Two long-term game industry professionals, one of whom I know, have started a podcast that discusses and analyzes the board game and RPG industries. It’s called the Paper Money Podcast. I listened to it, enjoyed it, and learned a little that I didn’t know before.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
A stick figure’s life is a hard one. It’s a life in an uncertain world with hazards at every turn: falling tools, hand manglers, explosions, body crushers, and bolts of electricity from the sky.
The Stick Figure Abuse Game is a game for two to five players. Your goal is simple: Be the first player to cross the eleven-row board. Since you can move as little or as much as you want to on your turn, it should be simple. Just move from the start to the finish and the game’s over, right?
Of course it’s not that simple. Each space has one of five warning signs in it. Every player has a random hand of cards with one of the five icons on them. If other players trigger a hazard (by playing a card) and you don’t dodge it (by playing the same card), you meet a messy end, go back to where you started the turn, and your turn ends.
The Stick Figure Abuse Game uses a custom board, a custom deck of cards, a few pawns, some pennies, and a nickel.
The rules are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/522/the-stick-figure-abuse-game
The board and cards are available as PDFs in a 152 KB ZIP file.
The Stick Figure Abuse Game has fairly simple rules. If you don’t mind the inherently violent nature of what happens to the stick figures (or reframe it to remove the violence and death), the game is appropriate for ages 9 and up. A 4-player game takes about 40 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : humor
After many, many years of creative effort and work, the first commercial release of an Invisible City game is almost here! Alderac Entertainment Group has announced The Isle of Doctor Necreaux. It’s a cooperative card-based adventure game for one to five players set in a Flash Gordon-style future.
Doctor Necreaux has several design elements that I’m particularly pleased with. I like the character creation mechanic, the speed-vs-threat mechanic, and the way you don’t automatically get every item you find (the item queue mechanic).
I’m also very pleased with the artwork on the cards. The character cards are all appropriately heroic, and the monsters are full of menace and style.
Woot!
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : icp
[4]
While browsing the Board Game Designers Forum, I came across an interesting little gem: Epic Solitaire Notebook Adventures. Just thought some of you would find it entertaining…
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
In Aliens vs. Cows, one player is the Top Cow and the other player is the Alien Leader. The Alien Leader’s goal is to abduct enough cows of sufficient quality to complete the experiments necessary to ensure success in the upcoming invasion before the space-time fold device runs out of power and transports the aliens back to Dimension Aleph-Zootie. The Top Cow’s goal is simply to prevent as many cow abductions as possible. Fortunately, you’re in charge of a truly exceptional and talented herd of cows. Sure, they all look the same to the alien player, but some of your cows are 1337 hackers, have pyrokinetic powers, ninja or judo training, or can detonate at will!
Aliens vs. Cows is an “unequal forces” game for two players, and it’s much easier to play the Alien Leader than it is t play the Top Cow. Aliens vs. Cows incorporates hidden information, competitive/collaborative resource allocation, strategic movement, and bluffing elements.
Aliens vs. Cows uses a special board, special pawns, custom cards, and four six-sided dice.
The board, cards, pawns, and rules are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/file_download/154
Aliens vs. Cows has moderately complex rules, but it’s rather hard to play the Top Cow. As such, Aliens vs. Cows is appropriate for players 12 and up for the Alien Leader and 15 and up for the Top Cow. Aliens vs. Cows takes about 60 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : humor
Waaaay back in June of 2001, we posted a game called Roboctopus. Imagine my surprise, 93 months later, to come across an article in New Scientist titled: Arise, Roboctopus!
Funny. Who’d‘ve thought a game about whacking each other with water noodles would be technologically prescient?
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: technology : humor
In Duplexity, you are your own worst enemy. As a time agent, you’re used to using clever temporal tricks to make copies of yourself, but this time something’s gone wrong. You’re convinced that your most recent copy of yourself isn’t a true copy, but your evil twin from a parallel reality. You must travel through space and manipulate time to eliminate all trace of your twin from reality before your twin does the same to you.
Duplexity is a puzzle-like strategy game (with a moderate dose of chance) for two players. The game revolves around the “motion” through time of players and events at eight critical locations. You can’t confront your opponent directly (unless you want to disappear in a swirl of cross-paradox and mess up the timestream). Instead, you’ll twist fate to create and destroy hazards and havens. You’ll also use the natural flow of time from the present to the past to “time clone” yourself. After all, if there are more of you than your opponent, that tilts the odds in your favor, right?
Duplexity uses a special board, many hazard/wound tokens, some haven and energy tokens, and multiple pawns for each player. You’ll also need two six-sided dice, two ten-sided dice, and two twelve-sided dice.
The rules are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/511
Color and grayscale versions of the board are available as a 500 KB PDF.
Duplexity has rules that are far simpler than you’d expect for a game about time travel, but has some complexity. As such, Duplexity is appropriate for matched-age players 12 and up. Duplexity takes about 30 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
If you’re a regular, you may be wondering where the Game of the Month for February 2009 is. It’s done, but I can’t make it public yet. Why? ‘Cause it’s in a contest at the Board Game Designers Forum, and the entries are anonymous. Once the contest is over, I’ll turn the game loose.
