Stories

Katie Hayoz was born in the USA but has lived more than half of her life in Switzerland. She writes for all ages, from children to adults. She has a penchant for writing weird, silly, or scary stories and often tries to combine all three.

1) How did you come up with the idea of "tackling" a myth like Heidi? And why did you mix it with fantasy?

Heidi has been retold many times by many different people, so taking on her story was nothing new. However, those retellings are usually similar to the original. I wanted to take...

Can you introduce yourself in a few words and explain how you decided to become game authors?

Happy parents of 3 children. We live in the west of France, near Nantes. We have a lot of ideas and we decided a dozen years ago to put these ideas into concret actions... together! We experimented this creativity on many different supports, then one day, our first game idea came quite naturally. We then worked a lot on this idea. We loved this experience, other ideas came little by little. And, a few years later, our first game were published. Today, we have the chance to work as boardgame authors, together and full time.

Where...

Heddi Nieuwsma moved to Switzerland from the United States in 2012. Since her arrival, she has developed a passion for Swiss cuisine, which she wants to introduce to other countries with something other than chocolate and cheese. Via her blog «Cuisine Helvetica», she shares recipes, stories and travel experiences. After «Swiss bread» she invites us to discover Switzerland through 45 desserts.

How do you usually pick or collect recipes for a book?

First and foremost, I want to pick recipes for foods that I love to eat myself. Then, because I always try to show the diversity of Switzerland, I strive...

Photo of the authors by Thibault-Casier.

Both from Lausanne,Valeria Aloise and Margot Tissot tell us about the birth of Dogs who work project: an illustrated book dedicated to the jobs of our best friend.

Valeria, I heard that you have a dog named Arnold and that it was him who inspired you and Margot to write this book. What does Arnold do for a living? And why did you choose this name anyway?

VALERIA : I have a 9 years old French bulldog. He helped us to find the idea of the book... I explain: with Margot, we really wanted to make an illustrated book about dogs... But we...

A few weeks ago we all went to the backforest, a great occasion to talk about books and game but most of all to  strengthen the link between the team members, to know each other better, have fun and talk about futur of Helvetiq. 

 ...

Who is behind the new After Dinner game Barrakuda? We asked a few question to its creator Isaac Pante...

Kids love to play. Playing games is great for them. Tabletop games make a great starting point for anyone on this mission. But, as a parent, I noticed 7 tricks that really help to get the little ones hooked...

For four years, Bandido tried to escape from prison all by himself - and the mission of the game was to prevent that by closing off every tunnel. Now he gets support. Bandida, the female escape champion, turns the roles of the game upside down. Hadi Barkat, founder of Helvetiq, explains how this sequel came about.

 ...

Summer time is game time. But what’s a fun game without the appropriate music? Here are some suggestions from the Helvetiq team: songs you should definitely listen to while playing the games - and the dangers that come with them....

Have you ever been so frustrated at work, that you just felt like making a mess? Tay Boon Keh, baggage handler at the Singapore-Changi airport, was in the same predicament, and did not hesitate. Dissatisfied with having to frequently carry the luggage with only the strength of his arms, one fine morning, he decided to change their arrival destinations, creating a huge chaos in the airport. In Captain Bluff, our new game created by Torsten Landsvogt, you can slip into the shoes of this baggage handler....