Dice Tower Review of Hagoth

Tom Vasel, of the Dice Tower, posted a video review of Hagoth. It's included below. Enjoy!!

Win a copy of Caractor Match from Keystone Games!

Keystone Games is giving away 2 copies of Caractor Match! If you want to get your chance of winning one of those copies you'll need to solve some puzzles. Three puzzles have been released (here's a write up about it). For every puzzle you solve correctly your name will be entered in the drawing. In other words, you can get your name entered 3 times max!

The puzzles aren't too terribly difficult to solve (in my opinion). You'll need a little bit of knowledge from the Book of Mormon, or just have your Book of Mormon handy to look stuff up.You have to submit your answers to keystonegamesllc@gmail.com by the tenth of December.

Good luck to everyone! Have fun solving some puzzles!!

Deseret Book Top 10 Games & Puzzles

Deseret Book keeps a listing of the top 10 selling products in the various categories on their website. As of today the top 10 in the Games & Puzzles category (here) are as follows (each title is linked to it's Deseret Book page):

10 = Articles of Faith Superstar

  9 = Hope on the Horizon (puzzle)

  8 = It Came to Pass (read the review)

  7 = Book of Mormon Battles (read the review)

  6 = Trek to Zion

  5 = Capture: A Book of Mormon Card Game

  4 = Book of Mormon Who?

  3 = Who's Your Hero (Book of Mormon Floor Puzzle)

  2 = Feast & Famine: Joseph in Egypt

and...

  1 = Search, Ponder, & Play (read the review)

Board Game Family Reviews Hagoth!

The fine family over at Board Game Family played and reviewed Hagoth (here). They give a nice write-up of what they think and they also provide a video detailing how to play (embedded below).

Green Jellow with Carrots

Here we have a website with all kinds of resources, ranging from t-shirts to clipart to stickers to scrapbooking. But the coolest part for me was the BIG list of games and activities that are available for purchase and download (here's the list)! Prices range from FREE to $21.49.

There are a bunch of "file folder" type games where you print the content, cut and laminate, and adhere some of it to a file folder. Then you can play with the laminated pieces inside the folder. This is pretty much an activity, not so much a game, but I'm sure they provide fun times for younger kids.

Several differently themed BINGO games (Book of Mormon to Noah's Ark) are included in the list.

Puzzles are also included in the list, although, I don't know about everyone else, but cutting a puzzle out is quite a big deal.


Missionary Clue (here) looks like it's probably the most in-depth game in the list. From the site:

Which family will be converted?  Why did they choose to listen to the Gospel?  Figure it out as the Missionaries move across the board gathering clues. This game is great for kids who can read.  It would make an excellent FHE game or something to play on a regular game night.

Pieces of the game stand up, giving the game a 3-D feel.  It's best if you print it on heavy paper to make things nice and sturdy.

Everything is included to play the game.  Including:
• 6 sets of missionaries
• 8 homes
• 8 families
• 2 Church buildings
• game board
• "Clue Keeper"
• guessing cards
• die (fold into cube)
• etc.


It's nice to see places online where games and activities are available!

Hagoth: Builder of Ships: A Review

A Review of Hagoth: Builder of Ships

by Jon Cooper

Introduction

Mike and I know one another because of his game "Hagoth: Builder of Ships." I wrote a review of Hagoth on another website (Board Game Geek: here), and dropped Mike a note letting him know how much I enjoyed the game. We've chatted back and forth over the last few months about games and game design, and this on-going conversation has culminated in Mike asking if I'd consider writing a review of Hagoth for his blog - and I'm happy to do so. 

To give you some background about myself, game-wise, I've played a variety of table top games since I was a kid. There's nothing I enjoy more than passing an evening of games with my wife and good friends...well, I guess there's one other thing: passing an entire weekend of games with my wife and good friends! Our gaming collection (my wife enjoys table top games, as well) includes traditional American board games, like Monopoly and Scrabble, party games, like Apples to Apples and Wits and Wagers, collectible/living card games, like Magic: The Gathering and Call of the Cthulhu, miniatures war games, like Warmachine, and hobby table top games, including Eurogames (like Caylus and Finca) and American-style games (like A Touch of Evil and Arkham Horror). You might say that I'm a relatively well-rounded gamer: if it has dice, cards, chits, tokens, a board, or pawns, I'm there!

There are numerous reasons why I game, and my reasons have certainly evolved since I was a teenager. Being a husband and a father, one of my motivations for gaming is to spend time with my family. For us, "spending time together" can take just a little bit of work. If we don't spend some time thinking about what to do together, well, we end up in front of the television - which some nights is fine. But as a source of quality family interaction, "let's just watch whatever's on" is a bit low on the "time well spent" scale. Table top games provide us with a qualitatively better experience. 

