Dragonmeet 2017

 

[caption id="attachment_2405" align="alignnone" width="1024"] One of the Two gaming room at Dragonmeet[/caption]

 

December brings with it the end of another year, Christmas, and, most importantly my birthday. But, before any of that, there is Dragonmeet! The UK’s second largest boardgames convention (behind the UK Games Expo in June). This year was my second time venturing from the comfortable, pleasant and green confines of Warwickshire, down to that little corner of the Big Smoke, Hammersmith and to the Novotel Hotel for a brilliant day out with lots and lots of cardboard.

In the last 365 (ish) days since my last visit Dragonmeet has bloomed, it is so much bigger and better than the previous year that I feel I missed out on just as much as I saw. Although I had a good idea as to what to expect I was well and truly off the mark.

From talking to a few friends about this con, there is, or to my mind at least; was, this idea that Dragonmeet was RPG and miniatures heavy. Although this may have been true in the past, and Dragonmeet still boasts a very large selection of these styles of games, the board and card game representation was pretty darn impressive.

As someone who doesn't play RPGs, nor miniatures games, last year I did run out of games to play or get involved in. This year I had to be dragged away. I played plenty of games, in fact probably just as many in the one day as I did over the three at UKGE, and I still didn't get to play some of the games and talk to all the people I wanted to. But still, here I will provide a quick summary and a "first impressions" of my day.

Summoner's Isle

 

[caption id="attachment_2395" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Summoner's isle, 2 Player map[/caption]

 

After a quick look at the demo hall and seeing every gaming table full of people I went and saw my pal Robbie Munn in the Playtest Zone. He was testing out the 2 player variant of Summoner's Isle, I wax lyrical about this game for the 3/4 player version and what it was lacking was the game I played today. It still has the same charming great look and great feel. With a smaller map and fewer rounds the map soon fills up with the glorious little, and not so little, creatures that are summoned. From the chat we had post-game whether this game is heading to Kickstarter directly from Peculiarity or if Robbie will work with another publisher is still to be decided. To find out what’s happening with this game, the best place is on Facebook, but this is one I’ll be keeping a close eye on.

Newspeak

 

[caption id="attachment_2398" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Newspeak Location Cards[/caption]

 

The next blockbuster game to no doubt come flying out of the ITB gate is this bad boy. This almost-dystopian, one versus many, coded communication game pits a team of Dissidents against an individual Moderator as each tries to lever control of the city from the other. The Dissidents will do this by using one of the ten selected code cards, communicating through this agreed-upon code to converge their efforts in one of the cities locations - represented by oversized location cards. If all of the Dissidents can agree and meet up then the wool is pulled back, revealing the bland, but the very real state of the world. However, if the Moderator can crack the code and get to the location, then it becomes moderated, and thus unhackable. One of the game end conditions will kick in when X number of Locations have been flipped one way or another.

This game is an interesting blend of Spyfall, Codenames and Mysterium, with a wonderfully illustrated Black Mirror augmented reality theme. It takes that coded word dropping of Codenames and extends it into a conversation, but you still need to be covert enough as to not have your code cracked by the moderator, and on top of that you have all the subjectivity, detail and relatability from Mysterium.

 

 

[caption id="attachment_2411" align="alignnone" width="784"] Playing Newspeak with peter Blenkharn of ITB and Robbie Munn[/caption]

 

If you like just one of those aforementioned games you should definitely check this game out when it comes to Kickstarter in January. In the meantime read up the Development Diaries or choose your side on the Facebook group.

Wreck & Ruin

 

[caption id="attachment_2400" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Wreck & Ruin, and an almost inappropriate Lucozade bottle[/caption]

 

I was able to watch people play this game and it’s one I really, really want to play. I’ve expressed this in no uncertain terms to the designer, Mark McKinnon, now a number of times. I couldn't get a seat at the table six months ago, why would it be any different this time? Especially now he's painted all those minis. Hopefully, soon I can play it until then you can read what the Polyhedron Collier boys thought of it.

