Drop Site: FREE shipping

No, its not Settlers of Catan, but it is an award winning card-game that I designed! It can help kids learn math, risk-taking and memory skills, and its an incredibly portable game that you can take to the coffee shop for date night. And NOW, Bellwether Games is offering FREE shipping through Dec. 31.

Drop DROP SITE in a stocking this year! Its a great game for a Christmas gift! Get it here!

Mass Scheduling Via Card Drafting Mechanic

Do you think it is easy to schedule 32 people for 96 different weekend shifts over 16 weeks?

It can be! It can be really easy! Keep reading and I will tell you how.

Ways its been done in the past: 1. Just pick dates for each person out of a hat. Good, but then you have to force people to take shifts they don't want. That leads to unhappiness.

Ok, well, just give everyone an opportunity to trade away the shifts they don't like. Good, but that could take a while, and you still might end up with people who have shifts they can't work.

2. Alternatively, have all the workers draw a draft number, and then let them choose shifts one at a time based on their draft number. This is a fair method, but...it could take hours (approximately 6 hours with 32 workers and 96 shifts).

3. You could even implement a worker placement mechanic to gamify the process--something I've done before. Even with this strategy, it would still take way too long to schedule 32 people.

There has got to be a better way!

And, there is!

It's a somewhat common game mechanic called "Card Drafting" which could be described simply as drawing cards to your hand or play area from a common source.

Some notable games with card drafting are Ticket to Ride, 7 Wonders, and Dominion.

How can this help you schedule workers? Let me tell you what we did.

The New Way:

First, we made 96 cards by labeling note cards with a marker. Each card had a weekend shift labeled on it.

Second, we gave our staff a "heads up" by telling them to be prepared to make quick scheduling decisions and to bring their calendars to our next meeting. This is an important step.

On the day of the game, we shuffled all 96 cards, and put three face up on each of 32 chairs. After giving instructions about how the game was played, we had each staff member stand in front of one of the 32 chairs.

When we said, "Go!" each person looked at the three cards on their chair. They had 30 seconds to pick a card before we said, "Go!" again and told them to move to the next chair.

32 RAs picking shifts by drafting cards.

Every time we said "Go!" they had another 30 seconds. After a staff member had picked up three cards, they were done and had to go in another room to wait for everyone else.

There were only three rules to the card drafting:
1. You had to choose to pick up either one card or zero cards at each chair
2. Once you picked up a card you could not put it back down on any chair
3. You could not peak ahead at the next chair(s)

Make a quick decision: 1 or 0 cards

In our session, we only had to say "Go!" about 5 times (that's about 3 minutes total) before everyone had their three shifts selected. Then we gave them 5 minutes to make trades with each other before we had them write their names on their cards and turn them in.

For example, Player A stands in front of chair A which has three cards face up. The first card says Sept 27-28, the second says Oct 21-22, and the third says Nov 6-7. Player A chooses to pick up Sept 27-28, which means they will have to work the shift on that weekend. After the moderator says "Go!" Player A moves to Chair B, which only has two cards on it because Player B was just there and had already picked up one of them.

This scheduling game was an incredible success!

Not only did we schedule 32 staff members on 96 shifts over 14 weeks, we did it in less than 10 minutes, AND our staff members were complimenting us and telling us we should schedule this way next semester too.

Win/win.

This scheduling process could have been long and arduous. We could have just picked shifts and told them to "deal with it," but I believe there is always a better solution. A well-contrived game mechanic can make it possible to benefit all parties.

Some of the reasons why this works:
1. Its simple. With only three rules, everyone can understand.
2. It puts the onus on the worker to choose shifts they might not otherwise choose
3. It forces people to make decisions rapidly and to be prepared ahead of time
4. Its completely random and 100% fair

Try it. We used this game to schedule Resident Assistants at a State University for their On-Call shifts, but its application can go further.

We'd love to hear how you've adapted this game for your own organizations and institutions.

