I said that the Game of the Month is on indefinite hiatus, and that’s true. That doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped making games, though. Lucky for you, this means you can still get your free game fix from me… If you’re willing to do just a little work.
Here’s what I’m talking about:
I’m taking the energy I used to put into the Game of the Month and using it to develop my games to the point where they’re ready to present to publishers. I have several games that are ready for blind play test, but I’m starting this experiment with just one: Run, Hamster, Run! v 2.3. I’m not putting it up for free download because I need feedback on it. I need to know what works and what doesn’t work.
Run, Hamster, Run! v 2.3 is a humorous cut-throat game for 2 to 5 players. You’ll need a Run, Hamster Run! set to play it. Creating a Run, Hamster, Run! set requires a color printer. If you have a bunch of glass beads in different colors, that helps too.
What I’m offering you:
- A print and play download copy of the rules for Run, Hamster, Run! v 2.3.
- Credit in the Origin & Credits if you provide sufficient and timely feedback.
- Increased likelihood of getting to play test future Invisible City Productions games (Ninja Golf II, Wall Cycles, Through The Gate, Murphy’s Mission, etc..) if you provide sufficient and timely feedback.
What you’re committing to:
- Downloading, assembling, and playing the game(s).
- Recording your thoughts on the game as you play it and after you play it.
- Sending your notes about the game to me in a timely fashion.
If you’re interested in play testing this game and have the resources to create your own copy, contact me. I’ll send you a PDF of Run, Hamster, Run! v 2.3 with a custom-created password just for you. Two weeks later, I’ll follow up with you for feedback (if you haven’t already sent it).
I’m curious to see how this works out…
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
[1]
After three days of work and research, the information and registration site for Protospiel South is live!
In the spirit of Protospiel, Protospiel South is a gathering for amateur and established game designers to test and promote nearly-finished game prototypes. The atmosphere is casual, yet everyone is serious about their goals and dreams of publishing games.
May 28, 29 and 30 in Austin, TX
Friday, May 28: Noon to 10 PM
Saturday, May 29: 8 AM to 10 PM
Sunday: May 30: 8 AM to 4 PM
Looking for more? You can learn more about Protospiel South, pre-register for Protospiel South, and discuss Protospiel South with the organizers and other people at http://www.protospielsouth.com/.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : action
Since January 2000, we’ve put up one free print-and-play game every month – 10 years of games, for a total of 120 games. 10 years of free games is an accomplishment I’m very proud of. It’s also a nice stopping point. The December 2009 Game of the Month will be the last regular game update for the foreseeable future.
However, it’s not the end of regular updates at Invisible City Productions. I’m working on three new projects:
1) I’m writing a book. The working title is “The Philosophy of Game Design”. My goal is to explain my approach to game design through metaphysical, epistemological, and ontological analysis and deconstruction of commonage components and popular games. Additionally, I want to outline and explore the life cycle of a game from concept to prototype to publication.
How does this relate to Invisible City? I plan to regularly update (weekly?) the Invisible city blog with ideas and excerpts from the book. I hope that y’all will read what I write and offer comments and feedback on it.
2) I’m pitching my games to publishers. As you probably know, one of my games (The Isle of Doctor Necreaux) was licensed and published by Alderac Entertainment Group, and they’ve licensed a second game (Pressure Matrix) that has not been released yet. I’d like to get more games licensed and published. In fact, I’ve set a new goal for myself. I’d like to get 10 games licensed and published. I’m redirecting a lot of the time and energy that I used to put into the Game of the Month into refining, play testing, and “marketing” my games to publishers.
3) I’m co-launching The Inevitable Project. Long-time followers of Invisible City will recognize the name Jeremy Bushnell. 20 years ago, Jeremy invented a wonderful, terrible, awesome, dystopian game called Inevitable. We worked together on it for about two years, then went our separate ways. Intermittently, we’d independently dust off our Inevitable sets and share the game with out local friends, but the game never reached a very large audience.
Until now.
We’ve created http://inevitablethegame.com. There, you can learn about what Inevitable is and talk to Jeremy, me, and other Inevitable fans about Inevitable. Once the site officially launches, we’ll open a store where you can download a free print-and-play demo version of Inevitable, purchase a full print-and-play core version of Inevitable, and even upgrade to a commercially printed version of Inevitable! We’ll have other fun gaming related stuff on the site too.
So, that’s what’s up.
- The Game of the Month is going on indefinite hiatus.
- I’m going to update the main Invisible City page with ideas from my book-in-progress on games and game design.
- If all goes well, more of my games will be licensed and published.
- Jeremy and I are releasing a funny game about a future not much bleaker than our own at inevitablethegame.com
Questions? Comments? Ideas? All of these are welcome. I look forward to hearing from you.
