danbullock.bsky.social
Designer of historical games (1979, No Motherland Without, Bowie, & The Gods Will Have Blood) Game Design Deep Dive pod. Former Scarring Party bandleader. he/him š³ļøāš
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We havenāt been informed about Vassal, but they generally put multi-player mods up soon after release.
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I saw them for the first time at Primavera in 2023. They were excellent, so it may be worth it.
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I bought this for Ellie, because it said ages 9 and up. Now, I'm a little worried.
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Are there any English copies available? I'm subscribed on BGG, but it's mostly speculation
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I love that kids can crowdfund tours across country and use GPS to get to each gig. I had mapquest printouts, but people still bought records thenš¤·
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Agreed. There are certainly degrees to consider (as in murder). Blocking opportunity is viewed less harsh than stealing resources, which is less punishing than killing pieces or razing things your opponents have built over multiple turns. The proportionate cost of each is def a design consideration.
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Lol, yes it does... Thankfully, most settings show players more grace than Alpha Complex.
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Did you play RPGs?
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A game without player elimination is sometimes a game devoid of mercy
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Emphasize what you want players to experience on their first play. You can have depth, balance, and reward the deeper dive, but if the first play doesn't land, they won't come back.
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Every iteration lowered the barrier to entry at the cost of chrome rather than depth. Tension in play should arise from the uncertainty of your opponent's motivations, not struggling with a complex game state. Players can't observe their opponents with their noses buried in action menus or rules.
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To make it work, the game needed 1) a less cluttered game state and 2) a core loop that was easier grok. For cards, it meant making most events less specific. A card about a labor event in Colombia, would now be playable in any nation, but the flavor text would highlight the historic event.
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After more testing with notable figures as events, players were still struggling through the draft. For some demos, I skipped it to save time. However, the draft was necessary for the design - affording players agency over the #/type of actions taken & events on the fringes of the model.
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Now, I could substitute writing out Authoritarian and Democratic on the event cards and action menu with the icon, so players could discern at a glance both the game state and utility of a given card.
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To model governance, each nation had space for a leader card with unique abilities. It was excessive and too much info for testers. In subsequent plays, I axed these leaders and created events for a handful of figures. Governance became a token on the board which aligned w/ iconography elsewhere.
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To limit AP and focus players on only a portion of the menu at once, I broke each action into a suit: Political, Force, Labor, and Export. Every turn players were allowed 2 actions in the suit of their card or 1 of any other.
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Happy birthday! Some may find comfort in only taking stock of their lives one day of the year instead of two.
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Phantom Ink is a stunner. Party games are not my thing, but when the āspiritā first knocked on the table, my heart just about stopped.
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Years ago, a friend described her ideal game (non-confrontational, cute strategic games) as āFromageā, a then unreleased, imaginary game about making gourmet cheese and selling it. I may need to buy her a copy.
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I think some affection for long games is actually nostalgia for a time in our lives when we had more opportunity to play long games. The glut of 90min games neglects that great play experiences come in a wide variety (similar to adherence to three act structure in film).
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Solo is as the DPRK, which is the hotseat player in 2p. The 2p emphasizes the order of events and how long they remain in play (especially for the West). The solo game has a compelling narrative, but Iām sure most players never touch it.
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I try to stick to red/more red
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Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage is EPIC. If you want the most elegant- one that punches well above its weight, I highly recommend Sekigahara.
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This is still on my list. I never played Judean Hammer, so the system will be fresh for me. How similar are they?
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I did try it! It's wild that I had never seen a design tackle labor organizing, and then I played three just a few weeks apart.
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I had never heard of this company, so I will definitely need to check it out.
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Five Tribes, Way of the Dragon, Theseusā¦ there are some good ones. Worker displacement is the element I thought weād see more of after Five Tribes. It feels like it would be resonant in a game about labor or emancipation.
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Marvelous idea! CONCEPT: a solo trick-taker for those who enjoy social games best alone
DESIGN: The game is ONE TRICK PONY. You are a buster breaking in horses by introducing cues, saddling, steering, and riding. To stay in the saddle, youāll need to lead hands and take every trick but one.
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Donāt get me wrong- I want everyone to make their things. I just happen to also hope that those things are weird and say something about them.
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Anytime a new one hits the table, I ask "Is this better than Cat in the Box?"
PS> none of them are ever better than Cat in the Box
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Do you read many AAR or reviews of games you have no intention of buying or playing? I do it quite often.
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All of that Sheepshead from growing up in Wisconsin may have pushed me to the breaking point earlier than most.
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