A lot has happened since I last blogged.
ALL or NOTHING has gone live on Amazon. You can get your own copy anytime. Click here to order All or Nothing at Amazon.
I've also published a book, my third. Serum is a political thriller, and if you like that type of thing this book is a pretty good romp I'm told. Check it out. Strong language, sexual content, and graphic violence might deter you if that sort of thing slows you down. I wrote it, so consider yourself warned. Compared to a lot of stuff in today's market, it's probably not even provocative to some people.
Winter is almost over, and personally I'm looking forward to spending some time in the mountains. If my wife goes with me, we'll hang out, do the wilderness couple thing, and talk about the future games we'd like our corporation to make.
That's the update. It's been a busy month with kids and family, but overall a good one.
I hope you all have a nice safe April Fool's Day. Don't fall for anything.
- Damon
Friday, April 1, 2016
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Coming soon!
The ALL or NOTHING front page.
The (hopefully) final proofs have been sent to the publishers. Two proof decks have been ordered, and will be on their way soon, in my hands within a week or two. If those pass muster, the first large deck order will be placed, and the game will be officially released! Yay!
My wife is in the process of setting up an Amazon seller account, the plan at this time is to put decks into the hands of Amazon so they can sell them for us with their giant marketing machine. Every dime earned from sales will go into stocking the Amazon warehouse with sufficient product to meet demand.
Things to expect to see here:
So keep checking in!
Damon
Click here for the score sheet.
Click here for the rules.
The (hopefully) final proofs have been sent to the publishers. Two proof decks have been ordered, and will be on their way soon, in my hands within a week or two. If those pass muster, the first large deck order will be placed, and the game will be officially released! Yay!
My wife is in the process of setting up an Amazon seller account, the plan at this time is to put decks into the hands of Amazon so they can sell them for us with their giant marketing machine. Every dime earned from sales will go into stocking the Amazon warehouse with sufficient product to meet demand.
Things to expect to see here:
- A few different types of score sheets for different numbers of players and for team play. Don't expect this tomorrow, but it will eventually happen.
- A PDF of optional rules from the devs, and a PDF conglomeration of the best (as judged by us) player submitted optional rules.
- Links to buy pre-printed score sheet pads, for those who don't have a printer available.
- Once written, an Amazon link will be here for a strategy guide. Crush your opponent!
- If sales are high, more ALL or NOTHING products.
So keep checking in!
Damon
 |
| The newly designed card back |
Click here for the score sheet.
Click here for the rules.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
All or Nothing Cards, Inc.
Officially, as of January 1, we are now All or Nothing Cards, Inc.
That is how much confidence we have in the game, spending money to incorporate. It's an extremely interesting process, but not one that I particularly wanted to know in detail, so we hired our accountant to set it up for us. Let's just say we're satisfied and feel we got our money's worth. I'd post a reference for him, but I don't have his permission so won't. Let me know if you need a good accountant in Colorado Springs and I'll send you his way.
We also got our UPC code for the ALL or NOTHING card game. It will be on the next set of prototype cards to come to our door, and if that looks good, on the production run.
So things are moving along although you wouldn't know that by looking at our blog.
Lots of good news for the ALL or NOTHING game. But there is also other news on the game front. The design process is under way for our second game, which at this time is titled Swap Out. Here is a copy of the preliminary logo/card back for that game. Swap Out is a game of partners, so you and your spouse/BFF/BF-GF can work as a team to take down those evil Jones's together. The Jones's being your other BFFs or the neighbors. Or grandma. :)
As always, thanks for stopping by. When I order the production run for ALL or NOTHING, you'll find out first here.
- Damon
That is how much confidence we have in the game, spending money to incorporate. It's an extremely interesting process, but not one that I particularly wanted to know in detail, so we hired our accountant to set it up for us. Let's just say we're satisfied and feel we got our money's worth. I'd post a reference for him, but I don't have his permission so won't. Let me know if you need a good accountant in Colorado Springs and I'll send you his way.
We also got our UPC code for the ALL or NOTHING card game. It will be on the next set of prototype cards to come to our door, and if that looks good, on the production run.
So things are moving along although you wouldn't know that by looking at our blog.
Lots of good news for the ALL or NOTHING game. But there is also other news on the game front. The design process is under way for our second game, which at this time is titled Swap Out. Here is a copy of the preliminary logo/card back for that game. Swap Out is a game of partners, so you and your spouse/BFF/BF-GF can work as a team to take down those evil Jones's together. The Jones's being your other BFFs or the neighbors. Or grandma. :)
- Damon
Cards, cards, and more cards.
It turns out that the only way to know if your cards look good or not is to order some.
So we did. And guess what? The first test run of two decks looked pretty good. The cards were awesome quality, the print was spot on, and the design really popped.
Then I, being who I am, lost the original file that I uploaded to the printer. And, in recreating it, slightly changed the image file size of the card fronts. It was a fairly laughable result, as it looks like the numbers are trying to flee the cards by leaping from the edges.
