Saturday, September 29, 2007

Another Playtest of 5-6

We had another opportunity to play the 5-6 expansion again last night. It went very well. One of my testers had a great idea: add the Apothecary to the basic game, replacing the Pickpocket. This make a lot of sense, as we have had several comments about the uselessness of the Pickpocket in the basic game (it has a nice level of value in the 5-6). Of course, this idea will have to be tested... I hope I can get everything finalized before the copyrighting and construction phase...

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Samples On the Way

I finally heard back from my paper guy. He is sending me samples of everything so that I can finalize my purchase. Almost everything else concerning my order is lined up and ready (the right product, right quantities and the right price).

I also got the word that my domain name (www.revolutionboardgame.com) will take 60 days to transfer to its new home. This is not a huge problem as marketing doesn't even have to be online until next spring.

Once I confirm my paperboard order and printing capabilities, I will finalize the design (mostly a slight re-sizing) and file for copyright. Then things will really start to get fun!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Weekend Testing

Just a quick word about the 5-6 expansion testing this week. It went very well! I had to make a few slight adjustments, but otherwise it quite well. Also, I have decided to change the Major to the General. The 5-6 version has a Mayor, and I said the wrong name just about every time. I will also be adding a few more duplicate cards to the base deck. The 5-6 deck is the same except for the removal of two Remove Influence cards. The game went on forever without this change (6 people drawing 3 cards is 18 cards a round--high chance of a remove)! Still waiting for Mr. Utterson at the pressboard factory to give me that updated estimate...

Monday, September 17, 2007

The 5-6 Expansion!

Revolution has been a game for 3-4 players from the beginning (two can play it with slight modifications). However, that has all changed today. I have figured out the main concept and components for the 5-6 player expanded version. I am very excited to see how my current ideas play-test. I should get an opportunity this weekend at a family reunion. I'll be sure to post the results. The expansion will be sold separately, but it might get bundled depending on what deals I have going.

In other news, I am holding off on filing the copyright until I get a few more details finalized. The printing/paper size issue is all but worked out; however, I'm still waiting on the cardboard manufacturer to send me an updated quote. I had to rethink all the dimensions and cuts (see a previous post for the agonizing details)... Even so, things are progressing.

More Play-Testing

We finally showed the game to my in-laws last night. They seemed to like it very well. So that makes over a dozen or so family and friends who have played a more-or-less final version.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Tricky Issues

Today I continued hashing out specifications on the pressboard needed to construct the board. It turns out that their pressboard comes in 26" x 38" sheets. This needs to be cut down to make a quad-fold board approximately 14" x 20". Adding to the complications is the fact the packaging cover art cannot exceed 13" x 19", the largest paper I currently have access to for printing. Allowing for the edges of the box and some wrap-around, the top of the box will be 4.5" smaller and the bottom box will be 0.25" smaller still. This allows for a maximum folded board size of 8" x 14". A folded size of 7" x 10" fits well into this space, but causes an unacceptable amount of scrap when cut from the sheet. Therefore, the board will have to be 6.25" x 9.25" when folded.

My contact at the paper company is also working on a quote for the necessary amount of Kivar6, a backing material. This will (I hope) take the board from mediocre to semi-professional. I also finished the box design work and am now working on the box bottom (I took a nice photo today). Things are progressing steadily forward.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Box Art

I did some work on the box art today. I chose dark blue as the base color, because I read somewhere that nearly everyone's favorite color in dark blue. In the next few days, I plan to secure a copyright to my game. Once that happens, I'll feel better about sharing some of my design work and tell a bit more about the game.

Monday, September 10, 2007

The Revolution Has Begun!

This blog will be a diary/how-to manual/behind-the-scenes journal of the production of my new board game, Revolution. So far, I have a fairly refined prototype and the support of all my family and friends (who all seem to love it). Now I plan to bring my great new product to the unforgiving world of commercial board games without losing my shirt in the process! I hope you enjoy my adventure as much as I hope to!