Third Floor Gamers

I got to chat with the Third Floor Gamers via Skype today. It's a school-based group of nice kids just getting into gaming. Somehow, their fearless leader, Michael, stumbled onto my game and bought a stack of them for the club. He also did a cool video review on BGG. They seem to enjoy playing Revolution!--one of them had just scored over 350. Nice! Unfortunately, they couldn't hear me too well on their end, so I ended up having to do a lot of chat typing. I would have liked to say more but it was still fun. Some playtesting might be in their future . . . Thanks, guys!

BTW - I got my first royalty statement today! $$$ . . . well, maybe more like $ . . . still. :)

Revolution! At Essen

Unfortunately, the the Essen buzz for Revolution! is only an imperceptible whisper. This picture is the first documented evidence that it was even there. These nice Germans seem to be moderately amused. I understand that there is a lot of competition for people's attention there--lots of games everywhere. The ratings seem to be coming at a steady pace on BGG. Meanwhile, I've been working several other prototypes, getting them in front of publishers, testing others and making new ones. Once something breaks loose, I'll be sure to let you in on it.

Welcome Google Image Searchers!

I checked my stats today and noticed that HUNDREDS of people visited my blog in the last few days because of a Google image search. The coveted image? Wil Wheaton of Star Trek. That's right--if you're looking for ONE picture of this fine actor, you've come to the right place!

While you're here, how about checking out Revolution!? You just searched for Wil Wheaton, so I know you're a geek--and geeks love my new board game (Wil sure does)! BTW, if you're not a geek, my sincerest apologies (just between us, Revolution! is really more for cool people anyway).

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and artificially inflating my blog hits!

Wil Wheaton Mentions Revolution!

Wil Wheaton, of Star Trek fame, mentioned his upcoming trip to RinCon in Tucson, AZ, where he looks forward to playing Revolution!, among a few other games. I am currently experiencing a level of geekiness beyond all imagination. Now if I can just get Worf to try it out . . . I'm sure he would say something like, "MajQa'!"

Revolution! Reviews

Just the other day I was thinking how nice it would be to have my game added to Bruno Faidutti's famed Ideal Game Library. Today, I found it there! He is mainly positive, preferring the "bid refunds" optional rule to moderate the widely perceived run-away leader problem. Once again, I am very glad I argued for the inclusion of this very rule, and I am thankful that SJG listened.

Revolution! also got a positive review from Sam Healey (sometimes co-host of The Dice Tower with Tom Vassel). He mentioned to me that Revolution will be featured on the podcast in an up-coming episode.

Revolution! in Madison, Wisconsin

Here's a picture of the booth from Phil Reed at ACD in Madison, Wisconsin. They flew direct from PAX at Seattle, Washington. These folks sure get around! Meanwhile, my "demo" at Sci-Fi City tonight consisted of one game between my eldest daughter (age 7), myself and Joe, the MIB guy (part of the SJG volunteer army). They did have one customer who bought a comic book. And a few guys in the back were playing D&D. It makes me very glad that I'm not still trying to sell my game on my own. Real professionals are doing real promotional work at real conventions--my hat goes off to you!

YottaQuest Demo

Tonight I ran a few demos of Revolution! at Yottaquest. The "regular" board game crew moseyed in about 7:00 for their weekly fix. I played in the first game of Revolution! and got absolutely CRUSHED by all of my opponents! They were shrewd players indeed. I'll have to get a rematch one of these days . . .

One big group played Parthenon most of the night. I got in on Battlestar Galactica (with Pegasus expansion) towards the end of the evening. The humans went down hard to the many Cylons. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this game yet. It was very complicated, but there is an interesting dynamic at work what with all the mistrust and treachery involved.

Overall, it was not the most effective promotional experience I've had. On the other hand, about 15-20 more people now know of my game's existence and may end up trying it out soon. Maybe my session at Sci-Fi City Thursday will be more productive.