duBarry Games

Winning the Revolution

2012-01-11T22:43:00.000-05:00

Just the other day, Phil Reed of SJG asked me to write a short article on Revolution! strategy. Of course, I jumped at the chance--it's one of my favorite topics! Now that I've had some time to really reflect on the game and read various theories on BGG, it was nice to tie it all together into a little package. The article is called Winning the Revolution. What do you think? What's your favorite strategy? Got any good tips or tricks? And let me again thank you all for being such great fans of the game--you guys have helped the revolution swell to unforeseen heights of chaos and glory!

Christmas Gaming

2011-12-30T11:51:00.001-05:00

I got three very nice games for Christmas this year. Here's a quick summary of my initial thoughts.

1. Dominion: Hinterlands - We only got to play one game of this. We used all new cards, so it was a bit confusing at first. The game was fun--this is the first game we'd ever exhausted the entire Silver pile! I'll have to try the other cards out when we get back from our trip.

2. Eminent Domain - I had been wanting to try this deck-building entry for some time. Our first game was difficult and full of errors, but still pretty entertaining. We started figuring it out by the end. A few days later my daughter and I played it again. She still hasn't got it down, but I started buying lots of the tech cards and ramping things up. Final score was 44 to 22, with Isabel declaring that she would never play again. Maybe she'll come around. Bottom line: this is a good game with lots of interesting mechanics but it has a bit of a learning curve for new players. Multiple plays are required to figure it out. But it's really quite fun after that!

3. Quarriors! - I was just curious enough to put this on my list. First off, I hate the theme. It looks like playing Pokemon. I'm nearly 35. I'd feel really dumb playing Pokemon. That said, Quarriors is pretty fun and quick. I'm curious to see how the expansion plays . . .

In addition to the new games, we also continued our fascination with Pirate Dice. I have two sets now, so we can play with up to eight. It's become our party game of choice. Highly recommended, especially for new players!

Hope you have a great new year--see you in 2012!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T14:32:00.001-05:00

Wishing you and your family a very geeky Christmas and a happy new year! And happy holidays to you other fine folks! See you in 2012!

Tiger Stripes 20% Off Sale!

2011-12-08T11:22:00.001-05:00

In honor of Isabel being on TV (for just a few seconds at the end of the clip), we are offering a 20% discount on Tiger Stripes. Have any kids or grand-kids learning about addition and subtraction? Get them a great Christmas gift for just ~~$14.99~~ $11.99 plus shipping! This deal is good until December 16.

I Hate It When

2011-11-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

. . . this happens.

You design a game (or at least come up with a cool new idea), and then someone else beats you to the punch. Keep in mind, I'm not accusing anyone of theft or anything. I believe this is a total coincidence, but enough of a coincidence that I wanted to share it with you.

I have been shopping around a game I call Square Off for a couple of years now. The other day, I learned of a new product from Gamewright called City Square Off. The games are nothing alike--it's only the names (and logos) that are similar. Or is it just me?

Anyway, it's just weird. Now to think up a new name.

Checking In

2011-11-21T22:08:00.001-05:00

In case you haven't noticed by my total lack of posting, I've been swamped lately! A combination of substitute teaching, family projects and some fresh design work as kept my nose firmly against the grindstone. So, here are a few random and/or interesting bits of news:

I helped organize a program for Nation Game Day at my local library. Unfortunately, only one kid showed up! :( I'm choosing to put the blame for this squarely on the lack of advertising by the library and the insanely beautiful Saturday afternoon weather.

Saturday, Isabel and I participated in a little Dominion tournament at Gateway Games. Isabel had a better score than I did and just missed second place by a few points. Very nice time regardless!

Also, BGG.con just wrapped up down in Texas. James of Minion Games was able to attend and gave me a good report of the demos he ran of Kingdom of Solomon. However, we recently learned that Ludofact will not be able to ship all our games (my game and two others have to be shipped in the same load) for a bit longer. This means the boat will be a bit later and then US distribution will be a bit later. Right now it's looking more like January or even February before the games make it to local stores and people's doorsteps. We are so sorry to be missing the holiday season--and extremely sorry to disappoint anyone's gift-giving plans.

Let me leave you with something nice: I have become a diehard fan of the Ludology podcast. These guys do the Game Tech feature on the Dice Tower podcast. The show is fantastic--you almost need to take notes! If you're a game designer, or just curious about game mechanics, give it a listen.

The Essen Aftermath

2011-10-28T20:53:00.000-04:00

So Essen has come and gone. And I didn't get to go--but enough whining! Kingdom of Solomon had a very nice debut. From the pictures and personal accounts it looked like the demo table saw non-stop action (and with people waiting). Sales were acceptable-to-good, and the game made #15 on the Medium Traffic column of GeekBuzz! Not too shabby with all the fierce competition and fatter marketing budgets at the show.

The next stage involves snagging some reviews followed by US distribution. The boat will soon be on it's way, so we're looking at only a few short weeks before the first US copies make it over--including mine! Kickstarters will be first in line once our ship comes in. If you got a copy at Essen, we need you to rate it and maybe write a brief review or session report on BGG. Every little bit helps!

One final note today. The final version seems to contain only 10 of the 16 Temple Tokens that ideally should be in there. They did put in 16 white cubes (Temple Blocks) to track the progress of the Temple, but we don't have 16 of the tokens (featuring the High Priest). This really does not affect the game much at all--many games will not even require all 16 tokens, as players often chose the VPs over the token. Even so, we apologize for this oversight. See the ongoing BGG thread for more info.

Since it will be impossible for us to provide extras at this time, this leaves you with a few options. You can simply limit the tokens to 10. Or you can use tokens from another game, pennies, etc. Or you can print a few more using this high-res official PDF. My preference and intention was and is to make 16 tokens available. Again, we are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Thanks for your continuing interest in Kingdom of Solomon! We are looking forward to introducing more and more gamers to this great new experience. And look for even more new-game-related news coming in the next few months!

The Emotional Roller Coaster of Game Design

2011-10-20T15:22:00.000-04:00

Minion Games is reporting significant sales of Kingdom of Solomon at Essen. Woo-hoo! Looks like the booth is getting a lot of traffic. FYI, KoS should be in the USA at the end of November/beginning of December, just in time for a certain major holiday . . . All this brings to my mind the wild ride often involved in game design.

At the start, excitement is high--you've just had an amazing flash of brilliance! Then comes the first prototype. Blah--it doesn't really work. But there's still something there . . .

Next you work and work to smooth rough edges and get the game into a somewhat playable state. Finally, you can play the game from start to finish! Now the real playtesting begins.

People give you "constructive" criticism. Yuck. Like bad-tasting medicine, it must be endured for healthy design. And your game gets better. Now to find a publisher.

It's a good game, but no one has time or money to publish. So you try harder and finally get a bite. Hooray! If it's a smaller company, get ready for even more work--endless editing and revising. And it takes much longer than you think--seriously, when will the art be done!?!?

By the time all this is finished you are almost tired of looking at your game (almost). You start thinking that people don't care about your game or it's not as cool as the other new games (really people just don't know about your game--very different). But the game is published! People actually buy it! Happy times are here again!

Now you have to keep marketing and doing demos for people--more work, but it's cool. And so there it is, some days are good some are long and tedious. But if you keep working, one day you look up and it turns out you've come a long way--and that feels awesome!

Inspiring Reads

2011-10-14T15:41:00.000-04:00

I've just finished several really great leadership and entrepreneur books. If you have any desire whatsoever to create products (games?) and/or start a business or even get a promotion, you should check some of these out.

The first was Good To Great by Jim Collins. This one is a little old (pre-2001), but still contains many timeless truths.

Next was EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan, and this book did not disappoint. It walks you through how to set up a business and lead with integrity and passion. Lots of great ideas even if you don't want to be a CEO.

Finally, I just finished The Other 8 Hours by Robert Pagliarini. This book encourages you to pursue a better life with the hours you normally spend watching American Idol and playing Minecraft (I only do one of those activities, BTW). He outlines several different ways to super-charge your income potential.

One very clever bit of advice from this book: how to get necessary services to move your business venture forward but without shelling out lots of money up front. Pagliarini gives the example of needing a new website. You find a great company, but they will charge you $5,000 to build the site. So instead of paying this large amount, you offer them $500 now plus 25% of all ad revenue up to the $18,000 level. This is worth exactly $4,500--the balance of the service. But then you also offer 15% of all ad revenue up to the $168,000, 10% up to $618,000, 5% up to $2,418,000, and 1% up to $15M. The deal is capped at this point.

