Please feel free to list your current projects, give a brief description of each, and note the stage of development. I'm interested to see what BGDF members have cooking!
BGDF Member Games - The List
Fri, 12/07/2012 - 16:18
Fri, 12/07/2012 - 16:54
#2
Of Legends And Lore
Stage:
Of Legends And Lore
Stage: Design/Conceptualization
This is our MEGA Dungeon Crawler... A party agrees to investigate what has been happening in a Dwarven Mine. Miners have been going missing and no one knows to where or why?! It is still in design/development. It is a rather LARGE game with many parts and cards to make the game work. We are currently 2 game designers and are courting a 3rd game designer to be a part of the endeavor.
Quest Adventure Cards(tm), 2nd Edition
Stage: Working prototype
This is a revision of the 1st Edition and has resolved certain quirks players complained about with the 1st Edition. It is a working prototype and has been play tested using 2, 3 and 4 players.
The Hit
Stage: Working prototype
This is a game based on the game entitled Guillotine published by Wizards Of The Coast. It is about hitmen that are trying to take over the town by eliminating the opposing forces. There are four classes of mobsters: Asian triads, Black hoodlums, Biker gang and Mexican cartel. Also watch out for the police which will give you negative scores if you are forced to take them out. It is a working prototype and has been play tested using 2 and 3 players.
Sun, 12/09/2012 - 00:43
#3
I'll Bite
Shinobi Showdown
Summary: Non-collectable card battle game meant to give my son and his friends an alternative to Pokemon (whose rules they ignore, anyway). Rival ninja clans compete to server the Daimyo. Players serve as clan heads, assembling the best teams while sabotaging the rival clan.
Progress: In redesign phase after disastrous initial play test. Someday, I will learn to simply on the *first* try...
Solarian
Summary: Space-themed trading game built around a "realistic" economic model. Players build a fleet of solar sailing vessels and ply the solar winds, move goods from planet to planet. The age-old axiom of "buy low, sell high" guides players as they move 5 commodities from world to world.
Progress: In initial design phase, with first prototype due around Christmas.
Board Games on iPad
I have a couple of board game designs that I will render on the iPad. Hope it's not inappropriate to discuss these here.
Arithmagicka: educational dungeon delver targeted at 1-3 grade math students. Players fight their way through a collection of dungeons, battling enemies and sharpening basic arithmetic skills. Initially, players battle enemies by playing "skill cards" numbered 1-9, trying to overpower enemies. Eventually, players must learn and use the ideas of borrowing, multiplication, and division to best the enemies. Lite RPG-style storyline provides a narrative reason to complete all dungeons.
Iron Horseplay: solitaire or co-op game in which player constructs a rail-line across the board before trains rush in to use it. Initially, game play involves laying out track through different terrain types, weight the time cost to build on rough terrain versus the time penalty incurred for "going the longer way." Later, multiple trains traverse the level at the same time, and players must construct tracks that prevent collision.
Sun, 12/09/2012 - 09:30
#4
Is there a thread with a list
Is there a thread with a list of published games from BGDF members?
Sun, 12/09/2012 - 11:24
#5
Just one
The Desperate Struggle
Summary:
A scifi-themed co-op game using figures and cards, combat mechanics and enemy AI resemble Gears of War. The players try to fight their way through multiple enemies and locations to reach and subdue the enemy general before the time runs out and the allied forces are overrun by enemy hordes.
Status:
1/3 prototyped, some playtesting done.
Sun, 12/09/2012 - 12:14
#6
in development
Advance Guard 1914 update/sequel/variant
Advance Guard 1914 was my entry for the 2012 bgg solitaire competition. It won the wargame category (note: it was the only game in the wargame category). I want to fix some problems with it, but also use some of the mechanics for new similar projects. I'm sure something will come from this, possibly more than one game, but progress is 0 % so far.
Trenches of Valor Expansion
Second expansion for Trenches of Valor (this expansion was only partly designed by me though) has been delayed a long time for various reasons (mostly because of me). About 90 % done (including playtesting).
4k General PNP Version
Not the most serious game project I ever had, but I had the silly idea of trying to make a print'n'play boardgame based on my java 4k computer turn-based strategy game 4k General and printed maps and made cardboard counters from the units (can be seen and downloaded here). I have all the artwork needed, obviously, and the rules will be similar to the computer game, but I don't know much more than that. Slightly more than 0 % done.
Unnamed Solitaire WW1 Campaign Game
Started co-designing a solitaire action/rpg/adventure boardgame based on ww1 a few years ago. Many small paragraph-driven scenarios and a group of soldiers gaining experience and skills. Yes, the theme is similar to Ambush!, but different world war, but the mechanics are completely different, we just were inspired by the theme (obviously it also use paragraphs like Ambush! did, but if anything it is much more inspired by the forgotten Ambush! sequel Open Fire, and not even very similar to that). But it was difficult to find time for this project, and difficult to agree on some aspect of the rules. Currently the idea is that I will design it on my own, but I have not made any progress since before summer. Well, the solitaire-AI-movement rule in Advance Guard 1914 (above) was partly based on my ideas for this game, and I will try to feed back my experience from that game into this project (plus what feedback I got from players). Maybe 2 % done (we have some maps, a scripting language to generate a paragraph booklet, one almost complete scenario, a long list of scenario ideas, prototype graphics, and some more stuff; maybe 90 % of what is needed to do first playtest of the first scenario).
Unnamed Loos Wargame
Another collaboration that has dragged out for several years. The other designer is doing this mostly alone now, but he also had to take a break, so currently there is no progress unfortunately. While we have been working (or not working) on this one at least two other Loos wargames have been released, but we still think it will be worth completing our game. This is a much more grognard wargame game than any other game on my list above. Lots of historic research behind it plus some game mechanics ideas we like. About 33 % done. Playtested a small scenario over VASSAL, but had to improvise many things because we did not have all the rules yet (still don't).