Share and Enjoy!
Jonathan L.
PS: If you or someone you know has a print-and-play game you’d like to see featured on Invisible City, please let me know. Perhaps we can work something out?
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: thought
[3]
Remember: You’re not crazy. You’re just different.
Crazy Cat Fanciers is a game for two to five players. Your goal is to entice cats from the Wild into your home and have them stay with you. The best way to do this is by feeding them, and ensuring that they stay sated. Since cats are always hungry, this is not always as easy to do as it may sound.
The player with most cats at the end of the game wins, with one little twist… Every cat has two of the following five quirks: Mellow, Polydactyl, Psycho, Stealthy, and Friendly. At the start of the game, each player gets a “crazy” card with one of those five quirks on it. Every cat you have that matches your crazy card is worth one extra point at the end of the game. So, your goal is to collect as many cats as possible, with cats that match your crazy counting double.
One more thing: There’s also a deck of Thumb Servants cards. You can use these cards to buy things for your house and your cats, and to keep other players from taking your cats.
Crazy Cat Fanciers uses a custom deck of cards and a six-sided die. The rules and cards are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/534/crazy-cat-fanciers
Crazy Cat Fanciers has fairly simple rules, but requires a moderate amount of resource allocation and planning for the future. Crazy Cat Fanciers is appropriate for ages 12 and up. Parents could probably play this game with children as young as seven. A four-player game takes about 60 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : humor
You’re lost in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.
Twisty Passages is a game for two to four players. Your goal is to be the first (and only) person to escape from the bizarre maze you’ve found yourself in. Twisty Passages uses the same speed-draw mechanic found in The Isle of Doctor Necreaux. At the start of each turn you decide how many cards you want to draw and resolve. As you resolve cards, you add them to your path. When you end a turn with enough cards in your path, you’ve found the exit and win the game. You can’t just decide to draw the entire deck on your first turn, though. Traps and events will check your speed. They may cause you to discard cards, and can force you to end your turn prematurely. You don’t want to pick low speeds either. If you’re too slow, faster players will beat you to the exit.
(Doctor Necreaux is my first commercially published game, and it hit retail shelves last Friday, so I’m quite enthused! The speed draw mechanic in Doctor Necreaux came from Twisty Passages.)
Twisty Passages uses a custom deck of cards and about six six-sided dice. (You could play with just one die, but it would be a hassle. Eight to ten dice is ideal.)
The rules and cards are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/530/.
Twisty Passages has fairly simple rules and is easily appropriate for ages 12 and up. Parents could probably play this game with children as young as seven. A four-player game takes about 40 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
[2]
The Game of the Month for 2009 is The Rooftops of Ludovia.
The Rooftops of Ludovia was created by a team of very talented designer/artists from Brazil. They designed and manage the Portuguese game-news website Loodo. This team produces top-notch, professional-quality work. The game is clever and well thought out. The layout and art is as good as, if not better than, anything you’ll find in a store (and it blows my print-and-play games out of the water).
What’s the game about? Here’s a lightly edited version of their English introduction to the game:
“The Rooftops of Ludovia is a game with simple rules designed to make players feel like they are old-school thieves, jumping over rooftops, running away from the policemen and gathering Fame and Fortune. Our goal was to make a simple game with clear mechanics – something not very complex. It’s a casual (filler) game, but with enough elements to keep it replayable and fresh.
“The game feels very unpredictable, as it has lots of dice rolls and many events are defined by other random elements, but we tried to keep some tactical/strategic mechanics: action-point-based turns, player interaction, using equipment, and moving policemen to block paths.”
You can download an English version of The Rooftops of Ludovia from the Loodo site at: http://www.loodo.com.br/the-rooftops-of-ludovia/. Enjoy!
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
Magma boils up from the earth, sluicing forth to immolate and cover everything in its path. Fast at first, but growing slower and slower in its inexorable advance until it hardens to rock. This game moves much like its namesake.
Magma is a game for two to six players. Your goal is to claim as much territory as possible while using as few pieces as possible. If you’re playing with more than three players, you’re playing on a two-player team. (How do you get two-player teams with five players? Read the rules to find out!)
Magma uses a custom board and a bunch of tokens in three different colors.
The rules and board are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/527/. If you don’t want to assemble your own set, or if you want a nicer-looking board, you can order a copy from The Game Crafter for a very reasonable price. We have removed Magma from The Game Crafter’s site for the time being. Stay tuned for future developments.
Magma has fairly simple rules. Thanks to CPSIA, the game is appropriate for ages 12 and up (although parental supervision could probably reduce this restriction significantly). A 6-player game takes about 45 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
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
[2]
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December Game of the Month:
I said that the Game of the Month is on indefinite hiatus, and that’s true. That doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped making games, though. Lucky for you, this means you can still get your free game fix from me… If you’re willing to do just a little work.
