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The crack of the shot broke the silence; the enemies hiding in ambush returned fire and with a shout, they rushed towards us. They advanced from their concealed positions in the shadows of the thicket. It took a moment before we spotted them, before we could reach for our weapons and move to meet them...
It wasn't the best scenario I've ever played in my life. Just a good, fun fantasy adventure. Marcin, who was our Game Master, didn't reach any great heights of his talent, nor did anything particularly noteworthy. On the contrary, I vaguely remember him leading, cigarette after cigarette, which didn't quite fit the fantasy theme.
Yet, I remember bits of that session to this day, even though it's been 20 years. I remember because there was a bonfire around which we played. I remember because after dark, the trees in the orchard next to which we had settled took on menacing shapes, and with the setting sun, they transformed into a mysterious forest. I remember because of the crackling fire, because of the sparks shooting into the sky when we added wood to the fire, because of the distant barking of dogs in the nearby village - all of this transported us into the world of the session as if by the touch of a magic wand. It was one of the best RPG sessions I've ever played in my life. Because of the bonfire, because of the orchard, because of the sunset.
Last weekend, for the first time in my life, I visited Ireland. My RPG-loving heart sang with joy throughout the trip. I fell in love with Ireland head over heels. And as I traveled from one castle to another, passing by the ruins of medieval abbeys and churches, old cemeteries, and the towering watchtowers, as I walked along the cliffs and the foaming waves repeatedly crashed with fury against the shore, I thought of nothing else but another RPG session.
I thought about how wonderful it would be to sit with my buddies on the shore and play Pendragon or Ars Magica, with the roar of the waves, with the gusty wind carrying away our words, with that castle on the horizon.
I reminisced about how that one silly bonfire 20 years ago turned an ordinary RPG session into something I remember for twenty years. I thought about how these cliffs and waves would transform an ordinary session.
I thought that maybe in my old age, I now have the time to fly to Ireland for a weekend with my old buddies and play the fifth edition of Pendragon RPG, by the castle ruins somewhere on the cliffs, or by the ruins of an old abbey.
I thought that maybe I could take my RPG gang to Venice for a weekend and in two evenings, play a mini-campaign in 7th Sea RPG somewhere amidst the beautiful Venetian bridges and alleyways. Maybe take a weekend trip to the mountains and play Warhammer, or Call of Cthulhu in some cozy pub somewhere in the English countryside.
RPG tourism? Traveling not to visit museums, but to play an RPG with buddies in an amazing place? Is that my plan for the coming years?
Who knows, who knows...
You can follow me on Twitter at @trzewik. This is BGG copy of my blog BoardgamesThatTellStories.com
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July 2005, the beginnings of the gaming industry in Poland. My friends from Galakta Games release „The Lord of the Rings: Confrontation” in the budding Polish market. Words cannot express how excited I am. Well, let me try – I’m so excited that I’m going nuts. I’m so excited that I’m traveling to Krakow to get a copy. I bring it home. I read the rulebook, set up the game. I’m on fire with enthusiasm like Stannis’ fleet. I explain the rules to my wife, we play, Frodo rushes into Mordor, I win, it’s wonderful.
Only one being in the world can bring a person down to earth with a single word. That being in question is the wife. She can do that. „Boring,” says Merry. One word. I put the game back into the box. I place it on the shelf. Stannis dies.
But I’m a patient man. Five years later, in 2010, my son turns 8. The box says 8+, so I take it off the shelf, wipe off a centimeter-thick layer of dust. I read the rulebook again, set up the game. Once again, I’m on fire with enthusiasm like Stannis’ fleet. I explain the rules to my son, we play, Frodo rushes into Mordor, I win, it’s wonderful.
I see the expression on his face, I see that look, and I can already feel that I’m about to lose it. „Boring,” the little rascal says, and I wonder if he took some training from Merry on how to drive me crazy.
I give him a week-long computer ban, I tell him to vacuum the entire apartment, take out the trash, and clean his room. I put the game back into the box. I place it on the shelf. Stannis dies, dies for the second time.
