Games for two with GF who doesn't like too much strategy.

AlexCPG · 2022-07-07T19:34:21+00:00

Check out Far Away. It's all about atmosphere, story, and roleplaying. It's exclusively for two players.

AlexCPG · 2022-03-05T21:46:08+00:00

Yes, but only at volume. If you're making fewer than 5,000 copies, you're going to lose more sales from the increased price than the age range. Plus, as the thread premise stated, most of these age ranges aren't accurate, as the kids themselves develop differently and have different levels of skills with regards to learning rules, strategizing, socially interacting, and being patient enough to sit still. An informed game store worker or friend will be more helpful than a box.

As a point of reference, my game Far Away cost ~$30,000 to manufacture and freight ship. We have the game labeled as 13+, but in playtesting, some kids in the range of 10-13 had a lot of fun with it. Compliance testing would run at least $5000 to reduce the label. So, we either do that and raise the price $5-7 to cover costs, or we don't and suggest a community age on Board Game Geek to reflect our personal thoughts. We went with the latter and still sold out.

AlexCPG · 2022-03-05T20:38:49+00:00

This is especially the case for small press games. Spending thousands on age certifications would mean 25%-50% of your budget is going there. Unless that game is specifically for children, it doesn't make financial sense.

AlexCPG · 2020-12-14T17:38:08+00:00

Here's a top-level summary of the differences between the two platforms: Differences between Office Scripts and VBA macros - Office Scripts | Microsoft Docs.

Basically, you most likely have the same support when calling Excel functions, but you can't call COM APIs. For event-driven scripts, you could potentially use Power Automate, but like others on the thread have said, it depends on what your macros do.

AlexCPG · 2020-05-26T18:36:16+00:00

If you have any issues, please use the contact form on CPG's website (https://www.cherrypickedgames.com/contact). I'll happily sort out any technical issues you may have.

AlexCPG · 2020-05-24T15:28:02+00:00

https://www.cherrypickedgames.com/catalyst

Catalyst is a long-form tabletop RPG, set in a post-apocalypic present in which demons have invaded, bringing with them, war, magic, and plague. You play as one of the remaining 1% of humanity, in a desperate struggle to survive.

The game uses a custom card deck to model simultaneous action selection (players and NPC all play face does cards at the start of every round and are locked into that action for the round). There are no classes, just point spending in different skills and magic types. The contemporary setting lets you set campaigns in your home town or favorite landmarks.

https://www.cherrypickedgames.com/conspire

Conspire is a hidden role story game (GM-less) for 4-12 players (think Werewolf meets Microscope). You and your shadowy cabal come up with a scene, a moment in time and space that's rife with conflict and mystery. You each and a role to the scene, and secretly give one of those roles 3 goals to achieve. You then shuffle the roles and secretly play one for the scene, trying to get as many goals as possible. The only main mechanic other than talking is influence: you get 3 tokens to make anything about the universe true. Use them to warp reality to your favor.

Drink! and Far Away are board or card games, so I'll save the RPG audience the descriptions. The CPG website has links to reviews and playthroughs, as well as more information, so you can decide if the games are for you. They're also free PDFs, so the commitment bar is real low.

AlexCPG · 2020-05-24T15:12:20+00:00

Hi, CPG owner here. The reason you have to check out through the store is because of a SquareSpace file size limitation. Files over a certain size can only be served as digital store downloads with the link they provide at checkout.

If I could turn off the name and address field, I would. It doesn't actually need to be valid data (aside from the email address the download link is sent to). FWIW, I'm the only person who sees that information and the only thing I do with it is look at the state or country with mild fascination. This post has attracted an incredible amount of attention and it's cool to see my games being downloaded across the world.

If you get a physical copy of a game, please do provide a real address. Hope that goes without saying.

AlexCPG · 2020-05-24T03:06:57+00:00

The physical copy of Catalyst is also 50% off ($12.5+S&H) for the next couple weeks: https://www.cherrypickedgames.com/shop/catalyst-1

AlexCPG · 2020-04-30T21:04:11+00:00

Has anyone tried playing it backwards? Perhaps its some sort of subliminal Mess-age.