Sooooo, back to the drawing board. I reloaded Scribus, software I have grown to loathe nearly as much as root canals, and recreated the entire 48 card deck and 3 additional cards.
That product shipped to us earlier this week, and hopefully will be in our mailbox today. If not today, Monday.
Once that product passes muster (please, please, please) we'll order our first 300 decks for distribution via local stores and on Amazon.
I am a firm believer that the patience of our friends and those who want a copy of this game will be rewarded with an amazing looking deck of cards, a deck that is both durable and pleasant to use, and one that is high quality to last a long time in your card playing hands.
I can't wait to get past these last few days of the design stages and into production.
- Damon
So we did. And guess what? The first test run of two decks looked pretty good. The cards were awesome quality, the print was spot on, and the design really popped.
Then I, being who I am, lost the original file that I uploaded to the printer. And, in recreating it, slightly changed the image file size of the card fronts. It was a fairly laughable result, as it looks like the numbers are trying to flee the cards by leaping from the edges.
Sooooo, back to the drawing board. I reloaded Scribus, software I have grown to loathe nearly as much as root canals, and recreated the entire 48 card deck and 3 additional cards.
That product shipped to us earlier this week, and hopefully will be in our mailbox today. If not today, Monday.
Once that product passes muster (please, please, please) we'll order our first 300 decks for distribution via local stores and on Amazon.
I am a firm believer that the patience of our friends and those who want a copy of this game will be rewarded with an amazing looking deck of cards, a deck that is both durable and pleasant to use, and one that is high quality to last a long time in your card playing hands.
I can't wait to get past these last few days of the design stages and into production.
- Damon
Monday, September 28, 2015
We Have The Videos!
We shot a bunch of footage at a local studio of game play and such that we thought we might use as part of a possible Kickstarter campaign. Below are links to a few of the edited videos. Enjoy!
All or Nothing Promo
All or Nothing Tutorial 1
All or Nothing Tutorial 2
All or Nothing Blooper Reel
All or Nothing Promo
All or Nothing Tutorial 1
All or Nothing Tutorial 2
All or Nothing Blooper Reel
Monday, July 20, 2015
The Rules
What follows are the rules of play for All or Nothing, a trick taking card game for people, young or old, in all walks and stages of life, who truly enjoy card games, camaraderie and friendly competition.
How to Play:
For 3 to 6 players. With 3 or 4 players, deal each player 10 cards. With 5 or 6 players, deal each player 8 cards. There will be cards left over with anything other than 6 players. Place those aside for the next dealer.
Players start with 100 points, the goal is to get to 0 points or to have the lowest score at the end of 10 hands.
The player to the left of the dealer bids first, then clockwise around the table. Bidding is simple: you bid All to take all of the tricks, or Nothing to take none of the tricks. The scorekeeper notes the bid on the provided score sheet.
Play Sequence:
The first player that bid is first to lead. That player plays any card from their hand. If the player is attempting to take all of the tricks, that card will likely be high. If that player bid Nothing, then that card will likely be low. Play continues clockwise, following the suit of the first suited card played, unless an A or N card is played These ALL or NOTHING cards (shown in second photo below) may be played at any time.
The ALL or NOTHING cards are special, and will be described in full below under card hierarchy. What's important now is that the highest card of the lead suit takes the trick. The person who took the trick leads next. This process is continued until all cards in the players hand are played, one per trick, completing that hand.
Scoring:
If a player bid NOTHING and took no tricks, that player gets 20 points subtracted from their score. For example, if you had a score of 100 and successfully bid NOTHING in hand 1, your score would then be 80. If a player bids ALL and takes every trick, that player gets 100 points subtracted from their score. If that player had 100 points or less at the start of the hand and reaches a score of 0, that player immediately wins the game.
If a player fails to make their bid, either ALL or NOTHING, they get 10 points added to their score for each trick they missed their bid by. So if you bid all and two tricks were taken by other players, you'd get 20 points added to your score. If you bid NOTHING and took 1 trick, you'd gain 10 points to your score. That is not how you win, for the record.
Card Hierarchy:
There are 48 cards in the ALL or NOTHING deck: 40 numbered cards, and 4 each of the ALL and NOTHING cards.
Cards come numbered 1 thru 10, in 4 suits. Larger numbers beat smaller numbers. Players must follow suit with the following exceptions:
- They play an ALL card from their hand.
- They play a NOTHING card from their hand.
- They play a FLIP card (that's a new one! More in a second.) from their hand.
- They have none of the suit led, and then may play any card they choose.
ALL cards start out high; the first one played is the highest unless it is FLIPPED.
NOTHING cards start out low; the first one played being higher than subsequent NOTHINGs, unless one of them is FLIPPED, in which case the FLIPPED one becomes highest.