Sun, 12/09/2012 - 19:00
#7
Games
Gods of Men:
Players take on the roll of "gods" of a new world shaping both the land and the inhabitants of the world. Players evolve low level organisms (which are neutral pieces) into powerful, nuclear weaponry wielding civilizations. The game uses a simple action point distribution mechanic to force decisions between expanding, researching, and playing land tiles. The player with the most dominant civilization on the board at the "End of Days" is the winner.
Status: Working prototype, searching for publisher to take a look at it.
Galaxy Gutters:
A fast paced, real time (turn less) game in which players furiously try to strip new found galaxies of all available resources. A planet's resources and positions are new each game and play continues until there are no resources left in the galaxy. Players draw cards as fast as they can play them and resolve their play.
Status: developing a prototype
Production!
Players take on the exciting role of manufacturing widgets. The players need to balance when to invest in new machinery and employees against rising demand and declining market price. Other decisions to be made include how to ship product, speed to market, selling price, how to run machines and quality level.
Status: design / conceptualization
Mon, 12/10/2012 - 00:04
#8
Castle Portal:Tile Laying
Castle Portal:
Tile Laying competitive dungeon exploration game utilizing unique dice for random actions, as well as strategic play.
Stage: Playtesting done, amazing feedback, looking for publisher
Aces and Eights:
Poker Simulation game set in the 1800's of a group of cheats and thieves playing poker against each other. Strategic, as opposed to random play, a lot of ability of the player to determine the outcome of a hand. As opposed to betting, there is a VP mechanic in a zero sum system that still lets players go bust.
Stage: On the fourth major revision, and getting back into playtesting, each phase has gotten way more support, have this game available as a Print and Play. Very likely needs a few more minor balance tweaks, but we think we've nailed the gameplay at this point, its just a matter of finding the right card abilities to make the game fun every time you draw and play a card.
Passe Valley:
A simplified execution of a resource management game that incorporates mechanics of territory acquisition. Was started as a way to improve the mechanics of both Settlers of Catan and Risk and merge them into a unique expression in a game.
Stage: Need an external prototype made, internal playtesting was a smashing success with very few changes required.
A War of Wizards
This is a game in which wizards cast spells as a group to kill a mighty beast that is endangering the country side for fun and profit. Casting spells is a resource mechanic similar to Magic the Gathering but using dice as a resource rather than mana in a mechanic not seen before in dice. Fighting the beasty works in a similar way to door cards from Munchkin, while the cooperative play mechanic has similar elements to Sentinels of the Multiverse. Utilizes other ployhedrals for damage and healing, with unique upgrade mechanics. May or may not eventually include a deck building mechanic if it can work seemlessly.
Stage: Working on prototype, have about 50% of the preliminary prototype cards designed,, and have a working model for how the order of play will work.
Mon, 12/10/2012 - 11:50
#9
My two primary projects are
My two primary projects are Little City, & HMS Victory.
Little City might be thought of as Sim City the dice game. Players roll custom dice that have; residential, commercial, industrial faces as well as services like police and fire dept, and bad events like crime and fires. They then sell of the unwanted results followed by a bidding round where your opponents may take the results for themselves if they outbid you for them.
HMS Victory is a co-op dice game where everyone is a crew member of the HMS victory. Players will attempt to resolve events that come from 3 decks each with its own level of difficult and special cards that that affect other events, cause injuries to the crew or the ship. Each card has one or more dice results that must be played on it before it is resolved. If events are not resolved in a timely manner they are scored against the players. The object is to score a certain level of points before you have a certain level of points scored against you and without being sunk.
Mon, 12/10/2012 - 12:34
#10
Primary Project: Knot Dice
Knot Dice
Knot Dice is a box full of games, puzzles, and art blocks. Several games are included, and most focus on connecting the faces of the dice to form Celtic knot designs. It's basically a "dice-laying" game. I'll be attending UnPub3 with it in January, and the game is scheduled to launch on Kickstarter in February. More information is on the Black Oak Games web site.
Mon, 12/10/2012 - 12:49
#11
Works in Progress
Xeno Team: Alpha
Co-op game for 1-4 players, age 12+, 60-90 mins. Players race to complete experiments on a decaying alien spaceship before the ship is destroyed. In addition to the completion of experiments, players must deal with onboard hazards like fire and radiation. Fully prototyped with on-going playtesting. No significant rule changes in 5 months with primary focus on streamlining and preparation for presentation to publishers.
Crime City
In Crime City, the Heroes are as bad as the Criminals! Hard times force Heroes to use their powers for profit. Game concepts, key elements and maps are evolving. Still searching for mechanics that properly balance game play to concept.
Light vs Dark / Dreams & Nightmares game; Fear of Sleep working title
Grid of cards representing a dreamworld. Players explore the grid as either the Dreamer (seeking to exit the Dream) or the Shadow (seeking to trap the player in a Nightmare). Both player benefit by creating a chain of cards within the grid. Victory conditions are asymmetrical. Conceptual prototype looks good, but game play is still lacking.
Your Mom!
A simple dice game about the nasty things your mother does. Your mom does the Lafayette Backwards Squat! Or does she? Roll the dice to generate new vicious rumors, but be careful not to say too much! Still working to develop the scoring/results; this is meant to be a light, push-your-luck, style of game that is playable in a few minutes. Might consider this one for self-publication
Legends of the Old West - working title
Mostly an idea at this point; players attempting to increase their reputation in the Old West. Some concepts and a sketch map. This is one of my least developed ideas.
