tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60230824519405589532024-02-07T04:20:33.625-08:00Berlin Game DesignUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-89153780705751005972017-07-10T04:17:00.001-07:002017-11-30T11:40:19.080-08:00The Train Travels From Afar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Trains have fascinated me
ever since I was a child. Growing up in the American Midwest, I often counted
freight cars while we waited at crossings in our small town. My parents gave me
a starter model railroad set for a Christmas present when I was 6, and my
father and I worked on it together well into my teenage years. When I moved to
Germany after University, I was able to renew my love for trains with my own
sons, whether riding the high speed rail across the country, or visiting Berlin’s
Transportation Museum or Hamburg’s Miniature Wonderland model railroad.</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">I even bought them wooden train sets
while they were still babies, in anticipation of the time they would be old
enough to build elaborate tracks covering our living room floor.</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">It is not surprising, then,
that I have worked on many different game designs with this theme. The core
idea for “The Train Travels From Afar” originated from the fun of watching model
trains, and guessing where they would go next by following the tracks ahead of
them. And the twisting tracks that form the completed board at the end of the
game also resemble our apartment floor after building wooden train tracks with
my sons all afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The game was developed while
my family spent one year in the United States. We enjoy living in Berlin, and
my sons were born here, but we do miss our families who still live in America.
This was a rare opportunity for all of us to spend Christmas together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">For my two nieces, I would
often send them German board games as Christmas presents, and sometimes I
designed games especially for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This time I decided I wanted to develop my train game for them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">After 6 months of
development, I finished the prototype. My nieces opened the gift on Christmas
Day, and we played the game constantly for the rest of the holidays. They even
offered some tips on how to make the game better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Naturally, I added the game
to my portfolio of game designs which I offer to publishers, including Polish book publisher </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/34627/nasza-ksiegarnia"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nasza Księgarnia</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is exciting for me to have a new
publishing partnership with NK, and, of course, to see the game professionally produced.
I can’t wait to give the new game to my nieces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In the game, </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial";">players
compete to be the first one to get their trains to the most valuable stations,
while also scoring for long, looping routes. Each player has her own “frame”
game board and a set of tiles with tracks. In every round, you draw one tile,
place it in your play area and move all trains that are connected to the new
track. Be careful not to crash them! You score 1 point for every tile crossed
by each train, and looping through tiles multiple times can help your score.
Additionally, the farthest stations are the most valuable--until the first
trains arrive. Each delivery decreases the value of a station, so you may have
to change your plans in the middle of your journey if an opponent reaches you
initial destination first!</span><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-31811099971793087192016-11-10T16:34:00.004-08:002016-11-10T16:36:24.513-08:00Board Games that Tell Refugees' StoriesThe refugee crisis in the Middle East is no game. There are no clear rules, the information is untrackable, there are hidden variables that lead to utter chaos, and there is no endgame in site.<br />
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And yet, tens of thousands of refugees were welcomed into Berlin—my adopted home city—during the past year. As they have taken up residence in makeshift shelters and previously abandoned buildings all over Berlin, I find myself connecting with many of them through the shared language and experience of playing board games.<br />
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When we play games with anyone, we share each other’s stories. The game itself is not required to tell a story, it simply sets up the beginning, and determines when it will end. My already multicultural game nights are only the beginning to ongoing stories—relationships that go beyond meeting up to play games.<br />
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As I have volunteered at the refugee shelters near my home and the church where I work, it has been a privilege to play games with them, and through this shared language, learn their stories and begin relationships that have now gone beyond playing games together.<br />
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These are their stories, told through the games that made this possible.<br />
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<b>Chess</b><br />
Nuradin is an older man who fled here with his wife, who suffers from diabetes. He greets me with a hug and a kiss, always followed by “I miss you!” in heavily accented English. He was a philosophy professor in Syria, and is an excellent Chess player. I tell everyone who comes to watch us play that he is my teacher, and he smiles as he studies the board, not allowing my compliments to distract him.<br />
<br />
During graduate school, my roommate and I taught ourselves basic Chess strategy, although I have rarely played it since discovering “German games” and I am far from a grandmaster. It is fascinating for me, at this stage in my gaming life, to rediscover the beauty of this game. And there is also something exciting about playing the game with an Arab man. After all, Chess may never have become the world’s most studied board game had it not been for the Arabs, who, after conquering Persia, adopted the game and brought it to Europe. In fact, they still refer to it by its Persian name, Shatranj.<br />
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Nuradin believes strongly in tolerance for all worldviews. Although he is Muslim, he has read the Bible and western philosophers such as Kant and Kierkegaard. But Chess is a war simulation. We advance our pieces, as each of us positions ourselves to take control of the middle territory. I think about the advances and retreats taking place this very moment in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Then there is no more room, and multiple pieces are captured. The death toll rises and the table next to the game board fills up with casualties. The board remains clean, devoid of actual bloodshed. Even so, I can’t help but project the images of my friend’s ruined city, Aleppo, onto the white and black squares. Can anyone win this game? My friend shakes me out of my daydream with a warm smile, as he says to me encouragingly, “You are getting better.”<br />
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<b>Trex</b><br />
Integration is a two-way street. When I meet Fayez, I teach him helpful German words and phrases, but I also try to learn his language. And it goes beyond language: when I engage someone from another culture, we are both changed and enriched. I ask Fayez what his favorite game is. For the next half-hour, he can’t stop talking about a partnership card game called Trex. He speaks about it as if he were speaking about his family. That is where he learned the game, and he is always seeking out people to play it with him. Playing Trex is one of the few things that makes the drab walls and bunk beds of the school gym disappear, and the pain and destruction of war fade—if only for a moment. A game of Trex with good friends makes him feel as if he were home again.<br />
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<b>Turkish Checkers or Dama</b><br />
While I play Chess with someone at another shelter, Amed and his friend borrow another Chess set to play on the table next to us—except they set the pieces up randomly, and move each of them the same way.<br />
<br />
When we are finished with our game, I watch Amed’s game intently. “What are you playing?” I ask, using gestures, as he cannot speak English or German. They tell me it is called Dama, otherwise known as Turkish Checkers, according to the internet search I make when I am back home. After Amed finishes off his opponent, I challenge him to the next game.<br />
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I have to play it, however, without knowing the rules. I can only go by what I have observed. I make a move, he shakes his head. I gesture another move and raise my eyebrows inquisitively. He nods. I’m not just playing a variant of Checkers—it’s become a game of deduction for me. Furthermore, I’ve had to scrap my strategy multiple times because my plan was unknowingly outside the rules. This puts me at a disadvantage, of course.<br />
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This is my opponent’s life. In a foreign land, Amed is learning by doing. Even though there are many who are helping the refugees in navigating the rules to registering, filling out forms, and finding better accommodations, they are still on their own in having to deduce many of the cultural rules, especially the unwritten ones.<br />
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I am able to make a few clever moves, but Amed finishes me off in a matter of minutes. I ask for a rematch. I won’t give up, and neither will he.<br />
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<b>Hey, That’s My Fish!</b><br />
It is not enough for me to go to the refugee shelters on my own. I want to share my experiences and give my friends the opportunity to have some of their own. The appeal of boardgaming, after all, is making memories through shared experiences, and my gaming groups are already very multicultural—sometimes as many as 8 different countries on 5 continents are represented.<br />
<br />
Aaron is a game designer from the United States who decided to work from Berlin for a month. He designs digital games for a living, and has begun to design “analog” board games as well, and that is how he found our game designer’s group. I tell him about my experiences with the refugees, and he takes me up on my invitation to help with a gaming café I have initiated for them.<br />
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We make coffee and tea, set up some games on different tables, and I go to the shelter down the street to help them find their way. Soon, the room is packed, and I am thankful I have Aaron to help me. I get my Syrian friends started playing simultaneous games of Chess, then introduce the German classic, Lotti Karotti to several children, and I teach Aaron Hey, That’s My Fish to play with a mixed group of Afghans. Co-designed by Berlin friend Günter Cornett, it’s one of those games I know that I can teach without being able to use words. They catch on quickly, and play the game all afternoon with Aaron. We are both exhausted when they leave, but enjoy the time we spent with them, even if our communication was often limited to moving pieces on game boards.<br />
<br />
<b>La Boca</b><br />
I want to encourage more people to step out of their comfort zones and connect with refugees through shared interests. I want to show them how easy and rewarding it is for everyone. I write invitations on various Facebook pages and report on my experiences on Boardgamegeek.com. A gamer named John from the United States writes to me and says that he and his sons want to get involved. They do not have refugees in their neighborhood, but they do have a German au pair, and they want to send board games for the refugees.<br />
<br />
Ali is one of the only teenagers in the shelter in my neighborhood. He is not really interested in games or competition. He wants to fit in. He cherishes the times he is allowed to visit a local high school and interact with German teens. A friendly extrovert with a warm smile, Ali greets several teens as we walk together on the sidewalk outside, and they answer enthusiastically, “Hallo Ali!”<br />
I find out later that he speaks great English, but he chooses instead to struggle through German because he is determined to master it. He knows his future depends on it, and he has much more of a future ahead of him than the older people in his shelter.<br />
<br />
The two of us play La Boca, sent by John and his sons. It is a partnership game, and we play it cooperatively. It is also a communication game, and it fits the bill perfectly as a fun activity that exercises his increasing German language skills. John’s sons have written personal letters to give to refugee children who might play the games they sent. They are in English and German, translated by the boys’ au pair. I give them to Ali, and he is touched by the letters and photos of the boys, and he takes them home to practice reading German.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Tsuro</b><br />
I bring games to a local youth club every other Sunday afternoon, where they host a “Café Without Borders.” I sit at a table with a mixed group. Susanne and Per are Berliners, but she is originally from western Germany and he is from Sweden. They have lived in Berlin only slightly longer than refugees Abdul and Bilal, who also join us. I ask if they would like to play Tsuro, one of the games John and his boys sent me. They oblige, but after a few rounds, it is clear that no one wants to knock another player out of the game. We decide spontaneously to play the game cooperatively instead. We try to keep as many of us on the board as possible until the last tile is placed. The Tsuro board looks like a big puzzle that has just been completed, and we look at it for a moment with satisfaction before we go back to our pre-game conversations.<br />
<br />
All of us came from different places, yet here we are, trying to put together the multicultural puzzle that is modern Berlin. And we are choosing to do it cooperatively. I meet at this same youth club every month with scores of volunteers from the neighborhood who tirelessly work to help individual refugees with integration and paperwork and also provide opportunities for the community to connect with them. It is clear that, even with extensive government aid, the refugee effort in Germany would be unmanageable without the cooperation of so many volunteers.<br />
<br />
The influx of refugees has, in fact, had a wonderful side effect: it has helped the rest of us get to know our neighbors and learn to work together for a common cause. It makes me wonder, I think aloud at the café, what else we are capable of accomplishing if we can continue to work together.<br />
<br />
<b>Crokinole</b><br />
I help my wife and several people from our church with a craft and music time at another shelter. Most of the children are excited about the opportunity to paint and make beaded jewelry that they can use to decorate themselves and their rooms. Some of the children, however, are a bit stir crazy, as there are no playgrounds in the area, and many of the parents here do not venture out except for official appointments or to buy necessities. Some boys get aggressive with each other, and I have to separate them several times. I improvise a flicking game using a paper football, and we have wheelbarrow races down the hall. I also ask the director if they have any board games, and she tells me that they did, but that the pieces go missing. I have the idea to make board games out of common materials that can be easily replaced.<br />
<br />
Later, as I am picking up some things at the hardware store, I see a leftover white square masonite board for 2 Euro. It’s the perfect size for Crokinole. I take it home, drill a hole in the center, and draw concentric circles using a permanent marker. Then I take out two colors of plastic bottle caps I’d been saving for children’s game design workshops. I bring the game to the shelter the following week, and it’s a hit. The kids can’t stop flicking the bottle caps towards the center, and they sometimes keep flicking them across the room. If they lose any, however, they can simply ask the kitchen for more.<br />
<br />
It is often difficult to find space in which to play at the various shelters, yet this is essential for the children’s development. The games we play with them every week, whether board games or improvised role-playing, give them the opportunity to experiment, test and adapt in safe environments—all of which will be vital training for the challenges they face in the future.<br />
<br />
<b>Piece o’ Cake</b><br />
One day, I finally decide to introduce one of my own games to Chess buddy, Rustam. He has shared much of his life with me, and I want to share a part of myself—a game that I’ve created. The rules are easy to explain and he grasps the strategy. At the end of the game, he smiles and tells me that it was a good game, but he is ready to play Chess again.<br />
<br />
He is young, but his world is already filled with enough newness. His future is unclear and the rules he must learn to survive are so many, that playing the game he knows is a welcome reprieve. <br />
<br />
And, just as with all the games I’ve played with refugees over the past year, it is a connection: both to his new friends in Berlin, and to the people from home who taught him the game, many of whom are still left behind.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-35654240069586548072016-09-01T00:44:00.000-07:002017-05-11T10:08:47.984-07:00With Tile-Laying Games, The Sky's the Limit: The Making of Skyways<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13pt;">Tile-laying games have always held a special
place in both my gaming life and my game design career. It was Carcassonne, one
of the best tile-laying games ever made, that first introduced my wife and me
to the board gaming hobby in Germany in 2001. Five years later, it was a
tile-laying prototype of my own called Heartland that impressed my group of
established Berlin game designers enough to encourage me to show it to
publishers, and it was that game that garnered my first contract. I returned to
the genre a few years ago with Citrus, another tile-laying game that has proved
to be my most favorite recent game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">I don’t think I will ever tire of playing—or
designing—tile-laying games, and it seems that I am not alone. There is
something very appealing about building the game board with tiles as you play,
and trying to solve the spatial puzzles that present themselves with each
move. And as a designer, there is truly an infinite number of variations
one can make on this mechanism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">In fact, there are always a mind-boggling
number of possibilities each time one begins to design a game. When my contract
ran out for Heartland several years ago, instead of offering it immediately to
another publisher for a reprint, I decided to pursue some of these “alternative
paths” that I had passed over in the original design, to make a new game from
the same starting point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">From
Agricultural to Urban<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Many people have difficulty believing me that
its theme inspired Heartland. The main idea for the game came on one of
those flights back home to my native Iowa, where the square fields are laid out
like a checkerboard. Being from the Euro school of game design, I
admittedly abstracted the game quite a bit. Then putting tiles on top of tiles
gave the game a three-dimensional quality that ran contrary to the theme of
farming. Not to mention the scoring, but at some point, the game becomes
what it wants to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">One of the comments I had from the original
publisher was that it could just as easily be a city-building game, especially
with the 3D aspect. When I started the new design, I also decided to start with
this alternative theme and make the tiles much thicker so that it would already
be much different visually.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The
Demolition<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">At the time, I was preparing to move with my
family to the U.S. for a year, and I wanted to pitch to several publishers
there who focused on the mass market. This ideal presented an interesting
challenge, as there is a higher tolerance for complexity in board games in the
market here in Germany. I would need to streamline as never before, and the
rules would need to be understandable in just a few minutes time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">So before I could begin building a new game
around the tile-laying mechanism of Heartland, I needed to demolish most of
what that original game was. This task is never easy to do, as it means bidding
farewell to so many elements which I took the time to develop and have been fun
to play. But one of the things I often emphasize when talking or writing about
game design is that the most creative solutions often come out of imposing
limits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Keeping
The Foundation<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">When I finished the wrecking, all that was left
standing was that underlying mechanism: players had domino-style tiles in different
colors, and placed them on the board or onto other tiles to score points when
they were adjacent to groups of the same color. Everything else was gone! But
this was also the proven “foundation” that I had initially built Heartland
upon, and I felt it was stable enough to build upon again, in a new and
exciting way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">From
the Ground Up<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">One of my core design values is to present
players with interesting choices. I usually try to keep these from being overly
complex, but one option cannot be clearly better than the others—those kinds of
games only have the illusion of choices. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The domino tiles already include one simple
choice: which color half will I develop more through my placement?
