I made an impromptu video about my book of original card and dice games. Go see the book!
Or get the epub version.
Or for the Kindle.
Showing posts with label Cards and Dice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cards and Dice. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
2014 in review for Arcane Journeys
In the past year, I
1) completed the first run of Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure Board Game, made many expansions, videos and scenarios for it.
2) Ran a contest for a book of my games.
3) Wrote some game design entries, with my favorite ones being, Theme is a Metaphor, and My Favorite Tools when Designing a Board Game.
4) Started a youtube channel for Arcane Journeys, with videos about my games.
5) Listed some games on DriveThruRPG: Tribes, Armies of the Dead, and the first edition of Seven Treasures.
6) Put out my book of games on the Kindle.
7) Put out some videos and new rules for Armies of the Dead.
8) Edited some older online games, on a whim, The Well, and the Subterranean Realms.
Plans for the new year include having demos and shows of Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure Board Game at local stores, and development of more scenarios and expansions for that game.
1) completed the first run of Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure Board Game, made many expansions, videos and scenarios for it.
2) Ran a contest for a book of my games.
3) Wrote some game design entries, with my favorite ones being, Theme is a Metaphor, and My Favorite Tools when Designing a Board Game.
4) Started a youtube channel for Arcane Journeys, with videos about my games.
5) Listed some games on DriveThruRPG: Tribes, Armies of the Dead, and the first edition of Seven Treasures.
6) Put out my book of games on the Kindle.
7) Put out some videos and new rules for Armies of the Dead.
8) Edited some older online games, on a whim, The Well, and the Subterranean Realms.
Plans for the new year include having demos and shows of Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure Board Game at local stores, and development of more scenarios and expansions for that game.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Author page on Amazon.com
I have an author page on Amazon.com, where you can see all the kindle books I have made. Currently there is only the book of games, but I will add more as time goes on.
Also, there's still time to enter the contest to win a free copy of my book of games. See the previous blog entry for details!
Also, there's still time to enter the contest to win a free copy of my book of games. See the previous blog entry for details!
Friday, May 30, 2014
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Original Card and Dice Games - Now on the Kindle!
My book of original card and dice games is now available on the Kindle.
From the introduction of the book:
""I decided to invent some card and dice games in order to show what I do as a designer to a wider audience, and also to challenge myself to make games that had to be elegant and fit into stricter design constraints than computer games do. In some ways I think it is easier to make a decent complex game than it is to make a good simple game. With simple games, if you don’t get the rules and design right, the game usually obviously doesn’t work, and you have to go fix your core problems. With complex games, it can be trickier to detect and fix, but you also have more options for addressing it, such as inventing new systems and rules (or simulations or whatever on the computer). So making a good simple game forces you to get things right, which is a good challenge.
I have played all the games in this book, for a total of hundreds of hours. They have been really fun to create and share with people. I hope that you enjoy playing them." "
Get it on your Kindle.
From the introduction of the book:
""I decided to invent some card and dice games in order to show what I do as a designer to a wider audience, and also to challenge myself to make games that had to be elegant and fit into stricter design constraints than computer games do. In some ways I think it is easier to make a decent complex game than it is to make a good simple game. With simple games, if you don’t get the rules and design right, the game usually obviously doesn’t work, and you have to go fix your core problems. With complex games, it can be trickier to detect and fix, but you also have more options for addressing it, such as inventing new systems and rules (or simulations or whatever on the computer). So making a good simple game forces you to get things right, which is a good challenge.
I have played all the games in this book, for a total of hundreds of hours. They have been really fun to create and share with people. I hope that you enjoy playing them." "
Get it on your Kindle.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Happy New Year!
It is a new year, and I thought I would review some of the things that happened this year at Arcane Journeys, and some of the goals for next year.
In the past year, three games have been released on the Game Crafter, a print on demand board game site. It is a great service that lets smaller companies get ideas out to people.
The three games are:
Also in the past year, I started to make mini-runs of a couple of more complicated games, Armies of the Dead, and Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure board game.
Armies of the Dead is a dice game where you battle with undead armies. It is probably my favorite game I have made. I finished up the mini run, and had a game release event where I debuted this game as well as the Game Crafter games. People had fun playing my games and a few copies of games sold as well.
I am about 80% of the way finished with my mini-run of ten copies of Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure board game, which leads me to talk about plans for the upcoming year, when I will finish that game, and have another game release event, I think in March.
As usual, I am working on other games in various stages of completion, and some of these may get published in some way this year.
And who knows what else the new year will bring?
