Scott StarkeyHey #HoosierMast and #GameDev people.
#Protospiel Indy is in exactly 3 days. This is not a drill! 🚨 Last chance to sign up to play my #VroomZoomBoom.
#ProtospielIndy is in full swing! Come have fun with us!
Hey there, #Indiana tabletop game players and designers! The new website for #ProtospielIndy is now up! This year we will be in #FishersIN.
If you have any interest in #GameDesign, Protospiels are a real treat. And a $50 price tag for a whole weekend game pass is very reasonable. For non-designers, it's an even better deal: $15 to play GAMES FROM THE FUTURE.
Note: I'm not the host. Just an enthusiastic attendee.
Scott StarkeyDay three at #ProtospielIndy. It's at the #HamiltonCo fairgrounds in lovely #NoblesvilleIN. Here's a recap of yesterday's truncated action. As well as an overall summary.
After that (and some pizza!) I worked on my own game a bit, transferring some of the better ideas from half-index cards to nicer die-cut cards. Then we played my Zoom Zoom Boom. (Or Vroom Zoom Boom. Which is better?) This was its best playtest yet. I had made some player mats showing where all the components would go, and that worked great. Perhaps there was too much armor? Also, players wanted me to embrace the crazy, and make the powers more wacky and cartoony, to contrast with other games in the gritty Mad Max world genre. (Sorry, no photo taken.)
After a short lunch break, I played "Lucky Hoppity Bunnies" by Richard Baltzell. Players bounce dice towards the scoring area, trying to get combos and land on high scoring areas. I played a version of this last year, and I shared that the game went in a more complex direction with relation to scoring. There were rules about moving dice based on dice rolls to get big combos. All of that is superfluous to the core-fun of the game, which is bouncing dice towards targets. We advised much more simpler scoring rules. Also, as a side note, I am absolutely terrible at this game, only barely scoring once out of 10 attempts. I guess the bunnies don't like me.
Next, I played Promethean Harvest by Scott Ryland. It's a little hard to explain. It's got action selection for one phase, where players set up electricity collection stations on a map. Then the real fun happens, as dice are launched out of a dice tower onto the map, which can have chaotic effects. Dice charge the stations within their range. Sometimes they collide with pieces on the map, moving them. Sometimes they overcharge some stations, exploding them. Sometimes they knock over tokens, etc. I love the big-brain building part, contrasting with the mayhem of dice flying across the board messing it all up! Very distinctive game.
Next up, I played a series of game by Daniel Slown and his wife. She had made a series of games with adorable art in a single deck. These were encompassing a wide array of age ranges, a noble effort.
First up we played "No! Wasabi!" which is an Old Maid variant. That's OK for playing with very young kids.
However, the real fun came when we played their much more deep game, "Sweet Order". A clue-giver hides a sequence of dessert cards unknown to the other players. They try to guess the sequence, getting clues "Mastermind Style", saying how many were exactly right, and how many were right but wrong position.
We played the latter game twice. I advised possibly playing it collaboratively, which makes it playable for even a large group.
Again I started the day off with a Ian Winningham game. This time, it was a game that he came up with since Friday: One called "Super Stick Fighter". Each player controls a "stick figure" made out of popsicle sticks. Cards control leg and arm actions, to try to hurt the other figure. I managed a groin shot, winning the game. We discussed possibly attaching the joints somehow so that ragdoll physics could be used, and adding wacky powers to the mix.
Second day at #ProtospielIndy. It's at the #HamiltonCo fairgrounds in lovely #NoblesvilleIN. Here's a recap!