As a currently unfunded team of volunteers that are passionate about bringing the ideals of open source technology to the board gaming world, we have extremely limited resources. In the little spare time we find between our full-time day jobs and cataloguing modifications, we use it to work on three of our own original games. Although each of these games feature very unique design objectives, they all share a common goal of proving that less is more and that the age of do-it-yourself manufacturing is upon us.
Beyond The Box
Most people think that the art of board game design begins and ends with the box. After all, the cover pulls you in, sets the tone and maybe even sells the game in a crowded store or otherwise doom-filled social media feed. However, once the lid comes off, something far more important takes over …
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The Ancients
The cult of the new captures that familiar cycle of chasing the latest release, driven by curiosity, hype and just enough FOMO to keep shelves and wallets perpetually full. Yet for all the attention we give to what’s new, we rarely pause to consider what has already endured.
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Making Mods Matter
There’s a distinct group of people, often found playtesting in board game cafes on a Sunday behind closed doors who don’t just play games. They tinker, tailor and say lore. Modders no longer represent slicksters on mopeds, but rather those that make meaningful modifications to …
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The House Always Wins!
Anyone who has rolled dice on a board has said at least once; “We don’t play it that way.” House rules are often dismissed as casual tweaks. Shortcuts for impatient players or patches for perceived flaws. Sometimes though, house rules do something much more interesting.
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Open Sourcing Tabletop Games
Board games have traditionally been built on tightly protected intellectual property. Rules are copyrighted. Artwork is owned. Trademarks are guarded – and for good reason. Publishing is risky and the margins are thin. Creative labour deserves protection, but herein lies the paradox …
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Tis The Season for Traditions
As the year comes to an end, something in the air starts to shift. Homes become louder. Tables fuller and schedules slower. Whether around a Christmas roast or during the candle-lit evenings of Hanukkah, families gather not just to exchange gifts, but to reconnect through the ritual of games.
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Twilight’s Prophecies Thunder On!
A good board game should not only engage the table in what each and everyone is doing, but more importantly – who is doing what with who? A great game not only entertains the imagination, but also inspires creation. Few games embody this as well as Twilight Imperium.
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Nuking Catan
Catan is popular. By some accounts, it’s the most popular game of the modern era. Known as a gateway game that’s sold over 45 million copies and introduced countless families to a life of board-games beyond Monopoly, it’s a game that enforces interaction between players.
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Conquering the Constrains of Chess
It was in 2012 that the obsession began. Starting out as a nagging question that has been repeatedly asked both before and since. If chess was designed today, how would the game differ? Would we continue riding horses into battle and do royalty still fight their wars on a square grid with two biomes?
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