Monday, June 27, 2011

Origins Recap

 
Origins Game Fair 2011 has come and gone! I had a great time again this year. I took my brother-in-law Aaron (his first con!). I think he had an okay time. This is a shot of the Minion Games booth where Kingdom of Solomon was on display. I got to explain the game to lots of convention-goers and hand out many of my Kickstarter flyers. More on that later . . .

















One of the highlights of the con was meeting Chris Kirkman of Dice Hate Me and his buddy Shawn. They played Kingdom of Solomon and seemed to enjoy it--despite my utter inability to resist crushing newbies. After that, we cracked open Revolution! with The Palace expansion. A few more people got to jump in this one, including John Moller of Cartrunk. David from Clever Mojo Games even played a round or two while Chris briefly stepped away. I had a blast hanging out with these guys!

Of course, one of the main reasons I attended was to pitch some new prototypes to publishers. This turned out very well. I got some significant interest in four of the five games I brought. More announcements to follow--I hope!

I also spent some time at the Jolly Roger Games booth. They had my Family Vacation game on display. We put some final touches on the contact for this. It's looking like we will be doing a Kickstarter campaign to get this one going in the near future.

While at Origins, I bought two games: Dominion: Cornucopia and Alien Frontiers. I've played just a little of both and am very happy with my purchases! All in all, it was a great con!


One final note: Kingdom of Solomon is still up on Kickstarter for 6 MORE DAYS. So far, we have over 100 backers and have raised over $7,300 (nearly 150% of the original goal)! Thanks to all my supporters. There's still a little more time for you to climb aboard. Pledging on our Kickstarter will ensure that your copy arrives much sooner than anyone else, and you'll also get the promo card and have access to some other cool rewards. Don't miss your chance!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Origins Is This Week!

Many last-minute preparations are being made for the Origins Game Fair in Columbus. I will be there Thursday and Friday. If you are going to the show, look for me at the Minion Games booth and see a demo of Kingdom of Solomon. My other new game, Family Vacation, will be on display (in prototype form) at the Jolly Roger Games booth. I will also be in the Board Room at night giving demos and playing games (and maybe pitching other prototypes). I might even be playing some Revolution! this week . . .

In other news, the Kingdom of Solomon Kickstarter campaign has reached 130% of the funding goal with 13 days to go. You still have time to make your pledge (guaranteed now) and grab some cool rewards, as well as to be one of the first to get the finished game!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Kingdom of Solomon Reached Its Funding Goal!

We reached our funding goal tonight for the Kingdom of Solomon Kickstarter campaign! But that doesn't mean it's over--you can still make a pledge and take part in helping this game come to life. You also have an extended opportunity to snag some nice rewards at the higher levels. Thanks to all the 60+ people who have already signed up--I really appreciate your pledges and I (along with Minion Games) look forward to delivering a fantastic product to you as soon as possible!

If you'd like a sneak peek at the game, we'll be doing demos every day at Origins later this month. Minion Games is in booth 129 this year. Stop by and check us out. We'll also be available each night at the infamous Board Room.

I may also be slipping over to the Jolly Roger Games booth (114) to demo my next game, Family Vacation. Just thought I'd mention that . . .

Monday, June 6, 2011

Kingdom of Solomon Podcast & Blog Coverage

 Chris at Dice Hate Me (and his trusty sidekick) mentioned Kingdom of Solomon during the latest podcast on Kickstarter projects. I am a big fan of this podcast and enjoy listening to it--they always discuss interesting topics and great games. And the "controversy" was mentioned. :)

Kingdom of Solomon was also featured on Death of Monopoly, another blog I follow. And I just discovered this lengthy article on Cartrunk Entertainment. Very much appreciated, guys!

Quick update: We are currently at 75% of funding!

One last thing: If you haven't seen it yet, check out my new KoS game play video.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Tearing Down the Idols

My designer diary for Kingdom of Solomon kicked off quite a controversy. A cry has gone up against our inclusion of an Idol space on the board. Comments and emails poured in urging us to purge our game of such paganism. Well, not exactly--several commentors politely suggested that we reconsider our use of a morally-ambiguous (at best) element in a game with great appeal to Christians and Jews.

As one of those aforementioned Christians (and a Bible-believing, serious one, at that), I was a bit perplexed. I guess I'm just very secure in my personal commitment to eschew all idol worship. I viewed the Idol space as an addition to the game's theme. After all, Solomon did turn to idol worship at the end of his reign. But the comments continued. Even some of my non-Christian friends agreed.

Finally, James Mathe, head of Minion Games, decided the sensible thing to do was to make a change. And I agree. There's just no reason to ignore this much vocal opposition against something that will be so easy to change. At the end of the day, I have to consider that this is a bigger deal than I thought it was. As I said in the comments on BGN, I certainly don't want to be seen as promoting idol worship or needlessly offending whole groups of people.

Therefore, the Idol space will soon become the Altar space--the good kind, such as would be found in the Temple. The people have spoken and we have heeded their call! We hope this change will help the game reach an even wider audience. And thanks for all your support during the beginning of our Kickstarter campaign--we are nearly 50% funded in less than a week!