Heartland added some extra information on each tile so that players could also
choose to develop various livestock and build barns, but I cut out that part of
the game. I needed another path to victory that was new and different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">I went back to the new theme for
inspiration. What distinguishes one city skyline from the next?
Often, it is the architecture of its skyscrapers—particularly when they are
most visible, at their peaks. The alternative goal for each player, then,
became one of trying to make their mark on the city skyline, placing their
building cupulas in the most strategic areas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Since the game also now emphasized the vertical
aspect of tile-laying, I made the heights of the buildings a prerequisite for
each cupula: players needed to place the first one on a two-story building,
the next one on a three-story building, and so on. The tallest cupulas—when
well-placed—could score the most points at the game's end, but it was not
necessary to do so to win the game. This mechanism created the same kind of
tension that players enjoyed with Heartland: do I cash in on points now, or do
I work towards getting my cupulas built to score big during the endgame? It
was a different game, but the beautiful dilemmas were there again!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Skyways<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The domino-style tiles posed a visual problem
with the city-building theme, however: as players placed them, they would cover
the roads in between buildings and the board would not look like a city at
all! The solution again came from my home state and its capitol, Des
Moines (and nearby Minneapolis to the north in Minnesota), as skyways connect
many of the buildings, which allow downtown businesspeople to move from
building to building without exposing themselves to the extreme weather in the
winter and summertime. Instead of rectangular domino tiles, then, they would be
square tiles joined by a narrower skyway. I also decided to push for plastic pieces--a first for me--so that they could interlock when placed on the game board.</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The
City of Tomorrow<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">After the game had been picked up by
Eagle-Gryphon Games, we decided to have more fun with the theme. Many of
the early visions of the “city of tomorrow” from books, comics, and film
included skyway-type transportation between skyscrapers, and we decided to
place the game in a retro-science fiction setting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;">I have always enjoyed playing games that allow
me to try different paths to victory, and the design process for Skyways has
been like playing one of those games, as I set out to follow a different path
from the same starting point. It is encouraging to see that one can continue to
invent original and exciting tile-laying games that offer new challenges and
dilemmas. And I have enjoyed being involved in a design whose components
are both practical and visually stunning. As with all good tile-laying games,
players can sit back at the end of the game and—win or lose—enjoy viewing the
city they have built together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eaglegryphon/skyways-a-city-building-game-remastered/comments" target="_blank"><i>Klick here to see the Kickstarter page.</i></a></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-62135417067515441512014-12-18T01:31:00.002-08:002014-12-18T01:37:24.875-08:00Postcard From Berlin: The Christmas Truce <i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Editor's Note: this article was originally published in 2007 on the now-defunct Boardgamenews.com website.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">World War I was entering its first winter, as soldiers from both sides
huddled together in the muddy trenches that lined the western front through
Belgium and France. The “No Man’s Land” between them was already filled with
bodies of the fallen, soon to be frozen because it was too dangerous to
retrieve them for a proper burial. But that Christmas, something quite unexpected
happened: the soldiers who had been trained to kill each other suddenly laid
down their weapons…and played games. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was unaware of this well-documented Christmas truce until a friend gave me
a copy of the 2005 film, ”<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424205/">Joyeux
Noël</a> (Merry Christmas).” The Oscar-nominated cinematic version of the story
is depicted through the eyes of French, British and German soldiers, and is
appropriately presented in three languages. Although it is a romanticized version
of the actual events, its message made it a tradition in our household
alongside some of the better-known holiday film classics. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">In comparing the film to the documentary included with the DVD and
information on the internet, the true story is still a moving one. It began on
Christmas Eve, when the Germans decorated their trenches with Christmas trees
lit by candles. They began singing traditional carols, which were heard by the
British troops not more than a hundred yards away. The British then responded
by singing English carols, and soon officers from both sides were arranging an
unofficial ceasefire in the spirit of the moment. The opposing trenches were
emptied, and enemies formally seen only at a distance through the crosshairs of
their weapons were now up close, exchanging things received in their Christmas
care packages like chocolates and schnapps. Time was taken to bury the dead,
and often soldiers from both sides worked together to do so. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then they played games—not board games or war games, of course. Instead,
someone produced a soccer ball and the sides, dressed in their long military
trench coats, played a true international “friendly.” German soldier Kurt
Zehmisch recorded the event in his diary: “How marvelously wonderful, yet how
strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus
Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as
friends for a time.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately for the millions who would die in the years to come, the truce
was not widespread nor did it last. The warring governments, their
militaries—even some of their priests—would not allow either side to be
deterred from their victory conditions. And though the soldiers were ready to
leave the dismal trenches to return to their families, most were convinced that
eliminating their demonized opponents was the only way to get back home. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of them, however, saw the real faces of their enemies, and it changed
them forever. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The story touches me even more because of my own personal experiences.
Before my senior year of high school, I had the privilege of being part of one
of the first student groups allowed to tour the Soviet Union, thanks to an
adventurous history teacher and Gorbachev’s new openness to the western world.
As a child of the Cold War, it was difficult to look past the missiles the
Russians had pointed at us to see the humanity that actually lived and breathed
across those eleven time zones. When arriving in Moscow, my group visited all
of the important architectural sites and museums, but what I most remember are
the faces. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There was the old couple at the shabby, out-of-the-way snack bar who
scurried about, trying to be as hospitable as possible with the little means
they had. When they looked up at me, the eyes in their wrinkled faces were
filled with warmth, kindness—and a touch of fear. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Much later on the eight-hour train ride to Leningrad, I befriended a pair of
young men not much older than me. One, who was in full military dress, offered
me a cigarette. I did not smoke, but we traded music cassettes instead, which
the other boy stored in the young soldier’s hat. And as we listened to each
other’s music on our Walkman’s, I looked into their faces, and I saw myself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After that trip, the world was a different place for me. It was still a
dangerous one, but I knew that I loved the people in it, and I wanted to
understand them better. And I came to understand the true meaning of the
Christian Christmas as well, that “God so loved the <i>world</i> that he gave
his only son…” (John 3:16). If God could sacrifice so much for humanity,
would it be too much for me to risk exposure to a hostile world, the way those
soldiers did in 1914? I can think of nothing more disarming. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I wish our governments would desire the same thing. Instead, lack of
understanding and fear seem to be the order of the day. Fear plays a great part
in plunging nations into war, and fear also now drives the Germans to crave isolation.
In fact, many of my German acquaintances believe that we should just build a
wall around the problem areas of the world—or build a wall around ourselves.
I’m sure many people back home would support this proposal as well. But it was
the wall breaking down that finally showed me the true faces of ordinary
Russians. And it was only this summer that my new friend, who grew up on the
opposite side of the Iron Curtain in East Berlin, was holding the hands of my
eleven-month-old son in the park, and as he looked up at me in amazement, said,
“I can’t believe I’m doing this—I can’t believe I’m walking with a little
American boy.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I live on his side of the wall now—or rather, where the wall used to be.
There is no more propaganda between us, no more barriers of concrete and barbed
wire to keep us at an impersonal distance from each other. Our families have
picnics together, our wives exchange baby clothes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And we, of course, play games together. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-80048191002846437602014-07-27T21:17:00.001-07:002014-07-27T21:21:31.665-07:00It's Alive!In the architecture office, my colleagues would often use a curious phrase when making design decisions: "This is what the building <i>wants </i>to be."<br />
<br />
Why the anthropomorphism? I suppose it's quicker than saying, "This seems to me to be the project's most natural direction, based on previous design decisions." And it sounds more emphatic, not to mention a tad romantic. After all, there is a mysteriousness to creative thought and the amount of influence our unconscious intuition has on that process.<br />
<br />
There are so many different directions a design of any kind can take. It is a tree of possibilities, and each branch offers a number of new, unique choices. And like those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books I enjoyed as a child, if one of those branches leads to an undesirable conclusion, it's simple to back up and follow a different branch.<br />
<br />
Game design is no different. There are so many options for a designer, and each one influences future decisions. At a certain point, I have an intuitive feel for "what the game wants to be," even if it has changed from my original vision.<br />
<br />
And that may be the best answer yet for why I view my inanimate projects as if I had designed them to evolve on their own: it's an acknowledgement that, more often than not, the process takes me down paths that I could not see at the outset. I began with a goal and a vision on how to get there, but in the process of writing rules outlines and flowcharts, of prototyping, testing and tweaking, the journey revealed other interesting paths that I simply could not resist.<br />
<br />
It's experiencing the unexpected that make me feel less like I'm in control and more like I'm playing a game--the game of game design.<br />
<br />
But I am in control, of course--at least to the point of making the final decisions, of choosing the next branches of the decision tree to climb, and finally declaring when I reach the top, "This is what the game wants to be!"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-18167954769035324162014-02-05T13:28:00.002-08:002014-02-05T13:28:44.540-08:00POSTCARD FROM BERLIN: I Got Rhythm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioHyXoVX0JefpfAjGiWSlnRIAL1jchCskBnXagS3coOoXPiCeYts0FR_-baXCct9-CKtisTcyOIDpuPU3n1HO8KzWjXnsjX4sesnrY1mwakeW8nZKX4vv3fXYHEf5bgg55nwM6qkhy6vM/s1600/Jeff_cajon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioHyXoVX0JefpfAjGiWSlnRIAL1jchCskBnXagS3coOoXPiCeYts0FR_-baXCct9-CKtisTcyOIDpuPU3n1HO8KzWjXnsjX4sesnrY1mwakeW8nZKX4vv3fXYHEf5bgg55nwM6qkhy6vM/s1600/Jeff_cajon.jpg" height="320" width="267" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
My latest <a href="http://opinionatedgamers.com/2014/02/05/postcard-from-berlin-i-got-rhythm/#more-13081">article in the Postcard From Berlin series</a> on Opinionated Gamers website describes by fascination with the rhythms of life. I've enjoyed learning to play various percussion instruments over the past several years, and it is also interesting to look at the rhythm of boardgames and how that plays into our enjoyment of them.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-4859419624957840362013-08-22T21:32:00.002-07:002013-08-24T18:55:40.235-07:00Game Design Kit<!--[if gte mso 10]>
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German boardgames are naturally a
favorite gift I’ve enjoyed giving to friends and family back in the United
States. In addition to that, I used to design an original boardgame for my two
nieces as a Christmas present every year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s not easy to shop for them when we live an ocean away from each
other, and this was a way I could give them something personal. I also did try
to theme many of the games around activities they enjoyed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When my designs began to get published, I gave them those as
gifts. Now that they are older—and very creative—I thought I would instead give
them the materials to be game designers themselves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A year and one-half ago I sent them a “game design kit” with
materials ordered from<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.spielematerial.de/en/">Spielmaterial</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They included a blank game box, a deck
of blank cards, a blank fold-out game board, a 6-color die, one large pawn, 6
normal dice in 6 colors, and large and small wooden discs and “meeples”
(human-shaped figures) in 6 colors.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNGvmuoPOKpuUI4maWsTWq_7VwvBmFftgmLGpvSNEh1NslLPzRyV7uyl7v97YAcJb7J5TNxwMnnleV96JB_yfvMxz2RJwdQ1Ah0NSQqaaYgwM4QwleMuHDn7_X46o1XR511sQLKrOCOs/s1600/Rachel_game_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNGvmuoPOKpuUI4maWsTWq_7VwvBmFftgmLGpvSNEh1NslLPzRyV7uyl7v97YAcJb7J5TNxwMnnleV96JB_yfvMxz2RJwdQ1Ah0NSQqaaYgwM4QwleMuHDn7_X46o1XR511sQLKrOCOs/s320/Rachel_game_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div><a name='more'></a>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition, I wrote up a simple checklist to help them
focus by asking themselves some of the most important design questions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMhr9IgiRi0zw6-Zkt9ikcDvoW57uerfe2vnQLiOjAwGoy8xq1nG7dNZ93LzG16UN3QiMRkGu4eAAI4dl0pefNLEhwBl66psc120O1Tsp16E_JQSvJfgsZ5gQ1RGuP9RI6fRsTkXNyUw/s1600/Rachel_game_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMhr9IgiRi0zw6-Zkt9ikcDvoW57uerfe2vnQLiOjAwGoy8xq1nG7dNZ93LzG16UN3QiMRkGu4eAAI4dl0pefNLEhwBl66psc120O1Tsp16E_JQSvJfgsZ5gQ1RGuP9RI6fRsTkXNyUw/s320/Rachel_game_2.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a recent visit to their home, I was finally able to see
the “work in progress.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although
one of the nieces had not yet been able to begin, the younger girl had created
not one—but 10 games around the theme of Olympic events!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her father had enjoyed working on the project with her and
testing the results, which included dexterity games for basketball, balance
beam, diving and archery, light strategy games for tennis, boxing and rowing,
and dice games for running events. What was most exciting is how she had used
every physical element—including both the game box and lid—in the design.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2L2NiTU37g_cueAvPbQ9tHu3-Lciec1qmRWgIQB310CCTXYSPRz1rrV6AD_DWkbeLGwH-Z300oaTvLPBylB0W0RDdfJgMaHLwdZrYUvlcLF1dL_vjbq5RD9UUQoSJ1-H44yBf16B5M4s/s1600/Rachel_game_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2L2NiTU37g_cueAvPbQ9tHu3-Lciec1qmRWgIQB310CCTXYSPRz1rrV6AD_DWkbeLGwH-Z300oaTvLPBylB0W0RDdfJgMaHLwdZrYUvlcLF1dL_vjbq5RD9UUQoSJ1-H44yBf16B5M4s/s320/Rachel_game_3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During my visit, I was able to arrange a meeting with the
<a href="http://German boardgames are naturally a favorite gift I’ve enjoyed giving to friends and family back in the United States. In addition to that, I used to design an original boardgame for my two nieces as a Christmas present every year. It’s not easy to shop for them when we live an ocean away from each other, and this was a way I could give them something personal. I also did try to theme many of the games around activities they enjoyed. When my designs began to get published, I gave them those as gifts. Now that they are older—and very creative—I thought I would instead give them the materials to be game designers themselves. A year and one-half ago I sent them a “game design kit” with materials ordered from Spielmaterial.de. They included a blank game box, a deck of blank cards, a blank fold-out game board, a 6-color die, one large pawn, 6 normal dice in 6 colors, and large and small wooden discs and “meeples” (human-shaped figures) in 6 colors. In addition, I wrote up a simple checklist to help them focus by asking themselves some of the most important design questions. On a recent visit to their home, I was finally able to see the “work in progress.” Although one of the nieces had not yet been able to begin, the younger girl had created not one—but 10 games around the theme of Olympic events! Her father had enjoyed working on the project with her and testing the results, which included dexterity games for basketball, balance beam, diving and archery, light strategy games for tennis, boxing and rowing, and dice games for running events. What was most exciting is how she had used every physical element—including both the game box and lid—in the design. During my visit, I was able to arrange a meeting with the MindWare company, which was located less than a half-hour away from their home. I wanted to pitch some of my game designs to them, but also asked if my niece could come and show them her game as well. Kristin Gallagher of MindWare enthusiastically agreed, and she was very encouraging after testing some of the games. My niece was given several MindWare products, which she has enjoyed thoroughly ever since. And she hung around to help demonstrate my designs for MindWare. The best part, though, was being able to share the experience of designing and playing games with family I unfortunately do not get to see often enough.">MindWare</a> company, which was located less than a half-hour away from their
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to pitch some of my
game designs to them, but also asked if my niece could come and show them her
game as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kristin Gallagher of
MindWare enthusiastically agreed, and she was very encouraging after testing
some of the games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My niece was
given several MindWare products, which she has enjoyed thoroughly ever since.
