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!

New Game Announced: Family Vacation

Today the new Board Game News blog at BGG carried an announcement of two upcoming games from Jolly Roger Games, one of which is my Family Vacation (previously American Vacation)! Production prices and a few other odds and ends are still being figured, but it looks like things are starting to move. After all, I just got the BGG page up last night! Here are a few pictures of the original prototype:

Keep in mind that these components will most likely go through some significant changes before the final game is released. In other news, Isabel's game, Tiger Stripes, was mentioned on the Purple Pawn blog! She has been doing a good job with sales since the launch last week. There's still time to order one!

A New Palace Review

SJG gave away a copy of The Palace on Twitter a few days ago, and the winner posted a glowing review on BGG! That's how bribes are supposed to work! Otherwise, we have to use force . . . :) In other Twitter news, I stumbled onto this German website that has snappy little blurbs for each character in Revolution! (in German, of course, so use a translator). It's still unclear when The Palace will be available; however, I am hoping they get them in time for Essen later this month. SJG plans to have an "official presence" in Hall 6. Sounds exciting!

In other news, Z-Man has passed on my Henry the Great prototype, but Jolly Rogers is nearly ready to hammer out a contract for the Vacation prototype. They want to do preorders on BGG, so stay tuned for more info. Who knows, maybe I'll finally enter Hippodice this year!

Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks

I just noticed that the BGG Design Forum has a sticky post on myth-busting the copyright issue. Basically, you have minimum protection whenever you create something regardless of whether you officially filed. Sure, people can "steal" your idea, but it won't do them much good if your game is better and first. Worth a look if you're interested in game design.

Revolution!: The German Version

News is slowly leaking out concerning the soon-to-be-released German version of Revolution!, produced by Pegasus Spiel. Today, we got a picture of the new board from Nuremberg:


As you can see, this design is quite different from the Steve Jackson version. It gives the box art a bit of context as well. This picture is a crop of a larger one showing some of the bidding board. The new version features pictures of the characters on their respective spaces. There is currently a discussion taking place on BGG--most comments seem positive.

Here is another one, fully equipped with meeples instead of cubes (H/T):


By the way, here is the box in all its wild and comical glory:

Tom Vasel Reviews Revolution! -- He Likes It!

Here is the BBG thread for more.

Getting Some Attention

Word is getting out. Very exciting! Revolution! has been mentioned on Boardgamenews.com (and added to the Gone Cardboard section) and this French site I've never heard of before. Thanks, guys! Also, I've been doing a little shameless self-promoting over at BGG on the Designer Forum.

Update: Games Fanatic (Polish) and Deck & Board (Italian). Also CosimShop (German).

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!

Really Crazy BGG Forum Thread

This has nothing to do with Revolution, but it's incredibly entertaining! This thread starts out reasonably enough with someone asking for input on Rehtmeyer Inc. in view of having them manufacture a game. Some people weigh in against the company, calling it a scam, etc. Then Ms. Rehtmeyer herself starts posting--accusing the original poster (a former employee) of stealing from her company! Absolutely hilarious! I've never read a forum thread with more plot twists!

New Game Idea

I've nearly worked out another interesting game idea. I put up a thread on BGG trying to think of a name and got quite a response. Thanks, guys! Also, my Revolution! page is over 1000 hits!

Results...

Wow, my post on the BGG forum led to over 30 hits on my website and 3 sales! Thanks fellow board game geeks!

New BGG Thread

I started a new thread on BGG (my first ever!) asking how to prepare for a CON, as my brother and I will be attending Origins in Columbus, OH, at the end of July. If you have any thoughts, consider adding them to my thread. Thanks!