Time flows at its own steady pace. Oblivious of joys and hardships. Just like the movement of this sphere of land and water, ice and fire. Revolving across the pitch-black space. Circling that middle-aged yellow star, we named Sun.
Time jolts, stops, and restarts. Advancing in steps. Twenty-four follows twenty-three. January follows December. One follows thirty-one. The calendar page is turned. Time is reset while moving forward.
In the land of games, another time frame overlaps these two. Here, time is often marked by projects starting and by projects ending. One after another. One alongside others. Since I returned to this land, wearing a different habit, each year has brought more and more such marks.
The transition between years that happened a couple of weeks ago was no different. Continuing some projects, starting new ones, and ending others.
Reading and commenting on the near-final version of an upcoming book on the design of historical board games, focusing on conflict and war games. A domain I really enjoy, and a lot of reflection and learning throughout the process. A second experience of the kind, after Wargaming Experiences II - Discussions, by Natalia Wojtowicz.
Writing a new rulebook from scratch for a game to be soon launched on a crowdfunding platform at the reach of your fingers. From a blank file and a game teaching session to the complete rules. Organising and streamlining. Tweaking sentences and words. Crafting images and examples. Aiming to provide a good learning experience for first-timers and a valuable reference for those returning to the game. Seeking to let the creation shine on its own. Always a welcomed challenge that comes with great freedom of choice.
Working on the final stages of two others: Unconscious Mind by Fantasia Games, and Apex Legends: The Board Game by Glass Cannon Unplugged.
Consulting and editing for another rulebook. This one is for a game that has already been funded on Kickstarter through a very well-managed and successful campaign. A beautiful game with intriguing gameplay, full of challenging decision spaces. At the core of the work is a forth-and-back discussion on how to better convey all the intricacies and nuances to smooth the learning curve and provide the best possible experience.
Editing yet another rulebook. For a write-and-roll game with some traits of role-playing and within a Lovecraftian setting. With considerable leeway granted, this may be the first of a stream of collaborations covering different game genres. More to come!
And a new rulebook translation into Portuguese, faithful to the entry point of this journey. Always happy to help bring more games in Portuguese to the tables and to see publishers investing in the growing Portuguese market. The collaboration with the Belgium translation studio The Geeky Pen is now one of the most long-standing, and the portfolio of translated games grows from year to year.
More fragments to come. Discontinuities within a continuum.
