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Seeking playtesters for C.A.N.C.E.L.L.E.D. - A chaotic cartoon game for 3-5 players

6 replies [Last post]
Mon, 01/04/2021 - 17:19
ChrisCooke
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Joined: 07/02/2020
Dr. Piddles
Freddy Fraidy
Moe Skeeto
Slappy
The Mad Cow
Tabletopia Game in Progress

Hello everyone!

I'm looking for playtesters to try out my game C.A.N.C.E.L.L.E.D., a chaotic cartoon game with programmed actions and a shrinking board. It's all about making plans and watching them go hilariously wrong!

Currently the game is in the prototype phase, and lives exclusively on Tabletopia. I'm planning on making TTS and PnP versions in the near future as well, so I'll update here when I've done so.

Even if you aren't interested in trying the game out, I'd love any feedback you have on the rulebooks as well (linked below).

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Here's a link to the Tabletopia room: https://tabletopia.com/playground/toon-turmoil-m38nt5/play-now
(Make sure you select the "First Game" setup for your first game, and the "Full Rules" setup for every game after)

"First Game" Rulebook: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QczFSt8m7gCX3dEoIL9NdqopHEZJC98T/view?u...
"Full" Rulebook: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PAa_A0Y-sX3gp9Q30gGQMt_648aNmDcY/view?u...
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Here are some more of the game's features:
- Simple action programming
- A deck of crazy, cartoony attack cards (with some surprises mixed in)
- A constantly shrinking board
- Game changing quirk cards
- Flavourful character abilities that change how you play the game
- Board spaces that make characters slide, teleport, fall, and spit bombs.
- Bombs and anvil tokens also interact with spaces, leading to tons of chain reactions.

I've also attached some images of the final playable character designs (the only final art so far, everything else is in prototype stage), and a screenshot of a Tabletopia game in progress. (There's also an imgur album of the same art in case anyone has issues viewing it here: https://imgur.com/a/1Bm3QeD)

Thanks so much for your time!

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Thu, 01/07/2021 - 11:07
#1
The Professor
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Joined: 10/25/2014
Professional Service Needed?

Chris,

I took the opportunity to review the rules and at only 8 pages it's eminently accessible to kids and families, which I'll assume are your target audience. If you're interested in a 15-min chat to see if the Professor's Lab would be right for you and you project, please reach out to me.

Cheers,
Joe
Professor's Lab
http://professorslab.com

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Tue, 01/05/2021 - 16:24
#2
questccg
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Joined: 04/16/2011
Looks a bit like a cross between...

Sponge Bob and Dexter's Lab! lol

Mad science meets Wacky personalities... It's always nice to see what direction people (designers) are going with their projects and their art. Displaying Sample Artwork gives a us a "feeling" about how the game is to play and the intended audience (it may be kids ... But may be FUN for adults too!) Look at how many adults love "Sponge Bob"! lol

Keep up the good work... I'll take a look at the rulebook this week... And give you feedback (if/when necessary). I looked at the Art and thought: "Looks cool ... but a bit menacing..."

Anyhow ... Good stuff ... keep it going!

Note #1: Just as a comment, try not to be too "Dark" in your theme ... Just because if the game is aimed for kids... Something too "noire" may not compel parents to buy the game. And because kids have no income, it is unlikely that a kid buys the game. That's the real issue with many games even popular ones like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!

The marketing is geared towards kids... But the tournaments are for teens and millennials and that affects how kids want to learn more about the game besides just collecting cards.

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Tue, 01/05/2021 - 16:48
#3
The Great Nothing
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Joined: 06/29/2020
Looks fun!

Will try and look at the rule book.

Were you thinking of setting up a playtest which you would lead?

I would be up for that if possible.

Cheers

Mstt, Derbyshire - UK

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Tue, 01/05/2021 - 21:07
#4
ChrisCooke
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Joined: 07/02/2020
Running a Playtest

Absolutely! I've had a couple people reach out as individuals who want to try the game but don't have a group, so I was planning to put together a session for them.

If you're interested, I'll definitely add you to the list!