Here’s what I’m talking about:
I’m taking the energy I used to put into the Game of the Month and using it to develop my games to the point where they’re ready to present to publishers. I have several games that are ready for blind play test, but I’m starting this experiment with just one: Run, Hamster, Run! v 2.3. I’m not putting it up for free download because I need feedback on it. I need to know what works and what doesn’t work.
Run, Hamster, Run! v 2.3 is a humorous cut-throat game for 2 to 5 players. You’ll need a Run, Hamster Run! set to play it. Creating a Run, Hamster, Run! set requires a color printer. If you have a bunch of glass beads in different colors, that helps too.
What I’m offering you:
- A print and play download copy of the rules for Run, Hamster, Run! v 2.3.
- Credit in the Origin & Credits if you provide sufficient and timely feedback.
- Increased likelihood of getting to play test future Invisible City Productions games (Ninja Golf II, Wall Cycles, Through The Gate, Murphy’s Mission, etc..) if you provide sufficient and timely feedback.
What you’re committing to:
- Downloading, assembling, and playing the game(s).
- Recording your thoughts on the game as you play it and after you play it.
- Sending your notes about the game to me in a timely fashion.
If you’re interested in play testing this game and have the resources to create your own copy, contact me. I’ll send you a PDF of Run, Hamster, Run! v 2.3 with a custom-created password just for you. Two weeks later, I’ll follow up with you for feedback (if you haven’t already sent it).
I’m curious to see how this works out…
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
[1]
After three days of work and research, the information and registration site for Protospiel South is live!
In the spirit of Protospiel, Protospiel South is a gathering for amateur and established game designers to test and promote nearly-finished game prototypes. The atmosphere is casual, yet everyone is serious about their goals and dreams of publishing games.
May 28, 29 and 30 in Austin, TX
Friday, May 28: Noon to 10 PM
Saturday, May 29: 8 AM to 10 PM
Sunday: May 30: 8 AM to 4 PM
Looking for more? You can learn more about Protospiel South, pre-register for Protospiel South, and discuss Protospiel South with the organizers and other people at http://www.protospielsouth.com/.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : action
Since January 2000, we’ve put up one free print-and-play game every month – 10 years of games, for a total of 120 games. 10 years of free games is an accomplishment I’m very proud of. It’s also a nice stopping point. The December 2009 Game of the Month will be the last regular game update for the foreseeable future.
However, it’s not the end of regular updates at Invisible City Productions. I’m working on three new projects:
1) I’m writing a book. The working title is “The Philosophy of Game Design”. My goal is to explain my approach to game design through metaphysical, epistemological, and ontological analysis and deconstruction of commonage components and popular games. Additionally, I want to outline and explore the life cycle of a game from concept to prototype to publication.
How does this relate to Invisible City? I plan to regularly update (weekly?) the Invisible city blog with ideas and excerpts from the book. I hope that y’all will read what I write and offer comments and feedback on it.
2) I’m pitching my games to publishers. As you probably know, one of my games (The Isle of Doctor Necreaux) was licensed and published by Alderac Entertainment Group, and they’ve licensed a second game (Pressure Matrix) that has not been released yet. I’d like to get more games licensed and published. In fact, I’ve set a new goal for myself. I’d like to get 10 games licensed and published. I’m redirecting a lot of the time and energy that I used to put into the Game of the Month into refining, play testing, and “marketing” my games to publishers.
3) I’m co-launching The Inevitable Project. Long-time followers of Invisible City will recognize the name Jeremy Bushnell. 20 years ago, Jeremy invented a wonderful, terrible, awesome, dystopian game called Inevitable. We worked together on it for about two years, then went our separate ways. Intermittently, we’d independently dust off our Inevitable sets and share the game with out local friends, but the game never reached a very large audience.
Until now.
We’ve created http://inevitablethegame.com. There, you can learn about what Inevitable is and talk to Jeremy, me, and other Inevitable fans about Inevitable. Once the site officially launches, we’ll open a store where you can download a free print-and-play demo version of Inevitable, purchase a full print-and-play core version of Inevitable, and even upgrade to a commercially printed version of Inevitable! We’ll have other fun gaming related stuff on the site too.
So, that’s what’s up.
- The Game of the Month is going on indefinite hiatus.
- I’m going to update the main Invisible City page with ideas from my book-in-progress on games and game design.
- If all goes well, more of my games will be licensed and published.
- Jeremy and I are releasing a funny game about a future not much bleaker than our own at inevitablethegame.com
Questions? Comments? Ideas? All of these are welcome. I look forward to hearing from you.
