At RiaCon 2023

May was the month for another edition of RiaCon, held from the 19 to the 21 at the usual place, the Tulip Inn Estarreja Hotel & SPA, Estarreja, Portugal. Organized by the same team as always, but now under the seal of the brand new board game association RiaJoga – Associação Lúdica da Região de Aveiro. Time to get another stamp in the Passport of Board Game Conventions!

Saturday’s afternoon was filled with Donnerschlag: Escape from Stalingrad. The return to war games had long been promised to Augusto Cruz, and finally we made it! It is a return, as war games were, no doubt, the first complex games I played, back in the late 1970's, early 1980's, in this unique combination of strategy, tactics, and historical context, most often choosing World War II for the setting. I am certain there will be more sessions to come in the near future, because there is plenty of material to explore in both our collections. 

Donnerschlag recreates an operation planned by the German forces to liberate their 6th Army, besieged at Stalingrad. Hexagons and counters. Asymmetrical forces and positioning. The use of terrain features, in particular rivers and bridges. Advances and delays. Increased mobility against reinforcements. Initiative and the time that is running out. Activation and combat cards. Combat resolution tables and dice. A hidden objective: the meeting point with the 6th Army.

The session lasted for the whole afternoon, not because the game play itself was slow, but because there were lots of ongoing conversations. Between the two of us, with those who stopped by out of curiosity for an unfamiliar game genre, with those more used to the cardboard battlefields, and with so many now familiar faces, present convention after convention. All these moments of sharing are one of the best features of such events! As for the game, the suspense on the outcome persisted until the final moment of the last turn: the German forces arrived at the planned meeting location but did not resist the Soviet's last breath.

Donnerschlag, a war game by Patrick Gebhardt and Pepito Shazzeguti, published by VUCA Simulations. As a side note, I made some comments to an earlier version of the rules, and so my name is featured in the acknowledgement's section!

The ambiance was excellent, as always! Lots of people, plenty of games to choose from, a nice set of prizes to raffle, thanks to the sponsors who supported the convention, a room full of light, and an exemplary and welcoming organization 😊

there was nothing planned in advanced for Sunday’s afternoon. But then came the opportunity to playtest a prototype from the game desingers João Quintela Martins and Vital Lacerda: the Santa Justa Elevator. It was a three-way session, together with João Quintela, the author, and João Pimentel, in goos spirits and with a good discussion about the current stage of the game, design questions, suggestions, and potential for future developments. How I enjoy seeing, and being able to participate, in such projects under construction!

Cool things about these interconnected communities: a video shared by João Quintela Martins, a reaction from Julián Pombo, the Uruguayan game designer of Pampero (among others), who I met at this year's LeiriaCon while testing one of his latest prototypes, and an unexpected intercontinental exchange of greetings!

The sun is setting, and RiaCon will return next year, for sure. Until then, the Portuguese convention route continues. The next participation will most likely be at VianaCon. In the meantime, in these pages, there will also be flashbacks from the Cannes International Gaming Festival and LeiriaCon. I need only to find time enough to write them down.

Working in the land of games

Design by Leonor Conceição

 
Life in the land of games has been intense and diversified! Not exactly playing games, but rather making a contribution towards games that already are, and games yet to be. Increasing their accessibility through clear rules, precise wording, and, whenever possible, making them available in Portuguese.

If you want to know some more on what I've been doing, with whom I have been collaborating, on which games, across which geographies even if without leaving this place, as well as some opinions on my work, check my portfolio, here. 

   Development, editing, and proofreading rule books. 

   Translation                                                               Narrative writing

   Playtests                                                                   Juri and coach in game design contests

   Exhibitions                                                               Presentations

   Interviews and conversations

Of Kings & Queens, trolls, goblins, and more

 

The final session had come to an end, and the workday was done. The lift brings me back to the ground floor. The doorway leads me into the city rush. The night has already settled in. No rain, cold air, but not too much, good enough for a walk. Much better than to dive into the underground tunnels, to reappear in another place, as if jumping between two unconnected points. It is late November, 6 pm.

