Shameless Self Promotion
A semi-regular Geoff update
I have a variety of new projects and appearances out there in the wild and want to take a moment to share them with y’all. If you’re just interested in traditional GameTek content, feel free to move on! No hard feelings.
Dogs of War!
First up, because it is somewhat time sensitive, is the crowd-funding campaign for Dogs of War. I am an investor in Play To Z (and on the board) and am thrilled that we will be publishing what I think is the definitive edition of this Paolo Mori classic (Paolo is the designer of Libertalia and more). This new version includes streamlined rules (three rounds instead of four, for example), improved player powers, and more. I was involved in the playtesting, so I can say from firsthand experience that I think this is the definitive edition of this game.
We are also excited to be publishing this as the second entry of our Shut Up and Sit Down Presents line, with games developed in conjunction with the fine folks at SUSD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSSfzWw6lCw
There are about two days left in the campaign as I am writing this, so please check it out!
A partial playthrough that gives an in-depth view of game play is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcaKo_gpIlw
Two New Books!
Two new entries in my CRC Press Guide To Tabletop Games have been published! Both of these are available through the publisher or at your retailer of choice.
First is World Building for Game Designers by Steve Dee. This book is an in-depth exploration of world building and includes a huge number of hands-on exercises.
Features:
Covers every step of world creation from getting ideas to seeking publication
Comprehensive analysis of the field
Inspirational tricks to break blocks or find new angles
Practical exercises at the end of every chapter
Simple and accessible material for every kind of game or game designer
The second is Playtesting Best Practices from Chris Backe. This book is broken up into four main sections
Getting ready to playtest: Establishing goalposts, brainstorming, self-playtesting, getting organized, how to design a prototype, and writing rules. The focus here is starting good habits and establishing best practices, whether this is your first game or your hundredth.
Playtesting in the real world: How to find playtesters, how to teach your game, what to do during the playtest, how to take notes and collect feedback, and being a great playtester yourself.
Playtesting online: How to adapt to digital platforms, the best practices for playtesting online, how to use these opportunities well, and cautions about playtesting online.
What to do next: How to iterate, additional ways to playtest your game, knowing when you’re done with playtesting, and choosing how to get your game out there.
Both of these authors have tremendous experience in these fields, and I learned a huge amount when editing these volumes. Bonus plug: Chris has just launched the next iteration of his publisher database: Tabletop Publishers.
If you’re interested in contributing a volume to this series - or just have an idea you’d like to see someone else tackle - please reach out to me! I work with many prospective authors to help refine their ideas and put together an outline. These books are typically 100-150 pages, which is a great length for an aspiring author to approach.
New Game! DC Breakout: Arkham Asylum
The latest game from Team Engelstein was just announced by Wizkids - DC Breakout: Arkham Asylum!
It was a delight to design a game together with the kids. The last one we did together was The Dragon & Flagon back in 2016. Since then college and Sydney’s job at Indie Boards & Cards have gotten in the way. But the stars finally aligned - and special thanks to IBC for allowing Sydney to do a design for another publisher.
This is easily our most approachable game - it’s a basic roll and move! Roll a die, move that many spaces, and be the first to reach the end of the track. But you control a pair of villains each race, and each has a special ability. The fun (and chaos) comes from finding sneaky-but-devastating combos to be the first to escape! There’s a lot more here than meets the eye…
Break Out should be available in January or February. And check out the amazing artwork by Ryan Goldsberry! More details are in this Bluesky thread.
Appearances
I will be presenting at two upcoming conferences in November:
At Metatopia (Nov 6-9) I will be giving four presentations including game design, contracts, and pitching. If you’re a game designer it’s a can’t-miss event.
I will also be giving a keynote address at the GALA conference in Utrecht November 19-21.
If you are attending one (or both!) of these conferences, please say hi!
It would be handy if a publisher could purchase the playtesting manual and be able to share it with their team or across management digitally. Oft times, teams are geographically dispersed.