Phil, Ziapelta Games
@gruefodder.bsky.social
Research scientist. Sometime game designer. https://ziapeltagames.com/
Iterating on card design for Six Winters today. The card dividing border, which was taken from Sasanian patterns of the 6th century, took me a shockingly long amount of time to line up correctly. I tried to have subtle (and not so subtle) Sasanian imagery across the cards, to go along with the art.
Had a great time this past weekend at MananaCon, our local gaming convention. Got in playtests of three of my games: Lavender Hack, Watermelon Mountain, and Six Winters, also got to play Cairn, His Majesty the Worm, and a few other people's playtests. And plenty of fun times hanging out with peeps!
No matter how much I check, double-check, go through editing passes, order proofs, etc., it's still nerve-wracking to click order on a bunch of physical copies of a game.
Lady Gaga Jumps at Super Bowl Halftime Show
ALT: Lady Gaga Jumps at Super Bowl Halftime Show
static.klipy.com
Miriam is launching a new project, a RPG for kids that use the cortex system. If it finance I will be illustrating the whole book with whimsical art! Please reshare if willing. :3 #ttrpg www.kickstarter.com/projects/mir...
The Portal Witch, a Kids RPG Primed by Cortex
World-Hopping, Magical-Costumed, Do-Gooder Kids
kickstarter.com
Lavender Hack kickstarter is live here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/lav... It's a short campaign, running for 10 days. Check it out for an interesting take on handling resources in fantasy exploration games!
Lavender Hack RPG: Grindcore Edition — Book #1 (Core Rules)
You are not limited by your imagination. You are limited by crushing levels of debt.
kickstarter.com
Messed with a reinforcement learning algorithm (PPO) to teach my computer how to play a trick-taking card game I'm working on. RL is definitely a pain - you have to do a good job of crafting intermittent rewards which help the model learn the game. Here's the win rate % graph. 🎲✂️
Get ready for a bittersweet aftertaste the kickstarter for the print run of Let Me Be Your Thrall: Aftertaste launches soon! www.kickstarter.com/projects/mil...
Coming soon: Let Me Be Your Thrall: Aftertaste
A duo game about vampires in love
kickstarter.com
All RIGHT! The Arium: Evolve & Arium Complete Box Set Kickstarter is LIVE. You know what to do. Thanks for helping spread the word. It means so much to a small press games publisher. www.kickstarter.com/projects/ade...
Arium Complete Box Set
3x Ennie-Nominated Collaborative Tools for Any RPG Group.
kickstarter.com
Fields of Fire by @gmtgames.bsky.social got a lot of mileage this past month! It has a steep learning curve, but generates evocative narratives. Plenty of difficult decisions. First Normandy mission went really well - second one went off the rails terribly. Snipers are rough!
Final editing is done for Lil' Lavender Book #1, just sent for proof copy. Writing is done for Lil' Lavender Book #2.
Does German have a word for "your boardgame production is taking a long time so you incessantly fiddle with mechanics even when the game is working fine and you really should do other things with your time like working on a different design but you can't stop thinking about it"? 🎲✂️
Against my better judgement and on something of a dare, I ran a fantasy adventure 3-shot for visiting friends last week. Is fantasy adventure Good, Actually now? Read on! My new favorite frankengame from two of my favorite creators: @fuseboy.bsky.social and @gruefodder.bsky.social .
Two Great Tastes etc: Lavender Hack + Trilemma Adventures
IGRC Global Operations had gamer visitors from California recently. We knew we’d be playing something while they were here, but we never quite nailed down what it’d be. So over beers, Phil Lewis’ L…
indiegamereadingclub.com
Got in a playtest of Monster Wasteland! this week - a fun sandbox game of crafting and carnage! We had a good turnout this week at our playtest meetup, enough people to have 3 playtests going at the same time. I love seeing designs develop over time. #boardgamesky
Monster Wasteland@monsterwasteland.bsky.social · 5mo agoHey, I fixed the economy! In Monster Wasteland! Tonight's playthrough went at the desired pace - our heroes managed to secure a Weaponry victory, killing a whopping FIVE monsters in the end. Big ups to the group for striking the "way too excited 90s video game ad" pose at the end there 😂
I keep seeing AI described as a drunk toddler. Even a drunk toddler has an internal model of the physical world light-years beyond what any AI has or will ever have. No, AI is more like a savant with dementia.
Skate Summer has really thematic graphic design, and I love the "don't fall" push your luck mechanic for performing tricks. It does feel a little disconnected to have the trick phase separate from the "ride around the park" phase, though, but I can see why they went that direction. #boardgamesky
Blocking out some new #Oldhammer halflings to go with my previous crew. This update includes a couple Old School Miniatures halflings and four from @badsquiddogames.bsky.social. I just undercoated these straight white and used Speed Paints, next I'll layer highlights with acrylics.
Played Decorum recently - a collaborative puzzle game where everyone passive-aggressively tries to decorate a house the way they want. Really immersive and unique theme! Comes with quite a few scenarios. #boardgamesky
My Shambling Bones 2 Kickstarter is now live: www.kickstarter.com/projects/beq... #warhammer #warhammerfantasy #oldhammer #oldworld #aos
Played the 1996 X-Files CCG recently. Also a product of its time, during the great late 90s CCG wave. The mechanics are a more complex version of "Guess Who?" where you try to guess what secret X-File card players have by playing Sites and investigating them. #boardgamesky
Basked in some 1982 glory this past weekend. You roll two dice each turn, and assign one to your pac-man and the other to a ghost. Very much a product of its time, but do appreciate that the pac-man(s) "eat" marbles! #boardgamesky
This looks fascinating.
Zack Quaintance@zackquaintance.bsky.social · 8mo agohappy pub day to my incredibly talented wife @jazmineulloa.bsky.social, with her BRILLIANT new book about her hometown of El Paso, Texas, which she was inspired to write after she covered the deadly 2019 mass shooting carried out there by a white supremacist who opened fire at a wal-mart, killing 23
This is a fascinating looking game. Always interested to see designers take on more niche historical subjects.
Dan Bullock@danbullock.bsky.social · 8mo agoMy newest game PENITENT is now available for preorder at lockhornsgames.com/products/pen...
Doing historical research (7th Century Iran and Eastern Rome) in the age of AI Slop is such a pain. Most searches are just a massive misinformation dump. I basically have to bypass google and go straight to sources like Encyclopedia Iranica, certain subreddits, or physical books.
Burying the "what is this game about" text inside a Saving Throw description is the most AD&D thing ever.
Tim Hutchings@timhutchings.bsky.social · 8mo agoThis explanation of the game's intentions is buried in the Saving Throw section of the AD&D DMG. Check the alt text for easier to read version.
Turns out roadrunners are big fans of the heavy euro genre (Civolution in this case).
Played Don't Look Back from Black Site Studios recently - a 1980s horror miniatures game. It was fun! Lots of accruing terror and running away from a maniacal killer. Very evocative theme.
Made some progress on the Traitor's Toll characters from @wargamesatlantic.bsky.social! Lots of customization options. This is only two of the six sprues included. These are close to builds shown on the box cover, but I may branch out more after this.
