2026-07-21 · designer-study
Inside Michael Brough's Philosophy — Shrink the Board, Keep Only the Choice
A study of Michael Brough—maker of 868-HACK, Imbroglio and Cinco Paus, and the designer whose name became the genre label 'Broughlike'—drawn from four of his own interviews. We read the paradox that shrinking the board sets design free, his obsession with paring a single mechanic down to its heart, the failure of over-ambitious unfinished roguelikes, the dilemmas of commerce versus authorship and his discomfort with violence, and his influences in mathematics and Rogue.