Mon, 12/10/2012 - 13:51
#12
My Games
Ok, my list is split into 2, there's those that are pretty complete, that I'd be happy for people to play, and then there's those in early development. So we'll start with those that are tantalisingly close to completion.
Infection Express
So this is a game I originally released as PnP in 2009. It's basically a quick, single player "express" version of Pandemic. The first edition was pretty popular, got nominated for a Golden Geek in 2010. However, there were a few issues, especially around the research rolls, that meant players didn't have enough meaningful choices.
Version 2 "Secondary Infection" was designed to solve these issues, but really didn't work out as planned. So I left the game alone for a while, worked on other projects, but now I'm finally close to finishing the 3rd edition, "Final Diagnosis". I'm planning for this to be the last edition, if I ever revisit the game it will be in the form of either expansion and/or a retheme/reimagining.
It's going well, I think I've finally got the game to where I want it to be. I'm currently looking for play-testers before I release it (this was a mistake I made with the 2nd edition).
City of Guilds: The Dice Game
This game has been in development for around 18 months now. It's a dice game, loosely based on my City of Guilds boardgame (See below). It's one of those rare occurrences where the game came out pretty much fully formed. Obviously I've tweaked it in the meantime, but the core of the game remains pretty much unchanged. Print 'n' Play Productions will hopefully be doing a limited release next year. We're just at the final rules editing stage now, everything is looking good :)
The Terror at Graveport
This is a strange one. It started out as just an idea for a Forbidden Island retheme, loosely based on the Cthulhu mythos. Before I'd done anything more than start a thread on BGG about my idea for a retheme I had a publisher approach me. My initial reaction was that it's just a retheme, we can't really publish. However, over the last year or more of development that game has diverged more and more from the original conception. As a co-op it obviously shares some mechanics with Forbidden Island, but no more than any other co-op I'd say. It's definitely changed a lot and probably been the game I've had to work hardest at to get game balance right. In the new year I'm going to be looking for 3rd party play-testers, with the aim of going back to the publisher in the second half of next year.
City of Guilds
This is my original City of Guilds boardgame, not to be confused with the dice game above. I'm not sure about this one, I designed it some time ago, and it has a few fans, but it's not quite there gameplay-wise. Then, completely out of the blue, I had a publisher approach me recently. They're very interested in publishing, if I can resolve the gameplay issue brought up in the reviews and forums on BGG. I'm not sure whether it's a case of tweaking the game, or a more fundamental mechanic overhaul (I'm edging toward the later). I'm going to look at it more closely in the new year. The exciting thing is the publisher says they may be interesting in more than one of my games, which opens up all sorts of possiblities.
That's the nearly complete games done, now the stuff in various forms of early development.
Harbour Rummy
This came about as an idea for the rummy competition run on BGG a few years ago. I didn't really pursue it at the time, but I have been making more and more notes. The basic idea is to use the rummy mechanic in a different way, in this case to determine the good arriving at the dock. The game is split into alternate round, first a rummy good production round, then a worker placement/trading round where good are transformed into more valuable commodities, buildings are constructed and trading happens. Needs a whole load of work, but has potential. Tempted to rename it City of Guilds: The Harbour or something similar.
Railway Card Game
Card game where players construct railway lines and buy/sell shares in the railways. Needs some work still before I can start getting outside play-testers involved.
Other idea
That's all the well formed ideas out of the way, I also have notes/ideas for a card based war game and a City of Guilds: The Card game (to complete the area control City of Guilds trilogy). What I really need to do is win the lottery so I can stop working and spend more time on games!
Wed, 12/12/2012 - 14:14
#13
Monkey Business!
A card game,
Monkey Business!
A card game, (with top banana score track, counters and marker tokens) offering a simplified corporate simulation – where the participants really do work for peanuts.
It features novel auction mechanics, an element of push your luck, and hand management. The primary focus is on operational efficiency instead of the more common order throughput.
All done, just putting together some simple artwork to support active play testing.
Pizza Pieces
I’ve mentioned this on the forums before. However, it’s gone through a lot of development since then. Play testing confirmed my suspicion that the initial dice selection was clunky and too complex.
The thematic elements have been boosted considerably to improve game play and interactive player experience.
All done, bit of artwork to do and more play testing required.
Princely Hoppers
To all outward appearances the princely frogs are competing to become the King of the Lilly Pond, except not all of them actually want the position. The players assume the role of advisors guiding the movement of the Princes.
Once upon a time I used to help out the old man picking locks on antique boxes, so tumbler alignment is nothing new to me. It’s a similar process to open and closed logic gates.
A short while back a game came out where multiple cogs where rotated to form resource pathways (I can’t remember its name, but I think it was highlighted last Essen). I’d considered something very similar, but discounted the idea after initial development.
The game attracted a lot of attention, but after watching the review it appeared to suffer the same problems I found with my own design. It was novel and clever, but the game play was unnecessarily demanding, a tad boring, and relatively uninspiring.
This design uses three concentric rings that rotate to open and close opportunity gates and facilitate movement of the princes. Strategic options are increase with hand management and a little screwage – and there is a huge helping of theme.
Play testing is going well and first draft artwork is largely done - currently sourcing pieces and parts because I might Kickstart or self publish this one.
Fortunes and Favors
This is an interesting card game at heart. The card pips are deconstructed and passed through a number of game stages where they can be used to facilitate various actions. In the final phase the pips are re-constructed into card forms, before continuing to the next round.
The theme is centered upon The Three Kingdoms period of eastern history. San Guo Sha covers the same historical period, but I don’t feel it does justice to the richness and interest of this particular time. And not everyone is interested in a re-imagining of Bang if they already own a copy.
I’ve tweaked it a little in recent months, dropping the Shaman characters and moving the Advisors from one of the expansions into the projected core release. I’ve also altered the way the Advisors work in the game.
