Our story
FRIENDS OF THE TABLE is an indie tabletop startup from Melbourne, Australia. Beginning with two friends and a shared love of gaming. We published our first title, Those Who Dare, in 2024 after successfully crowdfunding in late 2023.
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Our Vision
As life-long gamers, we have seen what makes a great game studio. Treating their staff well, communicating with their players, and putting the games first. We are still small today, but our dream is to build a studio where we can design fun, exciting games for everyone while treating our people and you with the respect we all deserve.
Over the next few years we have a lot of big ideas for new game titles. Ranging from outrageous party games, to grand strategy, and roleplaying. We’re working hard to expand our product library and cultivate our team as we learn how to deliver great games.
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Our Design Philosophy
Our approach to game design is player experience focused. Ideas come from everywhere, there are so many cool concepts that could be turned into games all around us every day. But when we start to work on what is just an idea, our first question is “What kind of experience do we want people to have playing this game?”.
What emotions should players feel?
What real life experiences do we want them to be thinking about?
What feelings do we want to avoid in this game?
Once we have figured out the intended experience, we then choose and adapt our game mechanics and story to cultivate these experiences.
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Am I A Friend Too?
We want you to be involved too!
We are a startup and we are definitely going to make some mistakes and get things wrong, and sometimes we might just miss a great idea that was right in front of us. There is a lot we still have to learn about what we are doing, so we love to hear from people. Whether that is feedback, criticism, suggestions, or you just want to say hi and get the inside scoop on what we are doing. So our promise is to always be contactable via email and our Discord server. Reach out to us via our Contact page.
our friends
Studio Director & Game Architect
lukanis james
​As a teen I was an avid player of role playing games. I spent many weekends from morning until night playing Dungeons & Dragons with my friends. About 7 years ago I got back into boardgaming & roleplaying games as an adult. Since then I started to develop my own board game concepts and eventually decided to try developing and publishing them. I have also written a hoard of content for Dungeons & Dragons and other game systems.
Professionally, I am a non-binary, autistic person. I worked in IT as a systems administrator and studied science at university. I also worked with minor political parties supporting scientific literacy and education in Australia for around 10 years.
Now my passions are in community building and supporting causes I care about. I’ve loved gaming for my entire life and have benefited so much from the social bonds and being able to explore diverse worlds and encounters through roleplaying. My dream is to bring these experiences to others in safe and healthy ways, while supporting my fellow Friends of the table to build a stable, fulfilling workspace for us all.
Sales & Customer Journey Steward
Craig Andrews
Hello Friend, your friendly Sales & Customer Journey Steward here!
Ever since I rolled my first D20 playing a Dwarven Cleric (Killoom Gazia once killed a Red Dragon), visited my local Games Workshop (Iron Within!), and installed Age of Empires II (Vikings <3) on my family PC, the nerd life has been for me.
Your Steward spends most of his big boy paid time working in sales for a not-for-profit, which really vibes with a background rooted firmly in social justice. With two degrees under my belt (Bachelor of Arts in History and International Studies, and a Master of International Development Practice), I’ve learned that delayed gratification is just part of the journey, which makes building something meaningful all the more rewarding.
Friends of the Table is built on the idea that great games come from caring about people first, our players, our team, and the experiences we share around the table. My role is to help guide that journey, from first hello to final feedback, making sure our sales, communication, and community always feel welcoming and human. I love that we ask how a game should feel before deciding how it works.
Chief Marketing Officer
francesca chong
Francesca is the creative force behind FRIENDS OF THE TABLE’s brand and community. A marketing strategist and lifelong storyteller, she brings a decade of experience in creative industries to the tabletop space.
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Before joining the team, Francesca built her career in the music world - touring internationally as a session drummer, and the marketing world. Now, she’s channeling her love of creativity and marketing into the world of games.
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At FRIENDS OF THE TABLE, Francesca leads marketing and branding, ensuring every launch feels as human, bold, and full of heart as the games themselves.
Based in Narrm (Melbourne), she’s passionate about building communities that value creativity, transparency, and fun over perfection.