What this means is that this web company gets $500 now, a great chance at getting all their money, plus a decent chance to make lots more. And a small chance to make a small fortune (possibly around $300K). You can see how this sort of thinking could be applied to all sorts of other business arrangements, both to hire new partners and to do work for others.

So what are your dreams? Turn those dreams into goals and get moving today!

Cincinnati Comic Con

2011-09-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

I got to attend the second annual Cincinnati Comic Con this year at Duke Energy Center. Unfortunately, I only got to be there until noon, and my few pictures of the event were somehow erased from my camera (must have been that faulty restraining bolt). It seemed like lots of people were there--more than last year (when it was at the Cintas Center). The gaming area, sponsored by Yottaquest, was slightly easier to find, though still a bit out of the way. But it was much bigger, so that was good.

I got to show Kingdom of Solomon, Tiger Stripes and Revolution!, running one actual demo of the latter before I had to go. I was able to get one of the Yottaquest guys (Scott) to help demo for the rest of the day, but I haven't heard how this went yet. Also, I got to meet Katie Cook and see lots of cool comic-related stuff in the main hall. If you missed it, you should definitely think about stopping by next year!

Tweaking the Temple

2011-09-07T09:30:00.002-04:00

Just days (hours) before the final printing, we have decided to make one final adjustment to Kingdom of Solomon. The Temple will now have six extra spaces to fill. During our demos at GenCon, we ran into a few people who got carried away with building the Temple even against their own interests. Just because it was there. This led to a shorter-than-expected game and an unsatisfying experience for all.

A quick recap: The game ends on the round when either all eleven building sites are filled, or when one player places all five of his buildings, or when the Temple is completed. Having the most Temple Tokens (gained by helping the build sections of the Temple) also gives a player control of the High Priest and 20 VP at the end. So rushing to complete the Temple might seem attractive, but is usually not best way to score points.

I'm still convinced that players would never repeat this mistake in subsequent games, but in this world of thousands of new games, one play might be all my game gets at some tables. Therefore, we added more spaces. Now even all the players working together cannot complete the Temple in fewer than four turns and are far more likely to have a "full" game experience. This change will not necessarily add any extra length to the game, as the other two end triggers remain unchanged. Playing time will still normally fall into the 60-90 minutes range.

Also, checkout the new BGG microbadge!

One final note: If you will be attending Essen 2011 and would like to preorder KoS and pick it up at the show, use the code PICKUP11 at checkout and you will not be charged for shipping. The current preorder price is $44.99! Visit Minion Games for more details.

Games For Sale

2011-08-17T08:55:00.000-04:00

I currently have some interesting eBay auctions going. If you're looking for a few more games at great prices, you might want to check them out. Thanks!

Hansa Teutonica, Alien Frontiers (crazy to be selling), Mousquetaires du Roy, and Chicago Express Narrow Gauge & Erie Expansion. Some of these are really great games, but space must be cleared and funds must be raised!

Also of interest: Dice Hate Me has started up their Carnival Kickstarter today. They may actually make their goal on the first day! Definitely worth a look!

Gateway Games and the Gamerati Tour

2011-08-10T09:32:00.000-04:00

Last night I attended the Gamerati Tour event at Gateway Games. Ed Healy had visited Yottaquest that morning, and he was pretty jet-lagged (car-lagged?) from his epic trek. Even so, he seemed to enjoy playing my game and interacting with the other people. The turn-out was fantastic--lots of players and lots of industry people! I got to run three demos of Kingdom of Solomon and even sign two copies of Revolution! (one of which was purchased during the event). Other games played included The Resistance, Ticket to Ride and Mesopotamia. And some RPG action. Here are a few pics:

GenCon Photo Wrap-Up

2011-08-06T18:50:00.001-04:00

I made it back today from a great trip to GenCon 2011! I spent two fun-filled days working the Minion Games booth and the exhibit hall and demoing Kingdom of Solomon. The latest word is that it will be available at Essen (October) and shipped to the US soon after. Unless things come together just right (or wrong) . . .

I had some really exciting success with pitching several of my new prototypes. More news on that score to follow in the coming weeks. I also bought the 7 Wonders: Leaders expansion. We played this afternoon and had a blast!

Here are a few picks from the show:

This is one of my "biggest" fans.

This is our booth, just chock-full of newly- and soon-to-be-released games and designers. I like it better when people don't look at the camera.


Some of the great (and odd) art at the show.

I finally got to meet THE Steve Jackson! He is pictured here with his trusty Bottle of Quenching.

Here I am with Tom Vasel and Eric Summerer of The Dice Tower Podcast. If you don't already listen, you should! Very cool guys . . .

Thursday evening I got to have dinner with some very special Kickstarter supporters, Jed and Ashley. They really helped us out with our funding--thanks, guys! And they're also very cool people.

Vader was in the house.

The softer side of Vader.

One of the biggest games at the show was Fantasy Flight's new Star Wars game, X-Wing, coming next year. Looks pretty neat--you move and fire just like in the movie!

Friday, Jed and Ashley got to play their first game of KoS, along with two other guys. All the demos seemed to go very well--we had no trouble finding extra players when needed!

This game featured the highest KoS score of the con: 171! I watched him do it, and I still don't quite understand how he pulled that off. Well done, sir.

So, that's just a sliver of my experiences this year at GenCon. Thanks to all the folks who played a demo of KoS--it was a lot of fun!

Preparing for GenCon

2011-08-02T17:36:00.001-04:00

I've been frantically printing, gluing and cutting in anticipation of GenCon 2011. Meetings and demos have been scheduled, plans have been made, cars and hotel rooms have been borrowed. I plan to be at the con all Thursday and Friday, mainly working the Minion Games booth (#1352). Please stop in and take a look at Kingdom of Solomon. An improved demo copy will be on display. You will also be able to sign up for a full demo at various times. I even made a custom KoS T-shirt! Stop by and say hi!

I'll also be hunting down more publishers with my bag-o-prototypes. Wish me luck!

Gateway Games Grand Opening

2011-07-08T22:34:00.001-04:00

Tonight I attended the grand opening of a new game store in Cincinnati: Gateway Games & More. It's a small store, but it's tidy and sharp-looking. I got run a few nice demos and meet lots of new people. Here is a shot of my setup:

We played two 5-player games of Revolution! with the Palace expansion. Everybody seems really into it. I also got to play about five games of Tiger Stripes with the kid from the next store over. If only his mom had been there, I'd have closed that sale . . .

Here's one of the more interesting patrons. I'm about 40% sure there was a costume contest going on during the grand opening. Sometimes it's hard to tell with this crowd--but I love 'em.

Several other were being played during my few hours at the store. Thanks to Todd (the owner) for letting me come and demo/pass out flyers. He sold his only copy of Revolution! and I got to sign it. :) It's amazing to me how many people have still never heard of Revolution! but end up really enjoying it. I need to hire Randy to make another nation-wide tour . . .

Beyond Monopoly at the Library

2011-07-07T23:38:00.004-04:00

Today I had the opportunity to do a board games program at my local library (Green Township, for you locals). I'd like to thank the staff, and especially Natalie Fields, for smooth and flawless logistical support! I also need to thank my brother-in-law, Aaron and two of my daughters for their help teaching all the games. We had around twelve tweens/teens/parents for this two-hour event (called Beyond Monopoly: An Introduction to Eurogames). As you can see from the pictures, everyone had a blast.

This was my first group. We played 7 Wonders twice, and the girl in the red won both times (and I was playing in the second game)! They loved it!

These girls had just finished a spirited game of Carcassonne. They really got into it.

Aaron led a game of Revolution!, losing pretty badly to one of the little girls pictured (he did come in second, but I couldn't resist the dig)! This game was also a big hit.

My group then moved on to The Settlers of Catan. They caught on almost immediately and just ate it up. While they didn't quite finish this one, they all said they really enjoyed it.

Another group formed to tackle Forbidden Island. Amazon currently has this for 13.00--what a steal! This game also didn't get finished, which was probably good. Things were not looking good for our intrepid explorers!

Finally, Isabel got in quite a few plays of her Tiger Stripes game. She even made a sale to one of the librarians! BTW, Isabel is now officially past the break-even point and into the black! Sweet success!

We just had an amazing time introducing these wonderful games to a very enthusiastic group of library patrons. Perhaps more of these opportunities will show up in the future . . . For those interested, here are a few more fantastic games we didn't get a chance to try: Tobago, Dominion, Pandemic & Ticket to Ride.

