A Saturday afternoon

Saturday was a day for travelling.

It has come to an end in the warm waters of Tungaru, an archipelago in the South Pacific, sailing from island to island, building monuments, recruiting inhabitants, exchanging fish, shells, coconuts and pearls, and, of course, gathering colourful flowers.

It was an opportunity to play test this game, which is not yet in a store near you, since it still is undergoing the final development stages.

Designed by Louis and Stefan Malz, illustrated by Andrew Bosley, it will be published by Alley Cat Games, UK, and is expected to hit Kickstarter in late October.

The afternoon had begun in Egypt, in Luxor, on the bank of the Nile and very close to the Valley of the Kings. A group of adventurers exploring the riches of the Luxor temple, while trying to be the first one gaining access to the Pharaoh's tomb.

Luxor, designed by Rüdiger Dorn, illustrated by Dennis Lohausen, published by Devir (2018).

Then I headed east, towards India, into the state of Rajasthan, arriving at its capital, Jaipur. To learn, the hard way, the art of a trading duel, amongst precious stones, gold and silver, spices or fabrics, and herds of camels.

Jaipur, designed by Sébastien Pauchon, illustrated by Vincent Dutrait and Alexandre Roche, published by Game Works (2009).

It was then that I abandoned land and ventured into the seas, sailing all the way across to the Caribbean, to Jamaica, Port Royal. Testing ambition and luck, with colourful galleons, expeditions, sailors and pirates, merchants, players, priests, maidens and all other customary characters you usually find around ports, where the golden doubloons reign.

Port Royal, designed by Alexander Pfister, illustrated by Klemens Franz  and  Atanas Lozanski, published by Pegasus Games (2014).

And that's how I finally decided to cross the Pacific, in search of quieter lands.

A Saturday afternoon, dynamized by the Group of Boardgamers of Aveiro, in S. Bernardo, Aveiro, Portugal. A special thanks to Carlos for having served as a guide in the initial part of the journey!

Step in and leave your PAW print - Playing Around the World - and follow the PAW tag.
Send a photo of a gaming session, the game title, your name, city, country (and, if you feel like, a short sentence about the game and or a photo of the city) to gamesinbw@gmail.com.

A quest for knowledge - The Dream

It was dark. It was night, still. The room was silent. There were no wood creaking sounds, in here, nor the whisper of the wind, outside. The air was heavy, moist, with a hint of smoke. The images succeeded in my mind, without a precise order: paths, people, books, travels, corridors, crossings, walls, bookshelves, distant places, crossroads, strange habits. Was I awake? Was I still sleeping? I was wandering, for sure, in that indistinct land between dreaming while sleeping and dreaming awake. I let myself hover, floating effortlessly, waiting. Waiting for the order to overcome chaos, waiting for the layers to settle down, waiting for the reason to resurface.

Gradually, the pieces were fitting, making sense, as in a puzzle: first the border tiles, setting the boundary; then the strong patterns and the singular forms; finally, the details and the monotonous elements.

The conversation of the night before, in the tavern, among glasses of wine. The eternal discussion of what we know, after all, and what we just believe in; about what comes from known science and from science done. It could have been no more than another chit-chat, to close one more night. But then the door opened, and the traveler entered.  Tired air and bright eyes. Sitting at the table. Listening, while eating. Asking for permission to speak. Extending the night. With stories roaming all across Europe. Places to head for in search of knowledge. Foreign languages and lingua franca. The conversations with the wise men. The books he was carrying in the rucksack, as a precious cargo. The mission.

All that resonates with my very own unrest, the willingness to leave the comfort of the routine, the need to know more, the drive to become a citizen of the world, the desire to learn from the masters and, perhaps, to even teach, making me also one of them.

Yes, I thought, it was time to follow this awaken dream. I had to leave Basel behind. Leave this university. Like Paracelsus, my fellow countryman, who's been here before and went to other distant places. After all, aren't we already in a world of progress? Aren't we already in the middle of the eighteenth century? Yes!  The decision was made. I would leave! The darkness began, slowly, to fade away. I got up.

(to be continued)

On a journey, riding with Newton, a game of Nestore Mangone and Simone Luciani, Ediciones Mas que Oca (2018) under license of Cranio Creations.

Becoming a judge

Judge in Design Contest 2019, from The Board Game Workshop. An initiative fueled by the enthusiasm and dedication of Chris Anderson! And another new experience in this first year of returning to the Land of Games, a year now almost coming to an end.

The responsibility: supporting creators, contributing to the realization of their ideas.