From Rondpoint Robert Schuman and heading towards the city centre. A stroll all the way down Rue de La Loi. The streets are flooded with light, from the sidewalk lamps above, from slowly moving cars, drawing lines of white and trails of red, from electric scooters and bicycles, moving fast. 

I am now crossing Rue Royale to enter the pentagon-shaped inner city. Further ahead, on the right, the Saint Michel and Saint Gudule Cathedral. A couple of streets more, la Place du Marché aux Herbes. Familiar names and familiar sights, maybe because I have been here in three or four occasions before, always work-related. The first probably dating to the 1990’s, and the last to early 2018, for a job interview at the European Parliament. Yes, this is Brussels.

Then, La Grande Place, with its adorned Christmas tree, chimes resounding in the background. Shopping malls, street shops, cafes and restaurants. Lights and sounds. People moving hastily, bags in hand. Others in loud conversations. Still others just contemplating and taking pictures, freezing time, for the now or for the later. Shoppers, tourists, and residents. Locals, nationals, and foreigners like myself. 

It is now 7 pm. Just about time to head to the next destination, following one of the game-related locations Orlando Sá suggested. One which is still open and where I may have something to eat. 

A short five-minute walk to a street bearing an appropriate name for this quest, la Rue du Fossé aux Loups, Wolvengracht. Well, it seems that the street name may be linked to a man named Wolf, and not to the creatures themselves, but anyhow. Pretty easy to identify, with the large sign above the door: Kings & Queens. Yes, that’s the place. A Board Game Café. That reminds me that I still have an overdue visit to pay to A Jogar é que a Gente se Entende, back in Portugal. A promise for 2023!

The place is almost deserted, if not by two pairs engaged in some sort of game with miniatures, close to the door, and a couple by the counter, sipping their cocktails and engaged in a conversation with the barman. I chose one of the many empty tables, well sized for gaming, drop the coat on the back of one of the chairs and the notebook on the table. Linkin Park is playing low in the background, followed by The Queen. It feels cozy in there.

The concept of the Game Bar is simple. For five euros per person, you can play all the games you want from the on-site game library. You may even get some assistance regarding game rules. Playing games will not be on my menu for today, but a tasty pizza and a Cuvée des Trolls, a Belgian beer with history - what else? -, will do the job. 

First, the mandatory glance at the game library. More than 300 games on the shelves, from party games to medium euros, to some of the classic heavy weights. Familiar covers on display: Takenoko, Wingspan, Anachrony, and many, many more.

Back to the table. There still is not a great deal of movement. A group of three in search of some game, sitting down and getting ready to play. A couple more entering and leaving. Is it because of the nearby holiday season, for being a late afternoon in the middle of the week, or a side effect of yet another rail-strike? 

I decided to join Thomas, the barman, at the counter, and learn more about the place. As the conversation started to flow, my French surfaced, even if somewhat rusty. 

The café-bar is in operation for just over four years, meaning that the pandemic restrictions were in place during a substantial part of its existence. It survived the hardships, and a rent to pay in the city center, without much of a support. Converted into a temporary take-away, as many other similar businesses, losses were somewhat attenuated. It survived, but not unscathed, with projects put on hold, and only gradually getting back to full action.

The business seems now well on the rise. From regular clients to occasional visitors, from a corporate day-out to team building exercises. Apparently I have chosen what is proving to be the quietest day of the last three to four weeks. 

As for Thomas, he has been there for about a year. A passionate by the art of cocktail-making, and serving, something that always fascinated me, he learned the tricks of the trade as hotel barman. The knowledge, the experimentation, the creativity, connecting people, providing new experiences, suggesting, guiding. 

From drinks to games, with so many points in common. The importance of knowing the trade and understanding the people sitting on the stool or around the tables. Presenting them with new flavours, new games, new experiences. Creating a welcoming space, for them to return. Overall, contributing for people to spend good moments together, over a drink or two, over a boardgame table, over both. The barman and the boardgame expert alike. The game connoisseur here is the founder and owner, Athanasios, but he is not there today.