But I’m a patient man. Thirteen years later, in August 2023, my fifteen-year-old daughter gets hooked on The Lord of the Rings. I see an opportunity. I take „Confrontation” off the shelf, wipe off a five-centimeter-thick layer of dust. I read the rulebook again, set up the game on the table. Once again, I’m fired up with enthusiasm. I explain the rules to my daughter, we play, Frodo rushes into Mordor, I win, it’s wonderful.
„I like it,” she says.
I’ve been waiting for those words for 18 years. It was freakin’ worth it.
Patience, baby!
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Visit my blog at ignacytrzewiczek.com for updates about my new games. I post every Friday!
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Hania lives in Krosno, which is nearly 300 km away from the headquarters of Portal Games. Hania has been working at Portal Games since 2020, and I’ve only met her in person barely twice because first COVID struck, and then we had only two more company retreats during which I had a chance to chat with her for maybe 15 minutes in total. A lot has been happening on those retreats! Of course, there are regular Zoom conferences, daily exchanges of emails and messages on Discord, but let’s be honest – in the era of remote work, the contact with the team is different from the daily chitchats during lunch breaks and playing board games together after hours.
I’d have to say that I hardly know Hania, in essence.
But I do know her a bit – I know her through her work and the illustrations she creates. I know her as a comics fan who regularly recommends great albums to the rest of the team. I know her as a super geek who shares reviews of movies that no one else on the team has probably heard of but should definitely hear about.
I also know Hania as a super-talented illustrator who does extensive research for each project, prepares amazingly well, and then works her magic to create graphics that fit perfectly with a specific game – her illustrations for Dune are completely different from her illustrations for Batman, as different as night and day from her illustrations for 51st State, as different as tea and a teapot from her illustrations for Eleven. With each new game, Hania asks our developers how we’d like the game to look, sends us a few of her proposals and variants, and then the magic begins – a few months later, we receive another insanely illustrated game.
I’m writing about Hania today because while working on Imperial Miners, she outdid herself and revealed another side of her – a super witty girl who playfully winks at fans of games in every illustration. When I (and soon you!) browse through the game’s illustrations, the smile never leaves my face.
The world of Imperial Settlers from the very beginning, since 2014, has been infused with humor, and successive illustrators have added jokes to the cards, hidden Easter eggs, and played with the formula of the world of little people. We had the little Loki stealing a certain Hammer on the cards, we had references to Final Fantasy, Rafał Kucharski, who was in charge of the line for several years, amazed me with every batch of illustrations.
Hania proudly took the baton. Imperial Miners contains over 100 unique illustrations. We didn’t write scenarios for her, we didn’t brief her, we didn’t give her a script. „Have fun,” we said, „create something cool.”
And she had fun indeed. There are countless references and nods to pop culture, to the world of geeks, and dozens of cards that are complete scene-jokes. The whole game – apart from being a great card game – has also become a collection of insane scenes from the world of Imperial Settlers, stories about the adventures of little miners and their families.
Hania lives in Krosno. I’ve seen Hania in person twice. I don’t really know Hania. But I do know her a bit… She’s an excellent illustrator and a super witty girl. She’s a perfect addition to our geeky team. It’s a shame that Krosno is so far away!
And yes, pre-orders began today, so you can grab your copy!
- here US fans
- here EU fans
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- You probably know that I’m not a big fan of the Asmodee. It’s a board game publisher that’s larger than all the other publishers in the industry combined. Asmodee makes every one of us, independent publishers, feel like we’re sitting at a blackjack table and the odds are stacked against us. Like we don’t stand a chance.
The market value of Embracer Group, the owner of Asmodee, is 3.6 billion dollars. With such a giant, I have to face them when I go to Essen SPIEL to promote another new game or when I compete for the rights to bring a hit to the Polish market. We’re competing with Asmodee for the hearts of gamers, and Asmodee has 3.6 billion ways to win those hearts. Independent publishers have slightly fewer.
So, yeah, I’m not a big fan.
***
In this constant struggle, in this David-and-Goliath battle, in the daily reading of news about yet another Star Wars or Lord of the Rings game they’re releasing, another contract they’ve signed, another bigwig they’ve added to their team, in this stream of news worth 3.6 billion dollars, sometimes there’s a piece of news that makes me raise my thumb, that makes me nod my head and think – these dollars are being put to good use. It’s good to see someone capable of this.