Using Games to Manage Your Finances

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Thanks to my good friend Jeff for pointing out this excellent article about the application of board game mechanics. It discusses the uses of game design principles for managing your personal finances. Here is a quick quote:

"But I quickly realized that I’ve subconsciously been using game design principles to help me cut spending, boost income, get out of debt, and build wealth. My own approach to money management has been game-based for the past seven years, but I haven’t realized it until now."

And here is a link to the complete article: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2011/08/03/playing-to-win-turning-money-management-into-a-game/

Drop Site party photos

These people were having a really good time with Drop Site. Thanks for stopping by!

These kids are game designers too. It was a lot of fun to talk to them about Drop Site and their interest in game design.

At one point we had three full tables of people playing Drop Site. If we had set up more tables, I think we could have gotten even more games going.

Thanks to my wife Sara for making a truly awesome cake. Very tasty too!

If you are interested in getting a copy of Drop Site, go to our website www.bellwethergames.com! It will not be sold in retail stores, so this is the only place to find it.

exciting days

The last couple days have been pretty exciting for me. Thanks to the MBA director at school we decided to put on a release party for Drop Site on campus. In anticipation of the event the local paper was tipped-off, so I was interviewed and ended up on the front page yesterday. It was pretty neat to walk past the newspaper kiosk and see a big picture of the cards for Drop Site on the front! The result was a boost of about 300 hits at bellwethergames.com, where I'm selling the game.

The release party was held today, and, again, the media was involved. Two different camera people were there representing two different news stations. The event was a big success. Thanks to the news article on the day prior, many people from the local community came by just to buy the game. A highlight for me was probably talking to a dad and his two sons, one of whom has designed several games himself.

Sara also made a terrific looking cake that looked like a crate of aid from the game. Overall we sold about 30 copies of the game and made several contacts with people who love games. At 5, the local news aired and both stations ran the Drop Site release story as one of the top stories. Both did a pretty decent job with it, although I did not sound very articulate for the camera. Still, very exciting, fun and a unique experience.

Pictures coming soon!

Over a Barrel = Next Game = Updates

Greetings All!

We had a good development week for our next game, Over a Barrel! Imagine a game with adventure, strategic investing, timing, and keel-hauling all in one! (Well, maybe not exactly keel-hauling). Sounds pretty exciting doesn't it!

It is! But it can be very difficult to combine all of these elements into one game. The graphical representation of all the different information on the board has at times been tedious to accomplish, but this aspect of game development is incredibly important. Your artist may not understand the game play, so it is imperative that the designer or publisher devote a great amount of scrutiny to how the elements, rules, and player options are represented on the board.

Our efforts to perfect the board for Over a Barrel have been the main topic of discussion over the past week and we are pleased that progress is being made. In addition, we are nearing completion of several play test copies of the game, which we hope to send out in July. Let us know if you are interested in play testing!

We think Over a Barrel will be a hit, so get in on this one at sea level!

Drop Site Release Party

In an effort to generate some more local awareness about my game, we're going to have a release party. If you are interested, feel free to stop by!

Let me know if you need more information about the event!

The 2011 Spiel Des Jahres Nominees Are...

Matt Leacock's Forbbiden Island (Gamewright, 2010)

It is the Most Wonderful time of the year for board game designers and publishers. Today, the Spiel Des Jahres (SdJ) jury announced its nominees for the coveted German Game of the Year trophy.

...and the 2011 nominees are:
-Asra
-Qwirkle
-Forbidden Island

But wait, aren't there usually five nominees for the SdJ?

Yes, but this year the SdJ jury decided to split the nominees into three groups. The three already listed are for the regular SdJ trophy. There were three more nominated for "kinderspiel des jahres" (children's game of the year), as well as for "kennerspiel des jahres," which goes to the best complex game of the year.

You can find the full list of nominations at the SdJ website.

A list of 12 other "recommended" games was also announced by the jury. Apparently these are games that didn't make the cut, but might be worth your time and money anyways. Check out those recommended games here.

In Which I Hold My First Published Game

12 Games per box

Shrink-wrapped!

Solid European-Style game manufacturing

Love the artwork!

