Oh the Games I will Play

I read a great post on I Slay the Dragon about upcoming games for 2012. Both @FarmerLenny and @FutureWolfie are far more savvy than I am regarding the ways of the industry. Not surprisingly, they are a few steps ahead of me. But since then there have been several announcements and I too now know of a few things soon to be on the horizon.

I thought it'd be fun to write about them. Here are seven games that I think will be really fun to buy and play in 2012. Scroll to the bottom for my top two picks!

Holiday Family Game Recommendations: Crowd Sourced Edition

This morning I asked my twitter feed to provide recommendations for games to play with the family. I had so many great responses I decided to share them here, as well as my own at the bottom. Games that received multiple recommendations were highlighted a bit. All have links to their Board Game Geek entries.

I've actually played the majority of the games on this list and I think it's an excellent list. What do you think?

Say Anything (multiple recommendations)

Flash Point
Carcasonne
Eruption

King of Tokyo (multiple recommendations)

7 Wonders (multiple recommendations)

Telestrations
Money
For Sale

Incan Gold (multiple recommendations)


Bohnanza

Wits and Wagers (multiple recommendations)


Can't Stop
Carnival

Ticket to Ride (multiple recommendations)


Qwirkle
Box of Things
Nobody But us Chickens
City Square Off
Forbidden Island
Tsuro
Archaeology: The Card Game
Farmageddon (somebody else said it, not me!)
Survive!


My personal recommendations were...
Gubs
Drop Site
Dragonheart (super nerdy theme but the game is perfect)
Forbidden Island

I focused on games I actually own for my personal recommendations. I tried to pick the ones I have that are super light or quick to play.

Any others? What did we miss?

Farmageddon Next

The Farmageddon that's published now on The Game Crafter is the one that will remain. I set out to create a game that was accessible, quick to play, and fun for casual gamers, or more hardcore gamers who need a filler game in between the meaty Euro titles. I've had a few great reviews from users on The Game Crafter and ones like this one from Father Geek have started to come in. I feel like some of the goals have been validated by customers, which is the best kind of validation.

But, a lot of these same folks are asking for more. A little more depth and a little more meat to push this past a casual game and into something with more heft. Well, I've been listening and taking notes. I've received feedback from Father Geek, Board Game Reviews by Josh, Dice Hate Me Games, and dozens of my players. Plus, I've thought about what I myself want to see.

Testing, Testing

I've been troubled for a bit about the art for my newest game, Frontier Scoundrels. I'm not an artist and I cannot afford to pay an artist again. I went all out for Farmageddon's visuals and I feel I got more than my money's worth. But, that's expensive and until I get published or find someone willing to work for free, I need another solution.

Immediately, the choices aren't great. I can draw, which is a horrible idea. Or, I can use public domain images. After all, many folks do this and I'm making a game about history. But, I feel if I'm going to sell this game for any amount of money, I need to give people something somewhat special, even if it's not a Fantasy Flight caliber production.

One option...

I had an idea based on claymation and simple art projects, like dioramas, from elementary school. I thought I could use simple shapes that I could draw, easily identifiable scenes, and put it together in a way that's unique and charming. Here's what I did:

Step 1
I sketched it. If I could draw something somewhat decent, that was progress. I chose the Hardship card called "The Fort Clatsop Decision?" I thought a snowed in log cabin would be good. I played around with shading certain portions and keeping it simple. I was actually pretty happy.

Step 2
I drew it on my sketch book. Plain white background. I picked a handful of colors (light blue, black, brown, white, yellow, and green) from my heap of construction paper, then cut out the shapes. I placed them in the proper layering order (like in photoshop) and glued them.

I then went back and added subtle accents. Tiny black slivers to separate the logs. Blue to accent the snow. Yellow to accent the tree.

Step 3
I scanned it onto my computer. I cleaned up some of the rough spots.  I then minimized it and put it onto the card.

So, what do you think?