After researching the period more fully I’ve also added some new aspects to boost the theme and represent aspects of the era – such as the blossom garden brotherhood and various stratagems like the “Relative above Stranger” plan. I’ve also tidied up the value attribution to reflect the key characters more accurately.
Three expansions are complete, a drinking mechanic inclusion where the players seek to acquire or disseminate truthful or misleading information while intoxicated.
The Heavenly Mandates expansion introduces short side quests with rewards - including famous items that can be used to bolster character abilities or provide new strategic options.
The Dancing expansion, involves the players performing moves in respect to musical notes – or in the case of sword dances, respond to the moves of the other player.
Character card expansions are also outlined, which permit a representation of the era as it moves through the required timeframe, in addition to some extra classes.
The fourth expansion, which deals with large battles and sieges through a simple and quick mechanic caused me a few problems – how to do it just wasn’t clicking, so I’ve shelved the project so I can return to it with fresh eyes after Christmas.
The game was designed primarily for an Asian audience, so I will be looking to find representation in that market area sometime early next year. The core game is complete and it could be offered as it is, but with time available, I want to make sure the expansions support a seamless fit through play testing before proceeding.
Cabin Crisis
This game is an unusual take on the Zombies at the door genre. Instead of the common, grab a weapon body count this game is focused on against the odds survival through careful decision making. At heart it’s an abstract puzzle solver, in the form of movement and block manipulation.
The core of the game is complete. I’m just layering the theme at the moment and tweaking a number of aspects in relation to production costs. I’d say it’s about 80% done and full scale play testing isn’t far off.
Chocó Lotto
This is a hidden variable (peek and remember) set collection game with an Easter Egg theme. The game is complete and play testing is going well so far, I just need to tweak the components a bit, the two part wooden eggs I’m using to hold the information yolks are a bit unstable (a simple inner silicon seal should solve the problem, but I haven’t had time to mold and cast them yet).
A complex work situtation has sucked up all of my time over the last month or so, hence my barren contributions to the forums :(
Thankfully I now have some free time again, so its back to game design :)
Having so many, nearly finished games, available to me is beyond ridiculous. So my development goal is to concentrate on these games 100% and finish them in the next few months.
Then I can then address a stack of others that are between 70 and 90 percent complete :)
Wed, 12/12/2012 - 19:54
#14
Nightstalker Games
A chance to shill a bit about our own games? Awesome! I'm down for that!
Here are my current projects:
Dragon Blast: Battlestorm
Experience the action and excitement of an arcade fighting game without needing super fast reflexes. Use your mental muscle to outsmart your opponents while unleashing incredible attacks and combinations! You can play as one of six legendary combatants each with their own powers and style of fighting. Battle in a two player duel or up to six players in a free-for-all brawl! Don't like to be alone? Team up with a partner and play two versus two or even three on three teams!
You must use your cards strategically to attack and defend against the other players as well as move your character around a tactical game board. Battle to knock out your opponents while powering yourself up to unleash incredible, legendary attacks!
Be the first player to earn 3 Victory points by defeating your opponents or fulfilling Secret Missions.
Status: New Second Edition recently self published on The Game Crafter (Staff Pick!). Currently under review by Game Salute.
Auction Junktion
Auction Junktion is the world's first storage auction game you can play at home! Players use bidding, bluffing and other underhanded skills to win the best treasures while leaving everyone else wallowing in useless junk!
When storage lockers go unpaid or abandoned, the property goes up for auction to the highest bidder!
Each auction is played out with several face down cards drawn representing items in a storage locker. Each player only gets to peek at one item but you are bidding on the entire set. Be careful, because many of the items are worthless junk! Sift your way through the trash to find the hidden treasures!
You've got to use all the bargaining skills you have to beat out the competition as well as good bluffing skills to get the other players to buy all the junk. Beware because players can use Dirty Tactics cards to ruin your profits!
But the fun doesn't stop there! Put your negotiating skills to the test as you work some deals with the other players to rake in big profits!
It's all about the money; will you have it all at the end or will you be wallowing in a big pile of junk?
Status: New Revised Edition self published on The Game Crafter. Currently under review by Game Salute.
Monster Kids
When the lights go out and monsters come creeping, who is going to stop them? Monster Kids! These super powered teens are the only ones standing in the way of the monsters taking over the world. They sneak out at night to battle the fiends of darkness and get home before mom and dad find out!
Monster Kids is a fast paced, action card game. The players choose a character and work together to battle dangerous monsters. Players must use their cards carefully because the team wins, or loses, together! For those that don’t play well with others, you can play Monster Kids in versus mode battling to see who can defeat the most monsters. So whatever your taste, Monster Kids is sure to give you a monstrous, great time!
Status: Self Published on The Game Crafter.
Wild Pursuit
Wild Pursuit is a race around the world to capture some of the wildest animals on the planet. Players compete to capture different kinds of animals, but it won't be easy! You must have the right tools to capture them as well as the right gear to navigate the treacherous terrain. Be careful -- these animals are wild and may fight back! As you play you'll learn interesting facts about the animals and tools used to safely capture them. It's a fun and sometimes dangerous strategy game for the whole family!
This game features a unique board design that allows a different set-up each time you play. Together with the different card abilities and a random draw deck, you'll have a different experience each time you play!
Status: Self Published on The Game Crafter. (Staff Pick!)
Animus
Animus is a card drafting game in which players draft a team of characters to battle their opponents in a tactical card and dice game.
Draft characters from different worlds, dimensions and even other time periods! To win you must take advantage of the various abilities and powers to maximize your resistances and strike at your opponents weaknesses! Tactical maneuvering is crucial as you battle for dominant positioning!
