Just Enough Time

It has been difficult to find the time to write, as I have been so busy lately. In spite of this, I feel fulfilled in every other aspect of my life, having no shortage of basic necessities, relationships, ideas or diversions. What I always seem to lack, though, is time. It could be our generation's most valuable resource.

It is no surprise to me, then, that the past several years have seen game designs with the element of time playing an important role. Games as diverse as Thebes, Stronghold, and Merkator all use time tracks or time chits, much the same way tracks and chits are used to record victory points and other resources in other games. This is, of course, not including all the recent games that are played in real time with the help of sand timers and soundtrack CDs, such as Space Dealer and Space Alert.

I once wrote about the postmodern evolution in games that changed the goal from trying to earn the most money to garnering the most "prestige points," emphasizing fame over fortune. It seems only natural that, as a reflection of our hectic lifestyles, time would also become a commodity in boardgames, right alongside wood and wool and other typical resources.

The old adage "time is money" is, obviously, too simplistic. It really comes down to time + work + demand for that work + many other factors eventually generates money. And money gives you more opportunities to invest time and resources--or the opportunity to take "time off" for a holiday, after having built up a virtual reserve of time. In any case, many of today's engine-building-type games can surely handle the complexities of adding the time factor to their cube-churning formulas.

Since time is our most prized resource at the moment, and time-management is our most necessary skill, there is surely room to reflect this resource--and the management of it--in boardgame design.

I'm afraid, though, that for now at least, I'm out of time...

WAR GAME: A PROTOTYPE FOR PEACE

A Game by Jeffrey D. Allers

Number of Players: 2

Time to play: 1-30 minutes

GAME IDEA:

This is a 2-player card-driven war game, in that you play cards and use your pieces to remove your opponent's pieces from the territories on the board. When both players no longer have any cards left in their hands, the game is over. How many cards each player will use before they empty their hands, however, is entirely up to him or her. At the end of the game, it is the players who decide who are the winners, and who are the losers. There are opportunities for both competitive and cooperative play, and a single game can have phases where each is present.Table talk is encouraged, both during and after the game.


See Games in Galleries for news of the first presentation of the game.

POSTCARD FROM BERLIN #46: Learning From Hollywood

The latest article in my Postcards From Berlin series is up on the Opinionated Gamers website. In it, I write about one of my other passions, filmmaking, and compare it to game design. Perhaps there are truly things we can learn from Hollywood...

Prototype2Publisher: PORTO CARTHAGO

When Bernd first moved to Berlin and joined our gaming group in 2005, Porto Carthago was the first prototype he brought to our group. Furthermore, we were the first ones to play it. Needless to say, this one has been a labor of love for him, and I have had the privilege to play many iterations of the game during the past 6 years. I'm proud of him for sticking with it. After years of working on it, it had become a "monster" of a game, and I give credit to Bernd for being willing to trim down the rules and cut some of the details in order to make the game more accessible. Following is the story of the game, in his words. - Jeff

PELOPONNES & the beginning of IronGames

In the film industry, they are the writer/directors; in music, the singer/songwriters. They are like architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who always maintained artistic control over his entire work. In the board game industry, we call them self-publishers. And every October in Essen, more of them gather together in one place than anywhere else in the world at any time of year. In spite of the large number of established game publishers in Germany, many designers here still choose to publish their own creations. In fact, half of all the Berlin designers I’ve met have tried self-publishing at least once. Andrea Meyer, Günter Cornett, and Richard Stubenvoll have all experienced enough success through their first efforts to produce follow-up games. Now, “Irongames” has been added to the list, a formidable brand name and a clever play on designer Bernd Eisenstein’s name.

GAME DESIGN TV - Part III: the Moderators

See here for Part I and Part II in this series.

There were already “parking reserved” signs on the street in front of the Spielwiese early that week. These are usually reserved for moving trucks, and dreaded by most Berliners, as they take up valuable spaces and it’s not always easy to remember the dates scribbled on them. When the day usually arrives, in fact, the first order of business is for the police and towing service to remove the many cars that are still parked there, in order for the moving trucks to drive in. Bernd and I were even towed once during a game night there.

As far as I know, no cars were forcibly removed this time, and instead of moving trucks, a large van with the X:enius logo drove in and parked outside, as show moderators Dörthe Eikelberg und Pierre Girard popped out. Fredérique and the moderators’ camera/lighting/makeup team were there, too, ready to put the finishing touches on their show’s segment about the German boardgame scene and how a game idea is developed, published and entered into this competitive market. The Spielwiese is a good picture of how crowded that market is: the walls are crammed full of game boxes of every size and shape, and anyone unfamiliar with the popularity of the hobby here is immediately taken aback by the sight.
The moderators and team were no different, amazed by the height and breadth of it all. They began by interviewing Michael, at home behind his coffee bar. They asked him typical questions about the gaming hobby and the concept of his gaming cafe/store/rental service. Meanwhile, Fredérique asked me to set my game up in another corner–one in which they had not yet filmed. Apparently, they were trying to record each scene or interview in a different corner of the room in order to change up everything a bit.

Then the woman in charge of make-up came over to me with a tiny white tube. “Do you mind if I put a little bit of this cream on your nose and forehead to take some of the shine away?” she asked politely. She demonstrated on her hand how it would turn the “glossy” into a “matte” finish, then added, “Most men in particular feel uncomfortable if I come at them with powder, but this cream works just as well.”

During a break in the shooting, I joked with Fredérique that it was a good thing the shooting hadn’t been scheduled for two days earlier. During that time, this whole district of the city had been taken over by left-wing protestors, sometimes instigating violent clashes with police in riot gear. The reason: nine squatters were being forcibly evicted from a run-down six-storey apartment building so that the owner of the building could finally renovate it and charge rent for the place. The event attracted just about anyone who was anti-establishment (and there are quite a few of those in Berlin), or any other person who fantasized about throwing a rock at the police or setting an Audi on fire. Thankfully, everything was in order again, just in time for the filming, although it would have made for an interesting backdrop.

Then it came time to play the prototype of Würfelburg with Dörthe und Pierre, both of whom were very enthusiastic. Without the benefit of practice–or any experience with flicking games, for that matter–Dörthe unfortunately used too much strength, and the dice flew off of the table each time.

After a couple of brief rounds, we sat down around the table and they asked questions about how a designer gets games like Würfelburg published. After the interview finished, they continued to ask questions, demonstrating that theirs was more than a “professional” curiosity. Looking at their shows online, I think I would enjoy having their adventurous jobs, learning about so many different things and participating in such a variety of activities.

This adventure into boardgame development was over, however, and they moved outside to shoot a couple of closing scenes. The Game-umentory should appear on TV and online in a couple months, Fredérique assured me.

Until then, "Cut!"