But playing table top games as a family is not exactly a silver bullet. The reality of it is that many of the games that we as consumers can pick up at the local department store have limited replayability. This is to say that most games on the shelves of popular department stores can get boring to play rather quickly. And boring does not equal fun. One of the reasons that these department store games lack table top longevity, among other reasons, is because they remove the agency of the players: roll a die, move a pawn, do whatever the board says. Or some variation on this theme. And many of the games that seem to offer more are simply a bit more clever at hiding it than the others. Popular party games, while fun, generally lack any strategic or tactical depth - which means that they live or die by their novelty. By definition, after a few plays, the novelty wears off. This isn't to say that we don't enjoy department store games or party games - only that as a source of continual quality family time, they tend to be limited. 

Some level of choice, then, is an important ingredient for our family in continually enjoying a game. But that's not all. Games that make it back to our kitchen table or living room floor more than once also must pass two tests for my family. First, after a game or gaming session is complete, we automatically and without planning spend the next fifteen or twenty minutes talking about high and low points, turning points, what we should have done or tried to do, etc. In other words, we relive the fun moments of the game - whether those moments are devastating or glorious! The second test is that we want to play again. If the game is short enough or if we have enough time (or enough energy: I miss being able to stay up past ten playing games...), we'll combine our strategy talk with setting the game up again. If we don't have time or energy or whatever, then the game is sure to make an appearance as soon as possible - usually the next night.

The point of this review is to evaluate Hagoth given these criteria, as well as some extra criteria that Mike asked of me, namely: game play for families and ease of learning. The target audience for this review is families who may play table top games together from time to time, but are not into table top gaming as a hobby. This is not to suggest that I'm out to convert anyone. But it is my hope that by the end of this review, not only will you have a good idea of the quality of Hagoth as a game, but that you may even have an interest in using table top games as facilitators of quality family time.

This review is divided into the following sections: first, there is a brief outline of the rules and a quick overview of the components (the bits and pieces that the game comes with). Then, a quick example of play will be presented so potential players can have an idea of what a few turns of Hagoth look like. Finally, Hagoth will be evaluated according to the criteria I outlined above. 

Game Play 

In Hagoth, players take on the role of ship builders who compete to build ships and successfully sail them from Bountiful to the Land Northward. Completing ships as well as arriving at the Land Northward score players victory points (VPs); the first to 25 VPs wins. 

Players start out with 5 cards; on their turn, they can either play two cards, or take a free action. If a player chooses to play two cards, they must also draw two cards. Taking a free action means that a player cannot draw new cards. There are two types of cards: cards that let you do something, and cards that are parts of ship blueprints. Blueprint cards are used in the construction of ships: players use them to complete one of five ship designs. Different designs are worth different point values, and also take different amounts of time to sail. Designs that require more cards are worth more points and take longer to sail. Once a ship blueprint is complete, it must be built. This is done by first, collecting wood (this is done through cards or as a free action, and employs a four-sided dice, popularly referred to as a d4), then placing that wood on the completed blueprint (also done through cards or a free action). Once all parts of the blueprint are built, the ship sets sail. When a ship sets sail, the player immediately scores points. The player will again score points once the ship reaches the Land Northward. Sailing is accomplished through playing cards or through a free action. There are also cards that hinder your opponent, either by skipping their turn, removing pieces from their blueprints, sending their sailing ships back a space, or even removing a piece of wood from a blueprint card. Players can only sail two ships at a time, and can only work on two ships at a time - they can, however, swap blueprint cards between ships that are not being built at any time, and can use any combination of ship designs as they choose.

Components 

The box comes with 100 playing cards, 50 wood tokens, 8 ship tokens, 4 victory point markers, a d4, a game board, and a rules book. Many of the components are top notch: the rules book is on glossy paper, full color, and filled with illustrations and examples. The board is of exceptionally good quality: sturdy, functional, and certainly able to stand up to repeated use. The artwork is outstanding, both on the board and on the cards. Further, the tokens are of the quality one would expect from the industry's leader in Eurogame accessories, Mayday Games. Each color gets two ships, each pair of which are of different sizes - that's a nice touch.

There is some concern with component quality, however: The cards are not printed on the best card stock. I actually bent two during sleeving. Also, the d4 is really light weight. I replaced it with a heavier one. These concerns notwithstanding, for the MSRP and the fun game play, I'm not overly disappointed in these shortcomings. The fact that Mayday sent out a free pack of sleeves for the cards also mitigates my concern over how well the cards will stand up to game play. For being a small game company, it's a great deal.  

