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. ;)

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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....?

Card Tricks -- Posted by Debby

We were tired of being held to our trick bids. Well actually, we were tired of Jeff making his bids exactly while the rest of us missed ours by a little bit. We'd been playing a popular trick bid game avidly for months and we losers were starting to lose interest.

Card games with trick taking have been around since at least the 1400's. Many popular games such as Bridge, Spades, Euchre and Pinochle involve taking tricks.

Generally, trick taking works the following way. Imagine a table for four with Damon, Shannon, Jeff and Debby seated clockwise. Damon deals each player in this imaginary game, for the sake of brevity, two cards. With two cards there will be two rounds of play. Two opportunities to take tricks. The players look over their hands and 'bid', or guess really, how many tricks they will take with their two cards. Shannon, next to the dealer clockwise, bids first. Everyone's bids are noted by the score keeper.

Shannon plays out her first card, face up to the center of the table. The first to play a card in the round is called the lead. Jeff, Debby and Damon play in turn. Let's say Jeff plays the winning card. He takes the four cards played. This is called a trick. He sets them aside in a little pile and leads out with the first card of the next round, the second card in the hand. The player who plays the winning card of this round, according to the rules of whatever game is being played, wins this trick. I hope it's not Debby. She bid zero. Scores are tallied before Shannon takes the deck, shuffles and deals the second hand.

We waited until Jeff left the room to devise our plans.

"Is it a lucky chair? He always sits in the same spot."

"Is it the seating order?"

"Should we make everyone bid zero?"

"Should we let everyone change their bids half way through the hand?"

Damon, a fiction author and by far the most devious among us, went away to his desk that night scheming his friend's demise.

The next time we met, Damon's face was beaming, or maybe gloating. He proposed a new game with approximate bids, All or Nothing. Even if a player didn't quite make a bid, all would not be lost. And better, Jeff would be less able to bid exactly the number of tricks he thought he could take, so he'd be missing his bid more often. Those of us with less exacting talents would have an in. But don't ask us who won the game last night. It's an in. Not a panacea.

Kickstarter

Our current focus is in two spots. One is a successful card testing session hopefully with a few dozen people in one room playing the game and giving us feedback.

The second focus is learning how to do a Kickstarter. This is a resource I found today that seems useful. We don't want to get ahead of our project, but it seems the video for Kickstarter is quite important. So much consternation, head scratching, and conversation will be had on that topic.

http://www.videomaker.com/article/17623-how-to-make-a-successful-kickstarter-video

Cards are in

We received 12 decks of All or Nothing from The Game Crafter, and overall I am personally pleased with the results. The fatal flaw in the cards we got as test decks is that you can see the suit through them if you hold them up to the light, but other than that they are great. Certainly good enough for testing, and great for giving Kickstarter an idea of what our game is.

The next step for us is to get a game store to host a playtest for us.  Hopefully one of the local stores will have the same enthusiasm for the game that we do.

The other half of this team, Jeff and Debby, are working on the scoring app for electronic media today.  Designing that will be a significant part of our release, and will be part of our Kickstarter as plans stand.

Cardboard box

When I thought about card games the first thing I thought of was the cards. That seems natural. But there are other considerations that come with making a card game.

One of those is, "What will the box look like?"  This is what our test deck box looks like.

We already have a graphic design firm of some caliber reserved as the design team if our Kickstarter is successful. I don't know if I can mention their name yet. But when I can, I will, just so you can see their work online. But this is the stuff I did as a preliminary measure to give the test players a taste for the character of the game.

Here is our test box.

The blurb text will change, it's not at all professional yet. But this is the idea.

Inventing a card game

If you asked me a few years back if I'd ever invent a card game, I'd have said, "No, that's not what I do." But sometimes things come at you from odd directions, and life gives you an opportunity you didn't foresee.

My wife, our friends, and I play a lot of cards. We hang out, drink some wine, eat tasty snacks and enjoy the company. We played a game that I won't mention the name of, but let's just say it's a very good game that is based upon bidding and taking tricks.

We played this game for months. But then, over time, we started to get bored. We tried other games, but they didn't seem to have that same friendly competition we were looking for. So we did what creative people do when they play games: We made up House Rules. Silly rules, like after the deal you cut and if the exposed card is a diamond you pass your hand and bid left, a heart right, clubs across, spades you keep it. We refined the rules. We jiggled them into what we thought were pretty darn good rules.

Then my friend, realizing what we were doing, said, "We should just invent our own card games." WHAT?!?!  For some reason that really struck a bell with me, so when my wife and I went home that night All or Nothing was born as I stayed up until the wee hours thinking about it. It wasn't born in the final design. Heck, it might still not be in the final design. But it was born and my friend came up with an idea for a game as well.  So here we are, after a few months of playtesting the game with a deck we made ourselves.  We've come a long way in a few months. We have a testing deck design and 12 decks ordered. We have plans for a Kickstarter and will be executing that in the next month or two. We are going to have public playtests.

Why?  Because if you like playing competitive games with your friends, this game is fun!  One card played well from your hand can cost two other players their goal. You'll find yourself celebrating as you manage to get rid of an ALL card you didn't want. Or moaning as that ALL card you counted on to take a trick is turned into garbage by your best friend. What a jerk, right? We haven't even gone into what you can do with the NOTHING cards.

It won't be long before this game is available on Kickstarter, and we're going to need your support to get it out the door. Please join us in creating a game revolution that will result in hours and hours of fun at your house. Your friends will ask you to bring the game to theirs. Don't be fooled. They're only asking so they can kick your butt.

Welcome to our page. Our news outlet. And, at least for a while, our web presence. Play nice on here, but once you have this game in your hands, you don't have to any more.