Last New News, I promised real announcements and I’ve kind of almost got some (see Keep On Hedring On). Tabletop Day got delayed a week in my particular timezone in Brisbane, for no good reason other than too many people were too busy to attend my party. I’ve been working on two different game concepts, and Tabletop Day was my self-imposed deadline to get things on the table and make a decision.

Current State

Keep On Hedring On

After many playtests and iterations, Hedron is the game that I’m moving forward with. Over the past few months, I’ve been pushing Hedron in a few different directions to see what creates the best play experience. The latest iterations have created more dynamic and interesting player interaction, while still maintaining a core of spatial problem solving (see the latest Designer Diaries for more). Hedron is not exactly a gateway game; it’s got polyhedral dice, hexes and a core mechanic of chaining moves, but I’ve found that a lot of players are really engaged by the concept.

What I’m focussing on next is making Hedron a physical reality. I’m always going to keep Hedron freely available as print and play but I’d like to reach a greater player pool and give players the opportunity to give me money for things (if they like). I’m working out a few logistical things at the moment and sussing out quality from a few potential suppliers. You should expect a less vague update in New News no. 4! A new version will be available on the site in the next week or so, I’m just tweaking a few things from the latest playtests.

Ragnarol

Ragnarol’s at the same place it was last time, with a stable version and a crowd-funding launched planned for later in the year (October-ish at this stage). I’ve ordered another big bag of dice from the States, and my next step is going to be starting some prototype kits in circulation for those who can commit to doing stuff. Ragnarol has been a little neglected in the past month but now I’ve got a focus for the immediate future.

Happy Belated Tabletop Day

Settlers of Catan is an old favourite of mine, and now sadly it mostly gets used for prototype pieces. It’s still a great game but I wanted to get a little more use out of it, so I broke it down and built it up again. Resettlement: The Great Flood is my Belated Tabletop Day present to you. It’s a very liberal variant of Settlers. I’ve taken away the dice-rolling, encouraged more cooperation (for a limited time only!) and forced an end game. This variant builds upon the Settler framework, making it approachable, but provides a very different play experience. I hope you enjoy it!