As mentioned in previous articles (Design Diary #1 and Design Diary #2), I believe that one of the most distinctive aspects of any card-driven game (CDG) is the set of historical events that are featured on the operations cards used in the game. Not only should the events provide players with interesting alternatives to the […]
Time of Crisis Design Diary #3 Read Post »
Designer BlogsThunder Alley did exactly what Carla & I had hoped it would do. It brought the feel of a stock car race to our table. No runaway leaders, frequent yellow flags and when there were no yellows, there was tension around the event cards with half the table hoping for a yellow to catch up
What’s New in Grand Prix? Read Post »
Designer BlogsIn my previous InsideGMT post, I compared the expansion Labyrinth II: The Awakening, 2010 – ? with Twilight Struggle, and gave some examples of play to shed light on the similarities between both games. In this post, I will describe some of the challenges in designing a simulation on a very recent and still evolving
Labyrinth II Book Ends Read Post »
Designer BlogsGenesis Developer Update – April 2015 As we enter the month of April, the creation of the game’s components is in the final stretch. The map, counters, Event Cards, and Kingdom Display/Victory Point Cards are complete. The rules and the Player Aid cards have moved through the layout and internal edit process, are off to
Genesis – Developer Update Read Post »
Development UpdatesVICTORY CONDITIONS How could the French or Indians win the American Revolution? If you define winning the game as controlling North America in some way – they can’t. But the question for me is a broader question: How can these Factions, each important to the outcome of the conflict, win their situation? With that question
On Victory Conditions and Playing the French in Liberty or Death Read Post »
Designer BlogsWe’re thrilled that MBT (along with a reprint of the sold-out Panzer) is now in our production queue for late 2015/early 2016. Clearly, a lot of you play and like Panzer, and the MBT P500 numbers have been very good, as well. As we near getting this game into our final art and production stages, we
MBT – Helicopters in Action Read Post »
Examples of PlayFlame wars, don’cha love ‘em? Gets the blood up. Keeps me alive and truckin’. This post begins with one of those online feuds in which grown men rhetorically whack each other round the head with saucepans until one side is exhausted or goes completely loopy and starts chewing the walls. In this fight my opponent’s parting
The Art of Wing Leader Read Post »
Designer BlogsMany consider Labyrinth a transition game from Twilight Struggle to the COIN series that followed. In several ways, the Labyrinth II: The Awakening 2010-? expansion takes us back to its Twilight Struggle roots. This article will highlight the similarities between the Labyrinth II expansion and TS. When I first introduced the idea of designing an Arab
Comparing Labyrinth II with Twilight Struggle Read Post »
Designer BlogsMost of you probably know the back story of our long journey to create an updated version of our Dominant Species for iPad game. We haven’t talked about it much of late, mostly because we didn’t have much to tell you except “we’re working on it.” But in the background, after two successive developers had
(Re) Designing the User Interface for Digital Dominant Species Read Post »
Digital Versions of our GamesWe’ve been listening to those of you who’ve been telling us that you want and need to see more specific information about the content of the games on our P500 Reprint list. What has changed? Why is it better? Can I get an upgrade kit? And so on…. So this year we’re making a concerted
Random Event Cards for the 2nd Edition of Conquest of Paradise Read Post »
Designer Blogs, Development Updates