And then.... I moved to Pittsburgh. I had talked to my Durham friends for a year and half about my desire to move to the Steel City, and they didn't believe me. Now I'm here, and it's all so real. Also, look at all the failed attempts to set Kick Starter deadlines. I can't help but smirk. I have ALL my tools back though, it is wonderful, really wonderful! I love everyone at TechShop Pittsburgh. I'll keep you posted you non-existent reader you.
Brian
What can I say, Intrigue is mechanically clunky and receives mixed reviews from play testers. Railroads is mechanically elegant and people often ask to play again after the first round. It is natural to shelve Intrigue if it isn't working. I think people will be more willing to try a second Social Hour game after having tried Railroads. The goal is to print Railroads once. The dream is to print it twice. Social Hour needs to do more than succeed, it needs to dream. We think we have a winner in Railroads, so let's bring this baby to print! Kickstarter, here we come!
I am finishing my first major overhaul to the original "Intrigue" prototype. I cleaned up the strength mechanism and made it slightly more flexible. I usually avoid adding new mechanics because they can quickly bog down a game, however I added a new central diplomatic mechanic that really helps delineate the social interaction component in a way that it desperately needed. I also cleaned up the victory conditions in a way that I think will add cooperation and conflict at just the right moments to keep everyone on their toes. I'm heading to staples now to print out the new player boards, first play test of the overhaul will be tonight at Roshen's board game party! See you there!
Brian
I started to get an inkling that Railroads would be a tougher game to start with, and that I would lose a lot of control and quality on print design and pieces because of the need to get it out as quickly as possible. I realized that Railroads, in order to get the art and pieces right, needs to be my second game, not my first.
Around this time my new game was born! Its pieces are simpler and the print design is more obvious. It should be cheaper (and faster) to manufacture, and it's just as good a game in my opinion! The problem is making sure it is complete and ready to go before a May kickstarter. Keep an eye on the website for more details!
For those of you who have been following me through this process since December, it's been quite a roller coaster. After about 100 hours to get the first copy made, the long road of play testing began. I've played in most of the 15 play tests so far, with a few games of Railroads played without me. Since starting though, I haven't really been able to sit down with my board game group and play a published board game in months. It was really pleasant to sit down last night and play a game of Agricola with some of my closest friends in Durham.
Meanwhile, my weekends are consumed by thoughts about all the things that need to be accomplished for Railroads and Social Hour Games to have a chance at surviving infancy. For example, I need to write the script for the Kickstarter video, which some friends and I will be filming on March 23rd. The idea is to have the kickstarter up by April 1st, which was already pushed back from my previous self-set deadline of March 1st. In the end though, I think what comes out will be significantly better.
Thanks for reading!
Brian