Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Tiger Stripes 20% Off Sale!
In honor of Isabel being on TV (for just a few seconds at the end of the clip), we are offering a 20% discount on Tiger Stripes. Have any kids or grand-kids learning about addition and subtraction? Get them a great Christmas gift for just
Friday, November 25, 2011
I Hate It When
. . . this happens.
You design a game (or at least come up with a cool new idea), and then someone else beats you to the punch. Keep in mind, I'm not accusing anyone of theft or anything. I believe this is a total coincidence, but enough of a coincidence that I wanted to share it with you.
I have been shopping around a game I call Square Off for a couple of years now. The other day, I learned of a new product from Gamewright called City Square Off. The games are nothing alike--it's only the names (and logos) that are similar. Or is it just me?
Anyway, it's just weird. Now to think up a new name.
You design a game (or at least come up with a cool new idea), and then someone else beats you to the punch. Keep in mind, I'm not accusing anyone of theft or anything. I believe this is a total coincidence, but enough of a coincidence that I wanted to share it with you.
I have been shopping around a game I call Square Off for a couple of years now. The other day, I learned of a new product from Gamewright called City Square Off. The games are nothing alike--it's only the names (and logos) that are similar. Or is it just me?
Anyway, it's just weird. Now to think up a new name.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Checking In
In case you haven't noticed by my total lack of posting, I've been swamped lately! A combination of substitute teaching, family projects and some fresh design work as kept my nose firmly against the grindstone. So, here are a few random and/or interesting bits of news:
I helped organize a program for Nation Game Day at my local library. Unfortunately, only one kid showed up! :( I'm choosing to put the blame for this squarely on the lack of advertising by the library and the insanely beautiful Saturday afternoon weather.
Saturday, Isabel and I participated in a little Dominion tournament at Gateway Games. Isabel had a better score than I did and just missed second place by a few points. Very nice time regardless!
Also, BGG.con just wrapped up down in Texas. James of Minion Games was able to attend and gave me a good report of the demos he ran of Kingdom of Solomon. However, we recently learned that Ludofact will not be able to ship all our games (my game and two others have to be shipped in the same load) for a bit longer. This means the boat will be a bit later and then US distribution will be a bit later. Right now it's looking more like January or even February before the games make it to local stores and people's doorsteps. We are so sorry to be missing the holiday season--and extremely sorry to disappoint anyone's gift-giving plans.
Let me leave you with something nice: I have become a diehard fan of the Ludology podcast. These guys do the Game Tech feature on the Dice Tower podcast. The show is fantastic--you almost need to take notes! If you're a game designer, or just curious about game mechanics, give it a listen.
I helped organize a program for Nation Game Day at my local library. Unfortunately, only one kid showed up! :( I'm choosing to put the blame for this squarely on the lack of advertising by the library and the insanely beautiful Saturday afternoon weather.
Saturday, Isabel and I participated in a little Dominion tournament at Gateway Games. Isabel had a better score than I did and just missed second place by a few points. Very nice time regardless!
Also, BGG.con just wrapped up down in Texas. James of Minion Games was able to attend and gave me a good report of the demos he ran of Kingdom of Solomon. However, we recently learned that Ludofact will not be able to ship all our games (my game and two others have to be shipped in the same load) for a bit longer. This means the boat will be a bit later and then US distribution will be a bit later. Right now it's looking more like January or even February before the games make it to local stores and people's doorsteps. We are so sorry to be missing the holiday season--and extremely sorry to disappoint anyone's gift-giving plans.
Let me leave you with something nice: I have become a diehard fan of the Ludology podcast. These guys do the Game Tech feature on the Dice Tower podcast. The show is fantastic--you almost need to take notes! If you're a game designer, or just curious about game mechanics, give it a listen.
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Essen Aftermath
The next stage involves snagging some reviews followed by US distribution. The boat will soon be on it's way, so we're looking at only a few short weeks before the first US copies make it over--including mine! Kickstarters will be first in line once our ship comes in. If you got a copy at Essen, we need you to rate it and maybe write a brief review or session report on BGG. Every little bit helps!
One final note today. The final version seems to contain only 10 of the 16 Temple Tokens that ideally should be in there. They did put in 16 white cubes (Temple Blocks) to track the progress of the Temple, but we don't have 16 of the tokens (featuring the High Priest). This really does not affect the game much at all--many games will not even require all 16 tokens, as players often chose the VPs over the token. Even so, we apologize for this oversight. See the ongoing BGG thread for more info.
Since it will be impossible for us to provide extras at this time, this leaves you with a few options. You can simply limit the tokens to 10. Or you can use tokens from another game, pennies, etc. Or you can print a few more using this high-res official PDF. My preference and intention was and is to make 16 tokens available. Again, we are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Thanks for your continuing interest in Kingdom of Solomon! We are looking forward to introducing more and more gamers to this great new experience. And look for even more new-game-related news coming in the next few months!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Emotional Roller Coaster of Game Design
Minion Games is reporting significant sales of Kingdom of Solomon at Essen. Woo-hoo! Looks like the booth is getting a lot of traffic. FYI, KoS should be in the USA at the end of November/beginning of December, just in time for a certain major holiday . . . All this brings to my mind the wild ride often involved in game design.
