So, I haven't posted on here in a while. But there's been a good reason for that: I was at Dice Tower Con a couple of week ago. What a great convention! Five full days of nothing but board games and the people that play and create them. This was my third time going to this convention, and for me it's gotten bigger and better every year.
However, the thing that surprised me most about this convention was the amount of *work* it was compared to previous years. Before, when attending Dice Tower, I was going to play new games, meet new people, learn about being a developer and publisher, and just have fun. But this year, I spent about half of my time in the vendor hall demoing Manaforge. definitely work, but the good kind of work. I was able to use one of the demo tables in front of the Indie Game Alliance booth, where my games were being sold (along many others). It seems like from the time I started demoing, to when the vendor hall was getting ready to close, I had demos running almost continuously. Tiring to be sure, but definitely a good problem to have! Within ten minutes of one demo finishing, there was another group of people ready to see the game. I lost track of how many demos I did, but I do know I spent well over twenty hours demoing across the entire convention.
Totally worth it, though! Because of all time spent demoing, plus the lure of being taught the game by the designer, and the felt component bowls we were giving out with the games, the IGA booth actually ran out of games. That's right, I now have "Achievement Unlocked: My Game Sold Out At DTC" to add to my list! Great feeling!
Aside from games, I also attended a couple of panels, with various board game media celebrities. One was a talk about media content creation and interviews with some of the personalities, and the other was a 'game show' styled panel of the audience trying to guess how the celebs would answer various questions. Good stuff!
And, of course, there was getting to see and chat with old friends. And meeting new ones. And attending parties and mixers. Plus something I'm still not used to, random people coming up to me and saying hello. (I have a terrible memory for names and for people that I only meet for a couple of a minutes. Please don't take it the wrong way if you come up and chat with me and I don't remember who you are.) I suppose I should be flattered but really it's more the introvert in me bubbling up and making it an awkward meeting.
As far as game development went, I had a little bit of progress there. I got in two plays of Sky Pirates with a couple of friends. It was good to see my latest round of changes in action. I have to say that separating the locations from the ship cards was an excellent idea; I'm hoping that will be the last major design change to the game, and the rest of the development will be balancing the cards and effects.
For actual games played, I really didn't get to do much. Not for lack of wanting, just that there wasn't time. Here's the stuff I did play (in no particular order):
- The Expanse (1/5 Hated: would not play again)
Area control game based on the sci-fi series. Fly ships around the solar system, drop influence cubes, and score points based on who has dominance. Very interesting dual-use cards; you can play a card for it's Action Points (more powerful) or it's Special Ability (many varied effects), but if you play a card for it's AP then others players have a chance to use the Special. Overall, I didn't like this, because it's a very cutthroat game and I'm more of a carebear player. Just not my type of game. Also, the card special abilities were *too* varied, with no iconography, meaning a pause in the game every turn to decipher the wall of text on each card.
- Fantasy Realms (5/5 Loved: definitely want to play again, would suggest)
Bought this game on the spot after I played it. Simple filler card game about building the best hand. Start with seven cards, each turn draw one then discard one. Cards have point values, plus many varied special abilities that combo with other cards. Build the best hand of cards before the game ends. Simple, quick, plays a lot of players, and the only learning curve is learning what cards are in the game. Great fun!
- Heaven & Ale (2/5 Disliked: might be convinced to play again)
This was one on my want-to-play list. Rondel action selection, tile placement on personal boards. Move around a track on the main board, taking actions you can afford. Take hex tiles and add them to your board, then activate them for their benefit by taking other actions. Beware, though: each method of activating tiles can be used only once, so you have to think ahead about which tiles you take and how you place them. Benefits include money (needed to take tiles) and resources (needed to score). At game end, the resource you have the *least* of determines your score. I found the game play to be enjoyable, but I didn't like the scoring system at the end because it was both convoluted and unforgiving. If you're unable to get all of your resource markers above the zero line at the end scoring (they start at negatives), then you score *zero* points for the game. The confusion at the end was because you are required to move your highest-valued resources down in order to move your lowest-valued resources up, but the exchange rate between the two is horrible (sometimes as bad as 5:1). Might give it another try now that I understand it better but I'm not in a hurry.
- Lords of Xidit (3/5 Lukewarm: would play again but not suggest)
I own this one but had never played it. Action programming, pickup-and-deliver, area control. You must plan moves ahead; each round you dial in five actions onto a personal board, then everyone reveals their boards and performs their movements. Move around the board, recruit fighters, then 'spend' those fighters at monster spaces to kill the monsters. The reward is to either gain coins or place one of two types of control markers on the board. At the end of the game, rather than counting victory points, instead the player(s) with the *least* of a particular reward (coins or control) are eliminated, meaning that to be successful you must gain spoils of three different categories instead of focusing on one. Would have been a good game if not for that wonky winner selection system.