Kingdom of Solomon Tops $10K on Kickstarter!

2011-07-05T08:59:00.002-04:00

The Kickstarter campaign has come to an end. What an amazing adventure! All the pledges more than doubled our original goal of $5,000. We ended at $10,020. Thanks to all the many people who made this possible! Now to get it to the printer and into the hands of gamers.

In case you didn't make it into the KS, you can still preorder Kingdom of Solomon from the Minion Games website. By doing so, you'll be getting one of the first games available--faster than your FLGS or other retailers. Thanks for your support!

Happy Birthday USA!

2011-07-03T23:08:00.003-04:00

Game Presentation Next Week

2011-07-01T14:56:00.003-04:00

Next Thursday I am scheduled to do a game-related presentation at my local library. If you live in the area, it will be at the Green Township Branch from 2:00-4:00. I will introduce modern eurogames and then we'll play some of the games. And I got to do a cool display in the lobby!

I'm also making some arrangements to attend the grand opening of a new local game store near Eastgate Mall called Gateway Games. Great name! I believe there will be prizes. Maybe I can get in a few demos of Revolution! and Kingdom of Solomon.

Last, but not least, Kingdom of Solomon will soon be wrapping up its stint on Kickstarter. In fact, only a few hours remain! Sign up while you still can to be first in line for shipping and get the promo card and other bonuses--all for less than retail!

Origins Recap

2011-06-27T08:33:00.004-04:00

Origins Game Fair 2011 has come and gone! I had a great time again this year. I took my brother-in-law Aaron (his first con!). I think he had an okay time. This is a shot of the Minion Games booth where Kingdom of Solomon was on display. I got to explain the game to lots of convention-goers and hand out many of my Kickstarter flyers. More on that later . . .

One of the highlights of the con was meeting Chris Kirkman of Dice Hate Me and his buddy Shawn. They played Kingdom of Solomon and seemed to enjoy it--despite my utter inability to resist crushing newbies. After that, we cracked open Revolution! with The Palace expansion. A few more people got to jump in this one, including John Moller of Cartrunk. David from Clever Mojo Games even played a round or two while Chris briefly stepped away. I had a blast hanging out with these guys!

Of course, one of the main reasons I attended was to pitch some new prototypes to publishers. This turned out very well. I got some significant interest in four of the five games I brought. More announcements to follow--I hope!

I also spent some time at the Jolly Roger Games booth. They had my Family Vacation game on display. We put some final touches on the contact for this. It's looking like we will be doing a Kickstarter campaign to get this one going in the near future.

While at Origins, I bought two games: Dominion: Cornucopia and Alien Frontiers. I've played just a little of both and am very happy with my purchases! All in all, it was a great con!

One final note: Kingdom of Solomon is still up on Kickstarter for 6 MORE DAYS. So far, we have over 100 backers and have raised over $7,300 (nearly 150% of the original goal)! Thanks to all my supporters. There's still a little more time for you to climb aboard. Pledging on our Kickstarter will ensure that your copy arrives much sooner than anyone else, and you'll also get the promo card and have access to some other cool rewards. Don't miss your chance!

Origins Is This Week!

2011-06-20T14:21:00.000-04:00

Many last-minute preparations are being made for the Origins Game Fair in Columbus. I will be there Thursday and Friday. If you are going to the show, look for me at the Minion Games booth and see a demo of Kingdom of Solomon. My other new game, Family Vacation, will be on display (in prototype form) at the Jolly Roger Games booth. I will also be in the Board Room at night giving demos and playing games (and maybe pitching other prototypes). I might even be playing some Revolution! this week . . .

In other news, the Kingdom of Solomon Kickstarter campaign has reached 130% of the funding goal with 13 days to go. You still have time to make your pledge (guaranteed now) and grab some cool rewards, as well as to be one of the first to get the finished game!

Kingdom of Solomon Reached Its Funding Goal!

2011-06-09T23:48:00.000-04:00

We reached our funding goal tonight for the Kingdom of Solomon Kickstarter campaign! But that doesn't mean it's over--you can still make a pledge and take part in helping this game come to life. You also have an extended opportunity to snag some nice rewards at the higher levels. Thanks to all the 60+ people who have already signed up--I really appreciate your pledges and I (along with Minion Games) look forward to delivering a fantastic product to you as soon as possible!

If you'd like a sneak peek at the game, we'll be doing demos every day at Origins later this month. Minion Games is in booth 129 this year. Stop by and check us out. We'll also be available each night at the infamous Board Room.

I may also be slipping over to the Jolly Roger Games booth (114) to demo my next game, Family Vacation. Just thought I'd mention that . . .

Kingdom of Solomon Podcast & Blog Coverage

2011-06-06T23:21:00.000-04:00

Chris at Dice Hate Me (and his trusty sidekick) mentioned Kingdom of Solomon during the latest podcast on Kickstarter projects. I am a big fan of this podcast and enjoy listening to it--they always discuss interesting topics and great games. And the "controversy" was mentioned. :)

Kingdom of Solomon was also featured on Death of Monopoly, another blog I follow. And I just discovered this lengthy article on Cartrunk Entertainment. Very much appreciated, guys!

Quick update: We are currently at 75% of funding!

One last thing: If you haven't seen it yet, check out my new KoS game play video.

Tearing Down the Idols

2011-06-01T14:34:00.000-04:00

My designer diary for Kingdom of Solomon kicked off quite a controversy. A cry has gone up against our inclusion of an Idol space on the board. Comments and emails poured in urging us to purge our game of such paganism. Well, not exactly--several commentors politely suggested that we reconsider our use of a morally-ambiguous (at best) element in a game with great appeal to Christians and Jews.

As one of those aforementioned Christians (and a Bible-believing, serious one, at that), I was a bit perplexed. I guess I'm just very secure in my personal commitment to eschew all idol worship. I viewed the Idol space as an addition to the game's theme. After all, Solomon did turn to idol worship at the end of his reign. But the comments continued. Even some of my non-Christian friends agreed.

Finally, James Mathe, head of Minion Games, decided the sensible thing to do was to make a change. And I agree. There's just no reason to ignore this much vocal opposition against something that will be so easy to change. At the end of the day, I have to consider that this is a bigger deal than I thought it was. As I said in the comments on BGN, I certainly don't want to be seen as promoting idol worship or needlessly offending whole groups of people.

Therefore, the Idol space will soon become the Altar space--the good kind, such as would be found in the Temple. The people have spoken and we have heeded their call! We hope this change will help the game reach an even wider audience. And thanks for all your support during the beginning of our Kickstarter campaign--we are nearly 50% funded in less than a week!

Designer Diary on BGN

2011-05-30T18:35:00.002-04:00

My designer diary was featured on BGN today! The game also made CUBO online magazine (Spain). The Kickstarter campaign seems to be off to a good start. We are currently approaching the 25% mark. Tomorrow I plan on running a demo at Yottaquest and making a video of the experience. Very soon we will be posting rules. In the meantime, hope you are having a great Memorial Day. God bless all our servicemen and women, past and present!

Our Kickstarter is Live!

2011-05-27T17:24:00.000-04:00

That's right! Kingdom of Solomon is now available for pre-order/support at Kickstarter for the next 37 days. Our goal is to raise over $5,000 to offset printing expenses. As part of the campaign we're offering a special promo card, signed copies and even dinner with the publisher and designer (that's me) at Origins or GenCon. Help us spread the word about this cool new game. More images, videos and updates to follow!

Kickstarter getting a Kickstart

2011-05-25T09:13:00.000-04:00

The original plan was for our Kingdom of Solomon Kickstarter campaign to begin in June. However, it looks like we may start it up at the end of this week! The only final pieces of the puzzle are the cover and the board. Here's what the cards will look like (nearly finished version):

Stay tuned for more announcements, updates, art, game components and video.

Approaching Kickstarter

2011-05-11T22:42:00.000-04:00

In a little over a month, Kingdom of Solomon will be available on Kickstarter for 30 days. Minion Games currently has Venture Forth up during May. It's making progress, but we could use your help, too. Check it out. The Purple Pawn just put up a fantastic article based on surveys of past Kickstarter clients. If you are considering starting your own campaign, this is a MUST READ.

I'm currently trying to figure out some cool extras to sweeten the deal once Kickstarter begins. If you have any ideas, I love to hear them!

