On the subject of handmade games. It seems to me that the conventional wisdom is that a game is crap until it gets published. That no one would want to own a handmade game. While it is true that getting a game published is a way to show its worthyness, I think the potential for quality in a handmade can go beyond that of published games. Think of your favorite game, and then think about how you would feel if you could (legally of course) get a copy that was bigger (no undersized scoring track here), with bigger, more detailed pieces, and a wooden box, that would resist crushing and never get a split. Would you be interested?
Now what about a game that seemed really cool, but you had never seen it before and it was fairly unique?
I have no idea of how this man's business was doing, but I saw a vendor at a renaissance festival who was selling his handmade games. The big detraction for me was that they were all the standard amerifare. Otherwise it was cool to see the different wood hues, and hand craftsmanship. I don't think handcrafted should be limited to basic and abstract. I guess I had a fantasy of living like a gipsy and making my games for a living.
Your thoughts.
