Jo Rothermal

If you’ve spent any time in the Inkwell community, you’ve probably crossed paths with Anastasia, (even if you didn’t realize it). She’s the creative force behind our site, and the steady hand that steers the ship.

Anastasia has been building Inkwell from day one, so we thought it was time to sit her down for a Q+A and finally ask all the fun, behind-the-scenes questions you’ve been curious about!

Where did the inspiration for Inkwell Games come from?

I wanted to bring classic pen-and-paper logic puzzles to a wider audience. There are dozens of amazing puzzles beyond Sudoku, but most people don't know about them. Years ago, I tried to get my mom into KenKen to challenge her brain—I even traded household chores for puzzle attempts, but she'd sneak away when I wasn't looking. Inkwell was born from asking: what if we could make these puzzles accessible and build a daily ritual around them, with the joy of playing alongside your friends?

Whats’s your favourite Inkwell game and why?

That's not fair—it's like asking about a favorite child! But right now I love a Wednesday Fields. It feels like the perfect stretch for me, along with Saturday's Stars.

What other games do you play?

I'm always trying to drag friends into board games—I'm a big Wingspan fan. I also grew up playing classic card games with my family. Now that I'm getting a little more into the digital side of things, I've been really hooked on Nurikabe World lately.

How would you describe your job, and what do you like doing the most?

My job is a little bit of a whole lot of things, and that's what I love about it. One day I might be attempting to design and build a new feature for one of our games, the next I'm writing a newsletter or testing a new puzzle type. I’ve also had to learn how to create videos and do live solves! But my favorite thing is interacting with the community—getting a peek into the world we've built and seeing how much people love our games.

What are some of the things you like to do outside of work?

Anything outside and off-screens. I'm a trail runner and skier, and generally enjoy being mediocre at most endurance sports. I also love cooking and baking and kitchen science projects. I'm going on six years with my sourdough starter, Scooby Dough, and always have some other project cooking in the kitchen.

Which do you prefer, the beach, the lake, or the mountains?

Well, I live in the mountains, so it would be hard not to say that. But I do find that whenever I take a vacation, I'm drawn to the water.

Tell us a fun fact about you!

A lot of the time I can't solve our weekend puzzles—and I'm totally okay with that. I love the challenge, and I've learned to be okay with just stepping away and leaving things unsolved.