I nodded like that two weeks ago when, just before Gen Con, Asmodee announced their plans for the development of the Legend of the Five Rings line. But before I dive into that, let me give you a brief historical overview.
Legend of the Five Rings is one of the greatest games of the ’90s. It’s an incredibly popular and revolutionary collectible card game (CCG) in its concept and tournament scene, and it’s also one of the best RPGs in the industry’s history. Written by John Wick, it was the pinnacle of RPG achievements. A brilliant world, colorful and amazing characters, beautifully designed clans, simple yet fantastic mechanics… Legend of the Five Rings might be the best thing that came out of the ’90s.
Years passed, companies and games fell, then rose again, the rights to Legend passed from hand to hand, and in the last decade, both Fantasy Flight Games and then Asmodee tried to revive Legend, but it was far from the popularity of the ’90s. The brilliant story, the wonderful world somehow couldn’t catch wind in its sails and develop like it did back then.
And then, somewhere in those glass-walled skyscrapers, perhaps on the 70th floor, in an elegant office, someone made the decision that Legend deserves a share of those 3.6 billion dollars. That it deserves to have some of those big shots put in the effort and show the world how it’s done.
A sixteen-minute video recorded in Asmodee’s studio is impressive. Steve Horvath and Joe Desimone lay out the plan for Legend of the Five Rings for the coming years. They start by discussing what Asmodee has prepared for the Clan Wars event – a gigantic statue of one of the characters created in collaboration with Dark Horse. A series of novels set in the world of Legend published by Aconyte Books that precisely describe the events of this event, a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics also intertwined with these events. In addition, an epic 192-page artbook from the world of Legend published by Aconyte Books showcasing the most famous and beautiful illustrations from the rich 30-year heritage of Legend. Also, Clan Wars the board game, an adventure board game designed by Monolith Studio, and then River & Gold, a euro game designed by Office Dog Studio. And a gigantic limited map of Rokugan produced by Dark Horse Studio. And more… As a break from Clan Wars, we’ll be able to play Tomb of Iuchiban – a 144-page RPG campaign written by Edge Studio. We’ll be also able to buy a gigantic diorama from Loot Studio and read even more books from Aconyte Books. It’s a freaking massive project.
If you’re a fan of Legend of the Five Rings, you feel taken care of. You feel like you’ll be delving into your beloved world for the next few years, consuming it in every possible way, and enjoying a new, fantastic product every few weeks. A dozen products, 7 different companies under the Asmodee umbrella involved, 3.6 billion dollars put into work and used in a way to make geeks happy.
I nod my head with approval. I raise my thumb up. Good job.
And the gorilla? No, still, I’m not a big fan.
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Peter in the Board Game Wargames group writes about the game "The King in the North" and explains that it draws inspiration from the game systems of "Granada" and "Sekigahara," but it has been adapted to the realities of the Carlist Wars conflict. You probably don't understand much of this, so let me add some more doubts - it's worth knowing that "Granada," in turn, uses the game rules of "Sekigahara," but modifies them to fit the wars on the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century.
Alright, what are we talking about? What's going on?! What wars, what peninsula? What am I reading?!
Let me explain.
We're talking about a fantastic game published by GMT in 2011, titled "Sekigahara," designed by Matt Calkins. The game revolves around the unification of Japan and the military campaign that took place in the year 1600. "Sekigahara" has a revolutionary simplicity in its combat resolution system and straightforward yet highly engaging rules for maneuvering troops. Its rules are a perfect blend of simplicity and intriguing gameplay.
We're also talking about another great publisher, Compass Games, which released the game "Granada" in 2021, designed by Jose Antonio Rivero. It practically uses the same rules as "Sekigahara," but the action is set 200 years earlier and thousands of kilometers to the east.
And finally, we're discussing another publisher, NAC Wargames, who released a game this year using the same core rules created by Matt Calkins, but this time with a different setting - fighting in America in the year 1833.
You see, game mechanics cannot be patented. And historical wargaming is fine with that.
