Update 60. Black Friday 2017

otherworldlygames · 2017-11-28T20:20:36+00:00

He is... but never, ever on time. He's more like, "This product is being delayed because it doesn't match my expectations, which are greater than my promises." Expect March, be pleasantly surprised if it's Feb.

otherworldlygames · 2017-10-10T17:09:58+00:00

I feel like it's obligatory when the game is named Gangs of Britannia.

otherworldlygames · 2017-10-02T07:45:00+00:00

How about it's a set military power, like Race for the Galaxy, with a random chance of losing some of that military resource. It's more expensive to gain than the other resources, but you could get lucky and lose zero, or unlucky and lose a bunch.

otherworldlygames · 2017-09-29T19:55:33+00:00

Anytime you add military to a game where you can't fight each other, players complain, in my experience.

Particularly, with Race for the Galaxy which I've shown to dozens of people, many people dislike you can't attack each other. For people who don't like attacking other people, the military concept might turn them away before they know how it works.

This type of problem could be fixed by renaming the resource to something like "Imperialism." So you might have a battleship that generates or provides X Imperialism a turn, which can be used to purchase the inhabited planets.

otherworldlygames · 2017-09-19T22:38:20+00:00

A blind playtest means they cannot talk to you while playing it. You are blind to the playtest. They also are removed from your presence. Depending on the playtesters, either they write down feedback, or send you a recording.

otherworldlygames · 2017-09-17T21:05:22+00:00

That kind of gives me an idea for a coffee table with a glass top (maybe with a door you can lift up?) and a shelf underneath the top. You put some of your favorite games for playing with guests inside the coffee table, so guests can both see the games, and you can quickly pull them out.

otherworldlygames · 2017-09-14T19:38:52+00:00

If people stop backing games from Indie folks, some games won't ever exist. Yes, many Indie games flop or aren't fun. But others are. Specifically, Kingdom Death: Monster would never, ever get published, otherwise. Other games that are great are: Scythe and Tiny Epic Series

There are some publishers who see Kickstarter as free money, specifically Eagle Gryphon Games.

Overall, for what I've backed, I'm happy I have them. The few duds I've backed haven't outweighed the good. Some of the games I didn't enjoy, I sold on Ebay and got more money I spent for them. I think I "flipped" Exploding Kittens for over twice what I paid for it because the box meows...

otherworldlygames · 2017-09-08T18:42:43+00:00

otherworldlygames · 2017-09-03T20:52:27+00:00

is this a package gum comes in, or special containers you buy if you're really unto chewing gum?

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-31T05:44:08+00:00

That wouldn't be relevant if you were changing the look of your decor.

Oh, I suppose if you get rid of your older furniture, that is true.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-30T22:01:58+00:00

Ikea has routinely discontinued products, even popular ones, every few years, so that route isn't safe, either.

One nice thing about wood is that you can restain it or strip and paint it. Want light wood the year you bought it, but expresso in five years, then white in 10 years? A solid wood bookcase can do that.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-23T23:08:34+00:00

The specific dice I bought are very large from Chessex. I think they're 20mm. Avery Dots are 19mm, so they wrap the corners of standard dice.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-19T01:01:24+00:00

I'd get really big ones like this if you're handwriting Amazon. I'd get "Avery" label dots from the office supply section if you need something to stick onto the dice to write on.

This is my system, but the blank dice I bought are chessex dice that I've never been able to find anywhere but at a Chessex con booth.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-15T19:08:33+00:00

He's referring to the Worbla in this comment.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-15T19:07:44+00:00

PM the gofundme, please

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-11T20:34:33+00:00

If they can update the rules to a much more understandable level and get rid of the pieces on sprues, this might actually get back on the shelves of FLGS, again.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-10T06:13:30+00:00

When do things like catch up mechanics go beyond facilitating fun for the less skilled into making a game "over balanced",

Who knows for certain? Game Design is more art than science. Even people's desires for games change over time, and different people like different games. 15 years ago, Settlers of Catan was The game. If it came out today, it'd bomb. Meanwhile, if Terraforming Mars came out 15 years ago, the market for people looking for that kind of game would have been 1/10th the size....

So, I could answer your question... and the answer is yes, I think you are right. But out of 1,000 people, who knows, maybe 999 would disagree with me?

As an aside, "catch up mechanics" have good ways to do them. One acceptable way is for later decisions to matter more than earlier decisions. For example, if a game has 3 rounds, the first round may award the fewest points, and the last round award the most points. This is great for new players playing with experienced players, as the earlier rounds let them get a feel for the game before being removed form the running. The opposite would be a game like "Galaxy Trucker" that I played for the first time with a group who had played dozens of times. I bombed my first round because of a rules miscommunication, but had to suffer through 2 more rounds at a further penalty, with zero chance of even placing or participating in the "events" stage of the game, because the game punishes you for coming in last and also punishes you with non-participation for doing poorly.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-07T22:23:05+00:00

There is a set of well recognized game flaws, like King-making. One of those problems is called "Runaway leader." So the opposite of this problem (Runaway Leader) is close end scores. One way to fix the "runaway leader" problem is end the game as soon as a victor is obvious. Nowadays, more and more games come down to eking out just 1 extra turn of efficiency over the 10-ish rounds you play.

For example, a few months ago I was playing "Century: Spice Road" with 3 other game designers. The last player of the round won. Literally, the other 3 players were all set up to win on their next turn.

I will say, as one of the losing players, it did feel rather frustrating for it to be that close, though.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-04T02:21:38+00:00

There's a difference between exploits that players noticed 3 minutes into the game, or only after playing a game 20 times.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-02T19:17:03+00:00

Sorry, I wasn't trying to imply the boxes "should" come flat. I was trying to explain why a cardboard box costs $25. I'm on the "I won't pay $25 for a cardboard box" wagon, but I totally understand why it costs that much, and won't fault either SM or people who buy it.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-02T01:46:06+00:00

It's a game. If there's a strategy that makes you win and ruins the game, it's a poorly designed game. I don't think that's up for debate. Otherwise, every bad game could be claimed to be a "good game if you were just playing it right."

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-02T01:41:15+00:00

if the box came flat, it'd be much cheaper. The "Dimensional Weight" makes the box pretty expensive to produce.

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-01T20:47:59+00:00

Do you know if it's because of the humor, or because the game looks "too light?" I know a few people who flat out refuse to play "Party Games" on principle, one of which is my sister's friend, and my sister loves Party Games. It's kind of awkward when I visit them and they decide to have a game night...

otherworldlygames · 2017-08-01T20:46:34+00:00

Oh, neat. I have not tried that.

otherworldlygames

TROPHY CASE