A teaser: It features time travel. Lots of time travel.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
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June Game of the Month:
Two long-term game industry professionals, one of whom I know, have started a podcast that discusses and analyzes the board game and RPG industries. It’s called the Paper Money Podcast. I listened to it, enjoyed it, and learned a little that I didn’t know before.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
A stick figure’s life is a hard one. It’s a life in an uncertain world with hazards at every turn: falling tools, hand manglers, explosions, body crushers, and bolts of electricity from the sky.
The Stick Figure Abuse Game is a game for two to five players. Your goal is simple: Be the first player to cross the eleven-row board. Since you can move as little or as much as you want to on your turn, it should be simple. Just move from the start to the finish and the game’s over, right?
Of course it’s not that simple. Each space has one of five warning signs in it. Every player has a random hand of cards with one of the five icons on them. If other players trigger a hazard (by playing a card) and you don’t dodge it (by playing the same card), you meet a messy end, go back to where you started the turn, and your turn ends.
The Stick Figure Abuse Game uses a custom board, a custom deck of cards, a few pawns, some pennies, and a nickel.
The rules are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/522/the-stick-figure-abuse-game
The board and cards are available as PDFs in a 152 KB ZIP file.
The Stick Figure Abuse Game has fairly simple rules. If you don’t mind the inherently violent nature of what happens to the stick figures (or reframe it to remove the violence and death), the game is appropriate for ages 9 and up. A 4-player game takes about 40 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : humor
After many, many years of creative effort and work, the first commercial release of an Invisible City game is almost here! Alderac Entertainment Group has announced The Isle of Doctor Necreaux. It’s a cooperative card-based adventure game for one to five players set in a Flash Gordon-style future.
Doctor Necreaux has several design elements that I’m particularly pleased with. I like the character creation mechanic, the speed-vs-threat mechanic, and the way you don’t automatically get every item you find (the item queue mechanic).
I’m also very pleased with the artwork on the cards. The character cards are all appropriately heroic, and the monsters are full of menace and style.
Woot!
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : icp
[4]
While browsing the Board Game Designers Forum, I came across an interesting little gem: Epic Solitaire Notebook Adventures. Just thought some of you would find it entertaining…
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
In Aliens vs. Cows, one player is the Top Cow and the other player is the Alien Leader. The Alien Leader’s goal is to abduct enough cows of sufficient quality to complete the experiments necessary to ensure success in the upcoming invasion before the space-time fold device runs out of power and transports the aliens back to Dimension Aleph-Zootie. The Top Cow’s goal is simply to prevent as many cow abductions as possible. Fortunately, you’re in charge of a truly exceptional and talented herd of cows. Sure, they all look the same to the alien player, but some of your cows are 1337 hackers, have pyrokinetic powers, ninja or judo training, or can detonate at will!
Aliens vs. Cows is an “unequal forces” game for two players, and it’s much easier to play the Alien Leader than it is t play the Top Cow. Aliens vs. Cows incorporates hidden information, competitive/collaborative resource allocation, strategic movement, and bluffing elements.
Aliens vs. Cows uses a special board, special pawns, custom cards, and four six-sided dice.
The board, cards, pawns, and rules are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/file_download/154
Aliens vs. Cows has moderately complex rules, but it’s rather hard to play the Top Cow. As such, Aliens vs. Cows is appropriate for players 12 and up for the Alien Leader and 15 and up for the Top Cow. Aliens vs. Cows takes about 60 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : humor
Waaaay back in June of 2001, we posted a game called Roboctopus. Imagine my surprise, 93 months later, to come across an article in New Scientist titled: Arise, Roboctopus!
Funny. Who’d‘ve thought a game about whacking each other with water noodles would be technologically prescient?
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: technology : humor
In Duplexity, you are your own worst enemy. As a time agent, you’re used to using clever temporal tricks to make copies of yourself, but this time something’s gone wrong. You’re convinced that your most recent copy of yourself isn’t a true copy, but your evil twin from a parallel reality. You must travel through space and manipulate time to eliminate all trace of your twin from reality before your twin does the same to you.
Duplexity is a puzzle-like strategy game (with a moderate dose of chance) for two players. The game revolves around the “motion” through time of players and events at eight critical locations. You can’t confront your opponent directly (unless you want to disappear in a swirl of cross-paradox and mess up the timestream). Instead, you’ll twist fate to create and destroy hazards and havens. You’ll also use the natural flow of time from the present to the past to “time clone” yourself. After all, if there are more of you than your opponent, that tilts the odds in your favor, right?
Duplexity uses a special board, many hazard/wound tokens, some haven and energy tokens, and multiple pawns for each player. You’ll also need two six-sided dice, two ten-sided dice, and two twelve-sided dice.
The rules are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/511
Color and grayscale versions of the board are available as a 500 KB PDF.
Duplexity has rules that are far simpler than you’d expect for a game about time travel, but has some complexity. As such, Duplexity is appropriate for matched-age players 12 and up. Duplexity takes about 30 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
If you’re a regular, you may be wondering where the Game of the Month for February 2009 is. It’s done, but I can’t make it public yet. Why? ‘Cause it’s in a contest at the Board Game Designers Forum, and the entries are anonymous. Once the contest is over, I’ll turn the game loose.
A teaser: It features time travel. Lots of time travel.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
Invisible City Productions is a collective of game designers, writers, and artists who provide this as a space for the creators of secret media to come together and touch antennae.