FLIPPING:
You will notice some cards have yellow suits below the numbers instead of black or white. These are FLIP cards. They FLIP the associated ALL or NOTHING card to the opposite state. For example, the 1 of Spades (or 9 of clubs) will FLIP the NOTHING card (second photo below) to an ALL card. A 2 of Hearts (or 10 of diamonds) will FLIP the ALL card in that photo to a NOTHING. Notice there are 2 cards shown on each ALL or NOTHING. If the other FLIP card is played (the 9 of Clubs and 10 of Diamonds in these examples) the card will FLIP AGAIN to its original state. So if the 1 of Spades is played, the NOTHING becomes an ALL; it becomes a NOTHING again if the 9 of clubs is played.
Trust me, you want to pay attention to when FLIP cards are played if you have ALL or NOTHING cards in your hand. This is key to successfully making your bids.
That's it! Later you will be able to find optional play rules on www.allornothingcards.com that will provide for team play, harder bidding, and increased level of havoc. That's what this game is all about.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Welcome Reviewers!
Welcome Reviewers,
All or Nothing is a fast-paced, trick-taking game with many twists and turns. The 48-card game of four suits is appropriate for 3-6 players, singly or in teams, ages 8-108.
We are reaching out to avid gamers and game reviewers for their valuable feedback and support.
For insight into All or Nothing game play read the following blog entries (click below):
Please leave your contact information if you would like us to contact you when All or Nothing is available for purchase. We appreciate the time you have taken to visit the All or Nothing website.
With kind regards,
Debby and the rest of the team, Damon, Shannon and Jeff
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Cars and Cards
One letter different, but worlds of frustration apart.
I love cards. I love the concept, the interplay of the rules, and the gatherings in friendship that cards creates.
I love cars too! The fun of acceleration, the concentration in a hard corner, the sound of the engine, the smells of petroleum derivatives. I love everything about them. Except the $$$ involved.
My favorite car is sitting in my garage, taunting me with the lack of a water pump. This is no American car, with the $100 repair that a bad water pump would be on Chevy small block. This is a German car. And because of that, you can add a ZERO to pretty much any repair it seems. $984 to put a new water pump on my car.
I was scheduled for Monday to get it repaired. I cancelled that appointment. Why? Because I have cards. I have cards to play, I have cards to Kickstart, and I have a commitment to my friends to get this game out the door. That money, it seems to me at this point, is far better spent on cards than cars.
So thank you, cards, for giving me an alternative. Thank you for giving me something that is mostly joy with only occasional moments of frustration, as opposed to joy followed by a grinding noise then continuous frustration.
Thank you cards.
I love cards. I love the concept, the interplay of the rules, and the gatherings in friendship that cards creates.
I love cars too! The fun of acceleration, the concentration in a hard corner, the sound of the engine, the smells of petroleum derivatives. I love everything about them. Except the $$$ involved.
My favorite car is sitting in my garage, taunting me with the lack of a water pump. This is no American car, with the $100 repair that a bad water pump would be on Chevy small block. This is a German car. And because of that, you can add a ZERO to pretty much any repair it seems. $984 to put a new water pump on my car.
I was scheduled for Monday to get it repaired. I cancelled that appointment. Why? Because I have cards. I have cards to play, I have cards to Kickstart, and I have a commitment to my friends to get this game out the door. That money, it seems to me at this point, is far better spent on cards than cars.
So thank you, cards, for giving me an alternative. Thank you for giving me something that is mostly joy with only occasional moments of frustration, as opposed to joy followed by a grinding noise then continuous frustration.
Thank you cards.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Failure
... is something we want to avoid.
Debby sent me a link to a few Kickstarters that didn't make it, specifically card games.
Things we noticed that might have impacted their lack of successs.
1. No video. We think that it's critical that you not only meet the designers, but that you see the card game in action. There will be videos of our game.
2. Lack of information about how the game is played. I suspect the designers of those games didn't want anyone to steal their ideas. That is not something I worry about. As an author I know a bit about copyright laws, and the fact is that as soon as you create original content, whether it's graphical or textual, it's protected by law. Our game will not be stolen, so you can bet we'll share with you how it works. Could someone come close to copying it? Sure, and you'll never stop that sort of thing. But we trust you, the consumer, to reward us for our efforts with your good faith.
3. No content. We want to make sure you have plenty of options as the Kickstarter becomes more successful.
Things we will have for you:
We play what we create. We're all demanding and critical people. If we don't like it, you'll never see it. That is our promise.
Debby sent me a link to a few Kickstarters that didn't make it, specifically card games.
Things we noticed that might have impacted their lack of successs.
1. No video. We think that it's critical that you not only meet the designers, but that you see the card game in action. There will be videos of our game.
2. Lack of information about how the game is played. I suspect the designers of those games didn't want anyone to steal their ideas. That is not something I worry about. As an author I know a bit about copyright laws, and the fact is that as soon as you create original content, whether it's graphical or textual, it's protected by law. Our game will not be stolen, so you can bet we'll share with you how it works. Could someone come close to copying it? Sure, and you'll never stop that sort of thing. But we trust you, the consumer, to reward us for our efforts with your good faith.
3. No content. We want to make sure you have plenty of options as the Kickstarter becomes more successful.
Things we will have for you:
- A downloadable .pdf scoresheet
- An app to electronically score your games. We're not sure if this will be free at all levels of funding, but there will be a level at which it's provided to all supporters.
