Win a copy of the Armor of God!

Here's your chance to win a copy of my very first self-published game, the Armor of God!! All you have to do is become a follower of this blog or a fan of the Facebook page for this blog (both of which can be found over in the right hand column). That's it!! On December 1st a drawing will be held. I will then send that person a copy of the Armor of God, just in time for Christmas. So, if you become both a follower and a fan, then you are entered twice into the drawing!!! Pretty simple.

To introduce the game a little more, I created a short How-To video that explains how the game is played.



The video can also be downloaded here on the archive.org website.

You can also check out the boardgamegeek page for the Armor of God (here). There isn't a whole lot there just yet, but eventually there will be more. And, if you would like to check out the rules, you can get a copy here.

Lastly, the game is available for order through the Game Crafter website (here).

Mike Agrelius from Happy Valley Publishing

Some 30 years ago, a young man named Mike Agrelius noticed that there weren't many LDS themed games available for people to play. In fact, Seek and Zion were the only ones! And they are both trivia based games and, as Mike points out, spent most of their time on shelves in closets. Even college students didn't break those out at gatherings. Mike set out to change that. He designed a game called Count Your Blessings, established a company named Happy Valley Publishers, and made his dream a reality! This year marks the 30th anniversary of the publication of Count Your Blessings! Over it's lifetime about 50,000 copies have been sold. Sadly, the only way you'd get your hands on a copy today is to find it at Deseret Industries or possibly online somewhere.

Mike was kind enough to give me some of his time. I was able to find out a bunch about him and his experiences with game design and publishing. And, I recorded the whole thing for your listening pleasure.



You can also download the mp3 here, if you would prefer.

Here's a list of the questions I asked during a little interview:

• Can you tell me your background in game design and publication?
• How many LDS themed games have you designed? Could you tell me a little about each one?
• How many of your LDS games have been published?
• What experience do you have with LDS game publishers?
• Where can I get a hold of your games?
• Do you have any suggestions for those who want to publish LDS themed games? (What is the best course of action? Who is the best publisher to approach? Etc)
• How many LDS themed games have you played?
• What is your favorite LDS themed game (that isn’t your own)?

If anyone is interested in contacting Mike, they can do so at mikeagrelius@gmail.com. Thanks Mike for your time and your insights into LDS games!

Happy Birthday Mormon Game Design!!

Today marks a full year that this blog has been around (if you would like to read about the beginning you can here)! It has gone through several changes (I hope these have made it better). I have learned a lot in the process and hope that others have been able to find something interesting for them here. So, I just wanted to throw my own little birthday party.

Happy Birthday!!

And, since birthday parties always have gifts, I'll be giving away a copy of the Armor of God (you can read about it here; there's also a page on boardgamegeek). But, of course, there will be a small contest involved in the gift giving, so keep an eye out for that.

Thanks to all who have commented and shared their ideas and insights. It has been very helpful in making this blog what it is today. I really appreciate it. And, in the future, if any reader has any suggestions, don't hesitate to let me know.

Cache Valley Board Game Meet-Up

On Saturday, November 14th here in Logan a gaming day will be happening. It will take place in the public library building in the North East Meeting room. It will run from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm. (Here's a flier)



I'm looking forward to this. It should be a lot of fun! There will be plenty of games to choose from and hopefully plenty of people with which to play those games!