In other news, my wife posted her favorite 30 games on her blog, Candid Diversions. Fortunately, some of my games made the cut . . . :)

Catching Up

2011-04-27T10:33:00.003-04:00

So, what have I been up to lately? For one thing I just returned from driving my family out to the West Coast and back (to Cincinnati). We hit Denver, Las Vegas (to visit my sister-in-law) and San Diego (to visit Sea World).

Game-wise, we've been putting the final touches on Kingdom of Solomon. The art is very close to being finished and layout work has begun. We are still shooting for a GenCon/Essen release. We will also be doing a 30-day Kickstarter campaign in June--prepare to hear lots more about this in the near future!

Meanwhile, I've been preparing my two new prototypes for prime time (along with a few others). I've already made an important appointment for GenCon! Lots to do at the summer cons this year . . .

Also I've been playing quite a few games of 7 Wonders. This one is a very cool game--a must-have. I also bought Cargo Noir (which I plan to sell soon) and Hansa Teutonica (which I fully intend to actually play at some point).

Saturday I will be attending the 9th annual Axis & Allies Spring Gathering hosted by my buddy, Greg Smorey. Unfortunately, my love for A&A has diminished over the years (or maybe only my available game-playing time). However, non-A&A games will be featured. Plus, Isabel will get a chance to sell more Tiger Stripes there. Maybe I'll post a few pictures from this event. Guess that about wraps things up.

Nice Board Game Segment on CBS

2011-04-13T23:13:00.000-04:00

Dice Tower Video Review of The Palace

2011-04-09T14:05:00.000-04:00

Tom Vassel and his new sidekick review Revolution: The Palace for the Dice Tower--two thumbs up!

Tiger Stripes in Taiwan--Almost

2011-03-08T10:03:00.000-05:00

Tiger Stripes was mentioned by a blogger in Taiwan. Unfortunately, he hasn't ordered one yet--I can't image how high that shipping charge would be! But, anyway, we thought it was cool. Google translator did a fair job of interpreting if you're interested in reading it.

Moving Along

2011-03-01T09:29:00.000-05:00

Just checking in. I've been putting a bit more polish on the Family Vacation series soon to be released by Jolly Roger Games. All the updates were sent last night, so now I can finally start finishing my two new games for Origins. Both are nearly done but need upgrading and streamlining.

In other news, Isabel is right at halfway through her stock of Tiger Stripes. There is still time for you to get that order in!

Speaking of orders, I put in another game order myself at Coolstuffinc. I'm getting 7 Wonders, Hansa Teutonica, Cargo Noir and Tichu. Two are preorders, so who knows when they will ship. At least I wasn't foolish enough to add Dominion: Cornucopia to the list!

Kingdom of Solomon Prototype Board

2011-02-13T22:39:00.000-05:00

James put this up on his Minion Games FB page, so I'm guessing it's cool to post this picture (here and at BGG). This is the latest version of the Kingdom of Solomon prototype game board. The final version will (I hope) look much nicer!

New Game Announced: Family Vacation

2011-02-12T13:32:00.000-05:00

Today the new Board Game News blog at BGG carried an announcement of two upcoming games from Jolly Roger Games, one of which is my Family Vacation (previously American Vacation)! Production prices and a few other odds and ends are still being figured, but it looks like things are starting to move. After all, I just got the BGG page up last night! Here are a few pictures of the original prototype:

Keep in mind that these components will most likely go through some significant changes before the final game is released. In other news, Isabel's game, Tiger Stripes, was mentioned on the Purple Pawn blog! She has been doing a good job with sales since the launch last week. There's still time to order one!

Purchase Tiger Stripes

2011-02-10T10:31:00.005-05:00

Use the PayPal button below to purchase a copy of Tiger Stripes for $14.99 plus $5.00 shipping. If you would like to buy multiple copies with combined shipping or if you live anywhere outside the lower 48 United States, send an email to dubarrygames@gmail.com to request an individualized invoice. Thanks!

Tiger Stripes Arrives!

2011-02-09T22:26:00.003-05:00

The UPS truck dropped of these two large boxes this afternoon. Isabel's 50 copies of Tiger Stripes have officially arrived! We opened up a copy to check it out--very nice job by Blue Panther.

The pre-order discount is still available until February 11. After that, I'll put up a PayPal Buy button. Isabel is pretty pumped about the whole process. She's committed to hand-drawing a little tiger on each receipt--just to say thanks.

Below you can see some pictures of the final product. The cards turned out very well and the tiger stripe tiles are made of real wood!

The finished box (it's a very snug fit, so be gentle when opening the first time).

Here are all the components. Your box will also include a plastic bag (big enough for the cards and wooden stripes). It also contains an insert that doesn't work all that well but is not really needed anyway.

The first game was mailed today. It will soon reach Isabel's

great grandparents in Kentucky who paid in advance.

The Original Prototype

2011-02-04T20:51:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture of Isabel's original Tiger Stripes prototype. Quite a lot of it carried over into the final version. Click to get an enlarged version.

Tiger Stripes Video Demo

2011-02-03T23:38:00.000-05:00

Here is the promised video demo of Isabel's new game:

And we have news that the games are officially on the way via UPS. The preorder window will close soon, so act now before they're gone!

Tiger Stripes Pre-Order Info

2011-01-25T20:14:00.002-05:00

Starting January 26, 2011, Tiger Stripes is available for pre-ordering. The regular price for the game will be $14.99 plus $5.00 shipping to the lower 48 states (USA only). If you are close enough to pick it up and pay cash, the price is $13.99. Shipping to other countries will be considered individually.

However, during the pre-order period of January 26 to February 11, 2011, you may sign up for a $1.00 discount. Simply email your name to pdubarry@fuse.net with "Tiger Stripes Preorder" in the subject line and indicate whether you need shipping or will pick it up. The people on this list will receive a PayPal invoice around February 14 and will have until February 28, 2011, to submit payment. After that the discount will be over.Keep in mind that this is a limited run of 50 copies, so get yours while you can!

Cool Tutorials

2011-01-25T12:04:00.000-05:00

I just read some cool card-making and counter-punching tutorials at Boardgameinfo.com. Very nice techniques illustrated and explained!

Also, Isabel and I attended a Game and Toy Industry Professionals meeting organized by Michelle Spelman. Thanks for putting that together, and thanks to all who let Isabel show off her new game!

Revolution: The German Version

2011-01-18T19:35:00.001-05:00

Steve Jackson Games sent me a copy of the German version of Revolution! (by Pegasus Spiele) today. So the girls and I took it for a test run tonight. As you can see, not all of us are quite paying attention! I am very pleased with the quality of the components and the artwork is growing on me. Not being able to read (much) German was not a hindrance to playing because of the well-thought-out symbols. Nicely done!

The Boxes Have Arrived!

2011-01-13T16:44:00.004-05:00

Here is a picture of Isabel with her new shipping boxes (all carefully recorded on her Excel spreadsheet). All she needs now are the finished Tiger Stripes games and about 50 people to mail them to!

Tiger Stripes!

2011-01-06T23:37:00.000-05:00

We just sent Isabel's first game in to Blue Panther for printing. I figure we can surely get rid of 50 copies, right? She's invested her own money in the project and will reap the rewards (if any--I constantly warned her!). Either way, it's a great life lesson. Anyway, it's a quick children's game that involves some easy math. We'll be saying a lot more about this game in the weeks to come! Our first game under the duBarry Games label! Woo-hoo!

Goals for the New Year

2011-01-04T17:07:00.000-05:00

First off, what did I (and/or my kids) get for Christmas? Forbidden Island turned out to be pretty cool. We gave this to a cousin but my parents also gave it to me! Race For The Galaxy: The Brink Of War has yet to hit the table because I don't have the other expansions yet--turns out you need them all to make it work. This will be remedied during my upcoming birthday (3 weeks away). The girls got Carcassonne - Princess and Dragon Expansion which was fun but made them angry. Maybe that will pass. They also got a few Lego games. So what about 2011?

Kingdom of Solomon should be finished soon even though James Mathe of Minion Games has just launched a new board game rating and review site called Board Game Info. Pretty exciting stuff!

I am currently in the process of lining up files to send to the printer for two small self-published titles: Tiger Stripes (by my daughter) and Square Off. There's still quite a bit of work to do to make that happen.

Jolly Rogers is having trouble keeping down costs on the game I gave them, so I may have to do some re-engineering to make that one work out.

Two other big games have nearly reached the completed prototype stage. These will both be ready for Origins, along with the game that didn't find a home last year. I will almost certainly get at least one or two more ready during the course of the year.

