already working on the next title, and we hope to have it sometimes next fall. In fact, we have a range of 6 or 7 titles in the pipeline. The next one will be set in Europe and should please our current customers too, as it will bring the same challenging gameplay as BoA. I have also been working for over a year on a grand game covering the 1850-1920 era, that should try to give the same level of simplicity and pleasure as our first game, but with a lot of extra features…

ACG: Birth of America seems to have a growing following, judging by your forums and positive word-of-mouth elsewhere. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on what makes Birth of America so special, and why gamers should go check it out?

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