And she hung around to help demonstrate my designs for MindWare. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The best part, though, was being able to share the
experience of designing and playing games with family I unfortunately do not
get to see often enough.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-22573044751299803942013-07-24T18:07:00.001-07:002013-07-24T18:07:24.099-07:00Two New Games, Freshly Squeezed and Uncovered<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Two new games that I've been working on for many years in various versions are finally being offered to the public.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGg29Osvczh0Gh-JXU-25KajelgDxtFX2KjPBnhWg99jIXvLpEEFMdg9IDMYAeDrgC0boF2MZzmCu9GbfGEUMFdTOGrfL4eyqKjI0V9YxoxPzXLLfDiOPBl8I89wQ109OQ5KWvFmUhTQY/s1600/CITRUS_Cover_v09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGg29Osvczh0Gh-JXU-25KajelgDxtFX2KjPBnhWg99jIXvLpEEFMdg9IDMYAeDrgC0boF2MZzmCu9GbfGEUMFdTOGrfL4eyqKjI0V9YxoxPzXLLfDiOPBl8I89wQ109OQ5KWvFmUhTQY/s320/CITRUS_Cover_v09.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Citrus</i> has been announced as an October Essen release from dlp-games. It was a pleasure to develop the game further with designer/publisher Reiner Stockhausen, and I'm excited to finally have one of my games illustration by Klemens Franz, who I met for the first time in Essen. In fact, I showed the prototype to him there, and I owe it to him for recommending it to Reiner.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPjx5_8gx46hJ4N1jFqRcWRh4JSEhy3U1OABgKYVj67-LRnfPVYU-H5uEOsmucU0eGoaTQVMcP0UhacTFXoqMexYoI6AdVexYq7HnAbkRSPWaErZXMsEmAA-x2Hdml8SYSQkht2Nyils/s1600/artifact_boxfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPjx5_8gx46hJ4N1jFqRcWRh4JSEhy3U1OABgKYVj67-LRnfPVYU-H5uEOsmucU0eGoaTQVMcP0UhacTFXoqMexYoI6AdVexYq7HnAbkRSPWaErZXMsEmAA-x2Hdml8SYSQkht2Nyils/s320/artifact_boxfront.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Artifact</i>, which made it to the final round of 6 in the 2009 Hippodice Competition, will also debut in October in Essen, this time from White Goblin Games. This game has also had a long development time and was my first collaboration with friend Bernd Eisenstein.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I won't be attending Essen as I'm spending the year with my family in North Carolina. But I'll be there "in spirit" with the release of <i>Citrus</i> and <i>Artifact</i>! The stories behind the development will be posted on BoardgamegeekNews in the next weeks as well as here on this blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-362096733496077302013-06-16T13:05:00.004-07:002013-06-16T13:08:32.784-07:00"New" is the new "Nieuw"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIDvVlIJWXi_m9Mn3kVKJrQojz1cKwJI0KbcSXpHGvS_B7_eLagUOMKuRf46RAO35-mvia1qbCB9Z38YFWi3SdIQvlpQ_Wd1yCPr4rEWs_Ojcuf_so_1YomsaQ2iivqtD6ojhc4Yapjg/s1600/essen+Interview_nieuw+amsterdam.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIDvVlIJWXi_m9Mn3kVKJrQojz1cKwJI0KbcSXpHGvS_B7_eLagUOMKuRf46RAO35-mvia1qbCB9Z38YFWi3SdIQvlpQ_Wd1yCPr4rEWs_Ojcuf_so_1YomsaQ2iivqtD6ojhc4Yapjg/s320/essen+Interview_nieuw+amsterdam.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Nieuw Amsterdam, my game released through Dutch publisher White Goblin Games last year, has now been picked up by a North American publisher. Pandasaurus Games in the U.S. has put <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/872179144/new-amsterdam?ref=card">the game on crowdsourcing site Kickstarter</a> which is the first time any of my games have been funded in this way. It is now over 400% funded with 12 days still to go, and that's without any huge benefits or stretch goals. It's encouraging to see that the game's reputation speaks for itself, without any major gimmicks and extras. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The biggest change is in the spelling of the game, with the Dutch "Nieuw" being replaced by the English "New." Despite having a Dutch publisher for the original game, I was actually the one who insisted on using the original spelling of the colony, mainly because I liked the historical significance and thought that it would help the game stand out in Essen among hobbyists, where Latin names like Agricola and Alea Iacta Est are commonplace. I'm not at all bothered by the name change for the North American market, however, and am excited that the game will now have a wider distribution. If you are interested in the game, there are still 12 days left to pledge! You can see my explanation of the game at Essen on <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/video/22305/new-amsterdam/nieuw-amsterdam-overview-spiel-2012-boardgamege">BoardGameGeek</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpl2RlR45OdKfCi8GzO6wbYnAnszVFoRIinEkvS9p8MvoRxrgF0amz9TmODcG1IeMmipBUb7JVtHSIQsbhaCEBzz2ROFBcsB8UaPVXrMY3lt8gFrE9WYFUG_a5h1pAyM5Sy9fEn17M2U/s1600/NewAmsterdam_cover2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpl2RlR45OdKfCi8GzO6wbYnAnszVFoRIinEkvS9p8MvoRxrgF0amz9TmODcG1IeMmipBUb7JVtHSIQsbhaCEBzz2ROFBcsB8UaPVXrMY3lt8gFrE9WYFUG_a5h1pAyM5Sy9fEn17M2U/s320/NewAmsterdam_cover2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In addition, White Goblin Games tweeted in May this message to fans of the game: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everyone who wants us to release an expansion for our game New Amsterdam may express that on: info@whitegoblingames.com"</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">While Josh Cappel was completing the wonderful graphic design for the game about a year ago, White Goblin asked me for ideas for some small expansions to use as exclusive Essen "giveaways." As can often happen, brainstorming led to so many ideas that it was not difficult to come up with enough for a decent-sized expansion. I know I'm biased, but I like the expansion quite a bit and would love to see it produced professionally with Josh's graphics, so please write to White Goblin if you, too, are interested!</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-28005862116293032652013-06-16T11:52:00.003-07:002013-07-25T13:30:59.094-07:00104 Games to Play...from my Collection<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On the Opinionated Gamers website, we came up with the idea of creating<a href="http://opinionatedgamers.com/category/138-games/"> "bucket list" for gaming hobbyists, </a>recommending games to try at least once in their lives.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As I wrote earlier, however, I also have a list of games I'm trying to get though, namely those that I have collected during my euphoric "first years in the hobby" when everything was new and--thanks to Berlin flea markets and department store clearance sales--relatively inexpensive.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Since that time, however, I've come to the realization that too big of a game collection is a bit overwhelming for me (not to mention my wife and children), and I have been intentionally and methodically trying out unplayed games, trading or giving away many of them afterwards. I've also gotten rid of a few after reading the rules, deciding ahead of time that I'd rather try something else.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I <a href="http://berlingamedesign.blogspot.de/2012/05/researchor-playing-through-my.html">wrote about my first attempts</a> a year ago, and following is an update on which games I've enjoyed and kept, which ones I was ready to part with, and a list of the final 104 games that remain unplayed.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Games I'm keeping:</b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Babel - very nice two-player game</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Tennis Masters - interesting sports-themed dexterity game that I may not keep</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Saga - surprisingly good small card game from Kramer</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Focus - interesting Sid Sackson abstract I'd like to explore more</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Goldland - borderline first experience that I'm keeping for the theme for now</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Attika</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> - borderline game which I've played several times now</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">K2 - Eurogame that is refreshingly thematic and with an original theme!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Arriba - classic reaction game</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Tonga
Bonga - surprisingly original and clever dice allocation/betting game</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Das Amulett - borderline experience but I like the ideas and want to explore more</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Strozzi - simplified Medici, fast and fun, although I could do without the typically convoluted Knizia scoring that feels like a boring math exercise (comparing and counting in several categories)--another game that would work better on a computer. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Zahltag - I had to try it, as I am a former architect and always wanted to design a game that incorporates the blind bid-letting I'm familiar with. I played with my architect father, and we had fun with it. Would like to try it with 3 or 4 players.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;"><b>Games I traded or gave away after playing: </b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Das Letzte Paradies - very original and different, happy to have played once, but that was enough</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;">Holiday AG - simple abstract from Kramer, well-designed but nothing special</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;">Café International - bland and boring, another Spiel des Jahres casualty</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Golf Masters - kept the cool golfer figures, but the game as is just doesn't work<br /><span style="color: #343434;">Singapore - lots of nice touches from friend Peer Sylvester, but not enough to keep</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;">Wonger - I like just about every Alan Moon game except this one</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;">Knatsch - not bad, but I'd rather play other dice games</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;">Die Bosse - outdated art and equally outdated mechanics</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;">Herr der Ringe: Die Zwei T</span><span lang="DE" style="color: #343434;">ürme Kartenspiel - bland Knizia abstract with Lord of the Rings pasted on</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #343434;">Die Magier von Pangea - some interesting concepts, but gameplay fell flat</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #343434;">Drunter und Drü</span><span style="color: #343434;">ber - silly theme but would rather play other bluffing games</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;">Canyon - Wizard combined with a racing board game. I'd rather play Wizard, and I don't like Wizard.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Quo Vadis? - dry negotiation game. I'd rather play I'm the Boss</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Space Dealer - interesting experience, but just not screaming for repeat plays. Perhaps I'll try the new remake--but I won't buy it until I do.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Finca - well-designed Eurogame with rondel actions, set collection and lots of scoring combinations. Just too formulaic for me these days (Pergamon by the same designer is much better).</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As you can see, I have finally decided to break up my collection of Spiel des Jahres winners. Up until last year, I had collected every single one dating from the first award in 1979. What convinced me to part with tradition? I just couldn't bring myself to buy Kingdom Builder after playing it. And I realized that, if I really wanted to reduce my collection, some of the other award winners would have to go so that better games could maintain their place on my shelves.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="color: #343434;"><b>Games I traded or gave away without playing:</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;">Continuo - the rules said enough. I do not need to play this to "get it"</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;">Geschichten aus 1001 Nacht (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">1001 Arabian Nights)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">- I'll be happy to try this if someone is excited enough to teach it to me. But I don't have to own it.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Rasende Roboter - puzzle games are not my favorite, and I have others that I like more</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Das Kollier - just did not look exciting enough</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Die Weinhändler - probably not a bad game, but not different enough, either. I'm a big fan of the designers' other game, Santiago.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Die 1. Million - another Sid Sackson card game, and it looks too repetitive</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Grosse Geschäfte
(Mall World) - I really would have liked to see how friend Andrea Meyer's game really works, but I'd rather play the East German themed version. The Mall theme really turns me off as does the garish artwork, and the rules are just too unintuitive to digest on my own. I'd rather play her other games, Freeze or Singstar/Hossa.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Pool Position - a cute and original theme from Berlin friend Thorsten Gimmler, but not enough game there to keep in my collection, and I'd rather play his Thief of Bagdad or Geschenkt! (No Thanks!).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Finally after playing again, I also decided to trade</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;"> Die
Baumeister von Arcadia. It is a nice game with a great production, but just not something that I want to play over and over again.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;">Now that there's a little more room on the shelves, its time to focus again on the remaining unplayed games in my collection:</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434;"><b><u>49 Multi-Player Board Games:</u></b></span><span style="color: #343434;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Catan: Cities & Knights<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Die Händler von Genua<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The Hobbit (2011)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Die Macher<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Mare Nostrum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Mississippi Queen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Neuland<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Nexus Ops<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Pandemic: On the Brink<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Papperlapapp<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Remmi Demmi<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Risk Legacy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Roll Through the Ages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rückkehr der Helden<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Scheibenkleister<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Die Seidenstrasse<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Showmanager<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Silk Road<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Singstar: Das Brettspiel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Sleuth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Stephenson’s Rocket<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Taschkent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Tigris & Euphrates<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Timbuktu<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Tycoon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Um Reifenbreit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Verflixxt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Worter See<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">You Robot<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Der Zerstreute Pharao<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b><u>21 two-player:</u></b></span><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Aton<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Twilight Struggle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Hammer of the Scotts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Bambuti<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Ebbe & Flut<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">En Garde<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Hammer of the Scots<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Orado<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b><u>35 Card games:</u></b></span><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Alles Klar?