wizard is Oz: Dungeons & Drinking; Interview with Jason Anarchy, the Creator of Drinking Quest:The Original Drinking RPG

If you enjoy tabletop RPG games with some alcohol thrown in the mix, then Drinking Quest is the perfect game for you. Created by Jason Anarchy, the Drinking Quest series has spawned three successful games, a strong and passionate fan base, and even a comic book that's on ComiXology. CBNAH staff writer Panagiotis Drakopoulos spoke with Jason Anarchy to talk about the genesis of Drinking Quest, challenges of doing Kickstarter, crazy anecdotes and more!

CBNAH: You had a successful Kickstarter campaign for the Trilogy Edition. For you, what were some of the challenges of doing a Kickstarter and what's the update on the project?

Jason Anarchy: The main challenge was just doing the day-to-day work with the Kickstarter. Things like finding relevant daily updates, figuring out logistics and answering questions. It’s a busy month for sure. Fulfilling the orders is something we do pretty regularly already so that part we’re pretty comfortable with. The update on the project is that it’s currently being printed, the game will be even better than promised and everything is on schedule ☺

Jason doing a game demo of Drinking Quest.

CBNAH: Let's start at the beginning, what made you want to create Drinking Quest?

JA: Drinking and gaming with your friends is always a recipe for a great night. I was always an alpha DM who would make his own game systems for fun and then a friend randomly suggested combining the two things (while we were drunk from free Scotch at a wedding no less).From there my business management background with my gaming background seemed like a good mix to make the series successful.

CBNAH: For our readers who are unfamiliar with Drinking Quest, what's the story (or the world) of the series and a quick tutorial of the game?

JA: The short hook is that it’s a Drinking Game and a Tabletop RPG. It plays like a simplified Dungeons and Dragons but when your character dies in the game you have to chug your drink in real life to continue. The entire game is built around that mechanic and it works really well. Also it’s a pretty ridiculous premise so it’s a heavy comedy RPG too.

CBNAH: Can you take us through the process of how each game is created?

JA: 1.) Figure out the title and broad hook 2.) Figure out mechanics and gameplay 3.) Draw up card summaries of what each card does, how it contributes to the game and why it’s funny 4.) Work with an artist to draw up awesome and hilarious artwork to bring that to life 5.) Format each card individually with the new art 6.) Proofread and rewrite like a mad man 7.) Send to printers 8.) Ship to savvy gamers

From the Drinking Quest Comic Book #1 by Jason Anarchy, Stoorat Paterson and Atzomatic

For Drinking Quest: Trilogy Edition there were 220 cards each one with original artwork so there was a huge amount of formatting and proofing this time.

CBNAH: Before the release of the first Drinking Quest game, were you at all nervous about sales of the game?

JA: Not really, no. I knew no matter what I did there would be “some measure of success” and that would be worth the budget I had saved up for it. It was more important to me to do work as a game designer and comedy writer. I would figure out the logistics of selling once I had the games printed. It definitely took off faster than I thought, there were sales from the first day the site went up.

CBNAH: After the Kickstarter the Drinking Quest trilogy, what are your future plans?

JA: I’ll be pushing Trilogy Edition pretty hard for the foreseeable future. Also the world will live on with new stories through the comic book. From there I have other non-Drinking Quest work lined up but nothing I can reveal at the moment. Also I’ll be doing a lot of conventions so people can see me around. The next three are Toronto Fan Expo, Gencon Indy and Edmonton Comic Con.

CBNAH: What's the perfect beer to use when playing Drinking Quest and what's the strangest anecdotes from fans about playing the games?

JA: Best beer… whatever fits your tolerance. It’s different for everyone.

Strangest anecdote…I can tell one involving myself. I was playing a game in a pub in Boston and definitely had a few pints. I was leaving the bar and I was wearing a backpack and was holding some banners which were my whole set up that night and as I was leaving my backpack knocked over some guy’s full pint of beer and it went all over the table. This was the one guy in the bar who happened to be doing some accounting work or something and it looked like I really ruined his night. Anyway the sort of drunk version of myself felt bad and didn’t know what to do so I gave him a signed game saying “Sorry for fucking up your shit” – Jason Anarchy.

I either made a new fan or a new enemy for life that night.

CBNAH: What comics, films, novels or shows have you been checking out lately?

JA: My favourite comics I’ve been reading lately are Batman, Thor: God of Thunder and Saga. These will go down as legendary runs of comics.

The last three movies I watched were Guardians of the Galaxy, 1989 Batman and the new Trailer Park Boys. All were awesome for different reasons.

Haven’t watched a lot of TV since Game of Thrones ended for the season but I always watch a lot of 60’s Star Trek when I need to be in my happy place.

CBNAH: Finish this sentence – Comic book nerds are hot because…

JA: … they flex the biceps of their imagination.