***
I am head over heels in love with historical wargames. In love not just with the games themselves, not just with the experience of playing wargames, but also with the wargaming industry as a whole. It's a sibling industry, somewhat different from our board games, euro games, and Ameritrash, but with intriguing details of its own.
Details like the fact that game mechanics are treated as complete Open Source. Games using the same mechanics with minor modifications come out as series or lines designed by different authors and sometimes different publishers. We have famous COIN Games (close to 20 games on this system), Levy & Campaign series, famous Commands & Colors series with a dozen variations, and so on. Settings change, battlefields change, historical periods change, and authors and publishers change, but the mechanics remain the same.
In our field, we can point to some examples of games with similar mechanics but different settings. I am quite good with this. "Robinson Crusoe," and "First Martians," "51st State," and "Imperial Settlers," but in each of these cases, the game's author remains the same. I modify the setting myself. In the historical wargaming world, the rules are 100% open source. GMT publishes "Sekigahara," and a few years later, another author in a different publishing house releases a game with the rules of "Sekigahara" but in a different setting.
If Asmodee were to take my "Robinson Crusoe," change the setting to something like the "Lost" TV series, and release it as their own game, not only would I be furious, but I think the whole community would be in an uproar. You'd ask, "How could they take Trzewiczek's Robinson and publish it under a different title and setting?"
Although we all know that game mechanics aren't protected by copyright, we still protect them. We don't copy game mechanics to release something under our name. In the world of wargaming, they understand the law, apply it, and there are no dramas, complaints, or scandals when one author releases a game using another author's mechanics.
I suspect that someday someone will break what we have here, this unique respect for the copyrights of other authors, rights that don't actually exist, rights that no codex describes.
We operate under a social, creative gentleman's agreement. And sooner or later it ends.
Someone will say that "Pandemic" is a great game and that it would be worthwhile to release it with a different setting.
And without the Asmodee logo on the box.
Or maybe it will happen the other way around. Asmodee will think "Terraforming Mars" is a great game and that they could use something similar in their catalog…
We’ll see.
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„I think you should see this,” Chevee says. I’ve been waiting for these words for over five years. I’ve waited for them since he took on the responsibility of testing prototypes. He’s had dozens of meetings, examined countless prototypes, and each time, nothing managed to meet the high standards we set for them. I haven’t seen any of those games he played with my own eyes.
Until now.
„I think you should see this.” How beautifully it sounds.
***
Those were the times of Covid. Chevee met the designer online; they played a prototype on Table Top Simulator and recorded the entire gameplay. I received an mp4 file, watched it, and had to agree with Chevee. It looked very clever.
„Write to the designer that I want the print and play files. I want to test the prototype in person.”
I received the files, printed them out, and took them home for the weekend. I played with Merry. And then I played again.
When you have hundreds of games at home, you don’t usually play a mediocre prototype twice. Unless it’s not mediocre. Unless it’s as good as what you have on your shelves. Unless it’s fresh, intriguing, and gives you what you love in games – building an engine and scoring Victory Points left and right.
On Monday, I showed up at work with the prototype. I invited Grzesiek Polewka (CEO of Portal Games) and Marek Spychalski (marketing department) to my office. „We’re playing,” I said.
„What’s this?” Marek asked.
„For now, let’s just play. I’ll explain later.”
They played. They finished. They sit there intrigued. They don’t know what’s going on, whether I designed a new game over the weekend or what, where this prototype came from. What’s going on?! They look at me.
„Chevee met the designer at Gen Con. The guy is looking for a publisher,” I explained. „I think he found one, right?” I asked.
„I think he did,” they smiled. A fantastic project fell into our laps; the smiles won’t leave our faces.
***
Game fans sometimes complain that you can’t trust a publisher when they praise their own game because, after all, it’s in their interest; they want to sell it to us, they have something to gain, they’ll praise even the worst junk until they drop dead. You can’t trust a publisher, period.
However, game fans forget one simple fact – the origin, how the publisher got that game in the first place. The publisher praises it because they love the game. And why do they love it? Because they played the prototype, fell in love with it, believed in it, signed a publishing contract, invested tens of thousands of dollars in production, and are firmly convinced that they should be commemorated for bringing this game into the world.
