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!

My Favorite Games for the year 2011

Like most nerd inclined folk, I write a post most years about my favorite games that I played. Typically, these are video games, and typically, they are mostly in line with common sentiment, with the exception of Red Dead Redemption, which was and is total garbage.

Interestingly enough, I didn't really play that many video games this year. Instead, my focus and interests shifted 200% (that's not possible!) to mobile games and my new love, board games. Below is my list of my favorite games for 2011. Note that not all of the games I mention came out in 2011. Board gaming is a fairly new hobby of mine, so I had some catching up to do.

Read on to see my favorite mobile, board, and electronic games of the year.

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?

My Thoughts on Kickstarter

This post may be controversial to some. My intent is not to stir controversy, anger anyone, or be a jerk. I made a comment on Twitter today after reading an article that generated many comments. My comment was that with the huge number of board game projects on Kickstarter and no barrier to entry, this can lead to something bad.

Before I go further, I want to provide some quick disclaimers. This is just my opinion, which is based on my perspective. Your perspective and opinion will be different. I'm going to try to back up my statements with logical thought and examples where possible. That doesn't mean I'm right. In some cases it's purely subjective, in other cases I may have the facts wrong and I'd appreciate it if you would correct me in the comments.

If it helps, my perspective is that of a consumer. I've backed 9 projects on Kickstarter (my profile) and, when the right project loads into my browser, I will do so again. My perspective is also that of a designer. I'd love more than anything to be published. Well, not more than Peaches. But most things!

My thoughts below will sometimes meander beyond Kickstarter, but I think that's a good focus for most of my thoughts.

How My Playtime De-Evolved

A few years ago the entirety of my discretionary income was spent on games for my Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. The entirety of my free time was spent playing these games as well. The only games I played were digital. I sought Achievements and life was good.

Around this time I went on a trip to Australia with Beth and two friends. While shopping in Melbourne, I found a small, hole in the wall board game store. After hours of ogling clothes I didn't want, I escaped into the board game store like Peter leaping into the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis' tale.

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.

Questing Solo

This recent birthday of mine was the first in a long time where I actually asked for something. The result, was that I received several bright and shiny new board games from Amazon. I'll try to write about them all in due time, but today I want to focus on The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game by Fantasy Flight.

This is a cooperative game that can be played solo or with one other. Or, if you have a friend who has a core set, you can play with up to four players. I've played three games so far by myself and all tend to last right at or under 45 minutes.

I've only played 2 of the 3 scenarios that come with the core set, and none of them with another player, but I feel I have sufficient grasp of the mechanics to take a stab at it.

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?

A Dangerous Obsession with Castles, which are in Danger

I bought the oddly named Castle Danger from designer Matt Worden last week. I fell in love with the game when I saw its simple appearance and elegant pieces. It reminded me of Stratego or a classic version of Risk. I loved the aesthetic.

Now that I've had a chance to read the rules and play the game a few times, I also love the game. I'm not going to blather on, as I feel it's a disservice to the elegance of the design. I shall be brief.

The goal of the game is to shoot the other player's King with a cannon. There are a few game pieces that help you accomplish this goal:

• Wizard gives you 3 more moves each turn
• Builder can build or remove protective walls
• Cannons can shoot other pieces and walls
• King should just not get shot
• Walls can protect your pieces (and King!) from cannons

Each turn you get 3 moves, plus 3 more for each Wizard you have. 1 Move is used to take any action. So, 1 move to move your builder, 1 move to build a wall, 1 move to fire a cannon, etc. The final major mechanic is that each turn you may add 1 Wizard or 1 Builder or 1 Cannon. Choose, but choose wisely!

The game has a chess-like feel, without the overwhelming learning curve of chess. I've always loved the idea of chess, but have never been able to grasp the basic strategy. Castle Danger scratches that itch. It's so easy to learn, but has so many strategies to try. The first game I was clearly outplayed and lost. On the second game, I had the better strategy but made one fatal error and my opponent capitalized on the mistake and won.

Both games took right at about 20 minutes, which was perfect. I should add that reading and understanding the rules took all of 5 minutes. 

I am already hungry to play more. I want to find the right strategy and win. Should I start with wizards? Do I turtle up with builders? How annoying would it be if I got out a cannon on turn 1? There is a lot of depth, but not too much, which makes the game so easy to recommend. 

Check out Matt's website here. I also recommend checking out Jump Gate, which one GAMES Magazine's 2011 Traditional Game of the Year. You can also see Castle Danger on Board Game Geek.

Fun Fact: The name Castle Danger comes from a town by the same name in Minnesota. Don't believe me?

New Arrivals from The Game Crafter

I just received an order I've been very excited about for a week or so. I ordered three new games, all of which I have high expectations for.

Castle Danger looks spectacular and is designed by Matt Worden, who's other title Jumpgate earned GAMES Magazine's 2011 Traditional Game of the Year Award. Here's an image of me unboxing it! Castle Danger is a two player game with a Stratego like board. Each player is trying to destroy the other player's castle. The game has a chess-like feel to it, according to the designer.