The conversation drifts. The meaning of being a Belgian. Traveling the world and choosing to work in Brussels. People’s roots, spread all over the continent, Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal. And all over the world. Nationalism and internationalism. Openness and segregation. Togetherness and divisions. Harmony, struggles, and dangers.

Well, time flies, and I say goodbye to Kings & Queens. Thank you, Thomas! A walk back to the hotel, a night of sleep, and an early morning trip to the airport. Hope to be back and, next time, I will be playing some games!

https://www.facebook.com/KingsQueensCafe/

Far beyond the horizon

 

Setting sail. Like this ship, in early September 2016. That was The Year of the Monkey. A year full of departures into the unknown, breaking with well-established routines.  Changing course, in the book holding the same name, authored by Patti Smith, as in real life.

Setting sail. October 2018. The start of a countdown, which may not have existed without the preceding events. All dots connected. Heading (back) to the land of games. It all started by bringing together words, photos, games, and languages. Things I enjoy. Shaping a blog.  With a vague notion of wanting to be more involved in the world of board games. Without much of a plan. Just wandering around. Craving for the journey. Even with no safe shores in the horizon.

Fast forward to four years later. Things went ways I wouldn’t have dreamed off, when leaving harbour. Looking back at a list of 10, made within this period, in no particular order and selected among many others:

Over 50 rule book translations, increasing accessibility, with a fair number for MasQueOca and for TheGeekyPen, including games such as Concordia and Pavlov’s House. Thank you, José Antonio and Jo Lefebure, for the initial opportunity and the continuous trust!

Interviews with Dávid Turczi, Sabrina Miramon, Sarah Shah, and Don Woods, who so kindly accepted to give some of their time and to share insights on board games with a small audience blog.

Short stories for presenting The Isle of Cats, courtesy of Frank West when kindly reaching out for small content producers, and Welcome to Sysifus Corp., thanks to Wonmin Lee.

The lore for Ynaros Fallin’ main story and scenarios, thanks to the trust and creative freedom provided by Ugo Tomasello, and the very professional way of running his very first game design and production. A game soon hitting Kickstarter.

Judge and coach in The Board Game Workshop Design Contest, aimed at games under development, thanks to all the work of Chris Anderson, and the welcoming environment created.

Learning from Paul Grogan, always welcoming and willing to share his knowledge and approaches, and being able to make some minor contributions in the backstage of Gaming Rules! An invaluable opportunity for someone who loves rulebooks and rulebook-related work in its different forms.

Collaborating with Orlando Sá in the final development stages of Rossio and Pessoa, always open to opinions and to share his vision and expertise, which also lead to other conversations, far beyond games. Thank you for your friendship!

Playtesting games such as The Smoky Valley (Claude Sirois, Spielworxx), Lanzerath Ridge (David Thomson, Dan Verssen Games), and That Others May Live (Brad Smith, Hollandspiele – upcoming), amongst others.

A talk at LeiriaCon, the most international Portuguese boardgame convention, courtesy of Micael Sousa, where I covered over 50 years of (my) games in not much more than 10 minutes!

A board game exhibition, at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, thanks to Margarida Almeida, who made me think about games as a collection and how to display it for benefit of larger audiences. An unexpected and rewarding challenge!

The voyage continues!

Weekend in Viana do Castelo, Portugal

 

Friday afternoon, October 21. Time to head north towards Viana do Castelo, for the third convention of the year, after LeiriaCon and RiaCon. This time, finally, for a full stay, to make the most of this opportunity for encounters, re-encounters, and discoveries at the table. 

A road trip in tones of gray, anticipating the contrast with the colours awaiting for us. Arriving just in time for the check-in, a glance at Santa Luzia’s hill, already in the darkness, and a quick dinner in an almost deserted place, where a football match was more discussed than watched.

VianaCon had indeed already begun in the afternoon, with a session addressed to schools. For me, it began in the evening, at the Café Concerto of the Theater Sá de Miranda, a different setting for welcoming participants and occasional visitors. 