I didn’t sign a contract to publish Imperial Miners at gunpoint. The designer didn’t pay me a hundred thousand dollars just to publish their game. We didn’t play Russian roulette to see what game we would publish this year.
We’re publishing Imperial Miners because we fell in love with it at first sight. We’re publishing it because we all believe in it. We’re publishing it because it’s a clever, fast, slick card game that you can play in 45 minutes, and those 45 minutes are filled to the max with combos, victory points, and card synergies.
We’re publishing it because, for the first time in history, Chevee said, „I think you should see this.” After rejecting dozens of other games, that must mean something.
***
BTW: You can learn more about the game HERE!
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I had the honor to receive a few nominations and awards from the Dice Tower, but this week I’ve decided to nominate myself for another one. You can never have enough awards. It all started at 7:54 am when I checked out of my hotel room at Caribe Royale in Orlando, got into the car, and headed to the airport. The Dice Tower East has come to an end; time to go back home.
An hour and a bit later, I returned the car to the rental company, dropped off my suitcase, and went through a security check. Everything went smoothly. Now I have a two-hour wait for the flight, and then we can take off.
Four hours later, I’m still in Orlando. What’s worse, I’ve been on the plane for two hours, and the plane is still on the ground.
„As you can see on your phones and read in the news, there is extreme weather over the eastern coastline, and we can’t take off. A new flight route is being determined.”
As you may know, I’m afraid of flying. You can imagine if the words „extreme weather” put me in a perfectly cheerful mood, right?
„Here’s the captain speaking again; I have a new update. We have been assigned a new route, but unfortunately, the storm is moving, and we can’t use it after all. New route is being determined.”
I’m sitting in my seat, damp as a mouse, imagining those people at the airport, looking where lightning strikes and drawing paths and short windows of opportunity on the map to sneak through this madness with dry feet. I cannot wait to experience this. I really am.
„Here’s the captain again; we have been given another route. Please immediately take your seats and fasten your seat belts. We are low on fuel, and we need to take off immediately.” The captain hadn’t even finished the sentence, and the plane started accelerating.
My heart jumps out of my chest, my face is pale as a wall. We are low on fuel?! We’re taking off?! Whaaat?!
I faint. I wake up quickly, shaking as if I’m locked in a barrel and rolling down a great canyon.
„Please, don’t expect smooth travel today. Please keep your seat belts fastened at all times,” the captain says. I’m no longer pale. I’m deathly pale. I am not sure if I am on a plane or a rollercoaster.
At 4 pm, we arrive in Newark. My legs feel like cotton. My hands are trembling. We’ve been traveling for 8 hours, and I’ve aged at least a few years during that time.
We have a flight to Frankfurt in 6 hours, so I have time for tea and to calm down. It’ll be useful because there’s another adventure around the corner. Somewhere around 9 pm, I was notified that the flight to Frankfurt would be delayed.
The notification is not lying. It’s delayed by almost an hour and a half. The official information we receive is that the crew is conducting additional security tests. I don’t know if I should feel relieved or scared. It’s the fourteenth hour of the journey. In fact, I don’t feel anything anymore…
We landed in Frankfurt 8 hours later, just before 1 pm local time. The plane we were supposed to take to Katowice was already halfway to Poland.
When I find the United office at the airport, I’m told that there’s no flight to Katowice today. But they can send me to Warsaw; from there, I can reach Katowice. It’s the 24th hour of the trip. I don’t care anymore. I can fly to Warsaw. Whatever.
At the gate, we find out that the flight is overbooked, and they need to bump 2 people off. They offer 250 euros as an apology. There are no volunteers. They will probably draw lots. If they pick me, I might just shoot myself.
They drew someone else. I can fly to Warsaw. Well, I can’t because the flight is delayed, but what’s delayed is not lost. It’s the 27th hour of the journey. I’m on the plane.
We land in Warsaw. Tea. Sandwich. Three hours of waiting for the flight to Katowice.
The gates open. 30th hour of our travel. We can fly.
No, actually, we can’t.
„You’re not in the system,” says the airline employee.
„What?!” Merry asks, and let me tell you one thing. Merry is my wife. I know that tone. I know that look. I know she’s about to murder him.