And I may have a few surprises in the SJG direction. We will see . . . Best of luck in 2011!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight (Christmas Eve) I'm going to try to play one of my prototypes and either Tobago or Pandemic. Tomorrow will probably include Dominion and whatever Santa brings. What are you playing this holiday season?

Kingdom of Solomon

2010-12-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note in case you missed it. Kingdom of Solomon is my new game coming in Q2 2011 from Minion Games. We already have a BGG page with a few teaser images on it. Stay tuned for more updates.

Ready For Christmas

2010-12-15T22:10:00.000-05:00

Christmas is nearly here. I've bought several games for presents this year--mostly cards games, Lego games and Forbidden Island for a certain relative (hope you're not reading). Should be a very Merry Christmas!

In other news I've been involved in tweaking the rulebook for Kingdom of Solomon. The art work is dragging along but progressing. We are currently discussing card layout. The "official" layout guy won't be free to do his thing until mid-January, but I'm guessing the art won't quite be done by then anyway.

Also, my daughter, Isabel, has made a nice little children's game called Tiger Stripes. I got a quote from Blue Panther to make 50-100 copies at the beginning of 2011. I'm going to have Isabel pay for most of it (she's loaded) and keep all the books, etc. This will be a great learning experience! And she might even make a few bucks if all goes well.

I might also be doing a small run of my simple puzzle game called Square Off. I really don't want to be a publisher, but this will be a true turnkey solution. No more cutting and gluing in the basement to fulfill orders! I'll let you know how this all goes in the weeks ahead.

Guess that's about it. Have a Holly Jolly Christmas! Play some games!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-21T21:16:00.001-05:00

Since I will be traveling all week, I thought I would wish everyone and early Happy Thanksgiving! Also, look for an announcement from Minion Games this week. Some teaser art from my new game should be coming your way very soon!

In other news, my Hippodice entry did not make the cut. They got 190 submissions and took 50 (I think). They said, "This years´ limit was at a mark of 2,67 on an 6-mark-scale." Not sure what that means, but maybe I've give it another shot next year! In the meantime, I happen to have a really cool game just itching to be published . . .

Anyway, hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving. Ever if you're not American. I'm sure God occasionally blesses people from other countries, too, so be thankful! And eat some turkey!

Revolution! Castigated On BGN

2010-11-19T11:04:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe that's not exactly the case. Apparently, BGN contributor Kris Hall had a really, really, bad experience with Revolution! recently. He managed to score only 30 points in his first game. Having played my game hundreds of times, I can attest to the fact that this can certainly happen once in a while--people can just get brutally trounced. Does this happen because the game is completely random?

A commenter had a similar experience, noting: "To me it seems that the best strategy to have in this game is no strategy at al, just place your tokens randomly." He is both right and wrong. There is no "best strategy" in Revolution! except to stay under the radar and avoid too much direct confrontation with the other players. If you develop too strong of a pattern (particularly from game to game), the other players will (or should) punish you for it. The corresponding maxim to this is that any strategy will win if left alone for long enough.

The key to Revolution! is that you are not really playing the board as much as you are playing the other players. It's not a question of the best move, but rather a question of what the other players will do. As Wil Wheaton has noted in his BGG rating comment, Revolution! should be played like Poker. Not everyone likes Poker and not everyone likes Revolution! I'm okay with that. Lots of other people do.

One thing that might help reluctant players was suggested by another BGN commenter. Use the Bid Refund Variant. Under this system, players get their tokens back if they lose or tie a space. This assures that you pay exactly what a space is worth and not more or less, though there is the penalty of lost time. And it helps reduce feeling "like one of those mice who are subjected to random electric shocks in cruel psychological experiments." I suspect the SJG people like the other way because they're sort of into cruel electric shocks, but that's a topic for another day.

So is the game completely random? That depends on who you play with. I think you'll find that, over time, Revolution! is much less random that you first thought.

Revolution: The Palace Ships Next Week!

2010-11-02T10:57:00.000-04:00

According to Twitter, Revolution: The Palace will ship next week. Just to recap, this addition to the base game allows you to play with 5-6 players (or play with 4 using the new stuff). It adds 4 new spaces on the expanded bid card and an awesome new building! The gameplay experience goes from sweet to super-sweet! Don't miss this one. Makes a perfect gift for anyone who has the original game, or give both for a truly amazing Christmas!

I got my royalty statement for Revolution! and it looks like sales are doing quite well. The last two quarters, in particular, have been very nice.

Also, I received word that Wattsalpoag really likes the prototype I gave them. I may have to wait until 2012, but they seem to be very interested in adding it to their lineup!

I'll leave you with this, my original Palace tile for use with the homemade version of the game:

Essen and Other News

2010-10-27T14:59:00.001-04:00

Well, Essen is over and, once again, I was not there. This really is starting to become a "thing" with me. Anyway, at least Revolution! was there (both versions plus The Palace):

(from BGG)

SJG had a booth this year and demoed The Palace. It even made it onto the BGG Geekbuzz list! The current ETA is mid-November for the release. Apparently, I will get my copy of the German edition at the end of the year.

In other news, Revolution! made Melody Vasel's top 100 games list. We'll have to wait and see if Tom also likes it that much. Also, I have entered the prototype passed over by Z-Man into the Hippodice competition in Germany. I'll find out in a couple of weeks whether they will need a copy mailed to them. At the very least, I'll get some nice quality playtester feedback.

This week I've been working on a new economic game. I finally finished the initial prototype and even got in one 15 minute-first-turn-only playtest with encouraging results.

Finally, the artwork for Kingdom of Solomon (Minion Games) is filtering in. I got to see some color art for the first time just the other day. Once the cover gets finished I'm cleared to begin releasing more information and talking about how it all works. Still waiting on Jolly Roger Games and Wattsalpoag for word on my other games.

Revolution! Flash Demo

2010-10-15T10:08:00.000-04:00

SJG just unveiled a cool new Flash Demo of Revolution! Now if they would start working on an iPhone version. :)

Prosperity Has Arrived!

2010-10-08T23:59:00.001-04:00

UPS delivered my pre-ordered copy of Dominion: Prosperity from Coolstuffinc today. I just finished cramming all the cards from all five sets into the new box (the old one is falling apart) separated by my custom dividers. They all fit! I managed to get in three games with my daughter. We went through every card during the course of the games. I've been really pumped about this expansion, and so far it's meeting/exceeding the hype. Several of the 25 all-new Kingdom cards are just beefier versions of old cards, but many are quite unique, usually affecting the buy phase.

Using an Expand to upgrade a Province into a Colony (10 VP, 11 Cost) is nice. The feeling of buying a Platinum (5 Coin, 9 Cost) instead of a Province in exhilarating! And using King's Court with Pirate Ship for three attacks is amazing! I can't wait to discover the crazy hidden interactions that always lurk just around the corner. I realized why Dominion is my favorite game: it's really about 1,000 games in one box. As far as I'm concerned, Donald X. can keep 'em coming!

A New Palace Review

2010-10-06T10:26:00.001-04:00

SJG gave away a copy of The Palace on Twitter a few days ago, and the winner posted a glowing review on BGG! That's how bribes are supposed to work! Otherwise, we have to use force . . . :) In other Twitter news, I stumbled onto this German website that has snappy little blurbs for each character in Revolution! (in German, of course, so use a translator). It's still unclear when The Palace will be available; however, I am hoping they get them in time for Essen later this month. SJG plans to have an "official presence" in Hall 6. Sounds exciting!

In other news, Z-Man has passed on my Henry the Great prototype, but Jolly Rogers is nearly ready to hammer out a contract for the Vacation prototype. They want to do preorders on BGG, so stay tuned for more info. Who knows, maybe I'll finally enter Hippodice this year!

Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks

2010-10-05T22:59:00.000-04:00

I just noticed that the BGG Design Forum has a sticky post on myth-busting the copyright issue. Basically, you have minimum protection whenever you create something regardless of whether you officially filed. Sure, people can "steal" your idea, but it won't do them much good if your game is better and first. Worth a look if you're interested in game design.

Fascinating Doctoral Thesis on Eurogames

2010-09-28T23:21:00.000-04:00

Picked up this link on Twitter today. Stewart Woods has put together an impressive and very readable thesis on the history of eurogames and looks into the effect of the play environment on the play experience. I'm only on page 92 (of over 300), and I've already learned far more about the industry than I've found in any other source. You may think you know about eurogames, but you could probably stand to learn a lot more!