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Tue, 01/05/2021 - 22:42
#5
questccg
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Joined: 04/16/2011
Okay ... I am reading the First Time Play rules

And... I'm finding it a bit hard to follow. After the "Overview" Section, you should have a "Game Components" Section which describes the various cards, parts and dice that are going to be used to play the game. Next you should have the "Victory Condition(s)" Section which generally describes what players must do in order to WIN the game.

Now you do have a couple sentences in the "Overview" Section which explains the "Victory Condition(s)" ... I would make this a separate section AFTER the "Setup" Section.

Why I state this is because I'm a bit LOST at Step 2 of the setup:

Quote:
2. Form “The Supply” by placing all the bombs, anvils, tokens, and board covers off to the side.

These are all components and I have no previous knowledge of the parts in the game. It would be good if you added a "Game Components" and list the various components that are to be used with the game. Because you are listing parts and I don't know HOW MANY of each I should expect.

Step 3 again talks about different cards to form an Attack Deck. Again if there was a "Game Components" section, I would expect to know the amount of cards to be expected in this "first game".

Another point is that you create "creative" names for things and then are forced to EXPLAIN what they mean.

Examples:

Quote:
5. Choose a player to be the dibs player. Give them the dibs token and begin the game.

And then in the Spawning Section: Starting with the dibs player and proceeding clockwise (“dibs order”).

Quote:
...If this is your first action, stumble 1 space instead.

And then in the next sentence explain: "(To stumble, roll the die and move in the direction matching the colour rolled)".

If you have to invent a term, make sure THE FIRST time we see the term it is properly explained. Or in the case of "stumble", maybe it would be better to leave out the TERM and just explain what to do...

In the case of "Stumble" you explain it on the very LAST page in the LAST section... Do you expect me to remember where I read this term and how to apply it???

Quote:
When a thingamajig is hit by an attack, it becomes a “victim” of that attack.

Why do you introduce the term "victim"? Why do you need this term??

Again at the near END of the rulebook ... you specify the "Game End"... As I explained that should be right AFTER the "Setup" Section. Because players NEED to know WHAT they are trying to do ... before understanding all the terms, icons, play sequences, etc.

You've done a good job... Just some things with standard formatting and some things that either need to be explained quicker or ALL referenced in a section at the end.

This is only a review of the FIRST GAME ruleset. Cheers!

Note #1: I'll review the other ruleset (complete) tomorrow... Enough work for one night! ;-)

Note #2 ***VERY IMPORTANT***: Please remember to remove images and references to Cartoon Characters of which you don't have the rights to (Ren, Stimpy, Courage, Sponge Bob, etc.) I noticed you were using the more popular characters and their likeness... You'll need to EDIT that in the future before SELLING the game (or for that matter making this document available to everyone...) It's okay on BGDF... People will understand that you are still EDITING it... Because it's not final...

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Wed, 01/06/2021 - 02:09
#6
ChrisCooke
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Joined: 07/02/2020
Thanks for the feedback!

Much appreciated that you took the rime to read through and leave your thoughts on the first game ruleset!

Everything you've said has been noted, and I'll be sure to factor it into my next edit pass!

A couple notes:
- I totally understand wanting a "game end" section very early, but in the interest of reducing repeated info and keeping the page count low, I stuck with the single sentence in the overview section. So far in the playtests I've done, it's seemed to be enough. Do you think fleshing that sentence out a bit (but still within that section) could also address your concern?
- "Victim" was added to reduce wordiness on the individual attack cards. It saves a lot of space (and feels a bit more thematic) to say "victim" rather than "hit player/token" or something similar.
- Stumble is definitely a weird one. If it weren't for its involvement in a main action card it could be on its own at the end. The term exists to avoid having to say what "stumbling" is on every attack/quirk card that features it. So I feel it's a necessary term, but I agree that the first encounter with it in the rules is a bit awkward. I did include a reference card that shows keywords (including stumble), so ideally players have that readily available while playing.
- Once you read the full rules, you'll see a components page! I'm not sure why I left it out of the first game set, but I can easily add it back in.

Thanks again so much for your time!

EDIT: As a clarification on the target audience for the game, my intention isn't actually to primarily target kids. I'm more so aiming for young adults who grew up with cartoons like Ren & Stimpy, hence some of the more "teen" elements (blood, "gross-up close-ups" in the art eventually, etc)

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