- A website to share ideas, optional rules, ideas for other games. We want to listen to you, our supporters, because our goal is long term success.
We play what we create. We're all demanding and critical people. If we don't like it, you'll never see it. That is our promise.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Script
A script has been written with a short interview for the Kickstarter video. We'll be making more content, but it's a step in the direction and help sets the tone for how we want this game to be seen.
Family friendly. Easily played by kids and parents.
Yet....
Competitive. Also easily played by friends having a few beers and reveling in friendly competition.
I know when we, the developers play, we laugh and take quite a bit of joy in some of the unexpected outcomes, especially if it deprives someone of making an All bid.
Will you like this game? I think you will. It's friendly and competitive at the same time, creating memorable moments of comraderie as well as opportunities to gloat.
Optional rule #117: Take a drink every time an All or Nothing card is flipped.
Family friendly. Easily played by kids and parents.
Yet....
Competitive. Also easily played by friends having a few beers and reveling in friendly competition.
I know when we, the developers play, we laugh and take quite a bit of joy in some of the unexpected outcomes, especially if it deprives someone of making an All bid.
Will you like this game? I think you will. It's friendly and competitive at the same time, creating memorable moments of comraderie as well as opportunities to gloat.
Optional rule #117: Take a drink every time an All or Nothing card is flipped.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Been a while
I haven't posted a recent update because my family moved to a new house. If there is a more abhorrent process in our lives that doesn't involve the collapse of modern civilization, I don't know what it is.
So quit whining and update what's going on with the game?
Okay.
Right now we're working on a script for our kickstarter video. I'm not going to give away any details, but it involves a really cute actress. Nobody famous... or not yet anyway.
The script writing isn't hard, because I'm funny and my daugh... er, the actress is funny too. It should be a blast to do.
We've continued the testing process, taking the game out in public. It's been played at an author convention, a gaming convention... and by a mathematician who loves the game now. That's a good sign. When the math guys love your game, you've closed the holes.
We've started very early testing of our next game, which I'm not at liberty to disclose the name of yet. You'll get more SOON™.
What else... there is a lot of behind the scenes discussion right now on packaging, marketing, and getting this thing ready to fly. We welcome suggestions from the public, and I believe that means you. If you know a good card printer that prints nice black core cards, feel free to speak up for them and help out our project. Same goes if you have any Kickstarter tips. I'd love to see them in the comments below.
Oh, and if you're not familiar with this by now, I'm also an author. My book is on sale for the next week for .99 on Amazon Kindle. Offer ends June 18th.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RY202VO?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
So quit whining and update what's going on with the game?
Okay.
Right now we're working on a script for our kickstarter video. I'm not going to give away any details, but it involves a really cute actress. Nobody famous... or not yet anyway.
The script writing isn't hard, because I'm funny and my daugh... er, the actress is funny too. It should be a blast to do.
We've continued the testing process, taking the game out in public. It's been played at an author convention, a gaming convention... and by a mathematician who loves the game now. That's a good sign. When the math guys love your game, you've closed the holes.
We've started very early testing of our next game, which I'm not at liberty to disclose the name of yet. You'll get more SOON™.
What else... there is a lot of behind the scenes discussion right now on packaging, marketing, and getting this thing ready to fly. We welcome suggestions from the public, and I believe that means you. If you know a good card printer that prints nice black core cards, feel free to speak up for them and help out our project. Same goes if you have any Kickstarter tips. I'd love to see them in the comments below.
Oh, and if you're not familiar with this by now, I'm also an author. My book is on sale for the next week for .99 on Amazon Kindle. Offer ends June 18th.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RY202VO?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Score!!! (Sheet)
There a lots of moving parts in developing anything, even something as simple as a card game. In working towards our Kickstarter launch, we need to get lots of seemingly small pieces going. One of those pieces is the score sheet for the game. While there will be an app to make it easy to keep score, a paper score sheet may fit the bill for some people. Here is a look at the work in progress.
Check out this post to learn how to keep score.
Check out this post to learn how to keep score.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Malcon
I'm working on getting a table at Malcon in Denver to show off the game, and probably host some public playtest sessions there as well.
http://www.malcondenver.com/
If approved for that, I'll be there and maybe some of the rest of the team will as well. Schedules are tight, I can't speak for them yet.
Oh, and my books will be there. If you haven't seen my authorial offerings, please feel free to stop on by my author page on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00RY8332S
Thanks for stopping by to visit! Hopefully it wasn't for nothing, and it was for All or Nothing. ;)
http://www.malcondenver.com/
If approved for that, I'll be there and maybe some of the rest of the team will as well. Schedules are tight, I can't speak for them yet.
Oh, and my books will be there. If you haven't seen my authorial offerings, please feel free to stop on by my author page on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00RY8332S
Thanks for stopping by to visit! Hopefully it wasn't for nothing, and it was for All or Nothing. ;)
Monday, April 6, 2015
Who We Are - Posted by Debby
Any enterprise has a who, what, when, where, why and how. This blog addresses who is behind All or Nothing. We four design team members are Damon, Shannon, Jeff and Debby.