Your 168 Hours

2010-09-21T15:39:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading a great time-management book called 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam. It turns out that we all have 168 hours every week (24x7). As a game designer, assistant pastor and homeschooling father of 3 (4 in mere days), my schedule can get a bit hectic and disorganized. Vanderkam urges her readers to reevaluate their priorities and restructure their lives to accomplish what they truly want rather than just taking the path of least resistance.

I followed along by keeping a spreadsheet time diary, logging each activity and how long I spent doing it. I feared discovering 168 hours packed with wasted time and useless web-surfing. I discovered that I sleep about 8 hours a night (the average/recommended amount) and that I work 30-40 hours a week. This week I also spent over 15 hours reading (more than I intended, but it could be worse). I spent about 10-12 hours interacting with my family and about 8 hours attending church and related events (some of this counted as work). I spent 10 hours watching TV with my wife (this number could be a bit lower). One obvious area in need of improvement: 0 hours spent exercising.

Overall, I discovered that things are going better than I thought. The book had many other great ideas for tweaking your schedule to get the most out of life. I definitely felt more intentional about my time when I had to keep a log. That step alone might help you get control of your life. So, are you really doing everything you want to be doing with your 168 hours?

Cincinnati Comic Expo

2010-09-18T22:01:00.003-04:00

Today I attended the first Cincinnati Comic Expo held at the Cintas Center. Next year the event will be moving to the Duke Energy Convention Center downtown. Terrible parking but much more space. Anyway, this year's expo seemed to be well-attended. I had a table in the board game room, courtesy of Yottaquest. Naturally, I was running demos of Revolution: The Palace.

Several other designers/entrepreneurs had tables, including the Spelman's with Jukem Football

and Joe & Dave Herbert of Doritos Superbowl 2009 ad fame with Triviathon.

The Revolution table stayed hot all day with barely enough time in-between rounds to grab a pretzel and Reese's Cups (the lunch of champions). All told, I held five full demos including 4-6 new people each time. BTW, I played in four games winning one, losing two (but coming up a close second) and dramatically tying 181-181 in the other! Must I brag about winning my own game? Yep. Here are a few shots of the games:

The guy with the rockin' hair (Mike) is a true fan. He interviewed me on his camcorder (I'll link to it when it gets posted), bought my game and had me sign it. In fact, so many people bought my game, it sold out--all four copies!

I'll close with a couple of Star Wars costumes. There were many, many costumes I failed to photograph or else did so poorly. And, for the record, The Predator guy got robbed at the contest. Just sayin'.

Revolution: The Palace

2010-09-16T16:50:00.003-04:00

...has arrived! I'm doing a promo event this weekend (Cincinnati Comic Expo), so I got the SJG guys to send me some material. They also sent a hot-out-of-the-box copy of the Revolution! expansion. It's designed as a hanging bag for stores rather than a box. They've gone this route before, so maybe that's okay. All the bits will fit nicely into the main box, so you don't really need a new box anyway. Here are some pics:

The package includes: a new building for the center of the board (called, *gasp*, The Palace), a rules page, 2 new bidding screens (in purple and orange), 6 new expanded bidding boards (featuring four new spaces), purple and orange cubes, scoring tokens, high-score scoring tokens (200/300) for all colors, and more currency tokens--just in case!

BTW, it's also extremely fun--SJG really made this one shine! Thanks to all those who helped playtest the expansion. Special apologies to Thirdfloor Gamers and Xenia Gamers--I tried to get you playtester credits, but it didn't happen. I'll try harder next time! The game should be available in just a few weeks.

Update: Rolling Along

2010-08-28T23:42:00.001-04:00

Despite the lack of posting here, I have been doing a lot of game-related stuff lately.

1. My "really cool" game is entering v2.0 and starting to come together. Still lots of possibility here . . .
2. Zev of Z-man games called tonight asking for a rules clarification. That has to be a positive sign. So now that he's played it, the question is: Does he like it? Stay tuned . . .
3. Minion Games is still looking for an artist to do my game about King Solomon. We are looking for someone who can do more of a traditional, serious look reminiscent of oil painting--someone very talented and able to keep the budget on track. Or even somebody close to this description. Recommendations welcomed.
4. Jolly Rogers is still waiting for quotes.
5. Wattsalpoag is currently working through a recent deluge of work and will talk to me sometime next month. I know that feeling!
6. Child #4 is due in less than a month! All of them are girls. And I'm cool with that. I didn't even want a boy until I saw Tom Vasel's cool "Life Changing Announcement" video this week. Man, is he excited. It's really a must-see!

So that's where things are in my gaming world. Two other items of note: I got a smoking-fast new computer and Adobe CS5 Standard is on the way next week. Dominion: Prosperity will follow soon after. I hope. Man, why didn't I buy that at GenCon? Why!?!

Games played this week:

And 2 Secret Prototypes!

New Look!

2010-08-09T18:29:00.000-04:00

So what do you think of the new look? You'll notice I'm also using my swank new domain name. I'll probably be monkeying around with things over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

GenCon 2010

2010-08-07T20:00:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures and some commentary from my whirlwind trip to GenCon Friday:

This is the Steve Jackson Games booth. They also had a prominent display in the main board gaming area. Nice.

My job was to demo Revolution: The Palace. Many people were surprised to learn that this was my first time playing the official version. I've played my own versions many times, but not the official one. I found it to be an amazing experience! The SJG guys really did a nice job on the expansion--it works well with 4-6 players and takes the game to a new level.

Here's Paul teaching the game to some guys. You can just see Randy in his too-cool jacket at the left. Fun fact: He's the only person to have played Revolution! more times than me!

Here's the door I couldn't get into. Then the SJG folks brought me my badge and all was well.

The FF guys were there en mass, walking around in their blue shirts like they owned the place--which they pretty much did.

The ubiquitous shot of a guy in a kilt buying 20-sided dice--no con is complete without it! And here are some other cool and/or geeky pictures I took:

I also got a chance to touch base with several of the people who are currently considering my prototypes. Looks like everything is still in play. And I got to do some playtesting with Minion Games--that one is nearing the finish line! Thanks to everybody who came by the booth and said nice things about my game. It was a blast!

GenCon Approaches!

2010-08-01T16:54:00.001-04:00

This week, I am gearing up to attend at least one day of GenCon Indy. I plan to be helping demo Revolution! and The Palace Expansion for Steve Jackson Games on Friday. Stop by booth #1321 and say hi! I will also be meeting with Minion Games about an upcoming release as well as meeting with Jolly Rogers Games about the Europe version of a game they may be doing soon (if they are coming). I may also get a chance to check with Wattsalpoag and Z-man about prototypes they took from Origins. And will Dominion: Prosperity be on the menu?

New Contract

2010-07-24T12:22:00.000-04:00

I signed a new contract this week with Minion Games. We are still hashing out all the details of the game and knocking off rough edges, but it looks like we will end up with something really nice in the near future. More info as the project gets closer to the finish line.

Theme Players

2010-07-10T23:53:00.002-04:00

I did quite a bit of frantic work on a design for Minion Games this week. The only problem? My game does not have quite enough theme. This isn't the first time I've encountered this comment. As I was showing off two prototypes for Jay of Rio Grande, he also thought my games were just not getting the theme right. What? My games have tons of theme! Don't they? I was confused.

Then I had an epiphany while discussing the MG game with my buddy, Michael, at Thirdfloorgamers. He also had mentioned that the theme needed work. So I asked, "How big a part of a game is the theme?" He told me that in his club (middle school group), he found some people who are Math Players--they don't really care about the theme at all. Space, Vikings, Ninjas, whatever. Just show me the numbers and let me figure out how to min/max this game and win.

On the other side of the spectrum, he notices the Theme Player. These guys (and girls) really care about the theme. If the theme isn't happening, the game isn't going to be played. I don't want to just move little bits around on the board, I want to be the Governor (or Captain, or Spider Monkey, etc.). And then you have lots of people at various points in between. Most people like good mechanics and a nice theme.

During this discussion, it became very obvious to me that I am very close to the Math Player side of the scale. It also became apparent that Michael is very close to the Theme Player side. This was a real chocolate-in-my-peanut-butter moment for me (apologies to those not alive in the 80s). Suddenly, I understood why I missed what Jay was telling me. He started our session by saying, "What are we doing?" That's a textbook Theme Player statement. Jay is a Theme Player. No wonder we had trouble communicating! I've also had trouble understanding Michael's helpful comments at times. Now I know why!

