Designer’s Den (2013)

EuroQuest welcomes game designers to demonstrate their recent creations, be they newly published, games awaiting publication, or prototypes that are still undergoing playtesting.  This page, which will be updated continuously up until this year’s convention, will provide detailed information about these game designers and their games with scheduled demos at this year’s EuroQuest.

crenshawBill Crenshaw (pictured left), a long-time EuroQuest attendee, will be presenting his recently published game, Global Mogul. This game has recently been published by Mayfair Games, and some prior EQ attendees may remember seeing this game in prototype from under its prior name, Entrepreneur.

In Global Mogul global mogul players take on the role of a business tycoon expanding in markets across the world, fulfilling contracts, attracting venture capital to compete with others to become the world’s number one Global Mogul.  EuroQuest is pleased to announce that this game will be included as a “Hot New Game” as part of this year’s Wild Card event. Bill will be on hand to demo the game and sign copies, which should be available from our vendor, while supplies last.

Scheduled demo times:  11 PM – Midnight Thursday,  4 PM – 5 PM Friday

ruhnkeAward-winning game designer Volko Ruhnke (pictured at left) will be making his second appearance at EuroQuest this year. Back in 2011, Volko demoed Labyrinth and Andean Abyss, and both have won Charles Roberts Awards for Volko in the past three years. For 2013, Volko will be back at EQ with three new creations, one of which, cuba libreCuba Libre – a co-design with Jeff Grossman, is the sequel to Andean Abyss, focusing on the Cuban Revolution of the late 1950s. In this second volume of the popular series of multi-player COIN (counterinsurgency) games created by Volko and published by GMT Games, players can play the role of the Castro-led Communist insurgents, the crumbling Batista government, the anti-Castro Directorio or the Mob-controlled Syndicate seeking to preserve a lucrative casino empire on the island. The game system accommodates 1 to 4 players, with a non-player system directing the activities of non-player factions in the event there are less than four players.

Scheduled demo time:  2:30 – 5:30 PM Saturday

Volko is also slated to demo one or both of his most recent creations, and, as space may be limited, attendees will get to choose which of the two games receive the most attention: A Distant Plaindistant plain, a 2013 GMT release (co-designed with Brian Train, a noted Canadian game designer) or Fire in the Lake, firescheduled for release in 2014 by GMT Games (co-designed with Mark Herman, noted game designer). A Distant Plain deals with very recent events in Afghanistan, while Fire in the Lake deals with a very controversial and agonizing segment of U. S. history, the conflict in Vietnam. Both games build on the COIN series and uses a unique multi-player approach to both insurgencies. As in real-life, political as well as military considerations play a role in both games.

Schedule demo time for A Distant Plan/Fire in the Lake:  6 – 9 PM Saturday

parksAndrew Parks (photo, left), whose design credits include Core Worlds, Ideology and Parthenon, will be presenting his latest published design, Canterbury (photo, right), canterburya game that may be well known to many GCOMers as it won the only GCOM Game Days Game Design Competition a few years back. This will be the US convention debut of the published final version of the game, whose release date is early November, just a few days before EuroQuest 2013. In Canterbury, 2 to 4 players represent Saxon Lords who are charged with building the city into a prosperous capital.The Saxon Lords must use the city’s meager starting resources to build up the 25 districts of Canterbury and provide key services to its citizens.The key services are (in order from most basic to most prestigious) water, food, religion, defense, commerce, and culture. As new structures are built in the city, the city grows more prosperous. While each Saxon Lord jealously guards his or her own prosperity and achievements, they all benefit as a whole from the growing prosperity of the city itself. When the city reaches the peak of its prosperity, the game ends and the player with the most individual prosperity wins.

Scheduled demo time:  2:30 – 5 PM Saturday

RossetBen Rosset (photo, left), designer of Mars Needs Mechanics, published by Nevermore Games, will be presenting Brew Crafters, brewcraftersa game now slated for a 2014 release by Dice Hate Me Games — Brew Crafters hit its funding objective in October 2013 after being listed on KickStarter for less than three days. As the name implies, in Brew Crafters players assume management of a local craft brewery, working hard to manage resources, use their workers wisely, and develop their brewing line to create the best local brews. Brew Crafters honors the tradition of classic Eurogames such as Agricola and Puerto Rico, but at its heart beats a unique brewery processing system that must be constantly improved, monitored, and manned in order to keep the beloved beverages rolling off the line.

Scheduled demo time:  2:30 – 5:30 PM Saturday

Luke2Luke Petterschmidt (left) will be demoing Castle Dice castle dice(right), a successful 2013 KickStarter release published via Luke’s own company, Fun to 11. Castle Dice is a light worker-placement, dice-drafting game in which the players have been ordered by the king to build castles along the borders of the kingdom.The player who can create the greatest castle will become the new heir to the throne.

Scheduled demo time:  7 – 9 PM Friday

Geof Gambill (no photo available) will be presenting Black Diamonds  (photo at right), black diamondsand as yet to be published prototype that captures the history of coal mining in Pennsylvania and the formation of the country’s first labor unions.  As players will discover in this economic resource management game, competition is fierce, and the temptation to cut corners runs high. Do you invest in your mine’s safety? Do you invest in the coming railroad? How much can you afford to spend for Bethlehem Steel contracts? Can you manage your labor force, or will pushing them too hard lead to labor unrest? Players’ decisions will determine who will become King of Black Diamonds!

