New Pieces

I just got some new pieces in for a few prototypes I'm working up. I got top notch quality at a fair price from Boardgamebits.com. They have some very useful and hard-to-find pieces for all your eurogame needs!

Shilling Thread Continues

This BGG thread just gets funnier every day! Note: Please do not comment on the thread if you actually are one of my "shills." It looks like random strangers might just carry the day. BTW - thanks to any random strangers for watching my back.

New Release Date

My sources now tell me the game will be released at the beginning of 2009. I guess this sort of thing is to be expected. Still, I would rather they take the time to do it right rather than give it the rush treatment. It also looks like the rule changes are going to stick, but we can still play by the old rules if we want. All in all, SJG seems to be doing a serious job producing a great product.

Also, check out the forum action over at BGG! The SJG guys have been hitting the conventions and generating some positive buzz. And I'm being accused of shameless shilling. Some guy keeps whining about the fact that about four of my friends/relatives have rated my game a 10. His world is forever distorted by such underhanded trickery. Really, what did you expect from my parents? "Well, it's an okay game for your first professional release--6.4 seems about right." Give me a break!

Quick update: the BGG page now has over 1900 2000 hits and 21 ratings!

Homemade Revolution

Here's a Revolution first. Mark Crocker went to the website and discovered that Revolution is not currently available until Steve Jackson Games releases it. Not to be deterred, Mark made a homemade copy of the game, pieced together from various pictures and the rule booklet. He shared some of his graphics with me. He reformatted the board into a square to mount it onto an old Trivial Pursuit board:

Here is the bid card. Spartan but accurate:

Finally, here is a sample card. I like the cool picture on the back, though I'm not sure I had the American Revolution in mind (I was thinking maybe Latin America, but whatever). But it's still neat.

Way to go, Mark. I hope it tides you over until the final version comes out. Maybe you can send us a photo of your complete setup and some session reports.

Mention on Purple Pawn & New Review on BGG

Revolution got a nice little thumbs up from David (see comments on the previous post) over at Purple Pawn. There's even a picture!

He was also kind enough to write a nice review of the game on the BGG page. Looks like the playtesting is proceeding well...

19 Ratings

Somehow, Revolution now has 19 ratings. I think two more from Texas have weighed in, as well as a guy from Maryland. Thanks, guys! Just 11 more to go to hit the magic 30. Of course, I don't really need to worry about this much, as I'll likely get more ratings when the game is actually released. Which reminds me, I haven't had an update in a while...

Also, I am hard at work on more prototypes. I have three new games almost ready for the final rounds of playtesting and submission, but I'll probably hold off until I see how Revolution plays out (sorry about the pun...no I'm not).

Agricola Has Arrived!

After waiting for many weeks for my first-ever preordered board game, Agricola (the most hyped game of the decade) finally came. I played my first game last night (a solo game, of course). I scored a 41! It was lots of fun! I can't wait to play with other people. I just hope my wife and friends will take to it. There are a lot of "moving parts" and "helps" printed everywhere. Add in all those little bits and it's fairly overwhelming. But, when you boil it down, Agricola isn't really overly complicated. There are 14 turns. On a turn you put your little family discs on an action and do the action (usually this involves taking some stuff or sending some stuff). Then your family members come back. And repeat. Simple! Every once in a while you have to feed them or you get wicked -3 points cards and you lose the game, but other than that...

Overall, this seems to be a very solid game. The staggering number of cards (360+ several extras) guarantees a fresh experience each time. This might be one time when the hype is justified. Time will tell.