Drop Site and Premio Archimede Award

If you would like a copy, head over to www.bellwethergames.com where we will be selling them exclusively.

Game of the Year Nominees Announced May 23

What were the best board games of the year? You may have your own opinions about that, or you could rely on the opinions of the Spiel des Jahres jury. If you are still new on your quest for the perfect game, the Spiel des Jahres (SdJ) is the German Board Game of the Year Award, presented every year in June. On May 23, five lucky nominations for the prize will be announced.

Its kind of a big deal. The German award is considered the top in the world and SdJ winners have consistently become some of the most-famous and best-loved games on the market.

Read more about the prestigious award from wikipedia, or go straight to the source.

Above is a close-up of the actual SdJ trophy to the 2001 SdJ award-winning Carcassone (Hans Im Glueck). Note a second SdJ trophy in the background.

Drop Site in Switzerland

As part of the Premio Archimede game design contest, the prototypes of top 10 games were sent to the Musee Suisse du Jeu (Swiss Museum of Games in Vevey, Switzerland) as a temporary exhibit. Since Drop Site was in the top 10, it also made the trip.

A big thank you to Jonathan Franklin who visited the museum and took a picture of Drop Site in the exhibit. The photo appears below:



I think the set-up of the game in the exhibit display leaves a little bit to be desired (note the upside-down cards at the bottom) , but I am just glad its there!

-Dennis

Pre-Orders for Drop Site Now Possible!

Now, and for a limited time, you can now pre-order the award-winning Drop Site card game. All pre-orders (up to the first 50 orders) will receive 30% off the sale price.

When will I get my pre-order?: We can't ship your copy of Drop Site until we get them ourselves, but we plan to ship all the pre-orders by May 31 (before the official Drop Site release date of June 1).

Is there some way I can learn how to play before I buy it?: Yes! We will be putting up a video tutorial as soon as we get our shipment in. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest updates.

What payment method does Bellwether Games use?: Right now, all our orders are placed through Pay Pal, where you can use either your credit card or Pay Pal account account to make the order.

What does the game look like?: Here is a sneak peak of one of the cards. The artwork was completed by Paolo Vallerga at ScriBabs and looks incredible!

Announcing: Bellwether Games!

I am so very pleased (and thankful) to announce officially the opening of Bellwether Games!

Bellwether Games will:

-Design, develop, publish and sell new board games and card games exclusively from our website

-Be an outlet for this blog and other board game related news items

-Be a community base for board game and card game enthusiasts (like you) to post content and discuss the hobby you have come to love

In addition, Bellwether Games will sell the award-winning Drop Site, the card game the Lord enabled me to design. Pre-orders start tonight!

First 50 orders get 30% off!

So, without further adieu, check out the website here!

Drop Site to be Released June 1

Do you want to get your own copies of the award winning Drop Site soon?

You are in luck! Drop Site should be arriving by truck within two weeks!

Would you like to get your copies of Drop Site at a special pre-order discount?

You are in Luck! Starting May 15th, you will be able to pre-order Drop Site from our website for a special 30% off. This discount will only last until the official Drop Site release date, which will be...June 1!

In the meantime, take a sneak peak at some more Drop Site artwork, designed by ScriBabs.

Check back soon to place your pre-orders for 30% off!

Bueller...Bueller...Anyone...

I laughed when I saw this image from the forthcoming Small World Underground Game from Days of Wonder.

"Ferrous" refers to the presence of iron in a substance. (Hence the reference to the "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" on the Iron Dwarves card above.)

And like the versatile Ferris himself, the mechanics behind Small World have proven themselves to be versatile as well.

Small World (Phileppe Keyaertes, 2009) is simply a remodeling of Keyaertes' 1999 game Vinci, And now Underground is another reincarnation. The games play similarly, although the aesthetics are different.

The rules to Vinci exhibit some differences to Small World, but the main difference is the change of theme and the change of artwork. Underground on the other hand, is unlikely to have any major rule changes to its predecessor, but will have a completely new game board and set of player powers.

So I pose the question: What is the distinction between an existing game and a new model?