Damon is a fiction writer, artist and science geek. While he follows his own muse, he doesn't find the creative process quite complete until he shares his work with others. To keep a game this fun all to himself would be unthinkable. He has even more cool stuff to share on his Damon Alan author page here.
Shannon is a psychiatric nurse with some serious moxie. When she's not working or studying, raising a family or running errands, this girl just wants to have fun. Anyone out there who has ever worked as hard as she does deserves a little fun too. Go ahead, take your mind off your responsibilities for an hour and take all that stress out on your friends. What happens at the card table stays at the card table.
Jeff develops and launches products. He is a tinkerer and hobbyist who loves games. You can't make money; that's illegal. You have to make stuff you are good at making and then get other people to give you their money for it. He thinks this game is frightening but will let the consumer decide.
Debby is a provider of activities for residents in Long Term and Memory Care. She loves helping people reach their full potential. Playing games is so good for us: social interaction, emotional expression, and exercise for our brains. She also likes well designed products in pretty packages. What could be more self-actualizing than helping create and share a game she enjoys herself?
We four play games together once or twice a week to enjoy friendly competition and camaraderie. We hope that All or Nothing will provide hours of awesome fun for you and yours.
Damon is a fiction writer, artist and science geek. While he follows his own muse, he doesn't find the creative process quite complete until he shares his work with others. To keep a game this fun all to himself would be unthinkable. He has even more cool stuff to share on his Damon Alan author page here.
Shannon is a psychiatric nurse with some serious moxie. When she's not working or studying, raising a family or running errands, this girl just wants to have fun. Anyone out there who has ever worked as hard as she does deserves a little fun too. Go ahead, take your mind off your responsibilities for an hour and take all that stress out on your friends. What happens at the card table stays at the card table.
Jeff develops and launches products. He is a tinkerer and hobbyist who loves games. You can't make money; that's illegal. You have to make stuff you are good at making and then get other people to give you their money for it. He thinks this game is frightening but will let the consumer decide.
Debby is a provider of activities for residents in Long Term and Memory Care. She loves helping people reach their full potential. Playing games is so good for us: social interaction, emotional expression, and exercise for our brains. She also likes well designed products in pretty packages. What could be more self-actualizing than helping create and share a game she enjoys herself?
We four play games together once or twice a week to enjoy friendly competition and camaraderie. We hope that All or Nothing will provide hours of awesome fun for you and yours.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Petrie's Family Games
I went to a game developer forum tonight at Petrie's Family Games here in Colorado Springs.
I have to confess, I wasn't sure what to expect. It had been a while since I'd been to Petrie's and last time I visited they were in a small strip mall near Woodmen and Lexington. Their new store is much larger, with room to play games, more floor space for products, and a friendly and welcoming atmosphere just like before.
Petrie's Family Games
7681 N Union Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
(719) 522-1099
I'd personally like to thank Cameron for enabling my introduction of my kids to HeroClix. I hear a new sucking sound attached to my wallet. Apparently the Night Elf character from World of Thor is "darn near invulnerable" according to my middlest child.
We, my daughters and I, got to playtest some other games too.
A favorite and right up my alley was a game called Stockpile. One of the designers, a young man named Brett Sobol, was there and did a great job of introducing us to the game. I had a chance to pre-order it tonight, but since I'd just sank $50 into HeroClix, I didn't. I probably should have, I think my wife would like it a lot. I know I did.
You can find the details for Stockpile here: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/161614/stockpile
I also played a game called Barnyard Legions designed by Andrew Meredith. It was shown to us tonight by a friend of the designer, and I feel remiss in saying that I do not have that gentleman's name. Barnyard Legions is a family card game, which while it says is ages 13 and up, I think is probably more like 10 and up. The game will be going to Kickstarter soon, and if you're looking for a family game that is quick and fun I recommend it. The artwork and gameplay are excellent.
You can find details on Barnyard Legions here: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/173946/barnyard-legions
Did I take All or Nothing to be playtested by the experts? Of course I did. Cameron was kind enough to say he'd stock it in his store. I'd like to think that was self-serving on his part because he's a marketing genius who knows a future giant in the game world when he sees it. Yes, in fact, I think that must be it. Cameron is a visionary and sees where this is going.
We had six players so we played team play instead of solo, and it was pretty fun. I'd have liked to played it with these guys more. I did get a request to sell a deck tonight from a gentleman named Dustin, but I did what I think was the smart game designer thing. In return for playtesting reports, I gave Dustin a free deck. Hopefully by tonight, Easter evening, his entire family is begging him to get them a copy of the game. ;)
I think playtesting went well. The concept of the game went over well, with one suggestion from Brett Sobol for a rule that I think could certainly be added into the optional rules list once I run it past our design team and it passes muster with them.
What a great evening. I learned a lot, got to play great games, and support a local game store in the process. What can be better than that?
