I found this interview with Jason Kapalka to be rich with little game design nuggets.  Here’s an example:

We ended up with a hexagonal grid and that played really well, but the problem was anybody who looked at a hex grid just was turned off right away. So we ended up doing something where we kept the hex grid but faked it.

So the hexes got turned into squares, like little tiles, but they’re offset by 50 percent. And that’s just a cosmetic change, but it actually makes the game much more appealing to casual players.

He also addresses some early issues I’ve been hearing about Puzzle Quest: Galactrix.  Because of that, and the universal nature of some of the design issues he discusses, this interview crosses over pretty well between casual and hardcore.  I’ll be searching out more interviews with Jason to see if I’ve been missing out.

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