- Puerto Rico (3/5 Lukewarm: would play again but not suggest)
I own this one, played it a few times. Classic role selection and resource management game. Build plantation tiles, hire workers, gain resources, sell resources for money to buy more plantation and building tiles, or ship resources for victory points. Players take turns selecting role cards; each player does the role action but the player that selected it gets an extra perk. Points come from shipping produced goods and what tiles are on your board at the end of the game. I do like this game, though I'm not particularly good at it, but it often gets ignored in favor of newer, shinier stuff.
- Coimbra (4/5 Liked: want to play again, might suggest)
I hadn't even heard of this one before DTC. Dice drafting, dice placement, resource management, card drafting. Draft dice, then place them to be able to purchase cards. Highest-numbered die gets first choice of cards, but also pays the most to buy the card. (Cool mechanic!) Dice color determines the type and amount of income you get at the end of the turn; push your counter up on the color tracks to get more income from that color of die. Move your meeple around the map and drop markers to gain one-shot bonuses. Took a couple of rounds to really grasp the flow of the game, but after that it was great fun! Might have bought a copy, if there were any left; I think I heard this was a pre-release batch, so they only had a *very* limited stock. Sold out on the first day if I understand it right.
- Rajas of the Ganges (4/5 Liked: want to play again, might suggest)
This was another one on my want-to-play list. Heavy euro with worker-placement, tile-laying, and resource management where the dice *are* the resources. Innovative scoring system, similar to Red Dragon Inn: you gain money (which can be spent) and fame (only goes up), but the tracks are pointed in opposite directions. When your two tokens on the two tracks cross each other, you win! Various worker actions gain you dice, which you roll and store. Other actions expend dice, returning them to the pool. Some actions require high dice values, others low values. Buy tiles to add to your personal board for money and fame, plus build routes on your board for extra one-shot bonuses. Enjoyed this a lot! Could possibly buy this in the future, though because of the game weight it might be difficult to get to the table.
And that's my Dice Tower Con, in a nutshell. This is really the only major convention I can attend, due to time and money constraints. Hopefully in future years I will be able to travel to others, but for now this convention is really my only big chance to catch up with a lot of people. Already looking forward to next year!
However, the thing that surprised me most about this convention was the amount of *work* it was compared to previous years. Before, when attending Dice Tower, I was going to play new games, meet new people, learn about being a developer and publisher, and just have fun. But this year, I spent about half of my time in the vendor hall demoing Manaforge. definitely work, but the good kind of work. I was able to use one of the demo tables in front of the Indie Game Alliance booth, where my games were being sold (along many others). It seems like from the time I started demoing, to when the vendor hall was getting ready to close, I had demos running almost continuously. Tiring to be sure, but definitely a good problem to have! Within ten minutes of one demo finishing, there was another group of people ready to see the game. I lost track of how many demos I did, but I do know I spent well over twenty hours demoing across the entire convention.
Totally worth it, though! Because of all time spent demoing, plus the lure of being taught the game by the designer, and the felt component bowls we were giving out with the games, the IGA booth actually ran out of games. That's right, I now have "Achievement Unlocked: My Game Sold Out At DTC" to add to my list! Great feeling!
Aside from games, I also attended a couple of panels, with various board game media celebrities. One was a talk about media content creation and interviews with some of the personalities, and the other was a 'game show' styled panel of the audience trying to guess how the celebs would answer various questions. Good stuff!
And, of course, there was getting to see and chat with old friends. And meeting new ones. And attending parties and mixers. Plus something I'm still not used to, random people coming up to me and saying hello. (I have a terrible memory for names and for people that I only meet for a couple of a minutes. Please don't take it the wrong way if you come up and chat with me and I don't remember who you are.) I suppose I should be flattered but really it's more the introvert in me bubbling up and making it an awkward meeting.
As far as game development went, I had a little bit of progress there. I got in two plays of Sky Pirates with a couple of friends. It was good to see my latest round of changes in action. I have to say that separating the locations from the ship cards was an excellent idea; I'm hoping that will be the last major design change to the game, and the rest of the development will be balancing the cards and effects.
