Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Card Game and Board Games, Oh My!

Been a long time since the last post. So, hallooooo to all you gamers out there, and sorry for the long hiatus.

Not posting doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I've been creating and testing 2 new games for you. Or 4 new games for you. Depends on how you count. You would think counting would be a simple thing. 2 games or 4, which is it? Do you have difficulty counting all the way to 4? Should you see a specialist?

No, it's nothing like that. Here's the deal. We have 2 new products for sale, but one of them is 3 games in 1 box. So...there's 2 new products, but 4 new games. There. Now that's clear, let's get on with the good stuff.

First is Kingdom of Kyrea. I've been wanting to do a trick taking game for a while. But I wanted something new, something with the Art-Free Games twist. And so we have a game where cards are played in tricks (each player plays 1 card, and 1 of those cards wins the trick). The catch here is that the winning card affects the kingdom in some way: Order vs. Chaos, Secular vs. Religious, Mundane vs. Magic. On top of that, each player belongs to a secret society that wants different things for the kingdom, so each player wants to manipulate the kingdom in different ways. So it's a trick taking game with secret agendas. Oh yeah. Check out the page link below to see the cards and get a more detailed description. If you've played any Art-Free Games before, you know that our games always include Optional Rules which allow you to play different versions of the game. Kingdom of Kyrea was unusual in the sheer volume of Optional Rules (they ended up requiring their own rule sheet). There are literally thousands of ways to alter this game.

Next we have the Strategy Board Game Bundle. Over the years I've designed many board games. For this release I was looking at three different 2-player strategy games. And I realized that there was no reason they couldn't all go out as one bundle. One board, one box, 3 games. The players would get 3 games for the price of 1. The games are all very different from each other, requiring different types of strategy and different types of thinking. Check out the page link below to see descriptions of the 3 games included in the bundle.

To purchase the games or for a free download of the rules to have a look, check out the Kingdom of Kyrea page or the Strategy Board Game Bundle page on The Game Crafter.

And in upcoming news:

All 3 games in the Strategy Board Game Bundle are 2 players only. We're currently testing 4 player versions of the game. If they work out, if they are fun, we'll be releasing a 4-player expansion that includes 2 new sets of pieces and rule additions.

Also working on Jade Talisman. This is an old board game that I designed decades ago. Imagine a board with movable walls. In your turn you move a piece and move a wall. Object is to pick up talismans that appear randomly around the board. Each talisman gives you a special ability. Once all 12 talismans have been picked up, whoever has the most wins. But this is not a game where you politely run around the board, picking stuff up, and never interacting with your opponents. No, that’s not this game at all. In Jade Talisman, you can either pick up talismans from the ground, or you can land on an opponent's piece and attempt to steal a talisman. It's a back-stabbing romp to see who can get the most loot.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

It's Time to Brawl

Hey there, gamers. It's time for another new game! F.T.B. (Fantasy Tavern Brawl) is a comic game of brawling and drinking in a fantasy tavern. Have the Sultry Succubus team up with the Keeper of the Sacred Flask, knock a few heads, and knock back some mead. You brawl, you drink. What more do you need out of life?

While I do try to create mostly family-friendly games, given the adult nature of the game this one is intended for ages 18+.

For a full description of the game and the expansions, or for a free download of the rules to have a look, check out the F.T.B. page on The Game Crafter.

This game was odd for me. Normally I make a game first, then ideas for expansions come later, if at all. This game was different in that it had three fully-formed expansions before I was even done creating the deck for the base game. Ideas just kept falling out of my butt. I couldn't stop them. So, not only do you have a new game to check out, but you also have 3 expansions you can explore.

For those of you who enjoy cross-game cameos, this game has you covered. The freakin' useless pixie from A Funny Thing Happened is back, and it is just as useless as ever.  Mean Old Miss Haversham, Big Cindy, and Little Cindy from Inept Evil Genius all make an appearance in the Overpowered Characters expansion. We like putting little touches like that into our games, little Easter Eggs for our players to find.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

For the Whole Family and Soooo NOT For the Whole Family

Two new games for your gamey pleasure!

FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY:
Terzetto is Tic-Tac-Toe played with cards, giving this old game a brand new twist. I know, we all stopped playing Tic-Tac-Toe when we were kids. Frankly, it got boring. But this version brings adults back to the gaming table. Start with Tic-Tac-Toe, add the randomness and strategy of a card game, and you have Terzetto.

For a full description, or for a free download of the rules to have a look, check out the Terzetto page on The Game Crafter.

FOR THE ADULTS ONLY:
Imaginarium is the first game by Art-Free Games to be for ages 18+ rather than for the whole family. This is a storytelling game of outrageous (and frequently off-color) imagination. Like many adventure games, you have a character and you use that character's specialties to get past challenges. Unlike other games, you do this by creating a story and earning dice based on how inventive and funny your story is.

For a full description, or for a free download of the rules to have a look, check out the Imaginarium page on The Game Crafter.