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Robin Hood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rotundo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Sabuca<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Speed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Sticheln<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Takt voll<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Tichu<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Verräter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Vom Kap bis Kairo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Where’s Bob’s Hat?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Wühltisch</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-84021040060451247922013-06-15T08:33:00.000-07:002013-06-15T08:33:23.282-07:00POSTCARD FROM BERLIN #60: Game Design for Grade School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZdH1xAIIfH8_m1Yk-4nHIKpcKsMJEL0708Ljwv0JZJe0uc8TxQFjfbHr7ngO6Yn-T-QRkKfW597l7Xy0QdbtiKhtm1J73MetI9ubooTbSZwzlxei-ZVTI9lo8SqmxLIBDD-M1FpKwA8/s1600/FESB_games_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZdH1xAIIfH8_m1Yk-4nHIKpcKsMJEL0708Ljwv0JZJe0uc8TxQFjfbHr7ngO6Yn-T-QRkKfW597l7Xy0QdbtiKhtm1J73MetI9ubooTbSZwzlxei-ZVTI9lo8SqmxLIBDD-M1FpKwA8/s320/FESB_games_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's been awhile...work and family have taken priority, and game design has taken up any free moments I've had apart from those. But after teaching a classroom of 4th-6th graders about game design for a whole week, I found myself writing notes about my experience, and it soon turned into an article. You can read my latest <a href="http://opinionatedgamers.com/2013/06/14/postcard-from-berlin-60-game-design-for-grade-school/">Postcard From Berlin on the Opinionated Gamers</a> website. Perhaps you'll have the opportunity to teach game design to children too!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-70019888713639979872013-05-11T04:56:00.002-07:002013-11-08T06:35:07.964-08:00The Beautiful DilemmaOne of the main goals of game design is to present the players with dilemmas. Without them, player decisions--if there are any--will seem too obvious, and the game will lack tension.<br />
<br />
I actually consider games without dilemmas to be more like spectator sports. Some people are perfectly content to be spectators in a game. They play <i>Candyland</i> or<i> LCR</i> just because they like to watch how things will turn out. To them, playing a game is just another alternative to watching a football game on TV. They do not have any influence on the outcome, but they are drawn in by the action. And they would rather "veg out" than be burdened by tough decisions.<br />
<br />
I, however, am not content to be a spectator when I play games. I need to be drawn in by the interactions with the game system and the other players. A game engages its players by providing interesting decisions, in which there are no obviously correct paths to take.<br />
<br />
<i>"You can't always get what you want..." - Mick Jagger</i><br />
<br />
The best game experience I can have is when its mechanics present me with several good options every turn. And then it hits me with a beautiful dilemma:<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Each turn, I can always do something good, but I cannot do everything that I want to now.</i></b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>When I was introduced to Eurogames over 10 years ago, this is what hooked me. Modern board game designers like Sackson, Kramer, Knizia, Teuber and Moon had all discovered the secret to packing a great gaming experience in a shorter playing time: maintaining tension and engaging the players through dilemmas:<br />
<br />
<i>Should I continue to climb the mountain in </i>Can't Stop<i> even though the odds are growing against me? But my opponents are also nearing the summit, and I cannot risk going too slow.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Should I play my cards in </i>Ticket to Ride<i> and connect my cities now, before someone else blocks me, or should I take those two cards from the reserve before someone else does so that I can complete another connection later?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Should I try to reach another oasis in </i>Through the Desert<i>, or should I encircle territory or capture a point tile with my next 2 camels? </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Should I hold onto my cards, risking an attack by the robber in </i>Settlers of Catan<i>, so that I can build a settlement next turn, or should I build a road now, beating an opponent to an open space?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Should I take a better action card and have less cubes to work with in </i>El Grande<i>, or activate more cubes for later and be satisfied with a lesser card this round?</i><br />
<br />
These are the kinds of simple mechanics that invite thoughtful--and rewarding--play. I've come to realize that the dilemmas a game presents is usually the deciding factor of whether or not I will enjoy playing it. There are certainly other factors such as player interaction and downtime, but the tension and engagement provided by a game with beautiful dilemmas can easily override weakness in other areas.<br />
<br />
That is why, when working on a new game design, I begin by asking myself, "What kind of interesting dilemma can I present the players in this game? What will keep them on the edge of their seats as they watch their opponents and wait for their turns? What will give them a feeling of accomplishment each game after they followed a specific decision tree, and what will keep them wondering what would have been if they had followed another path, long after the game is over?<br />
<br />
<b><i>If you are designing a game, start with the dilemmas.</i></b><br />
<br />
Of course, it is possible for a game design to go overboard on dilemmas. Levels upon levels of complex systems are sometimes used to manufacture "strategic depth," and these overly complex affairs do not appeal to me. It can be overwhelming to be faced with too many simultaneous dilemmas. Perhaps some people enjoy "pushing the envelop" of complexity when they play, but I would rather marvel in the elegance of a simple system that provides tension through a more restrained and, in my opinion, skillful use of dilemmas in its design.<br />
<br />
Games are an abstracted reflection of real life, and dilemmas make life exciting. It is also no accident that we have built-in filters that help us limit our dilemmas to a manageable amount. In fact, I may prefer a more focused game with beautiful dilemmas because it is getting more difficult to filter out the real-world ones.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to my current dilemma: should I keep writing about game design, or should I go back to work on a beautiful dilemma I am creating for a new game?<br />
I'd like to do both now, but I can only do one of them this turn...<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-87849506831043743932013-04-22T00:52:00.003-07:002013-05-25T08:08:16.237-07:00Designing for Competitions<b>Advantages of Entering Competitions</b><br />
<br />
Game design competitions can be helpful in many ways, especially for the hobby designer (i.e. one that does not work for a publisher or does not depend on game design income).<br />
<br />
First, it usually provides clear boundaries as to game materials and other factors, such as target group and even theme. These outside limits help a designer immediately focus. <a href="http://opinionatedgamers.com/2011/02/06/postcards-from-berlin-44-limits/">I've written before about the need of self-imposed limits</a>, when one is designing on spec rather than on a contract basis. A competition usually has many of these limits built-in.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Second, it provides a clear deadline. Without deadlines, game design can go on forever. I often tell publishers that delaying the release of my games is a dangerous thing, as I continue to find ways to tweak them if given more time. A deadline forces one to "finish" it.<br />
<br />
Third, entering a competition guarantees that your prototype will be playtested by a number of diverse people. Finding playtesters and asking/bribing/blackmailing them into testing your prototype is one of the most challenging phases of game design. It is much easier for extroverted people like me to host game nights where testing can take place, but for introverts, entering competitions is another great option.<br />
<br />
Fourth, the feedback you receive--both positive and negative--can help you improve your design submission and give you the confidence to pitch it to a publisher.<br />
<br />
Fifth, winning a competition can get your game noticed by publishers. Some competitions are organized by publishers offering contracts to the winners, and some include publisher representatives on their juries.<br />
<br />
<b>My Experience with Game Design Competitions</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I neglected, in the list above, to mention one of the main reasons I enter competitions. I do it for the same reason I play games: because exercising creativity in a competitive setting is fun. There is something that draws me to a competition, no matter how prestigious it may be. Perhaps it is the specific program and limits, or the fact that I will be able to get feedback from the public on a design before it's published.<br />
<br />
Competitions have also been rewarding for me in that they have led either directly or indirectly to several publishing contracts:<br />
<br />
<i>Alea Iacta Est</i>, for example, began as a simple entry into a game competition using dice and a standard deck of cards in 2006. The competition was canceled without ever informing the participants, but I enjoyed the game so much that I continued to expand and refine it with my friend, Bernd Eisenstein, and it eventually found a publisher.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhER4AsluLcQVo5PIuGdz25_OyjIMsbx32gHGmd76985tPWTT1A2wqkd_9vZ7Hr_-KzVWp0QJX-UdWXPBwYYuFLrikcVdXa_MkNjQzRBD-ZcXctNg6GB1CgT8FBBKT0WfZga_FUM1N4giw/s1600/castles+and+crowns+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhER4AsluLcQVo5PIuGdz25_OyjIMsbx32gHGmd76985tPWTT1A2wqkd_9vZ7Hr_-KzVWp0QJX-UdWXPBwYYuFLrikcVdXa_MkNjQzRBD-ZcXctNg6GB1CgT8FBBKT0WfZga_FUM1N4giw/s320/castles+and+crowns+small.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The competition entry that became <i>Alea Iacta Est</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That same competition inspired another design that I have been working on ever since. The dice were eventually replaced with tiles, and the game transformed from a 2-player affair to accommodate up to 5 players in its current form, which has now been signed by a German publisher and is planned for an October release.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGF_vIepR0XX_Tf0nPvc-c2pcG9xUVeT3N2a3IpoZTUoxkP30e-M_5bnbEPC5IMvFRVNOJTIAaO4Xxu8775nvUMzXvw6KxumN2s74HZMHUatrTPyrer-zCgCgeVb4au2oHywqXIZqe9w/s1600/Netherlands_Dice_Proto_Photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGF_vIepR0XX_Tf0nPvc-c2pcG9xUVeT3N2a3IpoZTUoxkP30e-M_5bnbEPC5IMvFRVNOJTIAaO4Xxu8775nvUMzXvw6KxumN2s74HZMHUatrTPyrer-zCgCgeVb4au2oHywqXIZqe9w/s320/Netherlands_Dice_Proto_Photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The competition entry that evolved greatly into a soon-to-be-released game. Hint: there are no longer any dice!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Both <i>Wampum</i> and <i>Artifact,</i> another game from Bernd and I, were not designed specifically for a competition, but it was only after being awarded by the Hippodice Competition that they received interest from publishers and, eventually, contracts. The latter is also planned for an October release.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbCMt2LEoC6cDucfaOtzcxB_1v5Om7oFX71eerAPtg-MLzSEMnbpMYQKpy-4vDkIzIJv0QKe2pANr47c-wHqU7ulYfwq7BP1-StB912qRnLqCT3BT1PXrB2WrBFPHSpm5BwJ82l41KjY/s1600/PrototypePhoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbCMt2LEoC6cDucfaOtzcxB_1v5Om7oFX71eerAPtg-MLzSEMnbpMYQKpy-4vDkIzIJv0QKe2pANr47c-wHqU7ulYfwq7BP1-StB912qRnLqCT3BT1PXrB2WrBFPHSpm5BwJ82l41KjY/s320/PrototypePhoto.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Wampum</i> prototype for the Hippodice competition.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFnTLG5FIB9vmXCOw-ItAB5oN91WJg6xD7on0OBz3ynkxyXMlkLR1a8z-XsreZw71P23BFwTme2T2c1nmgVFI1LiSxZ8rBMw8paskcbMu1OJFXDpBotDppE0eRKazpK7MkCSJUjCthzxM/s1600/ArtifactPrototype_hippodice+finalist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFnTLG5FIB9vmXCOw-ItAB5oN91WJg6xD7on0OBz3ynkxyXMlkLR1a8z-XsreZw71P23BFwTme2T2c1nmgVFI1LiSxZ8rBMw8paskcbMu1OJFXDpBotDppE0eRKazpK7MkCSJUjCthzxM/s320/ArtifactPrototype_hippodice+finalist.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Artifact</i> prototype for the Hippodice competition.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just two months ago I found out about a <a href="http://spieltz.de/blog/spieleautoren-wettbewerb-thema-phantasie/803">local design competition from a "print on demand" publisher here in Berlin</a>. I found the material possibilities--and limits--intriguing. The entries were limited to using pawns in 6 different colors and 6-sided dice, along with light or dark Backgammon discs. The game boards would also be printed on bendable, vinyl sheets. The 3 finalists will be played and judged this weekend at <a href="http://www.spielmarkt-potsdam.de/">Potsdam's 23. International Game Market</a>, an annual event in the largest city on the outskirts of Berlin. The theme of the event, which is designed more for children and families than for gamers, is "fantasy" or "using your fantasy," and the competition encourages the games to incorporate that theme into their design.<br />
<br />
The deadline was unusually short, but I was intrigued enough to enter, although there was not very much time to playtest before sending in my submission. I just found out that my design was chosen as one of the 3 finalists, and I've already sent my improved version of the game board and rules, which I had continued to refine after the competition deadline. I've also worked on a few other prototypes which have tried to take advantage of the unusual game board material.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZ2RpUSdf9hQHZ5rcfSPh2pTl44XkuSakOcxI_o24hn2O0jIVZRODUpB0XV54G0KxxY9nqdFwPmd3yCDcnN-rx4379gYh3I644VukM2O7nmd0tDVsMp8IKO0O9W3msrW0aF9q6Fv9Df0/s1600/Fantastic+Stories_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZ2RpUSdf9hQHZ5rcfSPh2pTl44XkuSakOcxI_o24hn2O0jIVZRODUpB0XV54G0KxxY9nqdFwPmd3yCDcnN-rx4379gYh3I644VukM2O7nmd0tDVsMp8IKO0O9W3msrW0aF9q6Fv9Df0/s320/Fantastic+Stories_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My entry: <i>Fantastic Stories</i> as initially produced by Spieltz for the competition.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It will be fun to see the game being played at the event when I bring my family this Saturday, and the game will be available on the publishers print-and-play website sometime thereafter. And, like some of the other games that began as a humble entry into a relatively unknown competition, perhaps this one will also evolve into something bigger in the future.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-49692708748416930982013-03-29T15:03:00.001-07:002013-05-13T12:12:09.334-07:00Tossing the Point Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p4xYinLTTyAXMwM789hIB5FUrs0osUbaeSeZHHjDVB4KGLmvzMBupLPNUO2fJ2N35Cu-pP4ULWfFbeIJGEac-nRYo93Gr-LEoXziMvrIv6gbEd25hQ-eJDVkZZqe6yIe7Y8KoKo1rMo/s1600/Point+Salad.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p4xYinLTTyAXMwM789hIB5FUrs0osUbaeSeZHHjDVB4KGLmvzMBupLPNUO2fJ2N35Cu-pP4ULWfFbeIJGEac-nRYo93Gr-LEoXziMvrIv6gbEd25hQ-eJDVkZZqe6yIe7Y8KoKo1rMo/s400/Point+Salad.png" /></a></div>
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"Welcome to the show where everything's made up and the points don't matter," Drew Carey was famous for saying at the introduction of the hit improv comedy series, Who's Line is it, Anyway? Lately, I've thought that this same phrase could apply to the that niche-within-a-niche in the boardgame market: complex Eurogames. Afterall, the exotic themes often have much less to do with the mechanics than simply to add a little color to the graphic presentation, and the points...well, there's so many of them to be had, that I can often hear Carey's voice in the back of my head each turn, exclaiming with a smile, "A thousand points for everyone!"<br />
