For my birthday the eldest daughter and her husband came to see us at the weekend. My son-in-law loves boards games even more than I do, and as I think "Spartans and Successors" is as close to a board game as I've got with these designs yet* I got him to play a game.
He has passing knowledge of Hellenistic Warfare, but has never wargamed, so it was a useful test.
The play test was really helpful, and the rules have been tightened up considerably and a few changes made. A revised version has been produced and went out to play testers today. Hopefully this will be out in print in about a fortnight, and will debut at the Society of Ancients Conference at the end of October.
Mind you, no doubt everyone will be wanting to play "Infamy, Infamy", so I expect I'll have very few takers for games. You've got to try though, haven't you?
*Martin Wallace thought so. His only take was that rather than using playing cards I should make bespoke cards that I could sell.
Wise words from young Mr. Wallace! He was never a man to see a good way to make money … and not to use it! Hence his success as a well respected game designer.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, a bespoke series of cards is a good commercial proposition if you can find a way of producing them at a reasonable price.
All the best,
Bob
"At a reasonable price" is the problem. The production run and sunk cost is high to make them affordable. I simply don't sell enough sets of rules.
DeleteYet.
Good way to spend a birthday. Happy birthday!
ReplyDeleteIt sure was (actually my birthday is today, so we stretched it to a birthweekendday. Because I'm worth it.
DeleteWe have bespoke cards for Test of Resolve - available in simplified form as a free PDF with more upmarket ones being for sale. I don't know why but for some reason I really don't like using ordinary playing cards in a wargame. It would actually put me off buying the rules! The downside of getting cards printed is that you need a reasonably big run to bring the unit cost down so take the risk of being left with a pile of unsold ones
ReplyDeleteI have come across this aversion to playing cards before, and I just don't get it. A standard deck has so many ways of dividing them up, by number, by suit, by colour, by hierarchy, court v numbers, jokers, Ace high or low, etc. They are affordable, they smooth randomness and the don't roll on the floor. Bespoke decks are ,as you say, not cheap.
DeleteJust one of those inexplicable things. I offer no defence it is just how I feel about them
DeleteAh well. You are clearly in need of some therapy after a hideous childhood incident you have blocked from your memory. Hopefully you'll come round, as the command and control system in "For Whom the Dice Rolls" is rather elegant. Of course for that you could buy Spanish playing cards, which would look like you had a bespoke deck, even tho you didn't.
DeleteWhat a spiffing idea. A Spanish card deck and then 2 armies to play with!
DeleteYou'll need to work out what suits are black and red, as that isn't a Spanish concept. Swords and Clubs are normally thought of as black, Coins and Cups as Red.
DeletePeople with an aversion to cards could use these?
ReplyDeletehttps://warbases.co.uk/product/playing-card-tokens/
Simon
Yes. They would work.
Delete