This game is also the debut of the E=Cube. This is a system that assigns each character an elemental type that gives them strengths and weaknesses to each other. Find out how you too can use the E=Cube for free!: http://nightstalkergames.com/ecube/
Status: First Edition self published on The Game Crafter. Currently working on a second edition with several stand-alone expansion sets in development.
Wed, 12/12/2012 - 20:37
#15
Shattered Empires Status
Shattered Empires
A collectible card game focusing on based on a unique Science Fiction universe. The first set features five unique factions to choose from with which to wage war. You can then acquire more resources, such as corporate funding or raw asteroids, and then build ships and stations with which to wage war. Research new technologies and utilize commands to influence the battlefield.
We are currently in the play testing and balancing stage. The mechanics are pretty much nailed down. We are also gathering enough artwork to get the project onto Kickstarter and then from there will have the funding ( hopefully ) to pay for the rest of the artwork!
Thu, 12/13/2012 - 08:23
#16
Games in progress
Most of mine are sort of "on hold" at the moment due to hitting road blocks of one kind or another but I'm always thinking about them on some level and looking for a way forward. The main ones on my mind are:
Victorian Tycoon
Business and politics in the nineteenth century.
World Community
Game of international politics.
Election Games
I have been trying to put together election games based on US and UK elections for about 5 years. Both currently stalled but both just waiting for inspiration to strike.
Educational Games
My best friend is a teacher and I've discussed designing some classroom games with/for him. Waiting for him to give me feedback on the first idea outline.
Thu, 12/13/2012 - 18:50
#17
Here is what I'm working
Here is what I'm working on:
Deep Dark Dungeon
I have been developing this game with help from my 7yo son. It's an exploration-type game where you play Explorers in a Dungeon (hex tiles). As you explore the Dungeon (randomly draw new tiles) you will encounter Treasure, Monsters, Traps, and the Exit. To escape the Dungeon, you need to find the Key (a Treasure), and then go defeat the Guardian, a powerful monster that guards the Exit.
Currently, the rules are at v1.0 (fully playable), but I've run into a problem where the end of the game is too abrupt. It's a dice-off between the player and the Guardian, and the player can win with just 1 lucky roll.
An old writeup of the game is at: http://www.gaming.edwedig.com/escape-from-the-deep-dark-dungeon-a-kids-game/
Ship Wreckers
Currently shelved, but I want to take another look at this in January. It's a set-collection card game where you play a captain collecting crew cards to create Pirate Squads. Currently, those Squads then go down to the beach to collect treasure (and fight other Squads), but there has been some complaint that the game feels like "two smaller games stuck together", so I might simplify it into just collecting sets of Pirates, and scoring points.
Unpossible Heores
This is an rpg of comedy super heroes (think: The Tick). It uses the Fudge system, and is pretty simple and fun.
I've been running it off and on at conventions for years, and I need to get it into a publishable format.
-Ed
Thu, 12/13/2012 - 20:25
#18
Under Construction
Game: Word-U
Concept: Word-U is a player-directed, flexible, comprehensive word game for any number of language learners or lovers.
Play: Players compile their own random word bank based on a topic of their choosing, then select the game activities they wish to include (the complete game system includes more than 1000 cards). Players take turns drawing cards from the game deck and following the instructions on the back. Typically, this involves one or more players drawing one or more random words from the word bank. Activities range from mindlessly easy to fiendishly difficult. There is no board, no dice, no tokens, and no rule book.
Development: The concept is fully-developed, but remains expandable; several theme variations are also in the works. Accordingly, the game system prototype is updated continuously. Extensive play-testing is also underway. Printing estimates have been sought, but there is no artwork ready to go yet. See my Game Journal entry (The Game...So Far) for the complete story.
Thu, 12/13/2012 - 21:28
#19
Current Projects
I am currently working on a few projects...and by working on, I mean there are prototypes set up on tables wondering why I'm not spending more quality time with them.
I also have dozens (or more) in various states of partial completeness - the brain and computer clutter of pretty much all designers and developers. :)
Right now I'm working on:
Phantom Leader Deluxe - a solitaire air combat game taking place in the Vietnam era. Our first Phantom Leader game did very well, and sold out. We are now adding several more pilots, aircraft, weapons, and more upgrade levels to all the original pilots. We are also adding 2 new campaigns.
Challenge: Since we first printed Phantom Leader, we created Hornet Leader. This was an amazing game that we added lots of neat, new stuff to. Now we would like to incorporate the neat, new stuff into our older Phantom Leader. It's harder than I thought it would be.
Also,
Fleet Commander: Nimitz. This is a solitaire board game (maps and counters) covering all the battles of WWII in the Pacific Theatre. Luckily, I'm not the designer for this one. Being the developer is very different. The size and scope is incredible. The game needs to be fun, historically accurate, complete with all the battles, and run against an AI. Yikes.
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 10:44
#20
Hungry Badger games !
Flog :
Simple math based card game where players utilize the basic operators +,-,x,/ to reach a target number. In the same vein as games like set, 21 and so on. For those interested there is a drinking game component as well, but we will not packaged with the normal game. We will be self-publishing/manufacturing/distributing this very soon.
Olde School: Arch Chancellor :
A competitive card game with some co-op tendencies. Everyone is out for themselves but can not complete what needs to be done without the help of other players. A resource splitting mechanic pays out players that help with the many tasks that need completing. Just did our first bit of playtests outside of our group and things went well mostly but we are going to make some major changes to some numbers and see how things change, probably awhile on this game.
Olde School: Flesh Mage :
A tile based area control game where players are magically manipulating a parasitic worm to mind control the indigenous tribes of the summer isles. As in the game Samurai the end win component isn't "I have the most" and the minor twist on victory as a slight learning curve that I am not altogether happy with but the game is short enough ~75min that players may get a second play in on a modest board game night. We are still doing some development and internal playtests on this.
