Greetings, friends. Lots of new developments this month, with two new games in the pipeline, and progress for Professor Blunderbuss! Read on!
Playtesting in the Age of COVID-19
Our prototype was finally released from customs, just in time for a global lockdown! Although the employees of the international publishing company that requested it had just begun to "shelter-in-place," my contact there had the game at home, and playtested it with friends and family... and liked it! They went on
to playtest with some colleagues on Tabletop Simulator, but they believe the game really needs to be played on the table to get the full experience of magnetic Maze tiles and interlocking invention pieces (and I agree!)
What does all that mean? It's all good news, but the outcome is on hold pending the end of the current global health crisis. With this game in development for almost three years, I'm sure we can wait a few more months for the next step!
Diary of a Teenage Summoner
It's been a prolific month at Stone Age Distractions. "Operators" sort of hit a roadblock, but new ideas were coming fast. First came our dark and twisted worker placement / set collection game, "Diary of a Teenage Summoner." Play a teenage witch or warlock with the power to conjure up demonic helpers to solve your dramas. Players draw "Problem" cards to be solved like, "Eliminate a Bully," "Make a Crush Fall for You," "Get a Date to the Prom," and "Sabotage a Rival."Each Problem shows which entity can be summoned to resolve the challenge, which results in a "Page" in your diary. Larger "Quests" like, "Become Homecoming Queen/King," "Make the Honor Roll," or "Beat the Alpha Bully and Their Clique" each require four or five specific Problems to be solved, but provide a whole Chapter upon completion. Victory will go to the first player to complete a certain number of Chapters (still being determined).
Visit the Pipeline Gallery of our web page to see more.
Monster Garden
My latest idea came to me in a dream! This is a family-friendly game that I think will work well for ages 8 and up, but won't bore adults. The working title is “Monster Garden,” and I’ve gotten it whipped into pretty playable shape in about two weeks by skipping physical prototyping and taking all the assets straight to Tabletop Simulator. You play a fantasy character (a Princess, Hero, Wizard or Ogre) trying to collect sets of monster plants for their magical garden.
As always, thanks for keeping up with our progress here at Stone Age Distractions!
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