Saturday Afternoon Designer Alley
Here is a more in depth look at the designers and games being shown on Saturday afternoon in Designer Alley!
Saturday March 7th:
2 PM:
Table A: Ata Gurpinar showing Crop Circles
Crop Circles is a tile-laying game, players warn the Earthlings of their impending doom by leaving crop circles in their fields. But they must follow rules to communicate correctly by following rules of tile adjacency, and these restrictions will change over the course of the game. Players can time these changes by blowing up scarecrows, cows, and farmhouses to get the Earthlings’ attention, and doing so will earn even more points.
Table B: Max Seidman showing Surreal
Surreal you, the host of a dinner party, are responsible for keeping a handful of surrealists happy and sending them home satisfied. That’s easier said than done, though, because these Surrealists are colorful characters, and each one has a different checklist of things they want out of the evening.
Table C: Travis Drake (Wryknot Games) showing Hysteria
Hysteria is a simple, but suspenseful social deduction game for 5-9 players, that plays in 15 minutes. As “upstanding” Townsfolk, everyone has been summoned to the Town Square to deal with the quickly passing word: A Cult has rooted itself in your Town! Players will be searching through others’ cards, plainly laid face-down in front of them on the table, trying to uncover who has been corrupted by the Cult. Players will Look Left, then Right, then Pass 1 card to their Left, before Accusing individual cards/players of being a Cultist in order to Imprison them with a majority vote. Players can give up their ability to Accuse in order to Peek instead at a card another has Accused. Beware though, it’s not what you know, it's what you can convince people you know… All Imprisoned cards are revealed one-by-one at the end to see if the town has been saved or taken over by the hiding cultists among them.
Table D: Chris Wiley showing Maze of Minotaur
Maze of Minotaur Thrown into the Maze as one of eight Greek citizens you must find your way to the exit, before the door is sealed. Watch out for the Minotaur, and you fellow players, as the Fates may have other plans for you.
Maze of the Minotaur plays on a 5x5, randomly created Maze, for a unique game each play. Supports 3-8 players, and utilizes unique player powers, a play and pass card mechanism, and a balance of luck vs planning. It plays in around 90 minutes. It suits a wide range of player age and skill as the competitive aspect of the game can be curbed to allow for milder play, or be played as a highly competitive race to the finish. VP ultimately decide the winner once the gameplay is finished.
4PM:
Table A: Jan Gonzalez showing Battleworld
Battleworld is a fast-paced card game that combines hand management, set collection, and racing mechanisms. It plays 2-4 players in about 30-40 minutes.
It has a unique theme where superheroes and supervillains team up to fight the Overlord and his Minions. The player who assembles the best team gets to defeat the Overlord and wins the game.
Table B: Brian Compter showing Ludus Senatus
Ludus Senatus is a fast playing 18 card micro game of legislative intrigue in ancient Rome!
Players control a tableau of three cards and take turns either revealing one of their cards and performing the actions listed on it or placing a card in the middle of the table and drawing a new card to their tableau. When the center of the table fills up each player checks the votes on their cards and compares them to the votes in the middle of the table. If your votes match the vote of the senate (those in the middle of the table) you score points!
Table C: Caleb Hand showing At the Helm
At the Helm is a 2-5 player pickup and deliver game set in the Age of Exploration.
Table D: Corey Andalora showing Pocket Apiary
Pocket Apiary is a worker pool game for 2-3 players that plays in 20-30 minutes. You are a beekeeper luring communal bees to your garden to collect nectar in exchange for honey at the shared apiary. Use your garden's flower actions and time your deposits perfectly to earn the most points.
Each turn you move a bee between the apiary where you deposit nectar cubes, the field where you pollinate new flowers, and your garden where you gather nectar. Build a mini engine with your garden to optimize your nectar collection in hopes to exchange it for honey. The more matching honey you collect, the more points it is worth. Combine that with the points from your garden to earn the highest total for victory.