Clash of the Ironclad landships :
Our most ambitious production game. Landships is a game where players get to construct their massive landship and do battle across the tabletop. We are debating on (and probably going with) a dexterity component for this "car wars" style buildout game. Basic game rules are in place and pretty well tested, but we are still struggling with the difficultly of producing this in house as with all of our other games. Probably late next year before we are really looking and making this a reality.
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 16:54
#21
Anatolia 1300
Hello All
I submitted my game to indiegogo for some funding. It is an expandable card game between Byzantine Empire and Turkmen tribes in 1300's.
I would like to hear from fellow BGDF members about how the campaign looks like.
Cheers
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 17:03
#22
Quote:Is there a thread with
Is there a thread with a list of published games from BGDF members?
Maybe we should start a geek list on BGG. If nobody does, I will do it.
I'll post my game later. I will probably have to make a selection out of my list of 45 games.
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 17:09
#23
blackorse wrote:Hello AllI
Hello All
I submitted my game to indiegogo for some funding. It is an expandable card game between Byzantine Empire and Turkmen tribes in 1300's.
I would like to hear from fellow BGDF members about how the campaign looks like.
Cheers
I submitted my game to indiegogo for some funding. It is an expandable card game between Byzantine Empire and Turkmen tribes in 1300's.
I would like to hear from fellow BGDF members about how the campaign looks like.
Cheers
It looks a bit sparse. Being a try before I buy kind of person I would at minimum like to see the rules. A couple of pieces of art to know what it’s going to look like would also help. It has also been touted as essential that you have a video of some sort to pitch you game as well.
Here is the Tahiti Kickstarter campaign for Tahiti.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/miniongames/tahiti-board-game?ref=live
We had 2 videos; an introduction from the publisher and one of me teaching the game, which is in addition to posting the rules. We of course had already done the art and rules book before we started the project.
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 18:03
#24
blackorse wrote:Hello All
I
Hello All
I submitted my game to indiegogo for some funding. It is an expandable card game between Byzantine Empire and Turkmen tribes in 1300's.
I would like to hear from fellow BGDF members about how the campaign looks like.
Cheers
I submitted my game to indiegogo for some funding. It is an expandable card game between Byzantine Empire and Turkmen tribes in 1300's.
I would like to hear from fellow BGDF members about how the campaign looks like.
Cheers
I'd prefer if posts like this were made in a more appropriate place. This thread is for people to list what prototypes their working on, not advertise their crowd funding project.
Thanks,
Seth
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 23:00
#25
OK, here is my list. I tried
OK, here is my list. I tried to make a selection of game that I know where I am going. It does not mean that the mechanics won't change, it's just I have a good idea of how it's going to work and which mechanic will be used.
For more details about individual game's progress or for my complete list of projects, look at this page:
http://bgd.lariennalibrary.com/index.php?n=Main.Games
Here is the list of games, in somewhat preference order.
Spellcraft: Rise of the Sorcerers
This game could be sumarized as a board game adaptation of the master of magic video game (civilization with magic). This game is like my life quest, not sure if it will really accomplished, not sure if it will be the last game I will do. The most complicated part is that the game must be indefinitely expandable and adaptable to allow players to modify it to their taste. I have not worked on it this year, but 1 week age I made impressive progress that could maybe (hope) make the core of the game work (after more than 6 years of development. The "Icon combat resolution" and "keyword for resource" thread is actually for this game.
This game also has a clone game. A clone game is another game in another theme (space theme in this case) that share similar mechanics.
Wrath of the Dark Sorcerer
After the success of starcraft solitaire, I thought that I could be designing a solitaire game of my own. The concept is simple, you are a very powerful sorcerer that decides on a monday mording to conquer the world. The player is a powerful spell caster surrounded by 6 kingdoms that will attack him in order to destroy him. While the player has a huge variety of spells to make an army of monster and zap his foes. The player wins if he destroy all the kingdoms. The game works a bit like a tower defense, the AI spawn troops that will follow a path to the center of the map where the player lives. There might be an option to play 2 player cooperative/competitive against the AI.
This game also have a clone game that would be called "Wrath of the Dark Lord" that will be some sort of parody of star wars. I might do this game before the sorcerer game.
Rats Craft
A parody of the starcraft board game and video game. 3 factions of rats invade a house, where the family has gone for the week, in order to scavenge the resource. Goal: Control and conquer. The objective of the game is to use similar mechanics in a different context to somewhat show that the same ideas could make a different/better game if used differently. The player build bases and gather resources in rooms. They need to pass through the corridor defended by cats to change room.
I even thought of how the video game could work and the possibility to make a card game version like rune age with the same theme .
Pacific Storm
A historical WW2 pacific war game with many alternative scenario and technology options. In the new recent development, the goal is to make a pacific theater war game that fit in a small box because I started to have a fascination for war/conquest game with a small map. Even by shrinking dramatically the board, I was surprised that I could keep all the details and features I wanted.
Pocket Fairy: Adventures in Fairy Land
This will probably be my only kids game. The goal is to make a generic game that can be played in many different ways. The game comes with a set of tiles and generic components with the core rules. Then each "adventure" is a game itself with rules of their own that can be played with the same pieces (like piece pack). New adventures will be created after the release of the game, but also by the user. Considering that the game is intended for kids, the "adventure" will not master pieces, but they could be suited for any kind of audience.
Dracula's Castle or Transylvania
Somewhat a board game of castlevania that either takes place in transylvania and dracula's castle, or only dracula's castle. It looks like a simple adventure game where you go to a destination and draw an even card. But a player plays dracula and he decides which even occurs to which player. So the "Random event" cards happening to the player are actually planned by the dark lord. The player must try to gather necessary artifacts to defeat the dark lord .