For actual games played, I really didn't get to do much. Not for lack of wanting, just that there wasn't time. Here's the stuff I did play (in no particular order):
- The Expanse (1/5 Hated: would not play again)
Area control game based on the sci-fi series. Fly ships around the solar system, drop influence cubes, and score points based on who has dominance. Very interesting dual-use cards; you can play a card for it's Action Points (more powerful) or it's Special Ability (many varied effects), but if you play a card for it's AP then others players have a chance to use the Special. Overall, I didn't like this, because it's a very cutthroat game and I'm more of a carebear player. Just not my type of game. Also, the card special abilities were *too* varied, with no iconography, meaning a pause in the game every turn to decipher the wall of text on each card.
- Fantasy Realms (5/5 Loved: definitely want to play again, would suggest)
Bought this game on the spot after I played it. Simple filler card game about building the best hand. Start with seven cards, each turn draw one then discard one. Cards have point values, plus many varied special abilities that combo with other cards. Build the best hand of cards before the game ends. Simple, quick, plays a lot of players, and the only learning curve is learning what cards are in the game. Great fun!
- Heaven & Ale (2/5 Disliked: might be convinced to play again)
This was one on my want-to-play list. Rondel action selection, tile placement on personal boards. Move around a track on the main board, taking actions you can afford. Take hex tiles and add them to your board, then activate them for their benefit by taking other actions. Beware, though: each method of activating tiles can be used only once, so you have to think ahead about which tiles you take and how you place them. Benefits include money (needed to take tiles) and resources (needed to score). At game end, the resource you have the *least* of determines your score. I found the game play to be enjoyable, but I didn't like the scoring system at the end because it was both convoluted and unforgiving. If you're unable to get all of your resource markers above the zero line at the end scoring (they start at negatives), then you score *zero* points for the game. The confusion at the end was because you are required to move your highest-valued resources down in order to move your lowest-valued resources up, but the exchange rate between the two is horrible (sometimes as bad as 5:1). Might give it another try now that I understand it better but I'm not in a hurry.
- Lords of Xidit (3/5 Lukewarm: would play again but not suggest)
I own this one but had never played it. Action programming, pickup-and-deliver, area control. You must plan moves ahead; each round you dial in five actions onto a personal board, then everyone reveals their boards and performs their movements. Move around the board, recruit fighters, then 'spend' those fighters at monster spaces to kill the monsters. The reward is to either gain coins or place one of two types of control markers on the board. At the end of the game, rather than counting victory points, instead the player(s) with the *least* of a particular reward (coins or control) are eliminated, meaning that to be successful you must gain spoils of three different categories instead of focusing on one. Would have been a good game if not for that wonky winner selection system.
- Puerto Rico (3/5 Lukewarm: would play again but not suggest)
I own this one, played it a few times. Classic role selection and resource management game. Build plantation tiles, hire workers, gain resources, sell resources for money to buy more plantation and building tiles, or ship resources for victory points. Players take turns selecting role cards; each player does the role action but the player that selected it gets an extra perk. Points come from shipping produced goods and what tiles are on your board at the end of the game. I do like this game, though I'm not particularly good at it, but it often gets ignored in favor of newer, shinier stuff.
- Coimbra (4/5 Liked: want to play again, might suggest)
I hadn't even heard of this one before DTC. Dice drafting, dice placement, resource management, card drafting. Draft dice, then place them to be able to purchase cards. Highest-numbered die gets first choice of cards, but also pays the most to buy the card. (Cool mechanic!) Dice color determines the type and amount of income you get at the end of the turn; push your counter up on the color tracks to get more income from that color of die. Move your meeple around the map and drop markers to gain one-shot bonuses. Took a couple of rounds to really grasp the flow of the game, but after that it was great fun! Might have bought a copy, if there were any left; I think I heard this was a pre-release batch, so they only had a *very* limited stock. Sold out on the first day if I understand it right.
- Rajas of the Ganges (4/5 Liked: want to play again, might suggest)
This was another one on my want-to-play list. Heavy euro with worker-placement, tile-laying, and resource management where the dice *are* the resources. Innovative scoring system, similar to Red Dragon Inn: you gain money (which can be spent) and fame (only goes up), but the tracks are pointed in opposite directions. When your two tokens on the two tracks cross each other, you win! Various worker actions gain you dice, which you roll and store. Other actions expend dice, returning them to the pool. Some actions require high dice values, others low values. Buy tiles to add to your personal board for money and fame, plus build routes on your board for extra one-shot bonuses. Enjoyed this a lot! Could possibly buy this in the future, though because of the game weight it might be difficult to get to the table.
And that's my Dice Tower Con, in a nutshell. This is really the only major convention I can attend, due to time and money constraints. Hopefully in future years I will be able to travel to others, but for now this convention is really my only big chance to catch up with a lot of people. Already looking forward to next year!
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