I have to confess, I wasn't sure what to expect. It had been a while since I'd been to Petrie's and last time I visited they were in a small strip mall near Woodmen and Lexington. Their new store is much larger, with room to play games, more floor space for products, and a friendly and welcoming atmosphere just like before.
Petrie's Family Games
7681 N Union Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
(719) 522-1099
I'd personally like to thank Cameron for enabling my introduction of my kids to HeroClix. I hear a new sucking sound attached to my wallet. Apparently the Night Elf character from World of Thor is "darn near invulnerable" according to my middlest child.
We, my daughters and I, got to playtest some other games too.
A favorite and right up my alley was a game called Stockpile. One of the designers, a young man named Brett Sobol, was there and did a great job of introducing us to the game. I had a chance to pre-order it tonight, but since I'd just sank $50 into HeroClix, I didn't. I probably should have, I think my wife would like it a lot. I know I did.
You can find the details for Stockpile here: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/161614/stockpile
I also played a game called Barnyard Legions designed by Andrew Meredith. It was shown to us tonight by a friend of the designer, and I feel remiss in saying that I do not have that gentleman's name. Barnyard Legions is a family card game, which while it says is ages 13 and up, I think is probably more like 10 and up. The game will be going to Kickstarter soon, and if you're looking for a family game that is quick and fun I recommend it. The artwork and gameplay are excellent.
You can find details on Barnyard Legions here: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/173946/barnyard-legions
Did I take All or Nothing to be playtested by the experts? Of course I did. Cameron was kind enough to say he'd stock it in his store. I'd like to think that was self-serving on his part because he's a marketing genius who knows a future giant in the game world when he sees it. Yes, in fact, I think that must be it. Cameron is a visionary and sees where this is going.
We had six players so we played team play instead of solo, and it was pretty fun. I'd have liked to played it with these guys more. I did get a request to sell a deck tonight from a gentleman named Dustin, but I did what I think was the smart game designer thing. In return for playtesting reports, I gave Dustin a free deck. Hopefully by tonight, Easter evening, his entire family is begging him to get them a copy of the game. ;)
I think playtesting went well. The concept of the game went over well, with one suggestion from Brett Sobol for a rule that I think could certainly be added into the optional rules list once I run it past our design team and it passes muster with them.
What a great evening. I learned a lot, got to play great games, and support a local game store in the process. What can be better than that?
Monday, March 30, 2015
Score! - Posted by Debby
Some people keep score, some don't. Shannon does, for cards anyway. A large part of the fun for many card players is the rush that comes with meeting a challenge. The thrill of victory. For a card game to be truly satisfying it needs to deliver on this thrill.
In its first incarnation, ours didn't.
Shannon made our very first All bid, taking every trick in a hand. Damon was thrilled. "That's awesome!" But Shannon didn't feel a rush. Losing 50 points out of 100, when those who made a zero bid lost 20 just wasn't satisfactory. All that work for a mere 30 point advantage.
Let me explain. In All or Nothing every player starts with a score of 100, aiming to lose points each hand to be the first to reach zero and win the game. Players who bid zero tricks and make their bid, will lose 20 points. Five solid zero bids in a row and one wins the game. For every trick a player is off a bid he/she gains 10 points. However, if a player bids all tricks and makes the bid, he/she now loses 100 points. Enough to win the game in the very first hand.
Believe me. That's a rush. It's not easy to win an All bid when your playmates are bent on sabotage. For me it’s well worth the risk. If I find myself with a hand of broken straights I'm all over it.
In its first incarnation, ours didn't.
Shannon made our very first All bid, taking every trick in a hand. Damon was thrilled. "That's awesome!" But Shannon didn't feel a rush. Losing 50 points out of 100, when those who made a zero bid lost 20 just wasn't satisfactory. All that work for a mere 30 point advantage.
Let me explain. In All or Nothing every player starts with a score of 100, aiming to lose points each hand to be the first to reach zero and win the game. Players who bid zero tricks and make their bid, will lose 20 points. Five solid zero bids in a row and one wins the game. For every trick a player is off a bid he/she gains 10 points. However, if a player bids all tricks and makes the bid, he/she now loses 100 points. Enough to win the game in the very first hand.
Believe me. That's a rush. It's not easy to win an All bid when your playmates are bent on sabotage. For me it’s well worth the risk. If I find myself with a hand of broken straights I'm all over it.
Monday, March 23, 2015
You'll Flip!!! - Posted by Debby
I volunteer at the retirement village where my grandmother, an avid devotee of Hand and Foot, resides. When I ran into her one morning outside the cafe, our conversation naturally turned to cards.
"My friends and I are developing a new card game."
"Is it fun?" she wanted to know.
This is the lovely sort of woman who cares for the ill, coos over babies and attends religious services every Sunday. But when it comes to cards she's a fierce competitor.
"It lets you mess with your neighbors," I offered.
"Goooood," She smiled broadly, a menacing, almost hungry gleam in her eye.