Share and Enjoy!
Jonathan L.
PS: If you or someone you know has a print-and-play game you’d like to see featured on Invisible City, please let me know. Perhaps we can work something out?
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: thought
[3]
Remember: You’re not crazy. You’re just different.
Crazy Cat Fanciers is a game for two to five players. Your goal is to entice cats from the Wild into your home and have them stay with you. The best way to do this is by feeding them, and ensuring that they stay sated. Since cats are always hungry, this is not always as easy to do as it may sound.
The player with most cats at the end of the game wins, with one little twist… Every cat has two of the following five quirks: Mellow, Polydactyl, Psycho, Stealthy, and Friendly. At the start of the game, each player gets a “crazy” card with one of those five quirks on it. Every cat you have that matches your crazy card is worth one extra point at the end of the game. So, your goal is to collect as many cats as possible, with cats that match your crazy counting double.
One more thing: There’s also a deck of Thumb Servants cards. You can use these cards to buy things for your house and your cats, and to keep other players from taking your cats.
Crazy Cat Fanciers uses a custom deck of cards and a six-sided die. The rules and cards are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/534/crazy-cat-fanciers
Crazy Cat Fanciers has fairly simple rules, but requires a moderate amount of resource allocation and planning for the future. Crazy Cat Fanciers is appropriate for ages 12 and up. Parents could probably play this game with children as young as seven. A four-player game takes about 60 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming : humor
You’re lost in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.
Twisty Passages is a game for two to four players. Your goal is to be the first (and only) person to escape from the bizarre maze you’ve found yourself in. Twisty Passages uses the same speed-draw mechanic found in The Isle of Doctor Necreaux. At the start of each turn you decide how many cards you want to draw and resolve. As you resolve cards, you add them to your path. When you end a turn with enough cards in your path, you’ve found the exit and win the game. You can’t just decide to draw the entire deck on your first turn, though. Traps and events will check your speed. They may cause you to discard cards, and can force you to end your turn prematurely. You don’t want to pick low speeds either. If you’re too slow, faster players will beat you to the exit.
(Doctor Necreaux is my first commercially published game, and it hit retail shelves last Friday, so I’m quite enthused! The speed draw mechanic in Doctor Necreaux came from Twisty Passages.)
Twisty Passages uses a custom deck of cards and about six six-sided dice. (You could play with just one die, but it would be a hassle. Eight to ten dice is ideal.)
The rules and cards are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/530/.
Twisty Passages has fairly simple rules and is easily appropriate for ages 12 and up. Parents could probably play this game with children as young as seven. A four-player game takes about 40 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
[2]
The Game of the Month for 2009 is The Rooftops of Ludovia.
The Rooftops of Ludovia was created by a team of very talented designer/artists from Brazil. They designed and manage the Portuguese game-news website Loodo. This team produces top-notch, professional-quality work. The game is clever and well thought out. The layout and art is as good as, if not better than, anything you’ll find in a store (and it blows my print-and-play games out of the water).
What’s the game about? Here’s a lightly edited version of their English introduction to the game:
“The Rooftops of Ludovia is a game with simple rules designed to make players feel like they are old-school thieves, jumping over rooftops, running away from the policemen and gathering Fame and Fortune. Our goal was to make a simple game with clear mechanics – something not very complex. It’s a casual (filler) game, but with enough elements to keep it replayable and fresh.
“The game feels very unpredictable, as it has lots of dice rolls and many events are defined by other random elements, but we tried to keep some tactical/strategic mechanics: action-point-based turns, player interaction, using equipment, and moving policemen to block paths.”
You can download an English version of The Rooftops of Ludovia from the Loodo site at: http://www.loodo.com.br/the-rooftops-of-ludovia/. Enjoy!
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
Magma boils up from the earth, sluicing forth to immolate and cover everything in its path. Fast at first, but growing slower and slower in its inexorable advance until it hardens to rock. This game moves much like its namesake.
Magma is a game for two to six players. Your goal is to claim as much territory as possible while using as few pieces as possible. If you’re playing with more than three players, you’re playing on a two-player team. (How do you get two-player teams with five players? Read the rules to find out!)
Magma uses a custom board and a bunch of tokens in three different colors.
The rules and board are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/play/527/. If you don’t want to assemble your own set, or if you want a nicer-looking board, you can order a copy from The Game Crafter for a very reasonable price. We have removed Magma from The Game Crafter’s site for the time being. Stay tuned for future developments.
Magma has fairly simple rules. Thanks to CPSIA, the game is appropriate for ages 12 and up (although parental supervision could probably reduce this restriction significantly). A 6-player game takes about 45 minutes to play.
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: gaming
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
[2]
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.