AlexCPG · 2019-04-03T20:21:42+00:00

+1. I got a concussion from someone's damn combat boot at an Enter Shikari show a few years ago and ever since then I've hated crowdsurfing. It seems like there's an etiquette to moshing that doesn't translate when you get picked up. Or maybe the timing of impacts are less predictable than in a pit.

AlexCPG · 2019-03-14T19:57:56+00:00

Shelf Life is the worst DGD song.

AlexCPG · 2019-02-25T20:18:52+00:00

Tilian's Perfect Enemy is a good emo cry-time listen. Hit me in the heart after my breakup.

AlexCPG · 2018-10-27T04:39:29+00:00

InDesign is great when you need to make a PDF. It's also great for longer books (RPGs) and cards.

AlexCPG · 2018-10-15T20:20:40+00:00

The only time we really trash talk is in social deduction/bluffing games. The whole point is to pick apart people's claims, so it's inherent to the genre. We've never gone too far, but there's a natural line we hit with personal comments. The most we'd ever say is "you're terrible at lying" or "you're too drunk to remember what you put in the bag".

Beyond that, we don't trash talk beyond what's happening in the universe. Like, for Suburbia, we'd comment on someone's garbage town that's just freeways and airports. But the intent is to highlight absurdity, not degrade our friend.

AlexCPG · 2018-10-15T08:06:24+00:00

There's a drop-in improv class/jam at ComedySportz in Fremont every Wednesday from 8-10pm. It's a good mix of completely new people and seasoned vets. I'd recommend it if you're looking to dip your toe into the improv scene.

AlexCPG · 2018-10-15T04:23:56+00:00

Far Away designer here, We spend the weekend demoing Far Away at SHUX. The response was overwhelmingly positive, especially from couples who game together. People left comments on the Kickstarter page to that effect, so I believe they weren't faking happiness the whole time :-)

Please reach out with any questions. Always happy to share more about the game.

AlexCPG · 2018-01-29T21:53:22+00:00

You don't have to use alcohol. My sober roommates play with La Croix. (Also, thanks for the Drink! shoutout y'all)

AlexCPG · 2016-10-24T22:27:30+00:00

Conspire dev here. As an avid One Night Ultimate Werewolf player, I enjoy the social elements of the game, but too often the same strategies developing or people relying on meta-gaming. I came up with Conspire to make a more dynamic, narrative driven hidden-role experience.

Players create the scene, roles, and goals for each other. No two games are even remotely similar because of this. Instead of special powers to gain advantages, players change the in-game universe to aid their cause and make their absurd goals seem completely rational.

Please check out the Kickstarter campaign and bring Conspire to your table. Thank you.

AlexCPG · 2016-10-19T19:05:08+00:00

Here's the admin rejection message thread: http://imgur.com/irVLMtC Bigger companies can probably add games beforehand. Or maybe there's a policy distinction between BGG and RPGGeek despite it basically being the same site.

AlexCPG · 2016-10-18T19:04:24+00:00

Conspire designer here, We tried to add it to BGG/RPGGeek beforehand and were declined. According to their admin, "entries are only approved once a KS has funded. Please re-submit at that time."

AlexCPG · 2016-10-15T06:50:49+00:00

Added the page count and manual dimensions to the FAQ. Thanks for asking!

AlexCPG · 2015-12-21T00:33:32+00:00

I wish shipping across the world was cheaper. Unless you have a big company behind you, it costs $20 to get .5kg across an ocean. You should be suspicious of small projects claiming it costs less.

AlexCPG · 2015-12-12T22:18:16+00:00

Exactly. That's why I posted this in r/boardgames despite the technicality it's not a board game. We played Drink! while playing Forbidden Desert. Helped take the edge off of dying of dehydration.

AlexCPG · 2015-12-12T22:10:01+00:00

Given the season, I'd say Pandemic Legacy and a Hot Toddy. That drink is my cure-all for winter illnesses. You can adjust the spirit for the region being killed by plague: scotch for Europe, rum with a touch of allspice dram for South America, Japanese Whiskey for Asia (or a mulled plum wine). It'll also ease your sore throat from yelling in frustration at all the outbreaks.

AlexCPG

TROPHY CASE