I also bought a game called The Golems of Ymhet. The game is designed by Tim Mierzejewski, who has been published before by a traditional publisher with his game Malta!

The Golems of Ymhet is a 2-3 player strategy game where the players are trying to defend Ymhet with powerful golems. Unfortunately, one of the player's is a traitor. Such a great premise.

Finally, I ordered a copy of Farmageddon for myself. As I noted in a previous blog, I wanted to make a few final tweaks to Farmageddon to improve the game experience to the quality I desired. I also wanted to improve the rules per feedback I'd received to reduce confusion.

The new game looks fantastic. The cards are pixel perfect, the art looks better than ever, and the game now comes in a really slick box. I'm really proud that I'm able to keep the price at $13.99 as well.

Check it out!

All in all this board game thing has been pretty sweet and good to me so far. Farmageddon has been sitting in the "Best-Selling" section on The Game Crafter for a few weeks now. Feels good.

Can't wait to try Castle Danger and Golems of Ymhet. I have high expectations!

More Nazi Lies: Incursion Board Game Review

I was really excited to finally play Incursion, an independently developed and published board game I bought months ago. The game is developed by Grindhouse Games, founded by two brothers from Texas. I actually found out about the game by reading a Houston Chronicle newspaper clipping my aunt sent me.

The game is set in 1949. World War II still rages and the Nazis have captured British held Gibraltar and turned it into a secret weapons research lab. Basically, the Nazis are straight out of Wolfenstein (zombies, man-wolves, chicks with guns) and the Americans use mechs.

I picked up the $50 game (plus S&H) for a few reasons: The setting looked cool, I love miniatures, they boasted of simple and accessible gameplay, and I wanted to support some indie Texans.

Let's start with the bad!

Farmageddon! On Sale!

My copy arrived in the mail. There was one tiny slip up with the currency, but other than that the print out was just fine. I've updated the game and it's now for sale here for only $14.99 (plus S&H). I am making less than $1 per game sold, so it is the lowest price I can push for the current publishing arrangement.

I also uploaded some more pictures to the Facebook page.

Give it a shot, tell your friends!

Farmageddon! Almost Live...

I am incredibly proud to share the Farmageddon! Facebook page. A real website would be preferred, but I'd rather not get ahead of myself. A Facebook page is free and is an easy way to get the word out.

Also, as of last night the game is ready for publication on The Game Crafter. I haven't flipped the switch for public purchase yet, but I bought the first copy for myself to make sure everything printed out okay and is ready to go. Hopefully around this time next week I can "open the flood gates."

This whole experience has been incredibly fun and rewarding. I created a game by myself, tested it, iterated upon it, and ultimately, created something fun, fast, and accessible. I hired an incredibly talented artist, Brett Bean, and worked with him to create an absolutely beautiful and charming game. If nothing else, the game looks fantastic.

Soon, I can start annoying friends and visiting board game stores to give out free copies and hopefully drive some interest. It's a long shot, but I'd love to get the game published by Gamewright or somebody else. Or, drive enough interest that I can recoup my art costs and develop a real website to sell Farmageddon! and other games. I'd love to take a crack to turn Space Encounters! and Walk in the Rain into something special and worth buying.

Almost 6 years ago I was able to walk into a Best Buy to see my first game, The Sims 2 Open for Business, on store shelves. That was amazing.

This is even cooler.

Evolution, Dinosaurs, and Cave Men

People always seem to be all or nothing when it comes to any debate. You can even see this on user reviews on iTunes or sites like Metacritic: "OMG THIS GAME IS AWESOME - 10/10" vs. "WTF NO OPTION TO PUT PANTS ON MY AVATAR - 0/10."

The game industry, its customers, and its developers are just as bad: PC Gaming is dead, console only. Digital is king, no more brick and mortar. Social is the death of traditional games. F2P will kill pay up front.

I just don't understand these sentiments, especially coming from so many otherwise intelligent people who have created these juggernaut, billion dollar industries. Humanity is highly nuanced. People want different things at different times. Sometimes, the same customer wants different things, much like how we don't eat fried chicken for every meal.

You can see the light at the end of the tunnel

Some scary and awesome things are happening at the moment. I realize most of these things didn't happen JUST NOW but I think the combination of all of them is really cool.

Digital Downloads are amazing for pretty much any medium. I haven't had to go to a bookstore in years thanks to my Kindle/Kindle app. I don't seem to be the only one as Borders is dead. I have bought a large quantity of games the last few years, fewer and fewer at Best Buy and Gamestop.  I haven't purchased a physical music album in years.

Free to play games are also becoming more and more palatable. Sure, the bizarre business strategy from Asia still has some kinks to work through. A lot of MMOs use the shift to free to play to as the final hail mary for a failed game. I'd put Age of Conan, Champions Online, and Pirates of the Burning Sea in that category. Other MMOs, like Lord of the Rings Online have been very successful with it. I imagine niche games like Fallen Earth will prosper and grow more with such a business model. Even traditional shooters like World of Tanks and now Arma 2 are free to play. I know the former is successful and I believe the latter will slowly grow and prosper more with such an offering.