Muster - The Tabletop App

I had a lovely catch up with these nice chaps about their tabletop meet-up style app (available right now for free on ios and Android!). We discussed how salt and vinegar crisps in a sandwich is, and will always be a classic, and how crisps in any sandwich make it better.

 

[caption id="attachment_2409" align="alignnone" width="1080"] Luke from Muster and I trying to be clever and funny.[/caption]

 

Then we talked about their app. Muster aims to fill that niche hole in the market where Social Networks, Meet-Up and Board Gaming all converge. In their own words, its Tinder for Tabletop. Use it with your mates to organise which games you’ll play with the where and whens. Use it for your gaming group to find new faces. I’m giving this a good go right now, which is especially handy since not everyone in my gaming group uses Facebook and/or Whatsapp, and I have hopes that this gives us what we need to organise our games, and most importantly, trash talk each other.

Gladiatores: Blood for Roses

 

[caption id="attachment_2401" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Everybody is paying very close attention to every move in this fight.  Go on Iain!![/caption]

 

The next game from Badcat Games will have you pitting yourself against your friends in ancient gladiatorial combat with his quickfire, hand management game. Though to call it a hand management game, only covers one aspect of the game. You see, in this game you are the manager/operator of a fighting school, where you’ll place bets on the outcome of each event, so beating some of you opponent only to allow another to win. This game encapsulates that old saying about picking your battles.

For each event, your hand of cards represent your stamina, and gaining stamina isn’t something that happens often or easily. you’ll trade blows (cards) in the hope of landing one that your opponent is unable or unwilling to defend against. A really nice aspect of this game is that you can choose your opponent, so in a five-player game (like the one I played in) you can pick on the weak ones, or just attacks those fighters you suspect are now unable to defend against your particular attacks. It’s an interesting game of both tactics and memory, to know when, where and who to strike at just the right time to win your glory.

 

[caption id="attachment_2402" align="alignnone" width="1024"] One of my special cards, the Take Down[/caption]

 

From the sounds and feel of this game there is plenty to be discovered and learnt, like an old-school beat-em-up, everyone will have their favourite combos, tricks and of course, their finishers.

This should be hitting Kickstarter middle of 2018.

Ominoes:

 

[caption id="attachment_2404" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The moment when I scored 8 points in one turn.  Eight![/caption]

 

I’ve got a lot of love for this game, and when I met up with Ian McCallister from the Giant Brain, and he said he had not played but was interested in giving it a go, I very gladly obliged (and also kicked his ass, but don’t mention it to him; he was pretty broken up by the whole thing). While we were there we playtested a new variant mode for Andrew which really changed the pace and feel of the game - and I don’t know how much more of about that I can say.

Chocolate Factory:

 

[caption id="attachment_2407" align="alignnone" width="1024"] My prototype Chocolate Factory[/caption]

 

This was a very early prototype for the forthcoming game from Alley Cat Games, yes I could have played Dice Hospital again, but since I’m a very intelligent chap and had backed it, I thought I‘d look at something new. The Chocolate Factory finally gives everyone the chance to play Mr Wonka. This charming engine building Euro-style game sees players processing raw cocoa into a variety of different types of confectionary, attempting to fill personal or public contracts. Each turn you’ll add new parts to your factory, gain fuel or specialists in order to make your factory work, but most interestingly you push through another section of your conveyor belt. Which was very satisfying.

A medium weight Euro game, where I had lots to think about and consider each turn, turning ‘This’ into ‘That’, so I can make two of ‘Those’ when I do this. And, all of that with what I suspect to a pretty short playtime. All the types of things I love.

Following Alley Cat Games on Facebook is the best place to stay up to date with how this project progresses, and by my thinking, this is going to another great game, and I’m genuinely excited to see how it looks and plays next time I get a chance (city on Games perhaps…?).