DSC:Deep Space Colonisation
This is a hidden information solar system colonisation game that consider the rotation of the planets. Each turn planet moves and players explore and settle secretly on various planets. Right now the building system worked like in San Juan, but it did not work as I planned. The goal of the game is to accumulate enough population and fuel to build another long range colony ship that will colonise the next system. Of course, all this information is hidden so nobody know who is close to succeed. Players can attack each other, so the planet rotation will affect the proximity of the players each turn. Aliens can also invade where all the players must stand together to repel the invasion (like the barbarians in catan)
Big trouble in Japan
This game is a struggle between various family over 3 different age of japan: Ancient, modern and HIgh Tech. The core mechanics use a deck building game that allows to produce various units to attack your opponents. But when a player change age, some cards become obsolete and now have different uses forcing the player to adapt their deck to the new technologies. But some older cards, like an ancient temple, could still have benefits later, but they can only be built during the ancient age. So you must plan ahead your legacy.
Arcane Titan
Finally, this is an attempt to make my own duel masters card game. I simply waiting for the wizards of the coast patent to expire. Each player is a titan made of various small creatures each represented on a card. These creatures can be used for various purposes like casting spell, giving mana or simply pop out of the titan as an independent creature to attack or defend the opposing titan. The goal is to deplete the cards of your opponent's deck by attacking the titan. Damage destroy cards from the deck.
So this is it. For question and comments, PM me or check the projet's page on my website.
Tue, 12/18/2012 - 07:36
#26
I'll bite
I'm working on 3 games right now.
1. Bit Arena
- working prototype -
On this game people have to play their heroes to capture the other teams base. They get coins for destroying the enemies heroes and soldiers and eventually the game will either end because it has met the end time condition (not quite sure how many turns feel right) or by destroying the other teams base. It's almost like a DOTA system for a board game. The map is made by placing tiles and forming a maze-like board.
2. Dungeon Runner (working title)
-prototype-
one player plays the hero as the others play the villains. the villains are forming up their own dungeon meanwhile trying to attack and destroy the other dungeons or make their own more appealing for the hero. Villains win by killing the Hero player on their own lane while the hero wins by making it all the way across. As the villains lay down traps for the Hero they take certain effects. I'm having a hard time balancing this game though. It's meant to be difficult enough for the hero to make it interesting, at the same time adding a competitive side to the villains to kind of make them think, i much rather screw this other guy up this turn then play my own card.
3. survival/explore (working title)
-design-
this is a cooperative game where all the players are working together to escape the pirates that have taken over their own ship. It will involve a combat and a crafting mechanic. Although I'm trying to make the combat mechanic a little more difficult then normal. All attacks will be played by rolling a dice to see if it hit, then a second dice to see where (legs, arms, body, head or miss). Headshots equal instant death, arms make the character unable to attack, body does regular damage, and legs make him move at half speed. So as players spawn they draw a scenario card that tells them which player types are allowed on this game and how many of each, and it will say how many pirates begin on the board. The pirates have a predetermined patrol routes that they will walk once they spawn. Then players draw the ammount of pirates, it will tell them where they start and whether they are patrolling or standing guard, or searching. And so it goes
Wed, 12/19/2012 - 10:28
#27
If your game is on BGG,
If your game is on BGG, please add it to this list
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/150824/bgdf-board-game-designer-fo...
I would like to release the list by the end of the week and there is currently only 2 entries.
Mon, 12/24/2012 - 18:33
#28
Joshua's ConquestPlayer play
Joshua's Conquest
Player play as one of four Israelite tribes conquering the land of Canaan. Tribes must cooperate with one another to defeat the powerful Canaanite cities, but each tribe seeks its own glory in casting down the Canaanite High Places and replacing them with the worship of Yahweh, the Israelite god.
The game combines worker-placement mechanisms with hand management and scoring similar to Twilight Struggle and a card-driven combat system that draws from games like Civilization. Players manage Tribesman, Priests and Warriors, and compete for resources, victory points, and the Divine Favor that will enable them to call forth powerful miracles and overcome the Canaanites.
This game is fully prototyped and in intensive playtesting. Check out more at http://joshuasconquest.wordpress.com
Beast in Show
Unbalanced mad scientists seek to breed monsters and win blue ribbons at the Transylvania County Fair. Some monsters are bred for purity, and submitted into the Monster Pageant. Others are bred for battle, and compete against one another in the Beastly Arena. Others are bred for pure terror, and compete to scare the fans in the Haunted House.
The game takes a fun, tongue-in-cheek approach to monsters. The primary mechanism is card drafting to obtain different monster parts and abilities, and stacking the cards into different kinds of sets to build monsters for each of the contests. The contests themselves are mini-games where tactically triggering your monster's abilities can be the difference between success and failure.
This game is in the conceptualizing phase after a similar concept game was basically pre-empted by Spartacus, which was mechanically too similar to what I was trying to do (and which did it really well, so no need to make a monster-themed version).
Say When!
In this card game, players try to construct accurate timelines, using a mix of inventions, historical figures, eras, and moments in history. The game uses a BS mechanism, as players try to get rid of all of their cards.
This game is in rapid prototyping, as I'm still playing around with the central mechanism, and deciding between BS-style or Apples-to-Apples style scoring methods. I also just picked up a copy of Timeline, to ensure that I'm sufficiently differentiated.
Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:45
#29
The Darkness Enters
You
The Darkness Enters
You control a different character every turn, giving you access to different abilities. When you defeat monsters with your current character, you get victory points and the character's supported "value" gets honor points which, depending on which values you have secretly chosen to support at the beginning of the game, could be beneficial or disadvantageous to you. How often are you willing to choose characters that have an ability you need right now and support a wrong value? Are you sure you aren't exposing your supported values when you pick a character from your supported value many times in a row? There are five values, each of which emphasizes a different strategy. Each value has three characters supporting it.