<br />
In the comment section of a <a href="http://opinionatedgamers.com/2013/02/25/larry-levy-overview-and-first-impressions-of-bora-bora/#comments">review</a> of prolific game designer Stefan Feld's newest gamer's game, <i>Bora Bora</i>, Ben McJunkin of the Opioniated Gamers used the term "Point Salad" to describe what has become a popular scoring mechanism in these complex games:<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
"One source of my disagreement with Feld’s designs is the excessive use of granular and contingent points scoring. In other corners of the interwebz, I have regularly advocated for games to provide clearer feedback to players through points allocations. Ideally, good play would produce points, average play would not, and bad play would lose points. In most of Feld’s games, I find it too easy to get complacent with suboptimal moves, since even bad choices result in the game effectively shouting, “Good job! Here, take another handful of points.” While those who enjoy and excel at Feldian designs can rightly make the point that part of the game’s skill comes in puzzling out the difference between “a handful of points” and “the biggest handful of points,” I generally prefer games with clearer (and fewer) objectives, such that the focus is on the interplayer fight to achieve them."<br />
<br />
Why are "point salads" popular in recent games? For the gamer, it may be psychological effect of being rewarded at every turn. As many of these games are so-called "engine-building" games, it is encouraging to see those engines producing something of value. Yes, there are any number of resource conversions at work, but ultimately, the goal is to convert these into victory points as efficiently as possible.<br />
<br />
From a game design perspective, the Point Salad offers several benefits:<br />
<br />
<b><i>Tying the Game's Mechanics to it's Theme</i></b><br />
<div>
Games are abstractions of reality, but a Point Salad game can reflect real-life rewards without the overwhelming complexity of a simulation. Agricola is an example of a game that rewards players in every area for reasons of thematic integrity.<br />
<br />
<i><b> Balancing the Game</b></i><br />
In Germany, game balance is a priority. And for complex games that offer multiple paths to victory, balancing the various elements and strategic possibilities requires the most time and effort from the designer and developer. The Point Salad approach offers a relatively easy way of doing this. With so many points awarded for each possibility, the numbers can be quickly and simply adjusted when imbalances are discovered. Is this the "easy way out" of the problem, however, and is there a better solution?<br />
<br />
<i>Settlers of Catan</i>, for example, gave us the very elegant “first player to 10 points wins.” Even<i> Puerto Rico</i> gave us some complex, interweaving systems while still only rewarding victory points for shipping and buildings.<br />
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Since then, game designers have moved away from this approach to Point Salad scoring, and I’m not sure our designs are better for it. Friend Peer Sylvester and I have talked about getting away from that type of game, but it wasn't until recently that I realized I was still depending on this approach with one of my new designs. Now, after receiving criticism much like that doled out by McJunkin above, I'm overhauling the prototype in order to provide the players with much clearer goals and mechanics that allow them to better measure their progress relative to their opponents. These were the standards set by the German games of the 90's and early part of the last decade.<br />
<br />
You might say I'm tossing the Point Salad in favor of the "Meat and Potatoes" of German game design.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-78110025773802328732013-03-14T11:59:00.002-07:002013-04-27T13:03:28.602-07:00Motivation<div class="MsoNormal">
I wrote in an
earlier post on why I design games, but recently I took a moment to think about
what motivates me to work on a particular design over another one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s true that most designers are never short of game ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have computer files and 3-ring binders full of them, but since my job
(not as a game designer) and family take priority, I only have a limited amount
of free time to work on them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
how do I decide which one to develop further?</div>
<a name='more'></a><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">I think that a
concept’s originality is what mainly drives me to block out all the other ideas
and focus for a few weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
could be a mechanism that I have not seen before, or it could be a theme that
is particularly fascinating to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> My latest game, </span><i>Nieuw Amsterdam,</i> kept me focused for some time due to its theme and my
desire to do justice to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">But I think that
the most important motivation for me is the feedback I receive from
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When playtesters react
positively to a new game design, it is easy for me to get excited about it too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this does not stop when I find the
right publisher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">I just signed a
contract, for example, for a design that I had not worked on for some
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had received negative
feedback after pitching it to a publisher several years ago (although they made a quick judgement without ever playtesting it), and I decided to shelve it for awhile after that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> W</span>hile I was getting my prototypes
ready for Essen this year, however, I pulled it out again and included it with my
portfolio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turned out to be my most-requested prototype from the publishers I visited (also from first impressions, without having played the game), and not long
afterwards, I received a contract offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The publisher had some great ideas to improve the game, and now I’m
motivated to help develop it further, knowing that it will soon be on the
market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">On the other
hand, another game design that I successfully pitched during Essen did not fare
so well, and I received the two prototypes back that each publisher had tested.
The game needed more development, they said. It wasn’t
easy to read their criiticism at first, especially after I felt that I had given
it my „all.“<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But after playing the
game again with my own group, I see where they are coming from and I now have
some ideas on how to overhall the design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m motivated to work on it again. When I get negative feedback, it's the challenge that motivates me.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;"><br /></span>
<span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">It turns out that any kind of feedback can motivate me to focus on a design for a time, whether positive or negative. It stems from the challenge to make the prototype better, and the belief that there is potential there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">And it is encouraging to know that, with a little more persistance, hard
work and patience, I can get this game published too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Experience</span> has taught me that, and success is the best motivation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-58699681052280643252013-02-10T05:08:00.002-08:002018-04-10T14:59:45.863-07:00Should Game Designers Play Other Designers’ Games?<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Because our weekly playtesting group at the
Spielwiese is open to anyone to participate, either as a playtester or
designer, we see all kinds of prototypes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some new designers bring fresh and innovative ideas that challenge and
inspire our core group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More often
than not, however, the “new” designs are only slight variations of games that
already exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And more often than
not, the designers have no idea that their “inventions” have existed for some
time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
My advice to every one of them: ''Play other people’s games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at the shelves around us piled high with over a
thousand games of every kind, and tell me how many of these you have
played.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you do not have
regular gaming groups to try out many of them, read about them online or watch
video reviews in order to get an idea of what has already been done."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Most game designers I know have the same approach.
There is one very prominent designer, however, who disagrees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Reiner Knizia, one of the most prolific game
designers in the business, has revealed more than once that he does not play
other designer’s games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And one
reason, of course, is that with so many of his own prototypes to playtest and
all the time needed to market his designs, he simply has no time left over for
“regular” game nights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That part
is perfectly understandable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> However, </span>Knizia goes further in claiming that this gives him an advantage, as
quoted in <a href="http://www.rpg.net/columns/togetherweplay/togetherweplay3.phtml">this interview</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“Not knowing many other games is a big competitive advantage for me.
Other game designers obviously cannot contain themselves and play many other
games, claiming that this is important for market research. Of course it is
mainly for entertainment! By doing so, they spoil themselves with other
people’s ideas. I believe that the evolution of the human brain is not entirely
geared towards game design: the design process requires a lot of decisions,
small ones as well and big ones, how to handle and how to solve many of the
tricky game situations. Now, the human brain has evolved to learn from
experience. In game design this means that if you already know the solution
another designer has applied to a similar feature, the brain irresistibly
meanders towards this solution. As I do not know these solutions, my brain is
free to develop my own innovative ideas…”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I understand where he is coming from, but I
disagree with his assertions—even when it applies to his own work—and I find
his comments a bit condescending toward his competitors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Inspired
and Challenged by What is Possible<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">First of all, seeing and experiencing games from
other designers gives us the opportunity to see what is possible. Would
engineers have built rockets if they had not first seen airplanes take flight? For innovators, seeing what has been done before is inspiring, not
limiting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Furthermore, I cannot imagine advising young
authors not to read anyone else's books, or young painters not to ever set foot
in a museum or gallery. Books inspire a new generation of writers, just as museums inspire a new generation of artists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Certainly, the temptation exists in game design to
re-use mechanisms from other games, but the best designers use the best work of their competitors as a challenge, and they have the discipline to innovate in their own
work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Innovation, by the way, is always a relative term,
and it often means “finding new uses for existing elements”—especially in
boardgame design.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And Knizia unsurprisingly borrows from earlier
game mechanisms too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because he no
longer has the time to play the latest games, however, these mechanisms are
sometimes quite a bit older. Take his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lord
of the Rings: The Confrontation</i>, for example, which clearly builds on the
classic <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stratego</i>. And what about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Carcassone: The City</i>, his own 2-player
variation on that popular brand innovated by Klaus J<span lang="DE">ürgen</span>-Wrede?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i>Blue Moon</i> was inspired by Collectible Card Games like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Magic: The Gathering,</i> and <i>Fits</i> is a clever boardgame adaptation of the PC hit <i>Tetris</i>. He claims in a
lecture on his own website that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pickomino</i>
was his own attempt to make a "better <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yahtzee,</i>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> and i</span>n the same lecture, he speaks of
wanting to update <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monopoly </i>as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I personally enjoy Knizia’s original takes on
existing mechanisms, and I’m sure I would not be alone in welcoming more of
that. Who would not want to see what he could do with the popular
“deck-building” mechanism, for example?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Instead Knizia has unfortunately spent the last
several years borrowing—not from others—but from himself. It seems that limiting one's self to playing one's own games can be just as detrimental to a designer’s creativity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s proven that point with countless
variations and re-themes of his most popular mechanisms. We’ve seen no less
than six variations, for example, of his “cards in ascending or descending
order” mechanism first introduced as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost
Cities </i>in 1999. Most recently, when a “new” card game themed around The
Hobbit was announced, it made no mention that it was really just a new version
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Card
Game </i>from 2001.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Knizia proves by his recent output that avoiding
other people’s games is not necessarily the solution to keep the brain from
“irresistibly meandering” towards an already-proven solution, rather than
pushing for innovation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Avoiding
What Has Already Been Done<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When showing a new prototype at a convention a
couple of years ago—so the story goes—Knizia was alerted by one of the
playtesters to a game that had been on the market several years already and was almost identical to his prototype.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The game
was </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Qwirkle</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and Knizia realized that he had been
investing time developing a game that had already been invented—and was about
to win the </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Spiel des Jahres</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (German
Game of the Year) award.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To his credit, he communicated with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Qwirkle </i>designer Susan McKinley Ross,
but it still disappointing to me that he did not offer to co-design a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Qwirkle Card Game </i>with her, and instead sold his prototype as a solo design to another publisher. Furthermore, the game, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Big Five, </i>was released the same year that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Qwirkle</i>
won its award and has since gone out of print, while Qwirkle continues to sell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Knizia's career strategy for designing and selling
his games seems to be working for him, and that's fine. I don't like it when
I'm playing a game, and others tell me how I should be playing. And no
other designer has any right to tell Knizia how he should conduct his business.