I don't think anybody would claim that Dogopoly, for instance, is really a different game than Monopoly the original (good ole Uncle Money Bags milking the brand for all its worth!), but is Vinci really something different than Small World? Is Lost Cities (Knizia, 1999) something different than the Spiel Des Jahres winning Keltis (Knizia, 2008)? It seems at least that the Spiel Des Jahres jury thought so...

What do you think? When is a new game really a new game, and when is it just being a versatile little Bueller?

More "Drop Site" Updates

Drop Site is finally in Charleston, SC after a long voyage across the Atlantic aboard a stoic vessel named, La Margarine.

While at sea, my precocious supply of games endured tossing waves, poor conversation and days without food or water, and now they must wait at the docks until they have been cleared by customs.

Be strong, Drop Site, be strong. Your journey is nearly at an end. I have a shipping company ready to take you swiftly to your final resting place, deep in the heart of the new world.

Meanwhile. back in Venice, studiogiochi hastily prepares Drop Site for the interested Turkish publisher. Change is felt in the wind. Changes to the rules are suggested by studiogiochi, some of which might improve the game play...but who can know for sure?

I have done my best to test these potential changes and respond with a good opinion, but who knows what will result. Only, be patient and wait and I will, in time, conclude this story of adventure...

PS. The ship's name was a lot less interesting than La Margarine. Pardon the embellishment.

Drop Site En Route

Its Official!

988 copies of Drop Site are on their way to the United States from Belgium.

And now, finally: a sneak peak at the artwork for the game...

Artwork for the back of the box. Note all the awesome branding.

Here is a "7," which is worth six points if you can match it.

There will be more sneak peaks to come. Check back again soon to see some of the other cards!

Ahoy Turkey! Here We Come!

What did Turkey say to the card game?

-Come on over!

That's right, I was just notified that a Turkish publisher wants to produce Drop Site. I'm not sure if that means it will sell in Turkey exclusively, or if it will just be published in Turkey and sold across Europe.

Either way, I'm game.

They said I will get royalties on the first of the year every year. I'm not sure how big those checks will be, but I will not stop them from coming to my mailbox.

Would you?

Thats what I thought.

So if you happen to stop by Turkey, grab a copy of Drop Site!

A Lot Going On

So between Job Searching, finishing my graduate work, and getting ready for the release of my game Drop Site, I have not found a lot of time to write posts, but there are plans in store for you...

Yes! Plans...

Drop Site will ship from Europe next week to the States. This means I have to be ready to Sell it when it gets here!

Problem is, we are also getting ready to move (to wherever I am able to find a job).

In other words, I don't have a release date yet, but I am aiming for mid-June officially.

Are you wondering: "WHERE CAN I GET A COPY?"?

Good news! You will be able to order a copy Online from our Website...which is not up and running YET, but will be...(again) I hope by mid-June.

But what about PINEBARS?

Good news again! I have a back-log of blog post ideas just waiting to be written. These will begin to appear either HERE (at pinebars.blogspot.com) or at our Website (URL withheld for now).

In the meantime, are you looking for more board game news? Check out Erik Arneson's board game newsletter. It comes out about every week and has some good board game info.

My Wife Won't Play Dominion With Me...Help!

We all know Dominion is awesome, right?

It won the Spiel Des Jahres in 2009, its spawned numerous expansions, has beautiful artwork, and plays as good as a computer game as it does as a card game.

So why won't our wives play it with us?

I suggest three reasons:

1. Anything that looks like Magic the Gathering triggers an "Ok...why don't you and your friends go downstairs with that..." response. Let's face it, if it looks medieval, then its obviously your attempt to escape to a fantasy realm, and she's not going anywhere near that.

2. There are too many cards and too much reading. The basic game (alone) comes with 500, not to mention expansion cards. Talk about overwhelming! Even Hand and Foot Canasta only uses 270, and you don't have to read those cards.

3. No meeples. Meeples rock. Not just the original Carcassone meeples either. Any wooden game pieces provide a sense of stability in the game play. They're your identifying color, you can build little towers with them when its not your turn, and if the game goes poorly you can hold other player's meeples ransom.