At the start, excitement is high--you've just had an amazing flash of brilliance! Then comes the first prototype. Blah--it doesn't really work. But there's still something there . . .
Next you work and work to smooth rough edges and get the game into a somewhat playable state. Finally, you can play the game from start to finish! Now the real playtesting begins.
People give you "constructive" criticism. Yuck. Like bad-tasting medicine, it must be endured for healthy design. And your game gets better. Now to find a publisher.
It's a good game, but no one has time or money to publish. So you try harder and finally get a bite. Hooray! If it's a smaller company, get ready for even more work--endless editing and revising. And it takes much longer than you think--seriously, when will the art be done!?!?
By the time all this is finished you are almost tired of looking at your game (almost). You start thinking that people don't care about your game or it's not as cool as the other new games (really people just don't know about your game--very different). But the game is published! People actually buy it! Happy times are here again!
Now you have to keep marketing and doing demos for people--more work, but it's cool. And so there it is, some days are good some are long and tedious. But if you keep working, one day you look up and it turns out you've come a long way--and that feels awesome!
At the start, excitement is high--you've just had an amazing flash of brilliance! Then comes the first prototype. Blah--it doesn't really work. But there's still something there . . .
Next you work and work to smooth rough edges and get the game into a somewhat playable state. Finally, you can play the game from start to finish! Now the real playtesting begins.
People give you "constructive" criticism. Yuck. Like bad-tasting medicine, it must be endured for healthy design. And your game gets better. Now to find a publisher.
It's a good game, but no one has time or money to publish. So you try harder and finally get a bite. Hooray! If it's a smaller company, get ready for even more work--endless editing and revising. And it takes much longer than you think--seriously, when will the art be done!?!?
By the time all this is finished you are almost tired of looking at your game (almost). You start thinking that people don't care about your game or it's not as cool as the other new games (really people just don't know about your game--very different). But the game is published! People actually buy it! Happy times are here again!
Now you have to keep marketing and doing demos for people--more work, but it's cool. And so there it is, some days are good some are long and tedious. But if you keep working, one day you look up and it turns out you've come a long way--and that feels awesome!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Inspiring Reads
I've just finished several really great leadership and entrepreneur books. If you have any desire whatsoever to create products (games?) and/or start a business or even get a promotion, you should check some of these out.
The first was Good To Great by Jim Collins. This one is a little old (pre-2001), but still contains many timeless truths.
Next was EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan, and this book did not disappoint. It walks you through how to set up a business and lead with integrity and passion. Lots of great ideas even if you don't want to be a CEO.
Finally, I just finished The Other 8 Hours by Robert Pagliarini. This book encourages you to pursue a better life with the hours you normally spend watching American Idol and playing Minecraft (I only do one of those activities, BTW). He outlines several different ways to super-charge your income potential.
One very clever bit of advice from this book: how to get necessary services to move your business venture forward but without shelling out lots of money up front. Pagliarini gives the example of needing a new website. You find a great company, but they will charge you $5,000 to build the site. So instead of paying this large amount, you offer them $500 now plus 25% of all ad revenue up to the $18,000 level. This is worth exactly $4,500--the balance of the service. But then you also offer 15% of all ad revenue up to the $168,000, 10% up to $618,000, 5% up to $2,418,000, and 1% up to $15M. The deal is capped at this point.
What this means is that this web company gets $500 now, a great chance at getting all their money, plus a decent chance to make lots more. And a small chance to make a small fortune (possibly around $300K). You can see how this sort of thinking could be applied to all sorts of other business arrangements, both to hire new partners and to do work for others.
So what are your dreams? Turn those dreams into goals and get moving today!
The first was Good To Great by Jim Collins. This one is a little old (pre-2001), but still contains many timeless truths.
Next was EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan, and this book did not disappoint. It walks you through how to set up a business and lead with integrity and passion. Lots of great ideas even if you don't want to be a CEO.
Finally, I just finished The Other 8 Hours by Robert Pagliarini. This book encourages you to pursue a better life with the hours you normally spend watching American Idol and playing Minecraft (I only do one of those activities, BTW). He outlines several different ways to super-charge your income potential.
One very clever bit of advice from this book: how to get necessary services to move your business venture forward but without shelling out lots of money up front. Pagliarini gives the example of needing a new website. You find a great company, but they will charge you $5,000 to build the site. So instead of paying this large amount, you offer them $500 now plus 25% of all ad revenue up to the $18,000 level. This is worth exactly $4,500--the balance of the service. But then you also offer 15% of all ad revenue up to the $168,000, 10% up to $618,000, 5% up to $2,418,000, and 1% up to $15M. The deal is capped at this point.
What this means is that this web company gets $500 now, a great chance at getting all their money, plus a decent chance to make lots more. And a small chance to make a small fortune (possibly around $300K). You can see how this sort of thinking could be applied to all sorts of other business arrangements, both to hire new partners and to do work for others.
So what are your dreams? Turn those dreams into goals and get moving today!
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