
Hello World,  
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Today I had an interesting realization.  I found myself struggling with a classical pitfall - over engineering.  
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The task was simple. Design a Google Form that can take people’s feedback on my game. Each question should be well-thought-out. It should have a purpose and help solve a design decision in some way. But at the same time, the form should not be too long. After all, Google Forms doesn’t save responses for incomplete submissions.  
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I have a background in data. And so naturally my mind first went into finding ways to ensure high data quality. As they say, garbage in, garbage out. I started creating conditional sections that would ask follow-up questions based on previous responses. I slowly realized that I was making a mess. The first person to test my form was my husband. I had chunked the form into so many pieces that it became cumbersome to click through the sections. And without a progress bar, I could see his patience waning.  
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A compromise was to be made. Give up some data checks and make a more user-friendly form. In the end, I was much happier with this result. Meh, it only took me twice as long as it would someone else.  
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-Vee


Time For Unlearning


Hello World,  
&nbsp;  
It feels like everywhere you look, companies are expanding into games. Just look at **New York Times**, **Netflix**, **LinkedIn**.  
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As of 2025, New York Times is no longer a journalism company. They make more profits from NYT Games than anything else.  

Why Games tho?

Game Prototyping


Hello World,  
&nbsp;  
I'd like to share an interesting story I came across.  
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After the 2001 Attacks, cosmetic company, Estée Lauder noted that their company sales of lipstick went up. Later, owner Leonard publicized the **Lipstick Effect**, a hypothesis that in times of economic crisis, consumers are more likely to buy less costly luxury goods.  
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Instead of buying expensive purses and fur coats, for example, people will buy expensive cosmetics, such as high-end brands of lipstick. The underlying assumption is that when consumer trust in the economy is dwindling, a certain portion of consumers will still buy luxury goods even during a bad economy.  
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Why am I talking about lipstick?  
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Why would this phenomenon be unique to the cosmetic industry? 2025 has been a rocky year economically, thanks to the US Tariff Trade War. So where do people turn to? The answer is **board games**.

The Lipstick Effect


Hello World,  
&nbsp;  
Last month I decided to quit my job. I was a software engineer being paid a comfortable six-figure salary in NYC. I loved writing code but I started feeling like I was stagnating in my role. I took the leap by submitting a resignation letter to my manager and I haven't looked back since.  
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Did I have a plan? Not really.  
All I knew was that this time would never come again, and I needed to make the most of it.  
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My first two weeks were spent enjoying my new-found freedom. Started playing tennis and eating right. It felt liberating to have no responsibilities for once. I felt grateful for the privilege to take this break and lucky to have support from my family. But I also had a lot of free time on my hands and that got me thinking.  
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Younger me always dreamed of starting something of her own. I would always wonder what on earth I could have to offer the world. My passion for board games led me to an answer.  
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On my last trip to Mumbai I played an Indian board game called *Bharata 600 BC* and I fell in love. There had to be a market for beautifully designed games like these. Something that was the perfect mix of strategy and simplicity. With a hint of nostalgia.  
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That's when I started to make a plan for my own board game. I got to work. Without the slightest clue of what I was signing up for.  
After all, if not now, then when?  
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\- Vee

If Not Now, Then When?

My motivation to starting a business.

Time For Unlearning

A little garbage is okay.

The Lipstick Effect

A dive into consumer behavior.