I'm already getting art done for it. The game itself feels very right, but slight adjustments might have to be done to some numbers if a simple strategy is shown to be clearly dominant in playtesting. Two practical things that need improvement are the playing time, which is about 60 minutes and is a bit too long for a light game like this and the relatively high number of game parts (which isn't problematic as it is, but of course I would be happy if I could do with less game parts).
Unnamed #1
A deckbuilding game with four decks for each player and one deck which every player is building and using. Not realistically going to happen in reality for obvious reasons, but designing and developing the game on paper has been fun and I think it would work pretty well now, if it wasn't for the mindless amount of shuffling.
The Avant-Garde Game
The ultimate goal of this experimental project is to remind people that board game design is an art and that board games can be more than just entertainment. So far, I haven't even written any ideas down for the actual game, but I already know how I am going to start designing it when I get the inspiration.
Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:22
#30
Regime Change
I started developing this game years ago but felt inspired to finish it by what I saw during The Arab Spring uprisings and especially in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution. In Regime Change three rebel factions, you and two people who were your friends yesterday, are fighting to overthrow a dictator but at the same time maneuvering to seize control of the country once (and if ) he is gone. What is doubly unique in Regime Change is that there are two different scores at the end of the game. One score rates how you did against the other two factions you were allied with. The second score is how well your country as a whole will do after. the rebellion. Will you be the leader of a new country that is worse off than Somalia, or might you be third fiddle in a more prosperous country?
Regime Change is a cooperative game with a nasty twist that unfortunately mirrors reality.
I've got a prototype made and am looking for test players.
I'll start:
Dynasty: The Spread of Culture in Ancient China
Build villages and learn advances, assimilating opponents' cultures as you go. Your villages give you access to resources to spend on things like advances. If you cannot afford what you want, you can "trade" with an opponent (they cannot say no) - but if you do then you must take one of their Culture Chits onto your player board. This is both good and bad, as filling up your player board gives you benefits, but each of those Culture Chits represents scoring for your opponents. The first player to fully fill their board becomes the Emperor (and scores a small bonus), but it's the player who's culture is best represented who is the real winner!
This game is 1/2 prototyped, and is in need of playtesting.
Hot & Fresh
Delivering pizza can be frantic work! Plan your route and push your luck with the traffic laws to make deliveries and earn tips. There is a simple set of traffic laws, and the more laws you break, the more likely you will get busted. Driving safe for a while will turn the heat down, but your tips decrease over time so you're encouraged to press your luck at least a little bit. Originally the routes were intended to change as traffic lights turn from green to yellow to red - a newer development involves placing tiles between the main roads to represent shortcuts that you know about but your opponents do not. And an even newer idea might bring the shifting traffic lights back online (so to speak) - perhaps it could utilize gears like Tzolk'in does.
This game is 1/2 prototyped, and is in need of playtesting.
Red Colony
Players build colonies on Mars, first by claiming property (building tubes and domes), then constructing various buildings under those domes. Income is customizable and ranges from early game building materials to late game higher level materials, to people. You'll have to spend time and effort to modify income over the course of the game. The goal will be to house as many people as possible in your Colony by the end of the game. A lot of the ideas for this game came directly from The Case For Mars.
This game is just an idea at this point.
Alter Ego
Cooperative deck building game of vigilante heroism. Save the city from Arch Villains - but as you become a stronger hero, you'll need to neglect some aspect of your Alter Ego life. In the early game you start with Family, Job, and Community cards which each give you some benefit. Each turn you must take another card, either another Alter Ego card or a Hero card. You'll need Hero cards to defeat henchmen, but you can only play so many cards per turn... so playing more Hero cards necessarily means playing fewer Alter Ego cards! This game will have a Cooperative mode, and possibly a Competitive mode as well where each player has a personal Nemesis in addition to the Arch Villains.
This game is prototyped and has been played a bit, but is in need of editing. So far I have not been happy with how it works.
The Knights Templar
After hearing about Trajan's Rond-cala mechanism I had a guess as to how it would work. I was wrong, but I thought my idea might make an equally good game, so I combined that main mechanism with an older idea I had for a Knights Templar theme. In this game you'll Move your knights, Crusade against Moors and other enemies, Erect buildings, and spread the Influence of the Order of the Temple. But when the Order gets strong enough, King Philip will become nervous and issue arrest orders for the Templars! Race to Portugal (and maybe Scotland) where you'll be safe while a wave of destruction radiates from Paris, destroying buildings as it goes. When a building is destroyed, players with that type of building still standing earn some points, so it could matter which buildings you erect and where you erect them.
This game is 1/2 prototyped, and is in need of playtesting.
Exhibit: Artifacts of the Ages
Collect sets of artifacts to display in your museum using a unique auction. It's like 6 simultaneous games of Liar's Dice! Exhibit sets of artifacts to gain powers and points.
This game is being reviewed by a publisher.
Eminent Domain: Escalation
Expansion to Eminent Domain. This expansion amps up the interaction and fleshes out each of the roles in the game, as well as adding a 5th player, and Scenarios for added replayability.
This game is done and is in the process of production.
Eminent Domain: Exotic
Expansion to Eminent Domain. This expansion adds a new planet type and will emphasize exploration and the Survey role. The intent is to make it matter more which planets you get in your empire.
This game is 1/2 prototyped, and is in need of playtesting.
Eminent Domain: Agendas
Expansion to Eminent Domain. This expansion will add a new Role to the game: Politics. It will also add Agendas, global effects that affect all players. Players will be able to influence which Agendas come into play, so they can support the ones that benefit them and oppose the ones that would hurt their position.
This game is 1/2 prototyped, and is in need of more design and playtesting.