All or Nothing is a trick taking game with no trump suit. Each deck of 48 cards has four suits, each numbered 1 through 10, four All cards, which are generally high, and four Nothing cards, which are generally low. Each All or Nothing card, however, can be flipped opposite by exactly two other cards in the deck. These flip cards are the 1, 2, 9 and 10 of each suit. The 2s and 10s flip Alls to Nothings while the 1s and 9s flip Nothings to Alls.
It may seem like a lot of complications to remember, but fear not. These powerful cards are indicated by suit symbols colored gold. Also, each All or Nothing card has its nemesis cards indicated on it. We giggle when the entire table leans in to read an All card together. Who can flip it? Who can turn their neighbor's strategy to dust? Or maybe, your flipping of the card is their strategy?
I think my grandma is going to like it.
"My friends and I are developing a new card game."
"Is it fun?" she wanted to know.
This is the lovely sort of woman who cares for the ill, coos over babies and attends religious services every Sunday. But when it comes to cards she's a fierce competitor.
"It lets you mess with your neighbors," I offered.
"Goooood," She smiled broadly, a menacing, almost hungry gleam in her eye.
All or Nothing is a trick taking game with no trump suit. Each deck of 48 cards has four suits, each numbered 1 through 10, four All cards, which are generally high, and four Nothing cards, which are generally low. Each All or Nothing card, however, can be flipped opposite by exactly two other cards in the deck. These flip cards are the 1, 2, 9 and 10 of each suit. The 2s and 10s flip Alls to Nothings while the 1s and 9s flip Nothings to Alls.
It may seem like a lot of complications to remember, but fear not. These powerful cards are indicated by suit symbols colored gold. Also, each All or Nothing card has its nemesis cards indicated on it. We giggle when the entire table leans in to read an All card together. Who can flip it? Who can turn their neighbor's strategy to dust? Or maybe, your flipping of the card is their strategy?
I think my grandma is going to like it.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
So about me...
How's that for a title?
My name is Damon. I'm a retired Air Traffic Controller who really needs a purpose in life. Well, another purpose. I'm the husband of an amazing woman (my partner in this, Shannon) and the father of three incredible young women.
I am a creative monster. Not that I'll speak to how great what I create is, but I love to innovate, solve problems, and use my brain. For those reasons my second career is author, and now game designer. Okay, I'm going to speak a little about how great what I create is, because All or Nothing is fricking awesome. It wasn't me alone, by any means. It was me who originated the idea, then my wife and I played practice games in our basement haven to work out the rough rules. Then we invited our other two co-creators into the mix and together we all refined the rules. So yeah, I do have a part in creating some really cool stuff.
I'm an artist, I sculpt, draw and paint once in a great while. I love cars, dogs, and computers. I've been known to screw off playing a video game when I should be doing something productive.
I'm also very modest, because that's how cool I am. :p
I also have an extremely cool dog. Extremely cool. He's often by my side egging me on to get the next project done. Or begging for a Milk Bone. It's so hard to tell dog motives apart.
My name is Damon. I'm a retired Air Traffic Controller who really needs a purpose in life. Well, another purpose. I'm the husband of an amazing woman (my partner in this, Shannon) and the father of three incredible young women.
I am a creative monster. Not that I'll speak to how great what I create is, but I love to innovate, solve problems, and use my brain. For those reasons my second career is author, and now game designer. Okay, I'm going to speak a little about how great what I create is, because All or Nothing is fricking awesome. It wasn't me alone, by any means. It was me who originated the idea, then my wife and I played practice games in our basement haven to work out the rough rules. Then we invited our other two co-creators into the mix and together we all refined the rules. So yeah, I do have a part in creating some really cool stuff.
I'm an artist, I sculpt, draw and paint once in a great while. I love cars, dogs, and computers. I've been known to screw off playing a video game when I should be doing something productive.
I'm also very modest, because that's how cool I am. :p
I also have an extremely cool dog. Extremely cool. He's often by my side egging me on to get the next project done. Or begging for a Milk Bone. It's so hard to tell dog motives apart.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Public Exposure
No, that doesn't mean what it sounds like. ;)
We took the game on the road tonight, playing at Montague's Coffee Shop in Colorado Springs. If you haven't been there, it's recommended. Great atmosphere, and a good friend of mine works there. Jade will make sure your time there is up to snuff.
We played All or Nothing with six players tonight, author Bob Spiller joined us along with his lovely bride Barbara. It was the first time the Spillers saw the game and played. Both picked the nuances up pretty darn quick. We played individual play for 5 rounds, and then we played as teams of 2 for a full 10 round game. It was close right up to the end and I was actually worried we were making too much noise.
"Oh, wow, this game is fun!" ~ Bob Spiller
You can find information about Bob and his books here: http://www.rspiller.com/
It was fun playing. Real fun. Bob gets so animated. He and his wife are a blast to hang out with and of course the four of us who developed the game wouldn't be here in the first place if we didn't have fun together.
My wife, Shannon, had a big fat slice of banana cake that was apparently delicious as well. I didn't ask her, but there weren't any leftovers. So it was an all around amazing evening of playing cards with friends and eating good grub.