He's had an amazing career, and many of his games from a decade ago will
always be classics in my collection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But I disagree with his stated philosophy to avoid researching other designers’ games, and it’s obvious that he does not always follow it himself. Furthermore, his own designs of late have lacked the innovation that his competitors have been producing, and they deserve respect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In the end, game design comes down to
discipline--not designing in a bubble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One can be inspired by
a great many things, whether they are the themes and mathematics that permeate our
lives and collective history, or the creativity and innovation that has gone on
before and is happening around us every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all need inspiration, but the best designers are those
who can focus that inspiration and push their minds beyond the easy answers to
find innovation in an already-innovative field.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As Knizia says—and I wholeheartedly agree, when it
comes to game design:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“You can have anything in life, but not
everything….”</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-77904674211402497912012-11-03T09:33:00.001-07:002012-11-13T06:09:51.864-08:002012 After-Essen Party highlights<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fz4ch0e-IHc_w6MyjJzryY2QG9pnmfaijNcOUw8Vbwo3M-k-9Z8C5D0PiUU49PLqzvc2B1VpDlbxX5mnsgBsrbVohrLJInrbJxw4zMLw85EDvVmgo0wDQSGgPWgGxnbjheIUKs1gJ3w/s1600/IMG_2652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fz4ch0e-IHc_w6MyjJzryY2QG9pnmfaijNcOUw8Vbwo3M-k-9Z8C5D0PiUU49PLqzvc2B1VpDlbxX5mnsgBsrbVohrLJInrbJxw4zMLw85EDvVmgo0wDQSGgPWgGxnbjheIUKs1gJ3w/s320/IMG_2652.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael and I hosting our 6th annual party in the <a href="http://www.spielwiese-berlin.de/">Spielwiese</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-g-7Gr_baUowHSNY3gnAnn9HVC0LzkFZo8nin0aClnFxXoS6TWR47eF8jU_BrIVrK2gEKGzmCmQeFHwPhdOioxhHE6cO7-9Kdj70bRQpWdPQoxiWcMhvkFVIi0SH0uBlZ2bEej4BSKw/s1600/IMG_2617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-g-7Gr_baUowHSNY3gnAnn9HVC0LzkFZo8nin0aClnFxXoS6TWR47eF8jU_BrIVrK2gEKGzmCmQeFHwPhdOioxhHE6cO7-9Kdj70bRQpWdPQoxiWcMhvkFVIi0SH0uBlZ2bEej4BSKw/s320/IMG_2617.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><em style="color: black; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">José </span></em></span>tries to survive in the <i>City of Horror.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoouVJK5UdrJBt4MRj4wK6G-oPwXDjvPjezURIRk8Fe09IeVqpCGKt_2Spz2jSBH7Zwjd8hm6NkYoZfowr-3Q7D08FpYMmoG87akEa9Hi945XOm9SKnU4T45w-065wAA8mcnJD7L5t9AE/s1600/IMG_2620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoouVJK5UdrJBt4MRj4wK6G-oPwXDjvPjezURIRk8Fe09IeVqpCGKt_2Spz2jSBH7Zwjd8hm6NkYoZfowr-3Q7D08FpYMmoG87akEa9Hi945XOm9SKnU4T45w-065wAA8mcnJD7L5t9AE/s320/IMG_2620.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chuck, Fabian and 2 others turn the gears of <i>Tzolkin, the Mayan Calendar</i>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcSunnVlCwQ85kq_16I5fIyO5cKUnsghIq8IHkLbWx3yJ21SfmIYKDAfRNjXfZRTK9FOPBpb-bV0r4oGWwdbNYhyphenhyphenuYNPi2Ip7lhb9RRd1ikxiRMna80zfukmq74THGkYUvmMv8xfF4h8/s1600/IMG_2623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcSunnVlCwQ85kq_16I5fIyO5cKUnsghIq8IHkLbWx3yJ21SfmIYKDAfRNjXfZRTK9FOPBpb-bV0r4oGWwdbNYhyphenhyphenuYNPi2Ip7lhb9RRd1ikxiRMna80zfukmq74THGkYUvmMv8xfF4h8/s320/IMG_2623.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophia, Manuel, Reiner und Michael build their own suburbs in <i>Suburbia</i>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn01mIVJ08DCx86y8Oea_aZGmwLZ9X1pKMnZcL-sFDY8lTHuuJXSoHs-6iv-T17bZPNNJX_5TSw6rc2rGEKRgnQ9rAcSzxAFRREp9_8Ta8o9XfLY8IFdk05KVmchjl0HnBE1BkWzsnE3w/s1600/IMG_2624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn01mIVJ08DCx86y8Oea_aZGmwLZ9X1pKMnZcL-sFDY8lTHuuJXSoHs-6iv-T17bZPNNJX_5TSw6rc2rGEKRgnQ9rAcSzxAFRREp9_8Ta8o9XfLY8IFdk05KVmchjl0HnBE1BkWzsnE3w/s320/IMG_2624.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rolf looks over the new Essen games.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpK1KqDpnvYeFUoWoc3cdx01HAc50GaO3zdrloS8xOPHPyrXVeaoTB2SJhATThmM1lbu8WdM-riitd2djF8bRYckosT_YSbP0nKf-cbEJHCgwIBeZ9w3gWHhF_oy70wDlMI8893gzP9A/s1600/IMG_2625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpK1KqDpnvYeFUoWoc3cdx01HAc50GaO3zdrloS8xOPHPyrXVeaoTB2SJhATThmM1lbu8WdM-riitd2djF8bRYckosT_YSbP0nKf-cbEJHCgwIBeZ9w3gWHhF_oy70wDlMI8893gzP9A/s320/IMG_2625.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael gets to play <i>Smash Up </i>with Luisa, Tobias, and another guest<i>.</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynH-FxGQqlZHSj0bDCYlgMBoisYeG1URwLlq3mXU8nAhf8IFFdf1LxE6pPWNQf52ieeLZwyHRqIMUV219UCirIJcojrqNZx04rWwCayYIUYN4o5c_v8dlsAeh3KlqqeTEDxilnh4pml0/s1600/IMG_2627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynH-FxGQqlZHSj0bDCYlgMBoisYeG1URwLlq3mXU8nAhf8IFFdf1LxE6pPWNQf52ieeLZwyHRqIMUV219UCirIJcojrqNZx04rWwCayYIUYN4o5c_v8dlsAeh3KlqqeTEDxilnh4pml0/s320/IMG_2627.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mariano and Veronica of What's Your Game? explain one of their new releases, <i>Oddville.</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfBSKR6ehj10K-ICdAySBy7IfYT5LErg4a4I0LVmKQOG36GQAEo_uwKYd6rjvuIUsjW0-lDmxMCPVQy6fsVfSHEbfSsi8PTOVzD3QIkNzWCvzcVnyKRhBMAWj7dW2Ly2cnRt_nW6JZ_4/s1600/IMG_2629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfBSKR6ehj10K-ICdAySBy7IfYT5LErg4a4I0LVmKQOG36GQAEo_uwKYd6rjvuIUsjW0-lDmxMCPVQy6fsVfSHEbfSsi8PTOVzD3QIkNzWCvzcVnyKRhBMAWj7dW2Ly2cnRt_nW6JZ_4/s320/IMG_2629.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thorsten Gimmler from publisher Schmidt Spiele breaks open the new version of <i>McMulti</i>.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTsrD2P7JEEowE8eg3FDa8bZl34k59t5-aW67O-b31Evc30jKz_Cr7OiL4cuFSM4kzKLq_KiOMg0CAAqSW3OefYqDZHfNa0Dcllom9h6A8gIzafj7-tfwHIdfmh0bDhoIjEuf4mVpNu0/s1600/IMG_2631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTsrD2P7JEEowE8eg3FDa8bZl34k59t5-aW67O-b31Evc30jKz_Cr7OiL4cuFSM4kzKLq_KiOMg0CAAqSW3OefYqDZHfNa0Dcllom9h6A8gIzafj7-tfwHIdfmh0bDhoIjEuf4mVpNu0/s320/IMG_2631.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wiebke, Johann, and others battle it out to be crowned <i>King of Tokyo</i> (I was part of this game, too, but was knocked out after only a couple of rounds).</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPPys4M6-OlaW74-PAFelAwH0wc9AptqDT2l27sB47V-KE6gIxzbtx-1eRZ8iD2GcBlPB_T1_asvsHrJ_oq5e9kpBtTvk-45ppOxyeK1zQOTFRtKMalnoXDCS_4izWwRRx5IRhn-dmUY/s1600/IMG_2634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPPys4M6-OlaW74-PAFelAwH0wc9AptqDT2l27sB47V-KE6gIxzbtx-1eRZ8iD2GcBlPB_T1_asvsHrJ_oq5e9kpBtTvk-45ppOxyeK1zQOTFRtKMalnoXDCS_4izWwRRx5IRhn-dmUY/s320/IMG_2634.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Spielwiese was packed to capacity.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoS-F9PhDjnS3Xllf7dPeVU5PVElYdbTajB8szqGGdinrR8re2EPyiSxnKT47cZSlFw4ijPqcf_kWYaG0zuDHU-2ANTzUHSFk5XIrMevzmT6-G36VbA6brW5h24Q9a1KcmGZEtILShSw/s1600/IMG_2636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoS-F9PhDjnS3Xllf7dPeVU5PVElYdbTajB8szqGGdinrR8re2EPyiSxnKT47cZSlFw4ijPqcf_kWYaG0zuDHU-2ANTzUHSFk5XIrMevzmT6-G36VbA6brW5h24Q9a1KcmGZEtILShSw/s320/IMG_2636.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close-up of the Essen games table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6pHek7YrpjMmA2oQGQvSv-vQ0rb9i_L3jfXFB_0y0nCoaCx-uRB8sngHt6lDy2zcbPu7s7-q0hVzrZDtDcbgThXfgd1cDe3jXWWmkzfAJWn3S57AHAi2NaAaCLXR43bAje_V6uuEwPM/s1600/IMG_2638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6pHek7YrpjMmA2oQGQvSv-vQ0rb9i_L3jfXFB_0y0nCoaCx-uRB8sngHt6lDy2zcbPu7s7-q0hVzrZDtDcbgThXfgd1cDe3jXWWmkzfAJWn3S57AHAi2NaAaCLXR43bAje_V6uuEwPM/s320/IMG_2638.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The semi-final of the annual Paper-Rock-Scissors tournament between Wiebke and Michael.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqojjMDGJn4ip2CIJws8k9XJavtf28eB5bHY27p0Tfnyeco2dNqCyTgXHNtmHt0pw2o_4ShGKsyLtOJl1pkOXNfxmndg-RKCVcwxVhVShBVXMYUbcdYvWh4l3-hRSQ0aO_dRalvE_5BYg/s1600/IMG_2639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqojjMDGJn4ip2CIJws8k9XJavtf28eB5bHY27p0Tfnyeco2dNqCyTgXHNtmHt0pw2o_4ShGKsyLtOJl1pkOXNfxmndg-RKCVcwxVhVShBVXMYUbcdYvWh4l3-hRSQ0aO_dRalvE_5BYg/s320/IMG_2639.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael wins the other What's Your Game? release, <i>Asgard</i>, from the prize table.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMhG_ZEDH4QIcIGDYV6LEPk2LAu-dueHjm2fptJm-gZhl078QFN5bc9mPb-DWhe9U7VCOC1ePmAgANQAlkkYvKaBWFfQB2jJdLn_peLqmI32lYuQIzkJL1bZrvYS8pO-cDZOZc3RXxnE/s1600/IMG_2640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMhG_ZEDH4QIcIGDYV6LEPk2LAu-dueHjm2fptJm-gZhl078QFN5bc9mPb-DWhe9U7VCOC1ePmAgANQAlkkYvKaBWFfQB2jJdLn_peLqmI32lYuQIzkJL1bZrvYS8pO-cDZOZc3RXxnE/s320/IMG_2640.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another winner took a copy of AEG's <i>Love Letter.</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkFMG3fLTS2KbU4HzZeit2S7BJeganC85DpiWrpyP7fQuHDjt942cIAA5o4p2I-aaWpRheZ5v_S0Hgwrt_ngPMFNwz71ahYCTCTtJ8HdV-3g1Eah1o0TY6C15pBswXHOn_ct7zVpCrsM/s1600/IMG_2642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkFMG3fLTS2KbU4HzZeit2S7BJeganC85DpiWrpyP7fQuHDjt942cIAA5o4p2I-aaWpRheZ5v_S0Hgwrt_ngPMFNwz71ahYCTCTtJ8HdV-3g1Eah1o0TY6C15pBswXHOn_ct7zVpCrsM/s320/IMG_2642.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pressure builds for Juma in Schmidt Spiele's <i>Bumm Bumm Ballon.</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0tfLv4d6GcZMTVcRc1248-HOs5WXY4O-5HKyEq9Hz45R1o1A9X35_FnnDocnpW9SblfA5LPZx8zVjZCsfjz-y1s65Dp0UZfLrlaQ7h0c1LvBlWPpp9eBESbb6uwR492PxGzTzl6EKf5s/s1600/IMG_2643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0tfLv4d6GcZMTVcRc1248-HOs5WXY4O-5HKyEq9Hz45R1o1A9X35_FnnDocnpW9SblfA5LPZx8zVjZCsfjz-y1s65Dp0UZfLrlaQ7h0c1LvBlWPpp9eBESbb6uwR492PxGzTzl6EKf5s/s320/IMG_2643.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The agony of defeat--the balloon pops.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMH2CrkCVsUYYP9w-CU3Ua-TDTFPHAga2IL4iNb0cN5bfIwxRSQhQVMSRO7v2U10bjLeZF5WuU-gqqMpUFGknoAIRT3l0Yv1QwzcTHAwE9jsrTnqJjW-kGWYWzpKjUkop2pptejxLfeo4/s1600/IMG_2647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMH2CrkCVsUYYP9w-CU3Ua-TDTFPHAga2IL4iNb0cN5bfIwxRSQhQVMSRO7v2U10bjLeZF5WuU-gqqMpUFGknoAIRT3l0Yv1QwzcTHAwE9jsrTnqJjW-kGWYWzpKjUkop2pptejxLfeo4/s320/IMG_2647.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two games of <i>Oddville</i> simultaneously on the same table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7grSO42EB_SU9aD9DQjCfgl1TIve7jc7iLLAt3u4MYpfsZt8FUj0tdacY8SOOSystDnJU4GtKaTbUwKQjtiRRX8TtBMKa9lBD3vgHBsZ9pzlbtOE1iu8W1jBXtJzcJQVBmAfsJdIAq_k/s1600/IMG_2648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7grSO42EB_SU9aD9DQjCfgl1TIve7jc7iLLAt3u4MYpfsZt8FUj0tdacY8SOOSystDnJU4GtKaTbUwKQjtiRRX8TtBMKa9lBD3vgHBsZ9pzlbtOE1iu8W1jBXtJzcJQVBmAfsJdIAq_k/s320/IMG_2648.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wiebke and friends lining up the <i>Qwirkle Cubes.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxH3gr5vNRxXEGSWw3q7xyJbkJMk18aUUlSvEZHo3NasTuv-WN3UmE3nLMcUJJa70K060dEOlcfbjbgJougsDNWzR85vhMrHXWDURb8ohekGC8Gbg5szrQ7dtoOvFR-012o8fH_yWMoA/s1600/IMG_2649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxH3gr5vNRxXEGSWw3q7xyJbkJMk18aUUlSvEZHo3NasTuv-WN3UmE3nLMcUJJa70K060dEOlcfbjbgJougsDNWzR85vhMrHXWDURb8ohekGC8Gbg5szrQ7dtoOvFR-012o8fH_yWMoA/s320/IMG_2649.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Fist Full of Penguins</i> hitting Luisa's table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawNgblJ_DbUWLm8gfoaBMjdaeJcwZZC6ByZ3twt0S1YsmoPxsPLzZFZIbg-BqvIg26CCCxWjreSempEJ6p_rWjhalIQ4eN2ATIQ4Ile7Z-gGc-hyYgQaN1Z9esyB2kbvv3OB2UaMrjLg/s1600/IMG_2650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawNgblJ_DbUWLm8gfoaBMjdaeJcwZZC6ByZ3twt0S1YsmoPxsPLzZFZIbg-BqvIg26CCCxWjreSempEJ6p_rWjhalIQ4eN2ATIQ4Ile7Z-gGc-hyYgQaN1Z9esyB2kbvv3OB2UaMrjLg/s320/IMG_2650.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toby, Michael and Manuel play another game of <i>King of Tokyo</i> with the new<i> Power Up</i> expansion.</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-14294880378823621372012-11-03T09:14:00.003-07:002012-11-05T11:23:51.520-08:00POSTCARD FROM BERLIN #57: The Two Sides of Essen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNCotezWbQaL2D8SnYukp8QR956HUWPlHTE83gCwzJULoM41bnH33OvJhoHv9J6zjpdGwzTEEx76CjcimRKmbNGsPbup0AtV8XdgsRr7Fn9JWu7rnLET4nnIATvYQpAzldhxapN3h3hw/s1600/Essen_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNCotezWbQaL2D8SnYukp8QR956HUWPlHTE83gCwzJULoM41bnH33OvJhoHv9J6zjpdGwzTEEx76CjcimRKmbNGsPbup0AtV8XdgsRr7Fn9JWu7rnLET4nnIATvYQpAzldhxapN3h3hw/s320/Essen_2.jpg" width="244" /></a></div>
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I finally had a few minutes to finish my report from my second Essen boardgame fair. In it, I describe what it's like to be a game designer at the fair, squeezing through the crowds with a carry-on suitcase full of prototypes and meeting publishers in little temporary cubicles behind their convention stands.<br />
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I did get to look at a few of the new games, and even played a few. Read more about <a href="http://opinionatedgamers.com/2012/11/03/postcard-from-berlin-57-the-two-sides-of-essen/">the two sides of Essen on the Opinionated Gamers website.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-6732426497354987542012-10-03T11:49:00.001-07:002012-10-03T23:33:17.083-07:00Games for the Visually Impaired<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGPxtJj0HE-fbM2otXh7TN3Pl5FVGNVvq4NEsNDT3xU7OSbUs3i6nL9LviGw18uoFX6a5Px2-BMNzfvLC0vuYPIr7SSlAta7kGObUoGeQ9eUnWblQo7AGkV4V-hu1A9K6mbuPf3-MBYA/s1600/Braille_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGPxtJj0HE-fbM2otXh7TN3Pl5FVGNVvq4NEsNDT3xU7OSbUs3i6nL9LviGw18uoFX6a5Px2-BMNzfvLC0vuYPIr7SSlAta7kGObUoGeQ9eUnWblQo7AGkV4V-hu1A9K6mbuPf3-MBYA/s320/Braille_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Game forums and reviews often mention color blindness and how that should affect the graphic design of a particular game, but not much has been written about designing games that can also be played by people who cannot see at all.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>When I found out that friends of mine, one of whom is visually impaired, enjoyed playing games and had adapted several card games using stick-on Braille labels, I wanted to make one of my designs playable for them as well. Piece o' Cake was the obvious choice, as there are really only two kinds of information on each slice: the number of that flavor in the game (which also signifies that flavor), and the number of whipped cream dollops.<br />
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Today, my family and I were invited to their house for the Day of German Unification. It's been a holiday here since 1990, although most Germans don't throw big parties to celebrate the occasion. But we had invited them to barbecue for our American Independence Day on July 4th, and they wanted to return the favor, so the date made sense.<br />
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After a wonderful meal of hearty German cuisine, our friends turned on their stereo and played the song upon which the original German version of Piece o' Cake was name: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrTypvynAsk">"Aber bitte mit Sahne" by Udo Jürgens</a>.<br />
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Then we broke out the game. The Braille was typed on clear plastic labels and did not cover up the illustrations on the tiles. In addition, they had a lazy susan turntable in the middle of the table for the pie. When it was her turn to cut, my friend could rotate the pie and read each slice easily with her fingers and avoid having to read any of the slices upside down. As she turned the pie and read each peace, she asked for reminders of who currently had the most of each flavor. The entire game was actually much more communicative, as we each announced aloud which slices were being uncovered when making the pies, and which ones each of us were collecting and "eating."<br />
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After the first play of the game, our friends had grasped the strategy of it and insisted on a rematch. This, we followed with coffee and cake, of course (but since it was cheesecake, there were no whipped cream dollops).<br />
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At the end of the day, they were excited to have finally played one of my games, and I was happy to have found a game that could be adapted to their special needs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-71603973336513461912012-09-20T00:39:00.003-07:002012-09-20T00:41:13.462-07:006th Annual After Essen Party!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
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Six years ago, my friend Michael from the Spielwiese gaming cafe agreed to help me bring a little bit of SPIEL back from Essen and celebrate in his cafe with all the great new games released there--many of them from Berlin designers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The photo galleries on my <a href="http://berlingamedesign.blogspot.com/p/annual-after-essen-party.html" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration: none;">After Essen Party page</a> show some of the fun from the past five years. As you can see, it has been a great mix of games and guests from around the world, and we can even claim that Spiel des Jahres (German Game of the Year) award winner Qwirkle was discovered here!<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, the 6th Annual After Essen Party is open to the public, athough space is limited and it is best to come early. Visiting designers are welcome to show their newly released games as well (please, no prototypes, however). Feel free to contact me or <a href="http://www.spielwiese-berlin.de/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration: none;">Michael at the Spielwiese</a> in advance (especially if you are a game designer or publisher). The party is on the Tuesday after SPIEL, beginning at 7 p.m. Hope to see you at SPIEL and at the party in Berlin afterwards!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-26233061348105044562012-09-10T04:46:00.001-07:002012-11-20T02:56:22.708-08:00Learning From Sport<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the big debates in the world of sport recently was on the fallibility of referees, especially in soccer. Missed calls, goals being allowed that were clearly not goals, and goals being disallowed that clearly should have counted are often game-changers in a sport with traditionally low scoring games. But while many other sports have adopted high-tech solutions to supplement human referees, FIFA, the world governing body of soccer has stubbornly resisted.<br />