„More precisely, you are in the system but not accepted on the flight. Someone from United forgot to click to add you to the flight.”
The guy looks up from the computer monitor, looks at Merry, and realizes that the battle for his life has just begun. He sees I don’t care anymore, but Merry will tear his head off if we don’t get on board.
The guy swallows, picks up the phone, and makes a call: „Listen, I have two dropouts here from Frankfurt…”
He referred to Merry as a „dropout.” Well, damn, he’s a brave guy. She is just staring at him.
A few minutes later he prints our boarding passes.
„And what about our suitcase?” Merry asks.
The guy calls the warehouse. He gives them the suitcase number. He talks to someone for a while, then asks Merry, „Is it a yellow one?”
„Yes, a yellow one with pineapples,” if words could kill, half the people on board would have a heart attack right now.
„We’ll deliver it,” the guy promises. He knows it is a matter of life or death right now.
On the way to the plane, we see our suitcase. It stands there, lonely and abandoned, it’s in the system but not accepted, a dropout from Frankfurt, sad and lost.
We board the plane. We fund everyone on board an additional 30 minutes of delay as our suitcase is being delivered to the plane.
We land in Katowice. We get into the car. We arrive home just before 1 a.m. In total, 34 hours and 30 minutes.
***
What does this have to do with the Dice Tower award? Well, The Dice Tower East is an amazing event, a convention that I’m totally addicted to. I go back there every year, and in 2024, I’ll get on a plane and head to Orlando again.
However, I hereby officially apply for The Dice Tower: The Most Dedicated Attendee award!
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Over 5000 miles, over 20 hours on the road, over a week away from home and the office, all to make it to The Dice Tower con and play Imperial Miners with a few people.
Doesn’t make sense, right? Well, let’s look at it realistically. Let’s assume I go crazy with demos, spending the whole day playing, constantly looking for people interested in the game—I’ll probably do about 6 presentations in eight hours. If I’m lucky, each demo will have four players. With some good luck, I might get to play with around twenty people in Imperial Miners each day.
Flying across the ocean, traveling 5000 miles just for that? Doesn’t make sense.
And yet, I’m going.
And yet, I’m going because historically, always, and I mean always, the demos of my games at conventions have been worth every trip. Even though traveling 5000 miles to showcase a game to a few people sounds like madness, I know that each of those individuals is crucial for Imperial Miners and its success.
Some of these people have accounts on BoardGameGeek (BGG) and will rate Imperial Miners in the BGG ranking, which is incredibly helpful, especially in the early stages of promoting the game.
Some of these people use Twitter and will post about playing and being thrilled, and that information will reach hundreds of their followers.
Some of these people will jump on Facebook, take a selfie with the game box, and write that they played and had a great time.
Some of these people won’t be camera shy and will say a few nice words about the gameplay on camera—I’ll have my marketing team put together a nice video from that, which we’ll publish on our YouTube channel.
Some of these people may run a blog, a vlog, or have a podcast or a TikTok account, and in an instant, they’ll expose Imperial Miners to hundreds of their fans.
Some of these people…
***
We live in the age of social media, an era where one person with internet access can create a wave of positive or negative buzz, a time when one fan can cover all the game groups on Facebook and reach thousands of players with their post. We live in a time when one person can make a difference.
Playing my games has always proven to be the best and most effective form of game promotion—going out to the fans, giving them the game to play, and watching how much fun they have. As word spreads slowly, game after game, demo after demo, that the new Portal game is good, interesting, worth a try. In the era of social media, when that one word can turn viral, when one gameplay report can take over the entire board gaming Facebook, these demos make even more sense. Play, play, and play more, and wait for the buzz about the game to spread.
Of course, for all of this to succeed, I need a damn good game in my backpack; otherwise, the whole plan is pointless.
Luckily, that’s one thing I’m not worried about. Imperial Miners is a damn cool card game. Keep an eye out for the buzz about it.
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“What are the points for in the end?” she asked after I finished reading the rules.
„I don’t know,” I replied, „I haven’t read that part.”