That's exactly what we wanted from All or Nothing. A good social game where friends could have a bit of friendly competition anywhere they choose to do so.
For the record: I won the 5 round game. Then Barbara and I lost in last place during the teams match, but it was so close we could have won right up until the last hand. My wife and Bob Spiller (noob luck!) won the team play.
See how she treats me?
We took the game on the road tonight, playing at Montague's Coffee Shop in Colorado Springs. If you haven't been there, it's recommended. Great atmosphere, and a good friend of mine works there. Jade will make sure your time there is up to snuff.
We played All or Nothing with six players tonight, author Bob Spiller joined us along with his lovely bride Barbara. It was the first time the Spillers saw the game and played. Both picked the nuances up pretty darn quick. We played individual play for 5 rounds, and then we played as teams of 2 for a full 10 round game. It was close right up to the end and I was actually worried we were making too much noise.
"Oh, wow, this game is fun!" ~ Bob Spiller
You can find information about Bob and his books here: http://www.rspiller.com/
It was fun playing. Real fun. Bob gets so animated. He and his wife are a blast to hang out with and of course the four of us who developed the game wouldn't be here in the first place if we didn't have fun together.
My wife, Shannon, had a big fat slice of banana cake that was apparently delicious as well. I didn't ask her, but there weren't any leftovers. So it was an all around amazing evening of playing cards with friends and eating good grub.
That's exactly what we wanted from All or Nothing. A good social game where friends could have a bit of friendly competition anywhere they choose to do so.
For the record: I won the 5 round game. Then Barbara and I lost in last place during the teams match, but it was so close we could have won right up until the last hand. My wife and Bob Spiller (noob luck!) won the team play.
See how she treats me?
Monday, March 16, 2015
Suit Up! -- Posted by Debby
"Why," we have been asked, "are All or Nothing's hearts and diamonds white and not red like everyone is accustomed to?"
The easy answer is, "It's Shannon's fault. She's like that." But the truth is really a little more complicated.
Card games made their way to Europe from Arabia and China in the 14th century. The Arabian decks included a nifty polo club suit. Some Chinese decks had images of characters from their favorite novels. Fourteenth century Europeans, obsessed with royalty as they were, preferred the images of kings and queens.
Early European card decks were elaborately hand painted. Different countries had their favorite suits: cups, swords, acorns, leaves, batons, coins and even bells. Much lore and symbolism has been attached to card game symbols in their many permutations, and why not; we humans love stories every bit as much as we love games.
It is reported that a couple of 15th century French men, Etienne and Etienne, good friends and avid players, developed the suits of hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades generally in use today. The flattened styling was especially cheap to print. The French decks made their way to America through New Orleans.
One evening, before our little group was allowed to play our usual game, a large piece of white poster board was placed in the center of the card table. Then a plethora of pens was passed out. Previously, concepts for the look of All or Nothing had been tossed around, but still none of us knew what any of the others were talking about. Pictures being worth so many words, we were instructed to explain ourselves with drawings.
All or Nothing. Yin and Yang. Black and White. Not one color printer between the four of us.
"What if we have black suits on a white background and white suits on black? We could eliminate the red altogether?" suggested Shannon.
And why not? Pure hearts and white diamonds have as much cultural relevance as bleeding hearts and blood diamonds. It's good to look at old ideas in new light. The preliminary drawings we worked up were pretty cool. Modern simplicity and tradition combined. But how to indicate the flip cards....?
The easy answer is, "It's Shannon's fault. She's like that." But the truth is really a little more complicated.
Card games made their way to Europe from Arabia and China in the 14th century. The Arabian decks included a nifty polo club suit. Some Chinese decks had images of characters from their favorite novels. Fourteenth century Europeans, obsessed with royalty as they were, preferred the images of kings and queens.
Early European card decks were elaborately hand painted. Different countries had their favorite suits: cups, swords, acorns, leaves, batons, coins and even bells. Much lore and symbolism has been attached to card game symbols in their many permutations, and why not; we humans love stories every bit as much as we love games.
It is reported that a couple of 15th century French men, Etienne and Etienne, good friends and avid players, developed the suits of hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades generally in use today. The flattened styling was especially cheap to print. The French decks made their way to America through New Orleans.
One evening, before our little group was allowed to play our usual game, a large piece of white poster board was placed in the center of the card table. Then a plethora of pens was passed out. Previously, concepts for the look of All or Nothing had been tossed around, but still none of us knew what any of the others were talking about. Pictures being worth so many words, we were instructed to explain ourselves with drawings.
All or Nothing. Yin and Yang. Black and White. Not one color printer between the four of us.
"What if we have black suits on a white background and white suits on black? We could eliminate the red altogether?" suggested Shannon.
And why not? Pure hearts and white diamonds have as much cultural relevance as bleeding hearts and blood diamonds. It's good to look at old ideas in new light. The preliminary drawings we worked up were pretty cool. Modern simplicity and tradition combined. But how to indicate the flip cards....?
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