Damn You!!! by Ken Maher

I am a bad, bad man. I’ve been sitting on a few wonderful entries for so long that my friend (or ex-friend at this point) Chris Clark has been forced to pick-up my slack. Well, no more I say! So without any further delay….

Damn You!!! By Ken Maher (A game for 2-6 players)

Theme (10 points): Well, under the terms of “Doomed Civilization” this might be a bit of a stretch. Certainly petty Gods controlling the fates will get you a few points. (That and you used the phrase “Doomed Civilization” in a sentence!)
4 points

Originality (10 points): You have to really be creative to do something original with hexes. The movement rules are familiar (and easy to understand.) The win condition was fairly straightforward. Now as a game designer myself I have to give kudos to the “rule that fixes a broken end game.” My group managed to have no winner in two of our six games. It left us feeling a bit grumpy but the game is called “Damn You!” And not “Fuzzy Feelings of Happiness.” And that is original.
6 points

Cohesiveness (15 points): The game played fine and worked well enough with the selected graphics and the theme. Our games tended to last about half an hour with a variety of play scenarios so it doesn’t appear to play the same each time. The endgame can get a little slippery but I don’t think we managed to break the game. All in all a very good effort. You had many variables to balance and for the most part it all works. (You might want to look at the 2 and 6 player games, as they may need some firming up.)

Bonus points for the game variations. They are very clever additions to the rules.
10 points

Components (5 points): You did well here. The pieces worked and I didn’t mind hunting around for pawns and such. Now I must say the template for colored dice was scary but I suppose important to those on a strict dice budget.
3 points

Fun (25 points): Here’s the thing. Now I’m looking for a bit more color. We didn’t quite have enough strategic elements to make this a game like ‘Civilization’ yet everything was pretty serious. This game begs for a bit of humor. Maybe some excessive use of the word “smiting.” You are a God; let’s add some petty action mechanics. You get the idea. And I know any designer that claims he’s “Happily putting ‘More’ into Moronic” will know what I’m talking about. You are half way there with a working game mechanic now finish with color and flavor. Often this will keep folks coming back for more.

Having said all that your mechanic and presentation is fun alone. And your use of the word “Moronic” will always get you points. It like the word Guacamole…you just can’t help but smile.
16 points

Summary: Excellent effort in a contest filled with excellent games!
39 points total!

-Ed Evans, Partner
Alien Menace Games