This also explains why space-themed games sometimes struggle--people just can't get into the theme as easily. Unless you're doing something in the Star Wars universe, you don't really know what you're doing.

This time, I decided to listen like a Theme Player. Michael had come up with several amazing ways to add theme to the game while making excellent use of the mechanics. James from Minion Games has been generating new ideas at Protospiel all weekend (even playing the game with Randy from SJG!), so I don't know if everything will make it into the final version, but I feel much better about the theme now.

In closing here are some good Theme Player questions to ask: What are we doing? If I am X, what would I expect to be doing even before I see the game? If I am X, what else should I be able to do or need to worry about in this game? What happens in this game that just doesn't make sense if I am X?

And here are some good Math Player questions: Is this game balanced? What is each resource worth? What is each move in the game worth? Is there an interesting dilemma? These all look absurdly obvious to me because I am hard-wired to think like this automatically. So which kind of player are you?

Origins 2010

2010-06-28T13:31:00.000-04:00

Origins went very well this year! I took my brother-in-law, Drew, with me to help work the show. Of my five prototypes, three are now being seriously considered by publishers! More about this in the coming weeks. I met loads of new people and generally had a blast. Specials thanks to Rio Grande for providing food for everyone in the Board Room!

Looks like some printer troubles may push the Revolution! expansion's release date past GenCon. But it might still get done in time. At the very least it will be demoed there. The one space I had reservations about got a significant upgrade! The expansion is now officially awesome!

The game really being talked about this year was Founding Fathers, by Jolly Rogers Games. I didn't get a chance to play it, but I'm hoping one of the Yottaquest guys bought a copy. Anyway, I could not have been more pleased with how it turned out. Now to work on more game designs . . .

Origins Approaches!

2010-06-17T23:35:00.000-04:00

I'm counting down the days and making a few last-minute preparations for Origins in Columbus, Ohio, next week. My brother-in-law and I will be there all Thursday and Friday, hawking my FIVE (different) completed prototypes to any and all publishers. Feel free to stop me and ask for a sneak peek. I'll also have one more game for playtesting, if time permits. I'm looking forward to hitting the CABS board gaming room again this year. I might actually pay this year, lest I risk being thrown out (which almost happened last year). Whoops. Live and learn. Look for two guys wearing Revolution! shirts--hope to see you there!

Revolution! Discussed by Sean Malstrom

2010-05-14T11:58:00.000-04:00

Recently, I noticed lots of hits to my blog coming from this site by Sean Malstrom. I've never heard of him before, but I guess it's a pretty popular site. He brings Revolution! and my experiences with it into an esoteric conversation about video games and D&D. I'm just glad he enjoys it!

In other news, I'm trying to get all my ducks lined up for Origins. At the same time, I have at least three new ideas for games that just won't leave my brain alone. I'm also planning to upgrade this blog and transform it into more of a general site about more of my games.

The Revolution! BGG rank is nearing the 700 mark with over 600 ratings!

Gluing and Cutting

2010-04-09T14:50:00.003-04:00

Lately I've been making some new prototypes in preparation for Origins. I intend to have five new games ready to introduce to game companies at the convention (one prominent appointment has already been set). Unfortunately, some of that time had to be spent re-making a prototype that was lost in the mail by a certain West Coast game company--after I had paid all the return shipping. This would not have been such a tragedy except that this game requires my printer. Everything except the board had to be printed fresh. One problem--my printer doesn't print yellow anymore. Or red. This game happens to be mostly blue, but there was still a lot of coloring by hand. Despite all this, the prototype is now finished.

Now all I have to do is finalize my last game, do all the graphic design, print it up (on someone else's printer) and put it together. It's currently being playtested by the Thirdfloorgamers in Wisconsin. We should have things smoothed out in another week or two. This design has been the most stubborn I have ever worked on--I hope it turns out well!

The German Revolution Begins!

2010-03-27T13:30:00.003-04:00

Pegasus Spiele has now officially released Revolution! in Germany. The finished board looks a little different from the preliminary picture below, but is still very nice (maybe nicer):

Also, I found a video interview from the Nuremberg Toy Fair (in German, but shows off the new graphics pretty well):

Nürnberger Spielwarenmesse 2010: Revolution from Cliquenabend on Vimeo.

500 Ratings

2010-03-22T10:19:00.001-04:00

Revolution hit 500 ratings on BBG today! It's currently better than 750 in the rankings!

In other news, I did some successful testing this weekend . . .

The Expansion Is Coming

2010-02-20T13:20:00.003-05:00

This high-res picture from the NY Toy Fair last week was taken by David at Purple Pawn. You can see all the new bidding spaces and the new Palace overlay for the center of the board. There is no official word of a release date, but it may be as early as this summer. Special thanks to my two remote playtester groups, Xenia Gamers Club and Thirdfloorgamers, for helping double check things. Will (SJG), as before, gave us significant opportunity to contribute to the process.

In other news, I recently gave an interview to Crows'n'Bones, and I also found a new review. And one more bit of news--Revolution! has (nearly) broken 800 at BGG.

In non-Revolution news, I'm nearly finished assembling the art and layout for another game. My plan is to take a backpack full of games to Origins and see what happens!

Revolution!: The German Version

2010-02-08T22:21:00.005-05:00

News is slowly leaking out concerning the soon-to-be-released German version of Revolution!, produced by Pegasus Spiel. Today, we got a picture of the new board from Nuremberg:

As you can see, this design is quite different from the Steve Jackson version. It gives the box art a bit of context as well. This picture is a crop of a larger one showing some of the bidding board. The new version features pictures of the characters on their respective spaces. There is currently a discussion taking place on BGG--most comments seem positive.

Here is another one, fully equipped with meeples instead of cubes (H/T):

By the way, here is the box in all its wild and comical glory:

Only In the 21st Century

2010-01-21T20:38:00.002-05:00

It's really cool to be alive in the future. At least that's how it seems sometimes. I participated in some remote playtesting tonight. I emailed some prototype files to a group in Minnesota. They printed them out and playtested it. Then we had a very insightful Skype session hashing things out. Maybe you do that all the time, but it was a first for me. Zero cost and lightning fast!

Also, Revolution! made two bid podcasts will I wasn't paying attention:

The Dice Tower (Ep. 157 @13:45) and
The Spiel (Ep. 89 @25:00 - this one is pretty long).

Both were very positive about the game. Thanks, guys!

Tom Vasel Reviews Revolution! -- He Likes It!

2010-01-08T00:25:00.001-05:00

Here is the BBG thread for more.

BoardGameGeek.CON

2009-11-20T00:10:00.002-05:00

The BoardGameGeek convention is going on this week in Dallas. I just read this statement on the official Twitter feed (geekdo): "I thought Revolution! was going to suck, but it ended up being better than Loyang, Greed Inc, or Automobile." That's what I like to hear! Maybe the SJG folks will take some pictures . . .

Also, I received my twelve contractually obligated promo copies of Revolution! the other day. All the playtesters also got a copy. For future reference: help me playtest and maybe you'll get a nice game out of it someday.

Speaking of which, I head up to Xenia tomorrow for some playtesting with a high school gaming club. They really helped me out last year. I have three more prototypes for them this year. I have two more just at the brink of being ready for other people to test, but there just wasn't time to get them ready. There is a small chance that I will have them ready for the great Thanksgiving family week. Maybe I'll even get them to the table if I keep reminding everybody about the free playtester copy they got the last time!

Meeting Yehuda

2009-11-12T22:39:00.003-05:00

I meet board game designer and blogger Yehuda Berlinger tonight. We shared some interesting vegetarian Indian cuisine as well as much game-related discussion. We have a few acquaintances in common: David Miller (who helps him run Purple Pawn) and Jackson Pope (who publishes his game called It's Alive!). Check out his Jerusalem Gaming blog and account of our meeting.

The Independent's Essen Article

2009-11-02T23:41:00.002-05:00

UK's The Independent recently did an interesting story about board games and Essen. Definitely worth the read. I have such a burning desire to attend Spiel at Essen as soon as possible. I suppose I'll have to design more games to make that happen. So be it.

Third Floor Gamers

2009-10-30T22:30:00.004-04:00

I got to chat with the Third Floor Gamers via Skype today. It's a school-based group of nice kids just getting into gaming. Somehow, their fearless leader, Michael, stumbled onto my game and bought a stack of them for the club. He also did a cool video review on BGG. They seem to enjoy playing Revolution!--one of them had just scored over 350. Nice! Unfortunately, they couldn't hear me too well on their end, so I ended up having to do a lot of chat typing. I would have liked to say more but it was still fun. Some playtesting might be in their future . . . Thanks, guys!