That's right. I said it. Hold meeples ransom.

So, we've established Dominion rocks, and we've analyzed why your wife won't play it with you, but how can you get her to warm-up to the idea?

Again, three suggestions:

1. Point out that Domion is a lot like the Drug Store Game. If you don't know what the Drug Store Game is, its basically the real life version of trashing a card to gain 2 gold and an extra buy in Dominion. Or a little bit like the Moneylender card.

2. Play it one on one. Sometimes a crowd can make Dominion a little stressful. I don't like when everybody else plays their turn so fast that I'm still struggling to shuffle my deck from my last turn. Take it slow when you teach new people and let them read the cards!

3. Bribe her. Offer to make dinner or do the dishes or anything to get her to play. Dominion is awesome right? So if you can finally get someone to play they will probably love it, its the "getting them to play" that's the hardest part.

This post is not intended to be sexist in any way. I promise. My wife beats me at games about 60% of the time! This post is about whomever is not playing Dominion with you and how to change that.

So go forth and have good luck building your dominion of Dominion players.

Drop Site Updates

I am facing some decisions about Drop Site.

Studio Giochi, the game's agent, is looking for distributors in Europe who would like to buy the game, and there may be several who are interested.

That means, I wouldn't get to have all of the 1,000 copies, but I would still make a profit on the games that are distributed.

I'd like to have all 1,000, but I might choose to leave 500 over seas to tap a market I will not otherwise be able easily access.

An alternative would be to print additional copies for $$$. The printer has given me an estimate on 500 and 1,000 additional copies, but there is no guarantee that these games would be purchased by a distributor and I can guarantee you that the price to print these extra games is not cheap!

So what is the best choice?

Of course, if Studio Giochi can't find an interested distributor for the free 1,000 copies then it makes no sense to print any additional copies or leave any copies in Europe. If distributors are interested, however...well, stop back by the blog later for that decision.

Ticket to Ride Design Contest

Interested in Ticket to Ride?

Want to try your hand at map design?

Check out this contest from the Days of Wonder team. Winner gets their map published and $10,000 in money.

This contest should be very competitive. Make sure your prototype is good!

Workers, Select Your Meeting Agenda

Its better than sliced bread, its...being able to design your own meeting agendas. 

Just one of the perks of working for Residence Life at a major University.

I love making my own agendas,simply because there are so many different ways you can make them fun. Take for example the agenda I made this week for a committee I head (see top picture).

Instead of using an arbitrary order, I let the committee members decide.

Everyone received an agenda, and I put one in the middle of the table. I also gave everyone a meeple, with which to select the next agenda topic. 

On the "board" (the agenda in the middle) were shaded boxes that represented a possible selection. We went around the table and each member chose what topic to discuss by placing their meeple on the board.

The response was fantastic!

Not only did everyone enjoy having a voice in the topic selection, they also got a kick out of using the game pieces! 

I highly recommend using this "game" at your next meeting. You might just find that your "workers" select a better agenda priority than you!

Viva La...Board Game Add Ons

Board games are incomplete.

Sure they have all the pieces you need to play the game, but sometimes you need a little something more to complete the experience...a dish, a plastic tub, special print-outs, ect...

Last night we played Philip DuBerry's home-engineered-hit Revolution! published by Steve Jackson Games (2009), my favorite game for "Add-Ons."

First (and most important for me) is what I call "the DISH." It comes out every time we play Revolution!...EVERY TIME. In fact we use it more for playing Revolution! than we do for eating food.

If you aren't familiar with the game (check it out, its viva la fun) there are three types of payment, blackmail, gold and force, which are used for bidding. Its important to keep the stockpile separate from your personal bidding stash, so to avoid confusion, the DISH is an essential element. I even tried to pack it away in the box...an exercise in frustration.

The other Add Ons are called LAS BANDERAS (Flags), which are actually just clothes pins. We have one for each color used in the game (yellow, blue, green and red). When we have finished placing our bids behind our player screens, we place the "flag" on top of the screen to signal to the others that we are ready to show their bids, an event I affectionately call, THE GREAT REVEAL.