The challenge: to treat very diverse proposals in a fair way.

The doubt: would I be up to the task?

The doubt had been anticipated: the contest page contained detailed information about the entire process, the judges’ role, the amount of time involved and, most importantly, on games submitted in previous editions, allowing one to experience being a judge before committing.

Self-assessment done. Let's do this!

More than 100 projects at the starting line.

More than one hundred creators, individually or as a team.

So many dreams, ideas, projects, hours of work.

Abstract or themed games; Cooperative or competitive.

Boards and parts.

Mechanisms and combinations.

For two players; For three, four or more.

For fifteen minutes of relaxation or a few hours.

In different development phases.

Aiming to provide different experiences.

Material available for the first stage of the contest: a short description and a 2-minute video.

Maybe the hardest phase to judge. Two minutes is definitely a very short time. And, therefore, one must try to look beyond, while avoid sticking to first impressions. Avoid being influenced by the video production level, voice over, animations or subtitles. Avoid deciding based on personal preferences as a player. For all this, the hardest question for me was undoubtedly: "How excited are you to play the game?".

Focus on the game, first and last. Focus on the intended recipients.

I opted, from the start, for not trying to judge all the games. I also decided not to evaluate games whenever I was not able to look at them from distance enough. I chose to make enough time for each proposal. View and review the videos. Try to understand the intent and envision the hidden potential.

I've evaluated 19 games.

On the way to the second phase, the innovation of this edition: working sessions with the creators!

An opportunity to know a little about the person behind the game.  An opportunity to better understand the path, the ideas, the objectives, the options, the whys and why nots. And thus, better contribute to the development, through listening, questioning, suggesting, providing opinions.

Conversations with two creators, face to face, across distance, in space and time, over the Atlantic, between Portugal and the USA. And a few more messages to continue polishing the game, preparing the rules and developing a video up to fifteen minutes long.

Congratulations for this idea, Chris! Very interesting and enriching, besides enabling a more effective contribution towards game development!

And we have reached the second phase, now with the complete rules of the game and the longer videos.  Demanding greater time availability to digest all the information, to imagine the game in action, to evaluate balances and imbalances, to identify virtues and problems.

I've devoted my time to just two games.

Just one more phase to go: to test the real thing, a complete prototype. Of course, this must be done on location, by a panel of judges, and so my contribution ends here, believing that many of these projects will become games, available at a nearby store!

An Gleann Mòr

In the Great Valley, at last.
The Great Glen.
Glen More.
An Gleann Mòr.

Travelling. Across High Lands.
Amid the mist, beneath the hidden skies.
Amid the clouds, out in the rain.
Land of water. Land of waters.

To the sound of the wind.
To the sound of Gaelic.
Turning it even more mysterious.

An Gleann Mòr.
From Inbhir Nis to Fort Williams, 73 miles shaping Scotland.

Urquhart Castle, Caisteal na Sròine, close by Drumnadrochit.
Watching, for centuries.
Over the lake.

The lake.
Loch Ness.
The first one, for those who come from the north.

The game embraced this journey, searching for its origins.
Traveling light, with no box, out of the box.
Glen More.

Loch Lochy. Loch Lòchaidh.

Just after passing by Loch Oich. Loch Omhaich.

Lakes that succeed along the valley, forming the Caledonian Canal.

The highest mountain was not to be seen, protected by a blanket of clouds.
Beinns, mountain, as in Beinn Nibheis, Ben Nevis.
The highest point of the big island, here measured in feet, 4400 of them.
After Fort Williams, turning west, towards the jagged shoreline.

Loch Shiel. Loch Seile.

A sight dismissing any words.

You do not feel the falling rain anymore.

Time slows down.

It almost stops.

The game embraced the journey.

The tiles have left the box.

They have found their roots.

Eilean Donan Castle.
The castle of Donan island.

Eight Centuries of history.
From the Vikings to the Jacobites.

Rebuilt over 20 years in the early 20th century.
By the sight and hands of a military and his chief of works.
John Macrae-Gilstrap and Farquar Macrae.

Time to head to the island.
To the Isle of Skye.
Exchanging a visit to the castles of Armadale and Moil by the Old Men of Storr.

Climbing, climbing and climbing even more.
Until reaching the mists.
Above the rainbow.

Before the descent.
In the rain, sent by the Old Men to keep us away.
With this rain, that is already part of us.

In Clans Map of Scotland, Bartholomew

Time to leave behind this land of Clans.

The game will return to the box.

For now.

Glen More.

An Gleann Mór.