BTW - I got my first royalty statement today! $$$ . . . well, maybe more like $ . . . still. :)

Revolution! At Essen

2009-10-26T23:22:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately, the the Essen buzz for Revolution! is only an imperceptible whisper. This picture is the first documented evidence that it was even there. These nice Germans seem to be moderately amused. I understand that there is a lot of competition for people's attention there--lots of games everywhere. The ratings seem to be coming at a steady pace on BGG. Meanwhile, I've been working several other prototypes, getting them in front of publishers, testing others and making new ones. Once something breaks loose, I'll be sure to let you in on it.

Welcome Google Image Searchers!

2009-10-21T16:04:00.002-04:00

I checked my stats today and noticed that HUNDREDS of people visited my blog in the last few days because of a Google image search. The coveted image? Wil Wheaton of Star Trek. That's right--if you're looking for ONE picture of this fine actor, you've come to the right place!

While you're here, how about checking out Revolution!? You just searched for Wil Wheaton, so I know you're a geek--and geeks love my new board game (Wil sure does)! BTW, if you're not a geek, my sincerest apologies (just between us, Revolution! is really more for cool people anyway).

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and artificially inflating my blog hits!

Wil Wheaton Mentions Revolution!

2009-10-05T08:34:00.003-04:00

Wil Wheaton, of Star Trek fame, mentioned his upcoming trip to RinCon in Tucson, AZ, where he looks forward to playing Revolution!, among a few other games. I am currently experiencing a level of geekiness beyond all imagination. Now if I can just get Worf to try it out . . . I'm sure he would say something like, "MajQa'!"

Revolution! Reviews

2009-09-17T09:34:00.003-04:00

Just the other day I was thinking how nice it would be to have my game added to Bruno Faidutti's famed Ideal Game Library. Today, I found it there! He is mainly positive, preferring the "bid refunds" optional rule to moderate the widely perceived run-away leader problem. Once again, I am very glad I argued for the inclusion of this very rule, and I am thankful that SJG listened.

Revolution! also got a positive review from Sam Healey (sometimes co-host of The Dice Tower with Tom Vassel). He mentioned to me that Revolution will be featured on the podcast in an up-coming episode.

Revolution! in Madison, Wisconsin

2009-09-10T23:45:00.004-04:00

Here's a picture of the booth from Phil Reed at ACD in Madison, Wisconsin. They flew direct from PAX at Seattle, Washington. These folks sure get around! Meanwhile, my "demo" at Sci-Fi City tonight consisted of one game between my eldest daughter (age 7), myself and Joe, the MIB guy (part of the SJG volunteer army). They did have one customer who bought a comic book. And a few guys in the back were playing D&D. It makes me very glad that I'm not still trying to sell my game on my own. Real professionals are doing real promotional work at real conventions--my hat goes off to you!

YottaQuest Demo

2009-09-08T23:29:00.002-04:00

Tonight I ran a few demos of Revolution! at Yottaquest. The "regular" board game crew moseyed in about 7:00 for their weekly fix. I played in the first game of Revolution! and got absolutely CRUSHED by all of my opponents! They were shrewd players indeed. I'll have to get a rematch one of these days . . .

One big group played Parthenon most of the night. I got in on Battlestar Galactica (with Pegasus expansion) towards the end of the evening. The humans went down hard to the many Cylons. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this game yet. It was very complicated, but there is an interesting dynamic at work what with all the mistrust and treachery involved.

Overall, it was not the most effective promotional experience I've had. On the other hand, about 15-20 more people now know of my game's existence and may end up trying it out soon. Maybe my session at Sci-Fi City Thursday will be more productive.

Revolution in the Cincinnati Enquirer

2009-08-31T08:26:00.003-04:00

I made the Cincinnati Enquirer today! This story turned out very well, as well as being accurate (always a plus). Now I'm off to buy copies of the paper for my friends and relatives . . .

Cincinnati Demo Dates

2009-08-27T11:03:00.004-04:00

I just finished scheduling two Cincinnati demo opportunities:

September 8 (Tuesday) 6:00-10:00 at Yottaquest in Mt. Healthy.

September 10 (Thursday) 6:00-8:00 at Sci-Fi City in Northgate Mall.

I also just finished an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer, so there might be a story in the paper this weekend. Maybe. :)

French Review

2009-08-21T13:02:00.003-04:00

Tric Trac recently featured an in-depth look at Revolution. The bottom line is that they seem to think it's not too bad (in French that means "it's awesome!") and they really like my French-sounding name. The comments were also favorable. Get Google Translator and check it out.

Some Nice Pictures

2009-08-17T20:58:00.003-04:00

I just stumbled onto a blog called Geek Game Night. I have added them to my blog roll. They have some amazing pictures over there as well as a nice, in-depth session report of Revolution. You should definitely check them out! Here is one more of their pictures:

Revolution in the Business Courier

2009-08-15T17:25:00.002-04:00

Revolution made the online version of the Cincinnati Business Courier. The story is largely accurate, except for that $2/game part--it's really 2% (something like $0.80).

Back from GenCon

2009-08-14T22:24:00.004-04:00

I just got back from my one-day-only trip to GenCon in Indianapolis. Here I am taking a break with the official Munchkin mascot (Randy is inside). I spent most of the day helping Will run demos of Revolution. They only brought about 100 copies to the con and had already sold 40 by the time I arrived. Today they sold nearly as many--only a few left for the remaining couple of days! They should be in stores next week if you missed out.

I also got to sign a few autographs ('cause I'm famous now--at least about six people think so)! Anyway, I had a blast meeting lots of different people and explaining the game to them. Almost everyone who played really seemed to like it. GenCon was packed, though I haven't been in a few years. Parking is $25 now! Yikes! Fortunately, SJG graciously reimbursed me.

And I got to (finally) meet Mr. Phil Reed himself. He seems like quite a nice guy with a head for the business side of things. He spent most of the day thinking up bold new visions for the future and talking to important people--time well spent. All in all, a productive and fun day!

Here are a few more pics:

Revolution! Is Now Shipping

2009-08-13T09:15:00.005-04:00

The wait is over! SJG confirms that Revolution! is now shipping! In related news, I'll be heading over to Gen Con tomorrow to hang out at booth #1321. The SJG folks have snagged some prime demo space in the exhibit hall this year--something they haven't done in a while. Revolution! will also be available at the show, so maybe we'll get an early feel on how sales are going. Check back in a couple of days for a full report and lots of pictures!

Revolution Reviews

2009-08-03T10:00:00.001-04:00

Here are some reviews (or links to some reviews). Also, the pallets have arrived safely in the warehouse and distribution should start today. Things will be in full swing by GenCon!

Unboxing Revolution

2009-07-31T12:32:00.001-04:00

From the SJG website:

Also, there is a new review at BGG.

GenCon 2009

2009-07-22T10:44:00.002-04:00

Just a reminder--I will be hanging out at the Steve Jackson Games booth most of Friday, August 14. You might want to pick up your copy of Revolution! earlier in the convention (before they sell out), but stop back by if you want yours signed or if you just want to play against the designer. Bring it!

Some Favorable Reviews

2009-07-10T20:07:00.001-04:00

Here are some nice reviews and comments on the Steve Jackson Games forum.

Revolution in Nashville

2009-07-09T22:50:00.003-04:00

My parents caught up with Randy's SJG North-South Tour as he visited The Game Keep in Nashville. That's my Dad with the nifty old-school Revolution T-shirt (limited edition--kudos to Stephen). He's helping one of his co-workers and associated children with the game. There was some accidental taking of extra gold involved, but we won't go into that . . .

This was the first time my parents got to see the finished game, and I think they were impressed. So, Revolution has now made it from Minnesota to Louisiana. A few BGG threads also indicate that it has reached New York and San Francisco as well. Looks like the crack team of marketing gurus at SJG know their stuff. Or at least they know their crack . . .

One final note: It looks like I will be attending GenCon on August 14 (a Friday). Revolution should be available for purchase during the con. Come by the SJG booth to get a cool limited edition signature on your box or just come to challenge the master himself! See you there!

Ted Cheatham's Origins 2009 Report

2009-06-30T23:58:00.002-04:00

Ted Cheatham of BoardgameNews filed this video report on upcoming games at Origins 2009. Revolution made it into the first minute or so of the thirty-two minute report. You can hear Will explaining the game.