Time for the first meetings, a table to avoid the more traditional seats, a quiz about games, what else, and a first prototype to try out. In the company of Pedro Santos and Maria Mota, both very strong in the questions and answers, and André Santos, the author of the game, which follows a Roll'n Write developed in pandemic times, and Neotopia, soon to be published. Serious prototype riding, stretching strategies to the limit, discussing processes, debating fine-tuning.

Saturday, the first day at the Cultural and Congress Center, with a cozy interior made of wooden tones, and the Lima River just outside the windows. An excellent venue for this kind of events, with tables of generous dimensions. Maybe a coffee zone was the single item missing, to reset the levels throughout the day!

Meeting people. Marlene and Luís, from Salta da Caixa, and their new projects that will bring more games in Portuguese. Manuel, from the boardgame café A Jogar é que a gente se entende, even when having the youngest family member sleeping in his lap (not yet the opportunity to pay visit to the café…). Luís Baixinho, one of the organizers, with whom we talked about science fiction and teaching (both fans of the brilliant short story Profession, by Isaac Asimov), and from Lego to board games of the 80s. Pedro Kerouac, a familiar partner at these conventions. Hugo, with some games in development, and a play test scheduled for InvictaCon. Nuno Rebelo and the future of the Boardgamers of Aveiro. Among others.

Also a first meeting with João Cotrim, partner in recent translations and proofreading of rule books, for the Belgian company The Geeky Pen.

Then, finally (!), it was time to meet Orlando Sá in person. Our first contacts began, like so many others, in Facebook gaming groups. Later, came an unexpected invitation to try out Rossio, one of his boardgames, then in the near-final development stage, and the fine-tuning of the solo mode. The collaborations went on to the most recent published game of his, Pessoa, and extended to various conversations and ideas, cycling included. It is so great that, in this gaming world, we may use virtual and physical spaces, taking advantage of both!

This time around, even with an added bonus: a very interesting workshop on the creation and development of games, from idea to prototypes, from play tests to rule books, from the home table to pitching to publishers.

Afterwards, it was time to play and to discover new games. If, in Leiria, I almost exclusively played prototypes, in different stages of development, this time around I opted to play games already published, recent ones or not that much. Sharing with Tiago, Sérgio, Eduardo, Filipa, Nuno, Pedro Kerouac and Luís Júnior.

Glory to Rome - Managing characters to rebuild the city 

Parks - Hiking across US National Parks

Sobek - Gathering resources in Ancient Egypt

Abomination - In the footsteps of Frankenstein

Viticulture - Wine making in Tuscany

I will be King

 

The Grand Island has lost its King. And, as many stories go, there were the Scots, the Welsh, and the English. You are neither. You are a noble man vying for the throne. But you are not the only one.

You seek to influence the balance of power, in each one of the eight regions, while seeking to get support from the different factions. There is, however, a catch. Each supporter entering your court, is one less counting for faction majority over the land. And do not forget, when a power struggle is settled in a region, its result is carved in stone, no changing allegiances, until the very end.

Plus, you may have far-reaching actions, but the number of choices is limited. No more than eight, each to be used one single time. And you do know your rivals’ hands are just the same. That is why timing becomes so more important. When to wait, observe, and pass. When to act. Which action to select. 

As if this would not be enough, there are the French, those black shadows hovering across the channel, patiently waiting for the void of power, or for mayhem, to invade the island! Even so, that still may play into your hands, not by becoming king, but instead the unifying leader that will fight back the invasion. 

The King is Dead, a fascinating creation by Peer Sylvester, illustrated by Benoit Billion, and published by Osprey Games. Very easy to learn, yet hard to master as each decision is a dilemma, extremely balanced and always tense, appealing both to casual and seasoned players. 

Summer works

    “In the land of dreams, you may be yourself (…)”, Jorge Palma

Holidays! Synonym for a long-desired pause on the work-work. At home with no schedules. On the road, drawing lines across the country. From north to south, from west to east, and back. Appointments with the blue, the waters, and the skies. Hot afternoons. Warm nights. Family, in larger or smaller numbers.