Scheduled demo times:  9 PM – 12 Midnight Friday and 9 AM -12 Noon Saturday

LevanNathaniel Levan (photo, left) will be presenting his as yet unpublished prototype, New Bedford (photo, right) newbedfordboxartNew Bedford is a resource and time management game, using worker placement mechanics, set in the golden age of whaling. Players build the town of New Bedford into a thriving Whaling community and gather resources to add buildings with new actions and launch ships to go whaling. Go out longest for the best choice, but wait too long and the whales become harder to catch. And don’t forget to pay your crew when ships return! Carefully balance time management and timing to earn the most points in this medium-weight worker placement and resource management game. For more information about New Bedford and Nat, visit his website at http://oakleafgames.wordpress.com

Scheduled demo time:  10 AM – 12 Noon Saturday

Alf Shadowsong and Kiva Fecteau of Shadowsong Industries will be presenting two prototype games: Escape Velocity and Kuchukua.

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Escape Velocity is a retro-looking spaceship racing game that gives each player a unique console providing attributes like fuel capacity, hull integrity, pit crew size, and a special maneuver. Use these plus optional corporate sponsors to decide on your strategy for surviving 3, 5, or a grueling 10 laps against opponents who are trying to speed past you and send your ship to the pit for repairs. Movement options come from the cards in your hand, but only you can decide whether to play nice or take control of the track.

Kuchukuaimage (2) is a deceptively simple resource acquisition game. Choose one of only three possible moves each turn as you vie for control of a global corporation by trading money, votes, and influence. Gain overwhelming control of any of these by outwitting the other contenders in your back room dealings, and in moments you’ve wrested away control of the company and become the new CEO.

Scheduled demo times:

7 – 9 PM Friday (Kuchukua)
6 – 9 PM Saturday (Escape Velocity)

Game designer Nick Ferris will demo Les Cartes Misérablesles mis – his trick-taking game based on the characters of Victor Hugo’s beloved novel, Les Misérables. 2-8 players, individually or in partnerships, bid on and take tricks as cards are played. Certain cards with special abilities, such as varying degrees of trump or the chance to modify one’s bid during play, embody the strengths and struggles of each character. But each card played in a suit brings a character closer to his or her demise. And when a character perishes, so too does an entire suit of cards! As the story unfolds, each player must adapt his strategy with every play or else his score will also end tragically.

Scheduled demo time: 2:30 – 4 PM Friday

Jamelli_MaxMax Jamelli (photo, left) will be back at EQ for the third consecutive year, demoing Lords of Baseball lords of baseball(right).  In this unique design that is the result of a father-and-son collaboration, you the player take on the role of a big-league baseball General Manager, a la Brad Pitt in the movie Moneyball. Do you have what it takes to sustain a dynasty? Will you build your team through trades or through a strong farm system? With multiple paths to victory, Lords of Baseball will give you that chance. It’s not only about winning the World Series, it’s also about doing the little things that will help you score Victory Points and at the end of 20 years make you the Lord of Baseball. For more information about the game, visit the website at http://www.lordsofbaseball.info

Scheduled demo time:  9 AM -12 Noon Saturday

lesser evil

Josh Tempkin (left) will be offering two demos of his prototype, Lesser Evil,LesserEvil_unpubnet a push-your-luck die-rolling game with a unique twist.  Josh describes it as:  “A dice game about choices. You can use your tokens to improve your rolls… until you run out of tokens! The trick is that bad rolls get you more tokens, and leftover tokens cost you dearly at the end of the game.” Lesser Evil plays in 30-45 minutes and accommodates 3-6 players.

Scheduled demo times:  9 – 10 PM  Friday  10:30 AM – 12 Noon Sunday

cole

Steven Cole (left), a long-time EuroQuest attendee, will be presenting Conquest of Orion, orionsoon to be published by Escape Velocity Games after a successful Kickstarter campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/590309255/conquest-of-orion-a-conquer-the-galaxy-card-game

“ORION – yours to conquer. Once just a distant constellation, Orion is now being explored and colonized. Lead your alliance to victory!”  Conquest of Orion is a 4 player game with 2 teams of 2, but we’ll be testing the 2 and 3 player variant. For more information, check out the You Tube video.

Scheduled demo time: 11 AM – 1 PM  Friday

kevinKevin Kulp (left), designer of the recently funded Kickstarter game Pig Pen, will be presenting his new prototype, Kingship (right).kingship To quote from the promo literature: “The King is dying and one of his sons will succeed him. Your role as a Visigoth is to make sure the son you like becomes the next King. You job is to influence the King’s choice of succession, by buying land and ensuring your favorite Prince(s) win Events. The Visigoth who is best at managing their Influence will be the winner in this closed bidding Euro game.”

Scheduled demo time:  10 PM – 12 Midnight Saturday

Finally, last but not least, GCOM’s own Legend Dan Hoffman (photo, left) legend danhas recently joined the list of published game designers with his Werewolf variant, Ultimate Werewolf:  Inquisition (photo, right),werewolf a 2013 release from Bezier Games. As in regular Werewolf, players are divided into teams; The Villagers and the Werewolves. However, unlike regular Werewolf, this version has no player elimination and works well even with a small group, as there are always a total of 12 “residents” in the Village, four of whom are Werewolves. Legend Dan will, of course, have copies available for sale — along with other published games by the above-mentioned game designers — at his Canton Games booth throughout the convention.

Scheduled demo times:  5:30 – 6:30 PM Friday and 10 PM – 11 PM Saturday