In September there were a lot of firsts for Magnate: we got our first ever review, did our first podcast interview and the first ever “pretty prototype” was assembled. Now our first big show is upon us! Tabletop Scotland a huge success & our first ever review At the beginning of September, I travelled north of the border to Perth to playtest Magnate for, what I only realised later, was the inaugural Tabletop Scotland. The playtesting was a huge success. It allowed me to test out a solution to the longstanding problem where players are mystified by bidding for turn order on the first round. I am glad to say that solution worked very well. I also got a chance...
Last weekend I attended a convention – and it was the best one I’ve experienced so far. Here’s five reasons why I loved it and what I’d like to see in other conventions as a result. Tabletop Scotland is a new gaming convention held in Perth. I recently attended it as part of my continuing mission to get Magnate playtested all around the country. Though only two days long, it proved the maxim that quality is better than quantity. It’s been my personal favourite so far; it’s organisers got so much so right. So here’s 5 reasons it worked so well and why I am almost certain I’ll be making the 900 mile round trip again. 1 – It has...
Progress to publishing Magnate continues to move at a pace. Here’s a quick round-up of the latest developments from August. Magnate BGG page is up I am very happy to say that Magnate now has it’s own Boardgamegeek entry. Suddenly, – as I’m sure hardcore gamers can readily imagine – it all feels a lot more real. This both makes sense and doesn’t at the same time. Of course, BGG is still the closest thing to the officialdom in the industry but if Magnate wasn’t real before, what have people been enjoying all these years? I suppose there will always be a buzz seeing your creation listed among the greats in the place for games regardless! As it turns out,...
Last week, I posted about why making print and plays is a great thing for designers to do. This week, I navigate my first two creations and see what I can learn from the whole process. My first time: Cutting stuff up with Barbers! The first game I set-about printing and creating myself was Barbers!, a game designed to fit into a mint tin about cutting the head and facial hair of people in a barber shop. I first discovered it when it’s creator Harshad Deshmukh was looking for testers for a solo mode of the game. Given it was small but had a quirky intriguing theme, lots of fun looking artwork and involved trying to do useful things with...
I’ve never made a print and play (PnP) game before. Is that ok? Well… maybe I’ve been missing out. There are lots of reasons to create a good PnP game, even if you don’t think of yourself as a ‘crafty’ person. Read part I? You can read Part II here. I have a confession – and as far as the board game industry goes, it feels like a pretty embarrassing one. Until recently I had never, ever printed a game from the internet. Not a card game, not a dice game, not an enormous eurogame. Other than a brief fumble with a 2 player Brass board which lasted all of 5 minutes (before I spilled coffee on the poorly sellotaped,...