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But they are not alone. When reading an Op-Ed piece in the sports section of a local newspaper, I was surprised to read one writer's argument that it is actually the numerous referee mistakes that give soccer so much of its drama. Furthermore, he reasoned that to reduce that human error would somehow be robbing the sport of one of its most popular aspects.<br />
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I have never heard such a preposterous argument. Isn't it possible that the fans of the world are much more interested in the drama of the gameplay, created by the superior athletic ability and creative execution of the players? Did they pay for a stadium seat or a cable TV hookup in order to zoom in on the referees?<br />
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No, I don't think it's too old-school to claim that the most exciting games to watch are those in which the play is focused on the players, while the referees remain nearly invisible.<br />
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There is a board game parallel, of course. The best board games, after all, are also focused on the skill and creativity of the players within the system, and not on the rules.<br />
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Dense, unituitive rule books with details that are difficult to remember or have many exceptions bog down the gameplay, and the experience becomes all about trying to understand the rules. On the other hand, if the theme, mechanisms, and limits defined in the rules quickly fade into the background during gameplay, the players are more free to enjoy their interactions with the game system and each other.<br />
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Just as with sport, the drama in a good board game is not created by focusing on the "referee"--or rules--of the game, but can only really happen when the rules take a back seat to the gameplay.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-36901069719782841332012-09-06T02:13:00.002-07:002012-09-06T02:37:00.295-07:00Prototype2Publisher: NIEUW AMSTERDAM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RwGIHWxTYnOmA-6TiHDLSL7LCPQa0B-7XH5md4yYHcY_kzh9ONW8GVlqTtdx6ktbRR7SYzHIOVzLkNG6o6UTv-J86aOTXoH6M3DHbFuhtKUbGwlP9BN4uCFbu1trOfRlsfsWrqLf1RU/s1600/Nieuw+Amsterdam+box+cover+3D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RwGIHWxTYnOmA-6TiHDLSL7LCPQa0B-7XH5md4yYHcY_kzh9ONW8GVlqTtdx6ktbRR7SYzHIOVzLkNG6o6UTv-J86aOTXoH6M3DHbFuhtKUbGwlP9BN4uCFbu1trOfRlsfsWrqLf1RU/s200/Nieuw+Amsterdam+box+cover+3D.jpg" width="195" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 14px;">It's difficult to believe that a city as renowned throughout the modern world as New York City started out with a completely different name. All the changes that the original colony – New Amsterdam – went through to become the iconic American metropolis is actually an accurate metaphor for the evolution of a board game design that looks very different from the first prototype I pitched to publishers. Following is a logbook of my own voyage of discovery.<br /><br /><b>Inspiration in the Old World</b><br /><br />It was 2007, and I finally had my foot in the door with several German publishers, anxiously awaiting my first game releases scheduled for the following year. I had a flood of other ideas I was working at developing, but I was distracted by the interesting new dice mechanisms appearing in European strategy games (and I was testing my own dice game, to be released later as <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40760/alea-iacta-est" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><i>Alea Iacta Est</i></a>). Then I read about <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/117/andreas-seyfarth" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;">Andreas Seyfarth</a>'s new game <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/32116/airships" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><i>Airships</i></a> and was intrigued by yet another unconventional use of dice. It challenged me to think about other ways dice could be used in creative ways.<br /></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: inherit; line-height: 14px;"><b>The Bright Side of the Plague</b><br /><br />Then, suddenly, <a class="postlink" href="http://berlingamedesign.blogspot.com/2012/08/postcard-from-berlin-22-home-sick-or.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">"the plague" hit my family</a>. For a two month period, every member of my family was sick with something, and my twin one-year-old sons went through cycles of everything from scarlet fever to bronchitis to stomach flu. It was a very difficult time for us, and we could not have survived without the help of our German friends.<br /><br />Although I missed quite of bit of work during that time, I could not let my mind become idle as I rocked ailing children back to sleep in the middle of the night or sat with them in our doctor's packed waiting room several times each week.<br /><br />I used some of this time to think about dice games again, and I came up with the idea of having dice colors represent actions, while the numbers on the dice could determine how those actions were grouped together. I decided to have three different areas of influence in the game and thus three colors, with four dice in each. I would roll the 12 dice at the beginning of each round, group them together according to their numbers – e.g., the blue "6" with the two red "6's" – then players would bid on the groupings of actions along with the player order tokens. Furthermore, I had always wanted to design an "engine-building" game, and I decided that this would be its core action-selection mechanism.<br /><br /><b>Discovering the New World</b><br /><br />Although these first ideas were purely mechanical, I am usually most inspired by interesting themes, so I began thinking of something appropriate early in the process. A colonization theme usually fits engine-building games quite well, but so many of them had already been used in other games. Then, in one of those late-night rocking-chair sessions, I remembered a grade school textbook that had fascinated me with detailed drawings of the founding of New Amsterdam, the colony that later became New York. Excitedly, I researched the history further online, and I discovered that it was even more fascinating than I had remembered.<br /><br />Nieuw Amsterdam, as it was officially called, was actually founded by the Dutch West Indies Company in order to encourage the lucrative beaver pelt trade with the local Native American hunters (mostly from the Lenape tribe) along the Hudson River. To establish a trading post there, they needed a town and a fort, which was built on the tip of Manhattan Island. To encourage European patroons – settlers of means or noble birth – to populate the colony, they granted them both land and indentured servants. The patroons became the lords of a new feudal system not unlike that seen in Europe.<br /><br />Now I had my theme – one that, surprisingly, had not yet been used in a modern board game. It fit my dice mechanism beautifully as I made the three areas of influence (and thus, the three types of actions) the city, the land, and the trade along the Hudson River. I even found an antique map of the original colony online, which I modified for my prototype game board.<br /><br />It was clear at this point that this was to be a "gamers' game" design with a higher level of complexity than most of my games to date. A rich historical theme can do that to a game. However, I was still entrenched in the German school of design in that I wanted the theme abstracted enough for players to easily internalize the rules and maintain a good pace.<br /><br /><b>Building from the Ground Up</b><br /><br />Now that I had an overall vision for the project, as well as a central mechanism, I was ready to start putting the other pieces together. Actually, it was more like weaving an intricate narrative in which several stories diverged and converged at different points.<br /><br />For example, with a City action die, the players could build businesses in the city for financial gain (money) and compete with each other in elections for victory points – but they would also need food to sustain them. With a Land die, players could add to their land for VPs and develop it so that it would produce building materials and food – both of which were needed in the city. And with a Trade die, the players could trade along the Hudson River with the Lenape Indians and ship the Furs back to the Old World for VPs and money. However, the trade with the Lenape was connected back to the acquisition of land by the players. The more land taken by the players, the farther each player had to go to trade with the Lenape as the tribes were forced to move their camps farther up the Hudson River. I found all of these elements and interrelationships fascinating from the perspective of a historical narrative as well as the mechanisms of the game.<br /><br />From the mechanical standpoint, although I had two possible actions connected to each action die, I realized that I needed several other actions available to all players every round. I added one of these to each city district, and a player could purchase one action there every turn. Having a majority of businesses in a district meant a discount on the corresponding action. The nature of these actions changed quite a bit over the course of the game's development as they were vital in providing ample opportunities for players when they did not have an action die, yet they still needed to be subordinate to the dice actions.<br /><br />And although the historical theme was important to me, I needed to abstract the game as much as possible to make it easier to understand and play. This is especially apparent in the resources: Corn is used to represent all food, and wood to represent all building materials. Goods represent all items imported from Europe for trade with the Lenape. And finally, there is money earned in various ways and furs to ship back for victory points.</span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Playtesting the game with Michael Schmitt in his Spielwiese gaming cafe in Berlin</span></i></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Playtesting Complex Games</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I found that it is a real challenge to find the time and the players to test longer, complex games. With multiple game designers attending our playtesting sessions in the Spielwiese gaming café in Berlin each week, when a longer game was played someone would have to sacrifice getting his game to the table that night. Sometimes my colleagues were gracious enough to do so, but I also set up private testing evenings for those who were interested in being part of the process, and that was very helpful. I also played the game by myself quite a bit, although it is always difficult to get a feeling for a game with auctions when playing it solo. (How do I bid against myself?) Nevertheless, the game was progressing well, and friend and fellow game designer <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/2790/bernd-eisenstein" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;">Bernd Eisenstein</a> even started calling the game "Jeff's masterpiece" on his blog.</span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher Involvement</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I took the game with me to Nuremberg in 2008 to pitch to several publishers I knew who released complex games. One even took the prototype to the Gathering of Friends that year, and I was able to get feedback from Larry Levy, who playtested the game there. Another publisher playtested it for a year after that, and I redesigned the game from their feedback, testing the new version with my group intermittently.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pitching the game to Hanno Girke of Lookout Games in Nuremberg.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Then I noticed that <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/4932/white-goblin-games" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;">White Goblin Games</a> was also interested in publishing complex games, and I pitched another game to them that Bernd and I had been doing together for some time. Not only were they interested in that game, but they had also read Bernd's blog and were interested in <b style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><i><a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128898/nieuw-amsterdam" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;">Nieuw Amsterdam</a> </i></b>as well. Within a few months of receiving the prototype, they sent me a contract.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>At the convention in Essen last year, I decided to--er--</i>dispose of<i> the old prototype bits after getting a pre-production prototype from Josh Cappel.</i></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Istanbul, Not Constantinople</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Even though I had a contract, I wanted the game to be as good as I could make it. I began testing it again heavily and I began a new round of development. With the motivation and time pressure of publication looming, I was able to smooth out more, cutting quite a bit of unnecessary complexity after taking a hard look at what was really necessary.</span><br />
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<i>I could not get the game design out of my head: even at soccer practice, I had to scribble some notes onto a tournament bracket sheet. It was here that I worked out the engine-building mechanisms for the wharf, all while waiting on the bench for my turn to play.</i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I also noticed some problems that could occur in specific circumstances, and I had to break down and chart the interrelationships of the mechanisms in order to correct any imbalances.</span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Charting the interrelationships in the game early in the process...</span></i></div>
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<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1390482" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1390482_md.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" /></span></a></div>
</div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">...and then again towards the end of development</span></i></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The biggest change of all was to the core mechanism, the one that was the impetus of the game idea itself. I finally realized that the dice were not the best way to determine the action groupings, and they even presented some imbalance issues if one number was rolled too often, especially in the first round of the game. Replacing them with tiles was much easier to balance, and this change also proved more cost-effective for the publisher, allowing us to produce other more lavish components.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="tac" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1385411" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1385411_md.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" /></span></a></div>
</div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A late prototype that would get tweaked quite a bit even after Josh Cappel began working on it</span></i></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I could write endlessly about the many other tweaks, cuts, and redesigns, but these notes would be difficult to understand without knowing the game – and probably not much fun to read either. Suffice it to say, I am very grateful for the enthusiasm and patience of both Jonny DeVries of White Goblin Games and graphic designer <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/9731/josh-cappel" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;">Joshua Cappel</a>, both of whom contributed to the process. Up until now, in fact, I had never worked so directly with an illustrator of one of my games, and Josh's feedback and graphic design even influenced some of the final mechanisms. I was impressed with his keen understanding of the game and my goals in creating it, and his development of the rulebook shows that.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1410998" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1410998_md.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="tac" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A mockup from Josh of the finished game components</span></i></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The design of <i>Nieuw Amsterdam</i> has been a long and complex journey, with a cast of interweaving characters and story lines as varied as the history of New York itself. I began with an original mechanism around which I thought I could build a game, but the rich historical theme eventually became the driving force in the design. I hope that players of the game will enjoy participating in that narrative, as well as being able to create some stories of their own.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/8935/jeffrey-d-allers" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Jeffrey D. Allers</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1409233" style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1409233_md.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" /></span></a></div>