Cardboard Regrets

I didn’t get a chance to see Pulsar 2849 from CGE or get a proper chance to have a look at Yogi (the new name and face of a party favourite of mine In A Bind) - but I did get a hug from Bez. Nor could I sit down with Lewis Shaw to play Dead & Breakfast as his booth was always full and with more waiting to play as well as many, many others...

 

I had a great time at Dragonmeet, and will certainly make in a regular con for me, lots of lovely people, and some brilliant games.

I even treated my self to a pre-Birthday gift:

Playtest UK: Birmingham

Recently I had the pleasure of joining the Birmingham division of Playtest UK for their monthly meet up and…well, playtest.  This was my first experience of going to one of these meet-ups; up to this point Bad Pets had only been put in front of local gamers, friends, and family.

These guys were game designers, experienced playtesters and I was a little nervous.  They were worn and battle tested by countless prototypes, rulebook writings and solo run throughs, in their wake the remains of once hopeful and futile game mechanics writhed in agony, as their bootsteps crunched ever onwards through the piles of discarded cards, tokens and meeples.  Okay, that’s a little over the top.  They were (in order of appearance), Rich, James and Chris. In short; they were all top bokes and each brought a unique, interesting and thought provoking perspective to the games we managed to squeeze into the evening.

Unfortunately, we only had time for two games, Bad Pets – mainly because I was there
first; early bird ‘n’ all – and because it only takes two people twenty minutes to play.  After that we launched into the impressive looking, sounding and playing; Master of Olympus.

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I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what I did as a designer having my game tested that could have been done better, and what I did well.  Did I get some valuable feedback?  Yeah, I sure did.  Could I have gotten more?  Yup, I sure could have.  My game was ready for testing, but I wasn’t.  Rich’s game was certainly ready, and he seemed a lot more prepared than I.

Now don’t get me wrong, it was an incredibly valuable experience and I would urge anyone thinking about designing a game to go along.  Even if you just want to do some testing first before you put yourself out there.  Before you do any of that though, maybe have a look at my thoughts, failings and “Rules of Thumb” below, so that maybe you can dodge them:

The Pitch – this may seem like an obvious one but pitching your game is really important, for two reasons.

1. For you; it is solidifying what the game is in your head, it may have gone through a few changes, so it may not be what it started as. Also, it’s really good practice, especially if you want to put you game in front of publishers.


2. For your playtesters the pitch should act to set the tone for comments, but also sets their expectations. Bad Pets is a very light, quick, cartoony game; so comparing it to Scythe or Fury of Dracula is kind of redundant.

I think I did this well, I dusted off the old description of “competitive jigsawing” and it was well received as both a joke and as a very general description of the game.  My playtesters Rich and James knew it was a light game going in, so their end game comments (and…debate might be too strong a word, but there was a definite difference of opinion) about its depth for me indicated I have the game weight I want.  

Target Acquisition – game design is as much art as it is science, and changes are
iterative, so playtesters should be very clearly informed what they are testing for.  Playtesting shouldn’t be done for fun, it shouldn’t be approached the same way as a game night and the clue is in the name.  You are there to test.  To me, that sounds more like work, ok; work that is fun, but work none-the-less.  In the early stages you might be testing everything.  It the latter stages you might also be testing everything.  But in the middle, you need to know what outcomes or experiences you are looking for, and so do your playtesters.  This may mean you don’t have to play the whole game from start to finish.  If you are just testing one aspect, then set the game up to enable that test to come about.

 Richard did this very well, he knew the Athenians might not be well balanced, and that my Macedonians may also need tweaking.  He had also recently revised his combat system, and was curious to see how it went.  I, on the other hand didn’t mention any of my last changes (I had added a third bonus, removed Pets, and added the Clock and Picture tiles) all of which needed testing, and I didn’t mention one of them.  This meant I was prodding for feedback on something they hadn’t paid a lot of attention to, so I missed out there.

