Swedish board game studio Ion Game Design has announced that they will be collaborating with critically acclaimed Swedish artist and author Johan Egerkrans on an upcoming dinosaur-inspired board game title. The announcement was made via a Twitter post and includes a short teaser-style video announcing the collaboration.
It was further revealed that Friends of Ion Members Club members will have the unique opportunity to meet Johan Egerkrans on May 15th. While it wasn’t disclosed whether or not the meeting will take place online via the Ion Game Design’s private Discord server, but the Twitter post did state that there will be “fika” – the Swedish equivalent of “tea and biscuits” – so a physical meet-and-greet is heavily implied.
Johan Egerkrans will be working alongside board game designer Jon Manker, who is no stranger to collaborating with Ion Game Design, having worked on High Frontier 4 All and all of its expansion, and the Bion series. It is Jon Manker who will reveal more details on the Johan Egerkrans meet-and-greet. All things considered, this looks to be a closely-knitted team. It is highly unlikely that communication will be an issue.
Ion Game Design + Johan Egerkrans + Jon Manker = A Recipe for Success
Their collaborations with Johan Egerkrans are extremely smart and strategic – the man is an excellent painter and author, in addition to being somewhat of a paleontologist himself. This is evident on his official website, which states: “He is obsessed with paleontology and has to date made four books delving into the natural history of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and other extinct critters.”
This is excellent for Ion Game Design and their future game, as Johan Egerkrans will be able to directly participate in the game design, in addition to providing exceptional artwork for the game itself. Egerkrans has worked on covers, illustrations, and artworks on some critically acclaimed authors and their works, including J.R.R Tolkien, Astrid Lindgren, and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Those of our readers wishing to get familiar with his art can check out his Artstation – dinosaur art included.
Johan Egerkrans is no stranger to the board game world himself. He has worked on the popular title Odin’s Ravens, both the original game and its second edition. It is exciting to see how his art has evolved over the years, and we can only speculate what awesome dinosaurs he will bring to life in the upcoming game.