[Design Journal] Battle Cup Preview (100th Post!)

Hey, I thought I should do something a little special for my 100th post, so I created a video previewing one of my games in development. I hope you enjoy. I would love to hear any feedback you may have. Thanks for watching!

[Design Review] Blokus

Hey, I just uploaded another short video review. This one is for the family strategy game Blokus.

[Design Review] Batt'l Kha'os

Posting another video review tonight - this time of the strategic tile-laying game, Batt'l Kha'os.

Tiny Epic Kickstarter

Hey, I just wanted to make a quick post drawing attention to a cool looking game that's currently on Kickstarter. If you don't know what Kickstarter is, it is a website where independent creators of books, films, games, and other similar projects can get the help of others in funding their projects. In most cases, if you donate money towards funding a project, you typically get some reward. In the case of helping to fund board games, you usually get a copy of that game once it is published. Your donation effectively acts as a preorder of the game.

I'm Back and I've Got New Games!

Hey! It has been a long time since I posted anything to this blog. I got married and moved into a new house about six weeks ago, so things have been hectic. I thought I would get back to blogging sooner than this, but it just hasn't been possible. I don't know when I'll get back to posting regularly like I was. I'm hoping to do so in January. In the meantime, I've got some new games and expansions so I thought I would do some "unboxing"/preview videos, since people seemed to enjoy those in the past and they don't require as much work as writing articles. Today I'm looking at Smiley Face and Tsuro of the Seas. Enjoy!

[Design Review] Infinite City

What is Infinite City?

Times are good, the economy is expanding, the workers are pouring in, and the largest city in the world is growing exponentially! Only one corporation can control it all. Will it be yours? Infinite City is basically a game about controlling territory. The interesting twist is that you’re actually building the territory that you’ll control, rather than just claiming it from a pre-made map.

[Design Review] Summoner Wars

What is Summoner Wars?

This is a tactical board game where cards form a major component. Basically, each player gets an army, represented by a deck of cards. Most of those cards are soldiers of one kind or another. You play your soldiers on a board that is a very simple 8x6 grid. You and your opponent take turns moving your soldiers around the board and attacking each others’ soldiers. Each player has a special unit that begins play on the battlefield, called a summoner. If you can defeat your opponent’s summoner, you win the game.

[Design Journal: Terra Machina] Crawling Through the Mines

I’ve been working on Terra Machina for a while now, and I’ve been privileged to have a great group of playtesters helping with this project. The last time we playtested this game, we did a trial run of the game’s Adventure Mode. The mission I’m testing right now has a group of heroes delving into crystal mines where the mechanical drones have been reprogrammed by terrorists to attack the former owners. Overall, the game went well, but we ran into one major problem: the mission takes too long.

[Design Journal: Terra Machina] Adventure Awaits!

Artwork from the Mega Man Zero video game franchise.

In the year 25XX, humans no longer dominate the Earth. Some believe that they went extinct when the world became so damaged it could no longer support them. Others believe they simple abandoned the planet for more fertile lands elsewhere. Either way, they left in their place a hardier species of mechanical men, dubbed the Progeny. Centuries have passed. The Progeny have multiplied and formed their own cultures. Unity City seeks to forge bonds between disparate nations, but the terrorist acts of those with radical views threaten to tear apart this fragile peace…

[Design Journal: Terra Machina] Androids Do Battle in the Distant Future

It is the year 25XX, and the Earth has been abandoned by humans. Nuclear and biological warfare, coupled with rampant industrial exploitation and waste, made the planet uninhabitable for humans. As homo sapiens went into decline, the last leaders of science began developing a race of artificial humanoids to replace them – a more hardy species that could survive the rigors of the barren Earth. These mechanical men and women, dubbed the Progeny, now walk Terra Machina, a land of machines, in place of their ancient forebears. Will they be doomed to repeat the same joys and tragedies of their creators?

For a short while, I’ve been developing this new board game with the working title of Terra Machina, Latin for “Machine Earth” or “Land of Machines”. Thematically, the game takes inspiration from the Mega Man Zero video game series. Mechanically, the game mixes concepts of tabletop miniatures games and card games.

[Game Idea] Mercenaries

From time to time I have a spark of an idea for a game, but it doesn't grow into a full-fledged concept. I'm going to post some of these ideas here just to share these ideas that may never be developed into a finished game. If I get a lot of positive feedback on these ideas I may do some further development on them. For the most part, though, I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on these.

 Working Title: Mercenaries
Inspiration: Modern Art, various tactical board/card games

Premise: In the distant future, it is illegal for any government to have a standing army. So, when conflicts arise, various factions turn to mercenaries to fight their battles. These mercenaries lend a variety of specialized skills and weaponry to the highest bidder.

[Game Idea] Galactic Breakout

From time to time I have a spark of an idea for a game, but it doesn't grow into a full-fledged concept. I'm going to post some of these ideas here just to share these ideas that may never be developed into a finished game. If I get a lot of positive feedback on these ideas I may do some further development on them. For the most part, though, I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on these.

Working Title: Galactic Breakout

Inspiration: Lilo & Stitch, Pandemic

Premise: Alien genetic engineering experiments have broken out of a lab and are running amok throughout the galaxy. A team of specialists have been sent to recapture them before they cost the company too much in damages and bad PR.

Concept: The game is played on a board representing the galaxy, with different planets marked on the map. Each round, the experiment creatures (represented by mini-figures or cardboard standees) move around from planet to planet and cause damage (tracked by tokens on the board) on the planets they move to. The players (represented by different-colored pawns) move around and use actions to repair damage, research the creatures, or apply the data they've gathered to apprehending the creatures. Each experimental creature is unique (one moves more often, one causes more damage, one is more dangerous to apprehend, etc.). Players must cooperate to apprehend all of the creatures before the damage they've caused exceeds a certain limit, and the genetic research company gets shut down.