Mike Petty's word-based game, Don-Cha, is a finalist in the 2005 About.com Deduction Game Design Competition. Petty has designed and self-published numerous games, including the hilarious party game What's It To Ya?; he's also involved in organizing the annual Protospiel event for game designers and aspiring game designers.

What's your favorite recently played (for the first time) game?

I'd have to pick James Miller's trick-taking game, Control Nut. The bidding, special cards and the straightforward card play make for a perfect mix. Our first game was tense and built to a great climax at the end. I regret most of my friends aren't into trick-taking games and I don't get to play this one a lot more.

What game do you want to play most that you haven't played yet?

This is a tough question! There are so many games coming out soon that I'm looking forward to. One very inexpensive game I hope to acquire as soon as it's available is The Hollywood Card Game by Michaael Schacht and Bruno Faidutti. Some of my favorite, most played games were created by these two talented designers. Another game they worked on togther, Fist of Dragonstones, never ceases to be entertaining for me, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what they've come up with in this small game from Fantasy Flight.

Please tell us about the process of designing Don-Cha.

When I first read about the competition the theme of deduction games immediately interested me. I have always loved classic deduction games like Clue and Mastermind. Also, last year I had been playing around with a couple designs based on figuring out an opponent's puzzle through questioning. The part of rules for the competition that held me up the most was the requirement to use components gamers would likely have available.

One day, I was discussing the competition with friends and fellow game designers David Whitcher and Clark Rodeffer. Excited about entering *something* in the competition, I got an idea on the drive home to use Scrabble tiles in a 5x5 grid to form a puzzle. That, combined with those ideas I had already been using in other games, developed quickly into a set of rules which I tried out soon after with my wife. That game was rough, but it was fun enough that I wanted to pursue it.

After that, the hardest parts to work out were the method of questioning and the questions themselves. I also had a terrible time coming up with a title for the game. On the night of the competition deadline I typed up the final draft of the rules, but I still had no name for it. Just before sending it off I tacked on the name "Don-Cha" as in "doncha wish ya knew?"

What do tou like about your entry, and do you think there's anything that could be improved?

What I most enjoy is that the information I get each turn involves words, math and position within the grid. I find it an enjoyable challenge to consider all those different clues and develop some hunches as to what my opponent may have created. Then I have to carefully test those hunches with each question I ask. Of course, the fact that my opponent is also zeroing in on my own set of words each turn creates a sense of urgency that makes the game all the more enjoyable.

My only regret is that the game can only be played by two players.

You can read more with Mike Petty in this April 2005 interview conducted by Tom Vasel.