A word meaning time for games played. But, also, for games-worked on. Collaborations renewing themselves, checking-in without notice. One-off collaborations. New challenges. Projects hovering over the calendar, as in a suspension state. The search for the next to be project.

The agenda, constantly changing, remained filled, demanding time and space. Time, most often nocturnal. The usual space, the cozy living room, the lamp chasing away the dimness, the same desk, the chair, the soft light of a second screen, shelves in the background. All to be replaced for a couple of weeks. Because all it takes is just a laptop connected to the world, a more or less improvised place, a few schedule adjustments, and the work continues.

Summer brushstrokes, wandering in the land of games, crossing time-zones.

The Board Game Workshop (United States of America). Juror and Mentor. These are the roles I've been taking on since 2019 in the contest for games in development, run every year by Chris Anderson. The main objective is not to award notes and rank. The underlying intention is to make a contribution to the improvement of games yet to be, by commenting and discussing. I especially enjoy the mentor role, let us call it this way, for games that have been selected in first stage of the contest. A unique opportunity to meet new authors and have a first in-depth look at ongoing projects, to better understand motivations and choices, to enter that space beyond the curtains.

In this year's edition I followed two completely different projects. One abstract in essence, another with surfing as the theme. The first, with some complexity, calling for thought ad reflection. The second, for more relaxed moments, in a group-play, suitable for various audiences. Originating from very different geographies, Canada, and Australia. Conversations at a distance, five time zones back, ten forward. Sharing opinions, discussing processes, debating options, commenting, questioning suggesting. About the game itself, about writing rules, about presentation videos. On the way to the third stage of the competition, who knows, or on a route of its own, already beyond the contest. 

Want to try it? As authors or as jurors? 2023 is just around the corner, and registration is always open to everyone.

The Geeky Pen (Bélgica). (Belgium). Translate. Play with words and phrases. Sense, style, accuracy. Learning new terms. Looking for solutions. Imagining alternatives. Increasing the accessibility of games. In Portuguese.

The collaboration with this translation company, created in 2015 by Jo Lefebure, and specialized in games, is already one of my most regular ones, almost reaching two dozen of titles translated to Portuguese, in as many months. Regular, but always unpredictable, as it is the norm in this line of work.

This time, two messages arriving in the middle of August. One of them for a much longer rulebook than has been usual to date, suitable for a game of medium complexity, and requiring some thematic research work. Let's see if it's a new trend, or just an isolated event.

Gold Mountain Games (United Kingdom). Editing, reviewing. Seizing the meaning, verifying the consistency, questioning, suggesting, rectifying, preserving the authors' voice. Descriptions of continents, islands, and seas. Fauna and flora. Villages and cities. Multiple races and monsters aplenty. With history and stories. Cultures. Personalities. Skills. A world in creation, coming to life through texts, illustrations, and music. To be inhabited by adventurous players. To inspire the Game Master.

This is a company creating content for role playing games, narrative games, 5th edition compatible. And it is one of the brand-new projects and collaborations, as part of the team in charge of editing the texts. Together with people from different geographies. Right in the core of the narrative. Giving use to many years of editing and reviewing, in the most varied contexts and with the most varied themes.

August 2022. And so, it started!

Hollandspiele (United States of America). Playing, testing, reporting, detailing results, describing experiences, commenting. Repeating. Test, report, evolve. Test, report, evolve. Essential parts of game development. Always with an eye on the rules, of course, just because I do love those manuals that draw us into the gaming experience.

Testing through digital platforms, convenient, cost-effective, allowing to overcome distances and bypass time zones. Granted, they don't convey the same sensations as the real thing, at least for me. But they are the ones making these interactions possible and widespread! 

That Others May Live is a solo game about aerial search and rescue operations, in the Vietnam War. Tense, with the pressure of time draining away, and with the uncertainty of the positioning and behaviour of enemy forces. A creation by Brad Smith, about which you may read here, with development of Ryan Heilman, for Hollandspiele, an original publisher, who does not blink when engaging with sensitive topics, be it the politics of slavery, conflicts, or the challenges of rehabilitation following a brain injury!