Drake Villareal

Rulebooks are linear presentations of systems. To write a rulebook you have to reduce a system to a linear stream, then to learn it you have to extrapolate systemic meaning from a linear presentation. There might be a better way.

Merchant's Cove is SO fun! I love that everyone has a different mini-game to attract customers: it means players all get a unique experience in the same playthrough. I'll eventually perfect being the Alchemist... @JPacCantin @SmallCaveGames @dr_vil @FinalFrontierG @sanibabodoge

Seasons Creepings to all who celebrate. If you want an inexpensive Halloween-themed game, track down a copy of Spook Manor! It plays up to 6 players in less than half an hour. #halloween #boardgames #boardgame #sologame #spooky

Would you read a review of a board game written by its designer? Or would it need to re-frame itself, as a "postmortem" or a "design diary" for it to be worthy of consideration?

@Nick__Bentley @MarcelineLeiman I wonder if perhaps a YouTube CYoA could work. Have a presenter talk through the options, then pick one via annotations, and skip to that part of the video. Might be a beast to put together if it's more than a few actions/turns though.

@MarcelineLeiman @dr_vil the difficulty with this one is it asks backers to do the prodigious work of assembling a print & play in order to evaluate. Too much of an ask for strong majority of prospective backers

I heard someone say this about board game crowdfunding: "People back art with games attached" I think the claim is directionally true. If I saw a game like the one below, I'd predict a huge campaign for it without knowing anything about it beyond the picture: It leads people to sometimes back bad games with great art, which is bad for everyone: Creators and Kickstarter lose credibility, and backers waste money on games they don’t play. I think there’s a two-fold problem: 1. It's hard for creators to credibly convey gameplay quality, and they’re incentivized to be overoptimistic about it. That leaves backers guessing. Creators do put 3rd-party reviews and testimonials on their pages, but backers (wisely) doubt them. 2. Visuals are trivial to evaluate so they play an outsize role in backers' experience of campaigns. I’m thinking about this because we're launching on Kickstarter in early June and I'd love to improve this situation. A bunch of our testers have said our new game, Trekking the World 2nd Edition, is their favorite of ours, and we think there’s a fair chance that will be true for many, especially Kickstarter backers who lean heavier (the game is a bit heavier for us). I’d love to think of some way to convey the quality of gameplay more credibly. But how? I’d love your suggestions. For context, here’s a project overview: bit.ly/ttw-2e-overview More info in our pre-campaign offer: get.underdoggames.com/?v=B All suggestions will be met with unremitting wails of gratitude.

@gamesandbourbon I think the difficulty is less important than where the difficulty comes from. It might be extremely difficult to break 100 VP. In that case, an easier to beat opponent that somewhat forces you to adapt your playstyle would be preferable.

Do you stop playing a game's solo mode once you beat it? I feel like I want an 8 out of 10 for longevity. You?

Consider checking out the game I've spent the last year working on! If you like engine building, combos, and big euros, you're in for a treat. kickstarter.com/projects/51277…

@Lordeoftheboard Sometimes it's helpful to come at it from another angle - what behavior are you trying to encourage? What is the context of the combat? Have you messed with different layers of granularity and abstraction?

I dislike the combat in my board game design. But the game feels like it’s needs some sort of combat. It’s irritating. I think I need other designers to play and help with some ideas. What are some games that have your favorite combat systems?

@PatrickLeder something something ROOT canal

Getting that cracked tooth fixed.

I got to try out The Sixth Realm, thanks to the folks at @FinalFrontierG . Jerod & I returned to the world of Merchant's Cove, but this time, discovered a long-hidden island realm of guilds. The game involves interacting with these guilds for points. Kickstarter coming in April!

@boardgamebbq The Cape Rock Glacier in Greenland The Dancing Plague of 1518

Not just for historical gamers! What weird and wonderful settings do you want to see? #boardgames

@meanpomelo Clicking the button is actually a blood oath that magically compels you to financially back it, first no less.

lmfao

@ithayla This is me purposefully not looking at motorcyclists doing wheelies, or modified cars making a ton of noise as they pass by.

this is how i lost all of my harassment mobs. by being a boring victim they eventually didn't get the cortisol rush they wanted from picking on me and moved on

@JonGetsGames youtube.com/watch?v=9GZo50…

Election season is coming up! I know politics aren't supposed to be "fun", but I made a little game about Halfling Democracy anyways. If you'd like to learn more, check out this great video by @JonGetsGames

@PatrickLeder It was a lot of fun! I level 0-60 as a Troll Rogue in hardcore. The game feels "intended" in this way, as no system is overlooked. I'm leveling first aid and cooking because I desperately need them. People work together, play safely, and value their lives.

I just learned there is a hardcore mode in World of Warcraft? Like I've seen people die while trying to level in the slightly wrong part of the map. How is this a thing?

@ithayla do it. people rate 1s and 10s to "balance". some people rate "3" on every game they want to buy. Everyone uses the system their own way, so I figure may as well

soooo ...I'm allowed to do this, right

hi, it's me THE FUCKING CO-DESIGNER OF THE FUCKING MASS EFFECT FUCKING BOARD GAME WITH ERIC FUCKING LANG

@LiquidHbox Steve is the villain we can cheer against once our favorites are eliminated.

On Twitch alone we hit 3k viewers during Top 12 and it didn’t go under until Thug Finals finished Peaked at 4,100 not including YT With YouTube, peaked at nearly 6K Not even a contest - one of the most successful Coinboxes ever even with four Steves in Top 8

@StevensTsiroth Got it sorted now, thanks :)

@dr_vil This group? facebook.com/groups/euroboa…

Did the "Euro Board Games" group get deleted from facebook?