Blasphemy? Madness? Idiocy? Perhaps. Or it’s a worthwhile consideration, a topic worth exploring? Just take a look for yourselves. How many times have you said it’s just the first game, that you’re playing without any pressure, that you’re only getting to know the game, that it’s all chill and cool? But then, in the end, you start counting the points. Suddenly, Krzysiek has 117, Wojtek has 104, and you have 32. And it’s supposed to be chill and cool, but those 32 points sting. It’s the first game, you’re still learning, but these 32 points feel bad anyway.
After all, the first game is about exploration. It’s about understanding the game’s mechanics, searching for synergies, and trying to uncover all those little gears and hidden wheels that drive the entire mechanism. You move in a certain direction, tinker with something, and enjoy the sandbox where you build your little castle, having a great time. But then, boom, the game ends, and you’ve utterly failed with just 32 points, a resounding defeat. It was fun, but now it’s not.
So, what if, in the first game, we play without checking End Scoring Points? Not knowing the VP rules will make it totally random – it'll turn ou that some of you’ll score high, and some of you’ll score zero. So what? What if we genuinely didn’t read that part of the rulebook? What if we freed ourselves from these constraints and simply explored the game? Exploring the mechanisms, enjoying a new game, and utilizing all those diverse actions not because they yield End Scoring Bonus and Victory Points but because they intrigue us, because we want to understand them, and because we are eager to try them.
Blasphemy? Madness? Idiocy? Perhaps. But the dialogue at the beginning of the article truly happened. I genuinely didn’t read the section describing the End Scoring. I genuinely explored the game for the joy of it, not for the VP. And truly, it was a freaking amazing experience.
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The most important is the last base, and I would very much like to be there already, to check it off, and breathe a sigh of relief, but it’s not that easy. It’s a long, many months process and a lot of bases to run to. It all starts with the prototype.
You get a prototype, it’s awesome, and you’re as fired up as Stannis’s fleet because you’ve just got your hands on a project that will turn into an awesome board game. You play it at the company’s offices, then with a few friendly focus groups, it’s good, everyone congratulates you on your luck, that someone sent you a really cool game. That’s base number one.
Then the development team sits down for some fun, they tinker a bit with the rules, balance things a bit, commission illustrations, commission the entire layout, and debate with the production department about what individual components should look like, how many cards, what tokens, what wooden pieces, whether figures – several months later you have the pnp sample on your desk. The graphics designers gave it their all, the prototype, this ugly duckling from Andersen’s fairy tale, has turned into a totally awesome swan. Base number two was captured.
A few weeks later, you receive a sample from the printer. Boom, the box lands on the table, a digital print, not yet final, but as close to final as possible. You look at it from all sides, touch it and see that it’s amazing, that you didn’t expect it to come out this well. The box is packed with components to the max, the graphics on the cards came out insane, the crystals look like real ones, and the wooden carts add a nice touch to the whole thing. At this moment, you start to believe. At that moment, you raise your head a bit and allow yourself a quiet, borderline whisper: „Damn, this might be a hit.” Base number three captured.
And finally, it’s time to leave the bubble, go outside, and brutally confront the opinions of someone from the outside. Time for the first closed demos for the press and media. Intimate meetings, face to face, you present the game and then talk about the game, try to assess whether and how much they liked it. Last weekend, during the UK Games Expo, I captured base number four. All Friday and Saturday, I played with reviewers at secret demos of Imperial Miners. Conclusions? They really liked it. The feedback I received was super positive. Base number four is the moment when you allow yourself to be hopeful. It’s not confidence yet, you’ll never be certain about the success, but you can hope, you can add one to one, add the fact that the prototype was great in the first place, that dev did a great job, that the production department produced it in the form of a beautiful box and finally, that the first reviewers really had smiles on their faces with each following round of the game.
What’s ahead of me? Base five, which is open demos at conventions – the closest at the Dice Tower East. Then base six, which is shipping review copies. Base seven, which is shipping copies ordered by our fans as part of the pre-order campaign. Base eight, a pre-release at Essen in the first days of October. Base nine, a premiere in stores, ratings on BGG, fans playing in every corner of the globe, and the dream base, base number ten – a reprint if the game is successful!
I’m not even halfway there yet, I’m at base four. I’m not confident yet. But I really am hopeful.
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