Ok...So maybe these add-ons aren't exactly essential, but I like to claim that they are, and they can enhance the game experience.

What types of ADD-ONS do you use for your favorite games?

My wife has told me that buying player-colored bandannas to wear around our heads as we play might be taking it a bit too far...

Drop Site (So Close)

$978

The cost of shipping 1000 decks of the award winning Drop Site to the US from Italy. According to my brother-in-law, 1000 decks of cards would be 207 lbs.

A Hefty 207 lbs.

I'll admit that weighs more than me, and I suppose that could cost $978 to ship from Europe.

With hope and prayer, I'll be able to fund this last great obstacle to getting my first shipment of stock.

Check back frequently. YOU can purchase Drop Site as soon as it arrives!

Forbidden Hall: Res Life Training Game

So the island is sinking beneath your feet.

Pretty forbidden right?

Forbidden Island, a game published by Game Wright, by Matt Leacock tempts potential adventurers to test their wits and luck against the island of doom.

Actual game of forbidden island.

Its a great game! It teaches players to solve problems under pressure, take calculated risks, develop teamwork and strategy, and its fun too! Great principles to teach your staff!

We run a residence hall on a college campus, and I wanted my RAs to get some training review, to have fun, to run around, and to think and act as a team.

Enter "Forbidden Hall."

A complex web of rooms set to self-destruct in...5, 4, 3...

The game I devised was only a slight modification from Forbidden Island. Instead of island tiles that sank, I made room tiles that would collapse. Instead of drawing flood cards each turn, I would draw earthquake cards every...minute.

Snap! The office is going to be in bad shape!

I gave them clues (relating to serious Res Life issues that could come up...things that would require a little thought) to help them find "treasures" hidden within the building. After starting the timer, I set them loose to strategize, organize and go!

Sample "treasure": aka, something easy to hide, but unique enough to find.

Every minute I drew more cards to determine which rooms were in need of repairs. One of the RAs stayed behind to communicate to the others (via text message) which rooms needed repairs.

Got to "repair" the office if you want to leave the Hall alive!

If an RA occupied a room when it collapsed, everyone lost. If the rooms with the treasures were destroyed before the treasures were found, everyone lost. If the office (where they had to bring all the treasures to at the end) was destroyed, everyone lost.

Good stuff. They were quaking in their boots.

The treasures were pretty well hidden too. I wanted them to feel a sense of anxiety whenever they entered a room...knowing it could collapse at any second.

The outcome?

I'd say it went well. They found all the treasures (all they needed was one of each color) and returned to the office within 6 minutes. Nobody died.

I'd like to say they got a little lucky...which they did. I didn't draw any "waters rise" cards, which would cause the "damaged" rooms to begin to collapse, but they also put their minds together, ran hard, and generally let their imaginations grant them the incentive they needed to find the treasures in just over five minutes.

Looking for a game for your staff? Consider "Forbidden _______." Let me know if you'd like some tips about how to modify it for your purposes!

Board Game Are Management Tools

Don't tell me they can't. They can!

Board games Can help train managers. They Can help foster skills for better management decision making.

I am not alone in this bizarre type of thinking.

In an interesting, although somewhat dated, article by Ari Manor, board games are highlighted as versatile training tools. Board games, teach teamwork, decisions under pressure and logic among other skills.

Manor, a CEO himself, says that "Quite a few senior managers say that the skills and habits they acquired in playing games give them an extra edge in business and in management. This includes handling fast changes, taking calculated risks, self-discipline, improved memory, "coolness" under pressure, and determination to carry-through the right strategy - even if it leads to short-term loss."


He suggests several games for developing management skills in the article, which you can find here, none of which I have played, unfortunately, but I am certain that another could be added to the list: Forbidden Island by Matt Leacock.

What better way to learn '"coolness" under pressure' than when the island you traverse with your team mates begins sinking under your feet?!

AND SO, I undertook my own quest to find Forbidden Island's nugget of training treasure.

Details on Thursday!