Saturday, October 06, 2007

Tom Reviews My Game

Tom Vasel reviews my game It's Alive.

... the game is a fast little auction game that plays easily. Players have quick, simple choices to make, keeping the game moving at a nice clip. Nice components, two different styles of play, and an auction mechanic that isn't too terribly brain burning keep It's Alive fresh and invigorating.

Want to see some nice quotes from people who have played my game?

Larry Levy: Yehuda has created a nice little game that gives the players things to think about while being amused by the not-so-pasted-on theme that publisher Jackson Pope came up with. Any time a game can be described as Knizia-like, you know it’s a sign of a talented designer.

David Wrigley: All in all a great game - and works really well right up to 5 - everyone said they had a really good time playing it.

Ben Kirman: Extremely strong game - the ~15 minute length means it is really easy to get to the table, and everyone enjoys the theme.

Andy B: Quick and easy to learn. Light enough to be a gateway auction game, but with some interesting tactical decisions.

Peter Johnston: Lovely little game appealing to non-gamers.

Johan L: We have played eight times now (all two-player) and really like it, so get it while you can.

Richard Tyson: Excellent, fast paced, funny, filler.

Dave J: This game is just brilliant when with a good group of friends.

Jeffrey Babb: I played this at a blind play-test last night and was thoroughly impressed.

Chris H: Takes a little while to get your head round the unusual buying/selling mechanic but, once you do, it is a surprisingly deep game for something based on simple set collection.

Matthew Lucas: ... a fun game with a lot of opportunity for puns.

Koert Debyser: Excellent set collection and auction game with an original theme and fitting art work. A lovely game with simple rules and fast play.

Steve Kearon: Fun game, easy to explain, nice gruesome artwork.

Luke Morris: Great light fun.

Greg Schloesser: It’s Alive is a fun, fast game.

You can still buy It's Alive. About 100 copies or so left.

My Gaming

I forgot to mention a game of Tichu I played on Sukkot evening with my daughter Tal, Nadine's daughter and her boyfriend. Tal requested the game. Tichu is a light ladder card game made interesting by partnerships and four special cards. We taught Nadine's daughter and her boyfriend and they were up to speed in around two rounds.

Friday evening my non-gamer friends actually insisted that we play Apples to Apples after dinner at their house. Other guests were also roped into the game, which was a very funny one. A good crowd makes or breaks a party game.

Game News

Tomorrow (Sunday) evening, Beyond Monopoly in York will be taking its game group to the National Railway museum and playing a lot of train games.

Star Citadel has a neat post up on selecting new games to try based on the old games you once liked.

Here's a Newsweek article about the spread of Chess in Africa.

Yehuda

4 comments:

Chris said...

How about sharing some pictures of the pieces? I can only find images of the box. :)

Also: I'd be interested in knowing how you sourced a publisher for this game, since despite having made literally dozens of boardgames, I have never pursued one to publication. I plan to change that in the next few years, though, so I'd be interested in knowing how this came about for you.

Best wishes!

Yehuda Berlinger said...

Chris,

You can see pictures on BGG's entry for the game:

http://boardgamegeek.com/game/28396

As far as getting published, obviously you have to have a playable game. But assuming that you do, my way was to start a blog and have one of my readers publish the game. :-)

Alternatively, go to cons and meet important publishers, designers, and reviewers. Our niche is small enough that the key players of the industry are all nice and accessible. Pitch them the game. Nothing beats networking. That's how I first created buzz for the prototype of the game.

You can also try going to trade shows or other special events where you can talk to developers, such as the upcoming Chi-Tag.

Or you can try some of the services that will mockup and show your game for you, such as Discover Games.

Yehuda

Anonymous said...

Is your game available with its original menorah theme? It'd be nice to have for my shomer Shabbat gaming group in Washington, DC.

Yehuda Berlinger said...

Dave,

Actually, I do have some of my original Menorah prototypes left over for sale, but please note that the quality of these are rather poor, as they were made simply from heavy cardstock for demonstration purposes. Still, they're playable.

But if you want one, email me for details.

Yehuda