Take care,
-Jim DuBois
In the past year, three games have been released on the Game Crafter, a print on demand board game site. It is a great service that lets smaller companies get ideas out to people.
The three games are:
- Tribes - Lead your people in a quick dice simulation of history.
- Seven Treasures - A new edition of a card game where you explore a simple labyrinth hunting for lost treasures.
- Spheres - An all new game about trading exotic cargo in space.
Also in the past year, I started to make mini-runs of a couple of more complicated games, Armies of the Dead, and Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure board game.
Armies of the Dead is a dice game where you battle with undead armies. It is probably my favorite game I have made. I finished up the mini run, and had a game release event where I debuted this game as well as the Game Crafter games. People had fun playing my games and a few copies of games sold as well.
I am about 80% of the way finished with my mini-run of ten copies of Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure board game, which leads me to talk about plans for the upcoming year, when I will finish that game, and have another game release event, I think in March.
As usual, I am working on other games in various stages of completion, and some of these may get published in some way this year.
And who knows what else the new year will bring?
Take care,
-Jim DuBois
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Photos from the Game Release Event
I had a game release event a few weeks ago, on November 2, 2013. It was my first time doing an event of this nature, so I was not sure what to expect, but the results were positive: I sold some copies of games, and got insight into others, as well as provided entertainment for a group of people for the evening. Here are some photographs from the event.
People playing Armies of the Dead.
Playing Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure Board Game, soon to be finished and released.
A few years ago I made a bunch of games using regular cards.
The hit of the event was Seven Treasures.
Seven Treasures again.
People playing Armies of the Dead.
Playing Arcane Journeys the Fantasy Adventure Board Game, soon to be finished and released.
A few years ago I made a bunch of games using regular cards.
The hit of the event was Seven Treasures.
Seven Treasures again.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Game Release Event
Lately I have made a few board games, either self-producing them or using a print-on-demand publisher.
I am figuring out how to get the news of these out to people, and I decided to have a game release event to celebrate the finishing of a small run of a game called Armies of the Dead, which is a complex dice strategy game. I have 8 copies.
Modern Myths is having a charity 24 hour board gaming day where they raise money for the Bay State Children's hospital, and they have kindly agreed to let me have a spot during that to show people my games.
I will have demo copies of 4 different board games, which you can play, and once you are in the event there will be lots of other people playing other board games if you want to stay and do that as well.
I will have copies of my games for sale, and will take orders if needed.
I hope you stop by to see my games and help raise a little money to save the lives of local children.
Entry is $5 at the door, which goes to charity, and you also get $5 of store credit you can spend at Modern Myths.
Event Details:
- 4pm to 9pm on November 2, 2013
- At Modern Myths, 34 Bridge Street #4, Northampton, Massachusetts.
- Facebook Event
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Book of Games available on iTunes.
I just released my book of original card and dice games as an eBook, available on the iBookstore on iTunes.
Click here to see it
Click here to see it
Monday, March 29, 2010
Rules for a Free Original Card Game, Target Practice
I made some card games to try my hand at it, and make my games more approachable to the general population. I just decided to print the rules of one here, so you can play it. It is included in my book of games for sale here.
TARGET PRACTICE RULES v. 1 (Created by Jim DuBois, © 2000 - 2009)
STATS
* Number of Players: 2
* Duration: 10-30 min
* Atmosphere: light card game
* Theme: abstracted card capturing
COMPONENTS
* deck of 52 cards (no jokers)
OVERVIEW
Target Practice is a card game for two players where they take turns throwing cards at targets the other player has setup in front of them, trying to capture them by making their card land on them. The first player to capture all the opponent’s cards wins.
SETUP
Each player needs 1 deck of cards (or just split one deck and give half to each player - no need to count exactly half).
Each player sets up two rows of nine cards each, directly in front of themselves to serve as targets for the other player to aim for. They should be spaced the distance of one card sideways between cards in the row, and one card vertically between the rows (see diagram below). The resulting layout is one in which, if a player is good (or lucky) they can capture more than 1 card at once, up to four. The distance between the players’ sides can vary: the farther they are apart, the harder the game is.
Fred
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
Sue
PLAY
A player throws a card at the opponent’s targets, trying to land on one of them.
If they do land on (come to rest on) an enemy target, they capture it.
If a player captures a target, they get to throw again.
If a player doesn’t capture a card, it becomes the other player’s turn.
After a player throws, their opponent collects the card they threw, as well as any targets they captured, and puts them into their deck.
WINNING
The first player to capture all the opponents targets, wins. They get a score equal to the number of targets left uncaptured in front of themselves.