</div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Start of a five-player game, with five longhouses in the Lanape camp and five Trading Posts along the Hudson river</span></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-85518713199044491852012-08-20T00:44:00.000-07:002012-08-20T11:56:03.541-07:00Everything is an Auction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeFUZf3tajISo4TtJ7TK-3fYCA3hBGw8bVXG_Q4ymhXfvAEcTIufskc7GvLGkVFSHhNCncHCVQMJy8TycKcTHNEhNxVJXTUgdk8BcnrkGZHJWsRGu2kcQd8umBML4c5VGd2A9oQU-qE10/s1600/Gavel" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeFUZf3tajISo4TtJ7TK-3fYCA3hBGw8bVXG_Q4ymhXfvAEcTIufskc7GvLGkVFSHhNCncHCVQMJy8TycKcTHNEhNxVJXTUgdk8BcnrkGZHJWsRGu2kcQd8umBML4c5VGd2A9oQU-qE10/s200/Gavel" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For my 2012 game, Nieuw Amsterdam, soon to be released
through White Goblin Games, I returned to one of the staple mechanisms of
modern board games: the auction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The mechanism was a central part of so many games of the past two
decades, and the most prolific designers of that time produced many of the
classics of the genre that we still play today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reiner Knizia, in particular, used variations of the
mechanism again and again with Modern Art, Medici, Ra, Amun Re, Money, and many
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even a look at the father of
modern board games, Monopoly, reveals that auctions are central to the
rules—when played correctly, of course.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The mechanism is so engrained in the language of game
design, in fact, that auction games are being created without being recognized
as such—even by their creators. </div>
<a name='more'></a><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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I recently realized, for example, that Alea Iacta Est, which
I created with co-designer Bernd Eisenstein, is actually, at its heart, an
auction game with dice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact,
my first card game, Circus Maximus, has also been described by others as a
bidding game, although I was not consciously trying to create one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems that many “new” genres which have burst onto the
gaming scene in recent years—and many that have held our attention for much longer—are
also clever variations on the tried-and-true auction mechanism.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, one of the hottest game mechanisms of the past
decade, dubbed “Worker Placement,” is actually based on multiple, simultaneous
auctions for various actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each
of the auctions usually has a limit to the amount of “bids” (a.k.a. “workers”)
all players can make, and either placing early or placing the most bids at a
location will secure the most and/or best actions for the bid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The actions won can vary:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sometimes a player gains resources,
sometimes he is allowed to build or make war, and sometimes he will move up in the turn order for the next round.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alea Iacta Est
was always meant to be a combination of worker placement and dice, and it plays
very much like an auction game as players try to one-up each other in the
various buildings with their bids, this time represented by their dice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another game mechanism that is based on the auction, an
“oldie but goodie” that we still can’t seem to get enough of due to it’s high
interactivity, is “area majority/area influence.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the classic, “El Grande” can be viewed as a clever
combination of multiple auctions with a geographical component.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each player is bidding for the victory
points available in each region on the map. They bid with the wooden cubes in
their reserves, with the possibility to move their bids between regions after
they’ve been initially placed. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Even a look at the vast trick-taking
genre reveals that they really are all auction games at heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those games, a round consists of a
once-around auction for the cards played, the “trick.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes, you bid to take the cards,
sometimes you bid so that you can avoid them, depending on what’s on offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And don’t forget that you are also
bidding for the starting player position, something that can also be either a bad
thing (when wanting to know what others are going to play) or a good thing
(when wanting the control of leading the next hand).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is in contrast to worker placement, where starting
player is almost always an advantage, and area majority, where it is almost
always a disadvantage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My 2011
trick-taking game, Pala, could then be viewed as an auction game.</div>
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<br /></div>
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However, in the forth-coming
Nieuw Amsterdam--as with 2010’s Wampum, the inclusion of an auction was a
conscious decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are, of
course, new twists to the mechanism in the design, and it seems that there is
no end to the variations one can make.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After all, almost everything, at
its heart, is an auction.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-71093957588613832902012-08-18T16:30:00.002-07:002012-08-18T23:18:37.752-07:00Theme and Mechanics in Party PlanningLast weekend, we experienced, for the first and last time, the <i>Einschulung</i> of our chidren (who happen to be twin sons). This is an enormous celebration for German children who are beginning elementary school. There is a ceremony at the school and parties for family and friends afterwards. The children receive paper cones filled with sweets and school supplies, along with gigantic backpacks that are so boxy and top-heavy, they resemble something the astronauts take with them on space walks.<br />
<br />
The day for the Einschulung of our sons also happened to fall on their birthday, so we were celebrating two beginning-of-school parties (there really isn't any equivalent in the United States) and two birthdays at the same time, although we saved the birthday party for their Kindergarten friends for this Sunday.<br />
<br />
As my wife and I were planning it, I realized partway through that we were both approaching it from different angles--in game design terms. My wife was looking at the mechanics of the party: what kinds of games, food and other fun elements we could incorporate, and what the schedule could look like.<br />
<br />
I also participated in the brainstorming, however I soon found myself wondering aloud what the theme of the party could be.<br />
<br />
"That doesn't really matter at this point."<br />
<br />
"Yes it does"<br />
<br />
"We first need to figure out what kinds of things we are going to do."<br />
<br />
"Yes, but sometimes the theme can give me ideas on other things we can do."<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
That's when it occurred to me that I was approaching the planning of this party the same way I approach game design. Oftentimes, I am first thinking about the mechanics of a game, or how many interesting mechanisms I can include in it. But I cannot keep it abstract for long, because theme provides too much inspiration to pass up.<br />
<br />
Once a theme is established, it helps me think about how to tie the mechanisms together in a meaningful way. And more than that, it helps me come up with new mechanisms, as I try to abstract real-life (or fantasy) themes down to the accessible (and interactive) language of a board game.<br />
<br />
And just as my board game design is influence by the themes I experience in real life, it seems that my life outside board games is unavoidably influenced by the process in which I design them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6023082451940558953.post-71815058398178455052012-08-08T02:35:00.000-07:002018-06-12T14:24:32.951-07:00POSTCARD FROM BERLIN #22: Home Sick and Krankgeschrieben<br />
<h2>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">By Jeffrey D. Allers </span></h2>
<i>Editor's note: this was originally posted on December 1, 2007, on the now-defunct Boardgamenews website. I am publishing the article again because it was during this time that the design for my forthcoming game, Nieuw Amsterdam, was born.</i><br />
<br />
I apologize if this article sounds a bit nasal, but I’m home sick and,
frankly, lucky to get in a complete sentence between sneezes. “Gesundheit!” you
may say, as the Germans do without ever skipping a beat. The word actually
means “health,” a subject my Berlin friends take quite seriously. In fact, most
seem to have studied medicine, as they are never afraid to disagree with my
doctor’s diagnosis and offer their own alternative treatment program. <br />
<br />
I think that I’ve now received about all the health advice they can give me,
as my 15-month-old twin sons have been sick for most of the past two months. My
wife and I are averaging three trips to the clinic each week, in about every
conceivable combination: Mom with son, Dad with other son, Mom alone, or the
whole family. Our doctor is a wonderful person and all, but we wouldn’t mind
seeing less of her. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I shouldn’t be surprised that we’ve faced one wave of contagions after another. It’s to be expected in a city of 3.5 million people. I don’t
recall getting sick that much as a child, but there were 3,470,000 less people
sharing germs in the small town in which I grew up. I don’t ever recall the
doctor’s waiting room being so full, either. <br />
<br />
In fact, if Frau Doctor von Stiphout wasn’t such a friendly and helpful
physician, I might suspect her of trying to garner a bit of repeat business.
After our first round of antibiotics for bronchitis, we were told to bring the
boys back for a check-up to make sure they were on the road to recovery. The
Monday morning waiting room, however, was packed with screaming toddlers,
sneezing in all directions, their faces dripping with mucous. A few days later,
our whole family had a bad case of the stomach flu. <br />
<br />
We’re now into the eighth week of our own private epidemic, and have come
full circle back to bronchitis, with a nostalgic look at Scarlet Fever in
between. Friends of ours with children offer us knowing sympathy, friends
without children can barely disguise their horror, and single friends have
absolutely no clue what we are going through. <br />
<br />
I suppose I didn’t either, before I was married. As a child, being home sick
was sometimes like a party, especially that second day after the fever broke
and I could start to enjoy myself, although I was not yet healthy enough to
return to school. It was on one of my sick days as a child that I discovered my
father’s early Bill Cosby comedy records and laughed myself to health with such
classic sketches as “Street Football” and “Tonsils.” And I was never one to miss
an opportunity to coerce my caring mother into humoring her stricken son. <br />
<br />
“Mom, can we play a game?” <br />
<br />
My sons will have quite a bit more selection to tempt them when their
throats are sore, but a simple game of Checkers with mom was a real treat back
then, and it was the only time the two of us ever played a game without the
rest of the family. <br />
<br />
None of us—not even me—have felt like playing games the past few weeks,
however. I’ve had to cancel more than a few game nights due to being “under the
weather.” That phrase, by the way, really means something here. In the midst of
the Berlin winter, you really do feel the weight of the gray cloud cover
pressing down on you, letting loose a little drizzle or icy rain (and
occasional wet snow), covering the sun until it peaks through, just before
setting a little after three o’clock in the afternoon. So in case you are
wondering about the weather here (and most friends from the U.S. seem to be, as
they always ask), we are very much under it, in all its gray, wet heaviness. <br />
<br />
That’s why Berliners light lots of candles—not really because they are so
energy conscious, which they are, but more in an attempt to transform a dark,
dank season into something cozy and atmospheric. It succeeds wonderfully, as
every Berlin apartment suddenly possesses the ambience of a chic café. Even the
traditional German Christmas handicrafts—from pyramids and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Schwibbogen</i> to wooden renderings of miners and angels—all have
places for miniature candles in them. Of course, a candlelit room is not the
best setting for board game playing, especially when the players are required
to differentiate between brown, purple and black wooden cubes. <br />
<br />
Winter is, however, a booming time for board games when the lights finally
do come on. It can’t possibly be a coincidence that the SPIEL convention in Essen
floods the German market right before winter, when there is plenty of indoor
time to fill. In fact, I’m looking forward to introducing one of our neighbors
to more of my games in the coming months. He recently joined the game group
that I hold for a few teenage boys in my neighborhood and had a blast with the
card game, Korsar. The next day, he ordered a copy online. That Saturday, my
wife and I introduced Zug um Zug (Ticket to Ride) to him and his spouse. The
next day—you guessed it—he was back at his computer, adding another game to his online shopping cart.<br />
<br />
In addition to being a promising new gaming disciple, however, he and his
family have become good friends, especially in our recent time of
pseudo-crisis. Along with others in our neighborhood, they have brought us a
myriad of delicious soups, served together with all sorts of medical advice, of
course. Usually, it involves tea. <br />
<br />
By the way, I simply do not like tea. Coffee is my hot beverage of choice,
but I started drinking that only after moving to Berlin. I once thought that I
could learn to love tea in the same way that I learned to drink coffee—or worse, mineral water
with gas—but it never happened. Sometimes, I even force myself to be that
culturally-adaptable guy, sharing a pot with a generous host, but I’ve found
that it’s hard not to wince when I take a sip. Sometimes I’m even tempted by
the aroma or the ingredients—raspberry vanilla sounds delicious—but it all ends
up tasting like hot water to me. I’ll happily play Darjeeling or any other game
about tea, but I just can’t develop a taste for it. <br />
<br />
My friends all know this about me by now, but it doesn’t stop the lectures
about how this peppermint tea or that herbal tea will cure me faster than any
antibiotic. I appreciate the fact that they want to do things naturally, but
until they can offer me a healing, herbal coffee, I’ll go fill my prescription
and be happy about it. <br />
<br />
Always receiving unsolicited health advice, that is, advice about your <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gesundheit</i>, does get old after awhile.
In fact, I’ve come to realize that opinions about what is healthy are as much a
component of our cultures as anything else.<br />
<br />
Germans, for example, are often complaining about their circulation,
something I’d never heard of in the U.S. unless a person’s arteries are
severely clogged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It often just
seems to be a more dramatic way of saying they are tired out, perhaps in order
to get <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Krankgeschrieben</i>, the
all-important doctors excuse to miss work or school.<br />
<br />
Additionally, friends have told me that a red light is the cure for an
aching ear, that stretching out on the cool ground will give me a kidney
infection, that a draft (including a fresh breeze in summer) can give me a neck
ache, that long bangs could make my sons cross-eyed, and that a reheated
spinach casserole is poisonous.<br />
<br />
Another friend, who was suffering from a cold at the same time I was, looked
me directly in the eyes and scolded me for not drinking tea. Then she stepped
outside for a cigarette break. <br />
<br />
I suppose they all mean well, and some of their advice could certainly turn
out to be helpful, but it can also be confusing, similar to playing a complex
game like Caylus for the first time with experienced opponents who are always
telling you the strategies you should take. <br />
<br />
So I’m content for the time being to hole up in our apartment, take care of
my family, devour our tasty soup-gifts, and avoid tea. I even designed a game,
although the last time I did that in such circumstances, it was a bit too much for my playtesting
group. “I designed it when I was sick,” I confessed. “And now we are too,” one
of them wittily remarked. <br />
<br />
And even though I wrote this Postcard while I was home sick, I hope reading
it doesn’t inadvertently affect your <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gesundheit</i>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0