Dungeon Twister 2: Prison

So I have some juicy tidbits today - Chris gave me a bit of information on Dungeon Twister 2: Prison. And, more importantly, permission to share that information.

So let's start with confirming the information that is already public:

1) The game will include miniatures rather than cardboard standups.
2) The game will include solitaire play in addition to the two-player mode.
3) There will be three "repeat" characters as well as five all-new characters.
4) The game will be backwards-compatible with existing products.
5) One goal is simultaneous releases in English, French, and German.
6) The rules are not changing - they are being clarified and will be re-worded.
7) New publisher: Ludically. This will be their first product. Asmodee will continue distribution.

So what new information do I have?

1) The terrain on the new board will be that from the existing Base Set + 1 new terrain type. The current name is "loopholes," but that is subject to change.
2) The game will include more than eighty cards, due to solo play and how it works. In fact, the company doing the video game (Hydravision) is basing the AI (in part) on the game's solo opponent.
3) On the subject of cards, they will have new art and will be standard size rather than the smaller size they currently are.
4) Solo play includes six levels of difficulty and a special "Auto-revealing" mode that can be combined with any of them. It also adds a random mode of play. There will be scenarios on the web for it, and if there is room in the rulebook, some will be included there.
5) New characters include the Colossus and the "Human-Snake." The Human-Snake can move through the loopholes I mentioned earlier.
6) Returning characters are the Cleric, the Mechanork, and the Wizard.
7) As mentioned, the rules will be clarified. There will also be some introductory scenarios to help teach new players how to play.
8) Future Plans: An expansion every three to four months, sales permitting. Each expansion will be two characters (four miniatures) and one or two pairs of rooms. Sales permitting, of course.
9) Target release date: September of 2009. He didn't say anything about it, but I hope to have (or have seen) a copy by GenCon.

What about the sets that aren't out in English, yet?

Chris had some info, but I can't share it yet. I will say that stock in France is down to zero, so if you want it, order it now from someone who has it in stock. Geoman uploaded some excellent translations of these sets on BoardGameGeek, and I'm willing to help with questions if you have them. The future of these sets in English depends on the sales of the new base set.

The same goes for the "Ultimate 3/4" set.

I'm not saying "give up hope of seeing these items, characters, and rooms in English," so don't interpret it that way. :)

Dungeon Twister: New Base Set?

For several months, now, this thread on BoardGameGeek has been sporadically active.

This morning (or late last night), Christophe Boelinger spoke up and filled us in (my analysis follows):

Hello Guys,

Just to assure you all and erase any worries :
- There is no reboot
- There is a new future expansion simultaneaously in french / Enlish / german
- No rules changes (I hate that). The rules work perfectly, why should we change these. I'm not Games Workshop publishing a new version of my game every two year and changing a few rules each time.
- Just new rules for the new characters, of course
- This expansion is also a fully stand alone game
- Including minis
- Including a tutorial to easilly teach new players
- Including the solo version
- 100% fully compatible with everything already printed in the past
- Including 85% of new material never printed (this is specially for the old and original gamers)
- True : Only 3 major characters are taken from the original basic set, but 5 new characters, 8 new rooms, new objects, all equipment for solo version, etc...

So where's the reboot ????

The objective is to have the original hardcore players happy with a lot of new material and a full compatibility, and to give the possibility to newcomers to play with only this box, and also play single, and with minis.

And also the first scenario of the tutorial takes 5 minutes to explain, between 10-15 minutes to play. So it's perfect to teach a 6 years old kid, or wives (who don't like harcore games for example), or anybody who wanna learn or discover the game quick and fast. In gaming conventions, gaming club or anywhere !

So the rules won't change a bit, the way they are brought to the player will just differ a bit, and allow you to inntroduce anybody, up to your gran'ma, to your hobby...

That's what should come in 2009.

I surely hope I erased all your fears.

Happy Twist

Ludically,

Chris Boelinger

Did I say my analysis follows? Oops. I provided my analysis earlier in the thread. And, as it happens, I was mostly right. With one significant exception: Chris is describing this as being an expansion, rather than a new base set. A standalone expansion, it's true, but an expansion nevertheless.

