Indie board games made with heart.
Informal Ferret Games is an informal line of games from game designer Gil Hova, designer of the games The Networks, Wordsy, and High Rise.
All games are print-on-demand (POD) from The Game Crafter.
My upcoming games
Bad Medicine (coming within a few months). A small game about big pharma. Pitch ridiculous medications that will treat the conditions caused by your previous medications. A re-release of my first self-published game.
Wordsy: the Delay Timer mini-expansion (coming within a few months). A better way to play with 2 or 3 players. Replace the No-Flip Card with a short timer. The Fastest Wordsmith from the previous round can still flip the main timer, but they have to wait a bit longer. Compatible with both the newer AllPlay and older Formal Ferret editions.
Weird Stories (coming sometime 2026). A one-shot, GM-less/ful, play-to-lose storytelling RPG where players tell stories similar to the films of David Lynch, novels by Haruki Murakami or Jeff VanderMeer, and the TV series Lost. These stories have many more questions than answers, and remain shrouded in mystery throughout. A re-release of my first RPG.
Rough Roads (maybe 2026 if things go well). An economic strategy board game about the real-life plank road boom and bust in the mid-19th century northeastern United States. The best game about the history of road surfacing technology that you will ever play.
My older games
Prolix (2010, Z-Man Games). My first published game, and the predecessor to Wordsy. Fiddly and obtuse. Don’t bother with this game. Play Wordsy, it’s a million times better. Status: Out of print, will not return.
Battle Merchants (2014, Minion Games). An economic game where players are fantasy arms merchants selling weapons to 4 perpetually-warring factions. The base game is pretty mediocre, but the POD New Kingdoms expansion made it a bit better. Status: Out of print, will not return.
Bad Medicine (2015, Formal Ferret Games). A small game about big pharma. Pitch ridiculous medications that will treat the conditions caused by your previous medications. Status: Will be re-released by Informal Ferret Games soon.
The Networks (2016, Formal Ferret Games). A game about running a TV network. Draft TV shows, stars, and ads, trying to gain the most viewers. My most successful game, spawning several expansions. Status: Will be re-released by AllPlay soon.
Wordsy (2017, Formal Ferret Games). A word game for people who like big words. Those 2- and 3-letter Scrabble words will not help you here. The best word game ever made, but I might be a bit biased here. Status: Now available from AllPlay.
High Rise (2020, Formal Ferret Games). A citybuilding strategy game that features tense decisions and opportunity for cunning play. Use the one-way track to commit to building your skyscrapers. Looks great, plays great. The publication did not go the way I wanted it to. I’m very thankful for AllPlay for stepping in and helping me. Status: Now available from AllPlay.
Weird Stories (2021, Formal Ferret Games). My first RPG, but not released widely. It deserved better, so I’m going to give it another try. Status: Will be re-released by Informal Ferret Games soon.