Designer Spotlight: Ben Doeckel
This month, our “Community Architects” series continues with Ben Doeckel, a designer who uses his diverse background in visual storytelling and UX design to create tense, shifting alliances in the world of tabletop gaming.
The Game: Relics of Ruin
Ben is the architect behind Relics of Ruin, a semi-cooperative deck-builder where your best friend could become your greatest enemy in a single turn.
- The Hook: You enter the dungeon as an alliance of convenience to collect Power Crystals. However, each player’s progress is partially hidden—leading to a constant question of who you can actually trust.
- The Twist: The first player to awaken an ancient Aionite Relic transforms into “The Chosen One”. Mad with power, they become a high-level dungeon boss, and the game shifts into a “one-vs-all” Final Battle.
- The Goal: Win as a Hero by purging the dungeon of evil, or win as the Chosen One by destroying your former allies.
5 Questions with Ben
1. What motivated your passion to create games?
“Growing up, my brother and I played tons of board and video games together. We loved searching for unique exploits or creative ways to win and I think that sparked my interest in how games work. Years later, after tinkering with Magic: The Gathering ‘Cubes’ and some of my own custom formats, I wanted to create something original that I could enjoy playing again and again with family and friends.”
2. Tell us about the game you are working on right now.
“In Relics of Ruin, you cooperate to survive a dungeon while racing to awaken a powerful ancient Relic. Once someone succeeds, they transform into an evil demigod. It creates this wonderful tension where you’re working together, but you’re always looking over your shoulder.”
3. How has your background helped your development?
“My career has spanned broadcast news, film production, special effects, and UX design. Decades of communicating stories through different mediums primed my brain to tell stories through game mechanics. My UX background specifically makes me focus on the overall player experience—from the very first play to total mastery.”
4. What have been your biggest challenges?
“Knowing when a game is ‘ready’ and avoiding endless iteration. I’ve found that self-imposed deadlines are sometimes a necessary forcing function to complete a project. Streamlining my workflow to iterate quickly was a hurdle at first, but putting in the time to optimize that process has really paid off.”
5. Anything else you’d like others to know?
“Join us for a game! We have an amazing community of playtesters here in Tucson and online. You can find us at www.playrelics.com, join our Discord, or follow the journey on Instagram @playrelics.”
Note from Binary Cocoa: Ben’s ability to weave narrative tension into a deck-building engine is masterful. Relics of Ruin perfectly captures that “Aha!” moment of a tabletop betrayal. Check out his community and see if you have what it takes to resist the temptation of the Aionites!
Next Month: We’ll wrap up our series with Rob Peters.
