Saturday Shill
In which I talk about what I've been up to and how I can take your money
Hello readers! This edition of newsletter is strictly talking about some projects I and family members have been working on. Feel free to skip and come back for the next newsletter for more game design content.
The Universe Explained with a Cookie
The big news this week is the announcement of my upcoming new book The Universe Explained with a Cookie.
The thing I enjoyed most with GameTek is taking something mundane and using it to launch into a bigger topic. This book is taking that concept and running with it in a big way. But instead of starting with a game-related topic, I start with something a bit more relatable to the average person.
The book starts with a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Then each chapter takes an ingredient (flour, sugar, etc), step in making a cookie (like mixing or baking), or something cookie-adjacent (cookie swaps or baking competitions) to dive into a different area of science.
This is NOT another "science of baking" book. For example, I use flour as a way to build, step by step, to explain Dark Matter. Chocolate Chips are used as a way to discuss the Big Bang. Vanilla brings us into the world of Chaos.
I just adore each of these chapters, and their connections.
I first came up with this idea 15 years ago and taught it to several 5th and 6th grade classes (including my daughter's). I’ve always wanted to turn it into something larger - a book or video series. I had a chance to pitch it to OddDot (an imprint of Macmillan) and was thrilled when they immediately loved the idea.
Unlike the classroom version, this is very much aimed at adults, not children. It is hopefully clear but deep.
And the illustrations from Michael Korfhage are absolutely wonderful. Check out Cookie Geoff, your guide throughout the book!
The Universe Explained With A Cookie is releasing on April 30th 2024(!), but you can 100% preorder it now. And if you're at all interested please do so! Early momentum is critical for books.
I Feel Attacked
My daughter Sydney did a ton of work developing the new Indie Game Studios release I Feel Attacked. This is a very light party game in the vein of Apples to Apples. Each card shows a characteristic, like “People who park diagonally across three spaces in a parking lot”. The Judge plays one card from their hand, and then the other players play the one from their hand they think most overlaps with the first. The judge then picks the one they like the most.
In addition to helping come up with a bunch of the cards, she wrote the ‘joke text’ at the bottom of every single card. That’s the text in the blue bar. She had to write hundreds and hundreds of these, and it was a huge undertaking.
I got to help playtest it a bunch of times, and it truly is a lot of fun and creates great “laugh out loud” moments. It has the key things you usually want in a party game - very quick to teach, easy for people to join and drop out, and great for spectators.
It will be available at Gencon, so check it out!
Zheng He: Talking to an Expert
A key facet of the process of designing a historical game is research. The goal of a simulation game is not just to entertain, but to educate, and put the player into the shoes of the events in question, presenting them with similar choices faced by their historic counterparts.
Zheng He, a simulation of the voyages of the Ming Treasure Fleets in the 1400’s, was no exception. The first step we took was diving into the literature, reading as much as possible. This is particularly challenging for the story of Zheng He, as there are limited historical records, and only a few are translated into English. There is also a wealth of legend and misinformation surrounding the voyages, ranging from fantastical tales of Zheng He battling sea monsters written in the 1500’s to Gavin Menzies’ 1421, which posited that the fleet sailed all the way to the Americas, a claim which has been thoroughly debunked.
So it was particularly exciting when a reader of this newsletter mentioned to me that he was friends with Louise Levathes, one of the premier scholars of Zheng He’s voyages, and author of one of our key sources When China Ruled The Seas. He graciously put us in touch with her, and she graciously agreed to look over the game for historicity. After her review we had a long and fascinating conversation not just about the details of the Zheng He voyages, but more generally about how games represent history and the point of view the designer brings to a game.
Fortunately, she found that the bulk of the game accurately represented her research into the history of the voyages, and the primary sources. The main discussion point was not around the voyages themselves, but the relationship between the emperor and his ministers, and the historical context that created. It led us to fine tune some of the details, and the way part of that history was captured in the game. She also pointed out several additional voyage goals that we could include that were important in the time period, like finding novel medicinal herbs.
We were pleased to tweak the game in light of this discussion and have the blessing of a period historian. Honestly, while we were comfortable with our research for the game, this unique opportunity will help us sleep better at night.
Zheng He is currently in final art, so more preview game materials will be available soon! If you’d like to pre-order it at the P500 price (which is fully refundable until shortly before the game ships), go here.
Barbie The Gathering
My son Brian posted a fun set of Barbie-themed Magic cards he developed. He loves designing new cards and posts a lot of ideas to his twitter feed.
You can check out the rest at
https://twitter.com/BEngelstein/status/1682448035798831127
Georgetown University Wargame Society Presentation
On August 29th I will be presenting a virtual talk to the Georgetown University Wargame Society entitled “Intelligent Cardboard: Implementing AI in a Board Game”.
The talk is open to the public. Click here to register. Hope to (virtually) see you then!
Why is Barbie not an artifact creature?? I probably like Barbie, Passion for Fashion best since I like abilities that makes the commander tax an opportunity/advantage.