VARIANTS
Handicaps
A better player can take a handicap by reducing the number of targets laid out in front of them, so their opponent has less targets to capture to win.
Variant 1: Speed target practice
Each player lays out 1 row of 5 cards spaced 2 cards lengthwise between the cards. Players throw at will! If you capture an enemy target, it stays on the ground, but you say that you have captured it, and the total number of targets you have captured. The first player to capture all the other player’s targets wins. If a card throw misses, just leave it where it lands. If you run out of cards to throw, collect some from the floor to throw.
Have fun playing,
-Jim DuBois
TARGET PRACTICE RULES v. 1 (Created by Jim DuBois, © 2000 - 2009)
STATS
* Number of Players: 2
* Duration: 10-30 min
* Atmosphere: light card game
* Theme: abstracted card capturing
COMPONENTS
* deck of 52 cards (no jokers)
OVERVIEW
Target Practice is a card game for two players where they take turns throwing cards at targets the other player has setup in front of them, trying to capture them by making their card land on them. The first player to capture all the opponent’s cards wins.
SETUP
Each player needs 1 deck of cards (or just split one deck and give half to each player - no need to count exactly half).
Each player sets up two rows of nine cards each, directly in front of themselves to serve as targets for the other player to aim for. They should be spaced the distance of one card sideways between cards in the row, and one card vertically between the rows (see diagram below). The resulting layout is one in which, if a player is good (or lucky) they can capture more than 1 card at once, up to four. The distance between the players’ sides can vary: the farther they are apart, the harder the game is.
Fred
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
Sue
PLAY
A player throws a card at the opponent’s targets, trying to land on one of them.
If they do land on (come to rest on) an enemy target, they capture it.
If a player captures a target, they get to throw again.
If a player doesn’t capture a card, it becomes the other player’s turn.
After a player throws, their opponent collects the card they threw, as well as any targets they captured, and puts them into their deck.
WINNING
The first player to capture all the opponents targets, wins. They get a score equal to the number of targets left uncaptured in front of themselves.
VARIANTS
Handicaps
A better player can take a handicap by reducing the number of targets laid out in front of them, so their opponent has less targets to capture to win.
Variant 1: Speed target practice
Each player lays out 1 row of 5 cards spaced 2 cards lengthwise between the cards. Players throw at will! If you capture an enemy target, it stays on the ground, but you say that you have captured it, and the total number of targets you have captured. The first player to capture all the other player’s targets wins. If a card throw misses, just leave it where it lands. If you run out of cards to throw, collect some from the floor to throw.
Have fun playing,
-Jim DuBois
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Cards & Dice and Game Design
I’ve been making games for most of my life. A lot of them have been on the computer, and designing games for the computer has its advantages, like the ability to automate things, and handle large amounts of complexity and simulation. It also has its disadvantages, like it’s too easy to make things overly complex, and veer away from simple and elegant styles which are the heart of good game design. Also, you need a computer to play, so it has particular monetary and space requirements, especially for many people to play together. And playing on the computer, even with other people, isn’t as socially rewarding, at least not for me, as playing a game with people in real life.
I decided to invent some card and dice games in order to show what I do as a designer to a wider audience, and also to challenge myself to make games that had to be elegant and fit into stricter design constraints than computer games do. In some ways I think it is easier to make a decent complex game than it is to make a good simple game. With simple games, if you don’t get the rules and design right, the game usually obviously doesn’t work, and you have to go fix your core problems. With complex games, it can be trickier to detect and fix, but you also have more options for addressing it, such as inventing new systems and rules (or simulations or whatever on the computer). So making a good simple game forces you to get things right, which is a good challenge.
I have played all the card and dice games on my website in this book, for a total of hundreds of hours. They have been really fun to create and share with people. I hope that you get a chance to enjoy playing them.
Get the newly released book containing 7 original card and dice games at Lulu.com
I decided to invent some card and dice games in order to show what I do as a designer to a wider audience, and also to challenge myself to make games that had to be elegant and fit into stricter design constraints than computer games do. In some ways I think it is easier to make a decent complex game than it is to make a good simple game. With simple games, if you don’t get the rules and design right, the game usually obviously doesn’t work, and you have to go fix your core problems. With complex games, it can be trickier to detect and fix, but you also have more options for addressing it, such as inventing new systems and rules (or simulations or whatever on the computer). So making a good simple game forces you to get things right, which is a good challenge.
I have played all the card and dice games on my website in this book, for a total of hundreds of hours. They have been really fun to create and share with people. I hope that you get a chance to enjoy playing them.
Get the newly released book containing 7 original card and dice games at Lulu.com