Buggs Bunny – Why is there a rule called Buggs Bunny?  The catchphrase: “What’s up, Doc?”  The question of whether or not you will accept, welcome or completely ignore “suggestions” is one that you, and you alone can answer.  There are merits either way and it is fair to let your playtesters know which side of the fence you stand on, and your stance may be different for certain parts of your game – and that is cool too.  So what is up for change?  What is up for refinement, enhancement?  Ultimately, everything is “sort-of” in this category, even if you don’t want it to be – if enough people tell you X thing is bad/doesn’t work, it probably means it doesn’t work.

 Bad Pets is, I think in a pretty good place and I’d like to think that it mainly comes down to balancing and fine tuning, that being said; the guys did present some really interesting ideas for bonus tile actions.  There were also a few rule refinements needed but their out of the box thinking, a completely new, novel idea is one that is certainly worth exploring.

 Criticise – Please note that this is not “Provide constructive criticism”, no, because that is paradoxical and silly.  But mainly because as a playtester you are more or less literally being asked to criticise, it is the designer’s responsibility to be constructive with that criticism.  The more objective and specific you can be, the better; however, you don’t have to be.  Telling a designer that “something felt a little off”, “it felt a bit flat” is valid feedback.  Games are, fundamentally; exercises in fun and if something isn’t working for you, the player, then say so.  This then starts a conversation, and discussion about the why, the what and how., led by the designer.

I was told that there didn’t feel like a lot of control in Bad Pets, and that it felt like there was a lot left to chance.  Fair feedback, but not the feedback I wanted to hear for a game that is meant to be light strategy:  This is where there was a difference of opinion.  For Rich’s game I really, really wanted to do something that the rules allowed, but the gameplay didn’t really want me to do.  This was a surprise for Rich, as no one had tried to do what I was doing (so hopefully very valuable), and I was the only person “negatively affected” by my actions – I still got to do what I wanted, just not in the way Rich had intended (and I won the game).

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I gotcha back – But remember, don’t be a dick, and that supporting designers, publishers, and developers is how we have gotten to this fantastic playscape, where there is pretty much a game for every possible theme, every mood, and occasion.

Shut Up – Okay, so this is more advise I’ve heard, but many people advocate the importance of the designer not getting involved with the game, just sit back and watch it played, and if someone “attacks” your design, listen first, think second, have a cup of tea third, think some more about it, really think about it fourth.  But don’t argue, don’t defend or justify.  It is your game, and you can design it the way you want…but, there could be a seed of value to what they’re saying.

My game did come under some (very mild) criticism, and it was really hard for me to just listen to it, but by not saying anything, or rebuffing the comments my silence encouraged a conversation and debate leading to my favourite “I think I’m going to be mulling over how to play this game all night.”  It also led to some really great ideas to move the game forward…however; I didn’t remain completely silent…  

 

In writing this piece, and ahead of playtesting and designing a game in general I’ve found some excellent resources, so if board game design and or playtesting is something that sounds like fun (and they both are great fun, trust me), you should check these out:

Playtest.co.uk – is the place to start (if you’re in the UK), find your local group and go along, I bet you’ll have a great time, play some interesting games, and meet some top class people.

The Board Game Design Forum – is a hotbed of resources, and a place where like-minded people can virtually gather and share ideas, and support.

The Board Game Design Lab – is your one stop shop for “How to’s”, Gabe has collected, collated and indexed pretty much everything there is to know about building a board game found anywhere on the internet.  Well done Gabe!

Additionally, Gabe hosts a great podcast where he talks specifically about designing games, in this interview with Rob Daviau they talk about Playtesting.

Brandon Sanderson’s almost related video on writing groups also makes for a very interesting and comparable advice, just switch things like “character” for theme, and “plot” for mechanics and you’re away.

 

If you’re in the area and fancy joining the Birmingham Playtesters we’ll be meeting on 11^th May 2017 – you can find the group on Facebook or on Meetup.com – where we’ll hopefully be playtesting Jame’s Greek Mythology RPG Hetairos and Chris’s stock market game set on the island of Yap, where they use large stones as money.

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Thanks for reading folks