I've already received requests for the solitaire rules. I'd like to make this very clear:

I don't have them. If I do receive them before the game is published, I can't share them with you unless I have the explicit permission of both Chris and the publisher, as both of them trust me and I have no desire to lose that trust.

... and that's all I have to say this morning.

Writing For Pay - Interview is Now Up

As I'd mentioned previously, I was interviewed for Writing For Pay.

The interview is now up, as are The Show Notes.

Here are MY show notes (and clarifications):
1:20 - Wow. Do I really sound like that? Admittedly, I did have a cold at the time ...
2:04 - I chose a bad example in a few seconds here. The "Frequency" vs. "Availability" is not the best example I had. I just froze. "Scenery" vs. "Terrain" would have been a much better example. Also: "English games" should be "English-language games."
3:30 - I reference BGG.CON as being "a large convention" here. It's not large, but it is fairly influential. And I do want to go at some point. Very badly.
4:30 - I mention that the translation was "in-house," - I realized after the interview that, while some of it was in-house, not all of it was. Oops.
4:50 - Their translations have improved dramatically: Very true. They have a new group of translators who are also gamers, as well as being really neat people. I feel lucky that they still want my help. I love working with these guys.
5:27 - Wooly Bully was the first game to leap to mind. The translation for Wooly Bully is quite good. I could have chosen a better example.
5:40 - It's true. Some of their translators were non-gamers. I was shocked the first time I heard this. Their current translators are gamers.
5:55 - I believe this strongly: If it's a game product, involve gamers. By all means, run it past a non-gamer or two to check for clarity, but make sure you're not alienating gamers.
6:40 - Publishers bringing across European games include Asmodee, Rio Grande Games, and Z-Man games. There are (of couse) others.
7:35 - I love reading French games. I have a stack of French RPG books like you wouldn't believe. They were a gift from Christophe Arnoult after my first Origins. I'm still puzzling through them and considering running a game of C.O.P.S.
8:10 - Yep. Hell Dorado. I'm not comfortable discussing it too much, but I can acknowledge that I'm working on it. The official forums are here.
8:40 - It's the Thirty Years' War. I can't belive I blanked on this. And yes, it was the 1600's, not the 1500's.
9:20 - "We realized," meaning ... um ... I'm not sure. Although, in Hell Dorado, the Thirty Years' War is (if I recall correctly) paused. The "Westerners" faction includes both Catholics and Protestants.
9:50 - Items, Objects, Tokens, Markers, and Counters. Any errors on these in Dungeon Twister are my fault. Something I learned the hard way.
10:50 - I love the fact that I'm comfortable enough to contact Christophe Boelinger directly to ask for help. I was pretty incoherent the first time I met him. He put me at ease pretty quickly. I got an e-mail from Bruno Faidutti, once, and was incoherent for days.
11:20 - Werewolves of Miller's Hollow: New Moon is in Customs right now.
11:50 - We went back and forth and back and forth and wound up directly contacting the designer to find out what happens with the card in question. And then we figured out how to phrase it so as to avoid confusion.
12:30 - It's true: I'd love to help anyone with their games.
13:01 - Talking Game is a successful gaming blog. I'm just not all that influential. Yet. I'd love to have Tom Vasel's readership/listenership.

Prototypes

There is something magical about holding a prototype game in your hands.

Christophe Boelinger sent a couple of prototypes back with me after GenCon a few years ago, to see if my group would like them and provide feedback.

Last week, I received another prototype to try - this one from Asmodee. The game is going into production in France, and they wanted to know if it would appeal to the American audience.

The difference between this prototype and the ones from Christophe was that this one is already going into production in French. It's a prototype that was accepted, and will be available in its finished form at Essen.

I tested it with three different groups - one group provided more than three pages of feedback notes.

I learned a lot about game testing.

It was interesting to see how many people were uncomfortable with providing any negative feedback, even though I told them repeatedly that I wanted honest opinions, especially if they were negative. I also made sure that they knew I had no emotional investment in this game - it was all about seeing if they liked it and noting any suggestions.

When my games are ready, I'll be testing the games with the same three groups. All three had different comments - there was some overlap, but every group had different focus points.

If you played the game in question, thank you. If you didn't and would like to, I'll be bringing it to my regular game nights for a bit longer.