Fields of Arle Solo Challenge
We’re trying to organize a shared gaming experience with my favorite game of the moment, Fields of Arle. If you’ve come to check it out or participate, please head here.
Read more "Fields of Arle Solo Challenge"Author: J Thomas Lowell
The Problem With Ideas
I love ideas. Ideas have potential — unfulfilled possibility. Ideas are applied imagination. Ideas are my fuel. I spend a lot of my in-between time thinking about games. And mostly about creating games — trying to invent novel ones and/or ones I would love to play. Games provide the sandbox for my imagination. Mechanics and […]
Read more "The Problem With Ideas"The Game Theory of Games
I’ve been witnessing a Twitter Battle play out over weeks, days, and now over the course of minutes. The subject is Machi Koro. The debate is about whether Machi Koro is fun (or even a game). I boil it down to two perspectives: 1. There are lots of ways to play and win 2. There […]
Read more "The Game Theory of Games"The Problem With Deck Builders
I played Legendary solo last night. It was my first time playing the game. I was excited about how different hero and villain superpowers would be expressed via the card mechanics. However, like many deck builders I’ve played, it was more of the same. You can break most cards down into: The cost to acquire […]
Read more "The Problem With Deck Builders"Mancala Worker Placement
The worker “earn” mechanic is what attracted me to Five Tribes (and also a Days of Wonder + Bruno Cathala production). The idea of the cause and effect of player actions across turns should provide a fertile ground for emergent strategies. Said another way — looked like a good engine for fun. I like to provide […]
Read more "Mancala Worker Placement"Evaluating A Tabletop Game
I went on a game buying spree recently. I focused on games that could be played one player. I’m researching various game mechanics around creature AI and dynamic boards/environments. My starting list was based off the most interesting links Ricky Royal described in his video series here. By buying 10 or more games at once […]
Read more "Evaluating A Tabletop Game"Mage Wars – Initial Newbie Reactions
One of the criticisms of the Mage Wars is the steep (and long) learning curve (and consequently, the difficulty to find opponents). I’m dealing with that by playing the game via Skype with my best gaming friend who lives a time zone away. We’ve played 3 games now – none of them coming down to a […]
Read more "Mage Wars – Initial Newbie Reactions"The Future of Gaming via the Apple Watch
Apple featured gaming as a key part of the iPhone 6 (and Plus) but didn’t really mention it, that I saw, when presenting the Watch. There’s a hint at new forms of interpersonal communication – like the send a drawing and heartbeat functions. But what about the notion of “glance games?” By the way, the […]
Read more "The Future of Gaming via the Apple Watch"A Better Version of Monopoly
I added a new “game in production” to my development pipeline. My 2nd grade daughter is now requesting Monopoly as her default game to play. We’ve included games for her birthday and Christmas presents every year past 3 years old. I want to expose her to all sorts of mechanics and themes. But that hasn’t […]
Read more "A Better Version of Monopoly"Ricky Royal and Box of Delights
I was prepared to post on solo games and ended up watching over an hour of Ricky Royal videos at Box of Delights. After watching his top 30 solo series I went on to the first 2 episodes of his solo Mage Knight walkthrough. While there are many game walkthrough/tabletop podcasts out there — I’ve […]
Read more "Ricky Royal and Box of Delights"
The Piquer 