An Example of Play

So imagine that you're playing a two player game against your spouse and it's your first turn. In your hand, you have two blueprint cards, a card that lets you Go Wooding, and a Build card with the number 2 in the corner. You choose to pay the two blueprint cards, which just so happen to fit together to complete the blueprint of a tiny ship! You end your turn by drawing two new cards: another blueprint, and one Sail card. Your spouse takes their first turn, playing one blueprint card, and attacking you with a Remove card, which allows them to remove one blueprint card from a blueprint that is not yet built - that is, that does not yet have wooden tokens on it. They draw their two new cards, and it's back to you.

Fortunately, the blueprint card you drew last turn is the same blueprint card that just got discarded, so you first play this card, and then play your Go Wooding card. You need wood to complete your blueprint, and this is the card that allows you to acquire the wood. To do so, you roll once on the d4: you roll a 3, and take three wood tokens. Your turn is over, and you draw two new cards: a blueprint, and a Sail card. Your spouse takes their turn, playing two blueprint cards, and finishes by drawing two new cards. 

It's your turn, and you're ready to get your new boat built and in the water: you play your Build card with the number 2 on it, allowing you to place 2 wood tokens on the cards of any completed blueprint. You place one on each of the cards that make up your completed ship, leaving you with 1 wood token left over for future ships. This completes the ship, allowing you to place a ship token on the board on the track that matches your completed ship. This earns you an automatic 1 point, and you move your score marker accordingly on the VP track. Finally, to end your turn, you play your Sail card, moving your just completed ship to the other side of the sea to the Land Northward, earning yourself another 1 point. You draw two cards, and your turn is over. 

As you can see, Hagoth is a very fast-paced game that seldom has down time. Once in awhile you may be unable to play a card, but the free actions come in handy here. And if worst comes to worse, you can always discard two cards and draw two new ones to replenish your hand as your turn actions.

Evaluation of Hagoth
This is a very fun game. It's easy to teach, easy to learn, and fun to play. What was surprising to us was the tension that the game maintained: it had an unexpected, but awesome, race-game feel to it. This, no doubt, is because of the "first to 25 VP" winning condition. 

1. The "Choice" Test. As is obvious from the rules overview and the game play example, this game provides players a number of choices on their turn. But it's not just choice that the game offers, its aching choices, the kind of choices you have to make between five options, all of which you need to do now. In real life, this is a painful situation; in the world of table top gaming, however, it provides for an excellent gaming experience. By only allowing players to do a fraction of the actions that they need to take each turn, Hagoth extends the game tension already present in the racing aspect. The attack-style cards add to the tension by allowing you to mischievously usurp your opponents' choices!

2. The "That was so cool" Test. This test refers to the post-game debriefing: to what extent are we talking about the game after we finish up a session. Hagoth lends itself well to this aspect, and passes the test. For us, the conversation usually revolves around, "If I just could have..." or "I can't believe you played that card at that moment!" Hagoth is not a heavily strategic game by any stretch, so we talk less about strategy and a bit more about tactical choices. This does not mean that the game lacks strategies, however, so we do spend some time focusing on this, as well. Most of our conversation focuses on linchpin moments. In the end, it doesn't matter what we're talking about specifically. What's important is that we're talking about how much fun the game was.

3. The "Let's play again" Test. Hagoth also passes this test! We can run through 3-5 games a night before it's our bed time, and often we'll try to throw a quick game in during lunch time. Because it's a race game, it leaves us with a feeling of "Ok, ok, again, I got it this time." Basically, Hagoth is for us a text book case of the gambler's fallacy: "I lost sooooo badly this time, that there's no way I can lose that bad again. Just one...more...game!"

So what about ease of game play for families and learning the game? Without drawing out the issue, let me just say that it's a great family night game. One of the reasons it's so good is because it's rule set is quite simple. When I teach this game, it generally takes 5 minutes, and that includes an example or two of what game turns look like, as well as explaining who Hagoth is. It's also a good game for younger kids: it helps reinforce the idea of taking turns, teaches them how to plan ahead, demonstrates how choices result in consequences, and introduces them to dice with less than six sides. It's a win-win situation!

Clearly, I'm a fan of Hagoth, and feel comfortable suggesting that it would fit well in any board game collection. Even hard core gamers may find it an enjoyable light-weight Eurogame. Now the criteria that I used for evaluating Hagoth aren't all our criteria for enjoying a game, but they're some of the biggies. The fact is, this is a review, not an essay on what makes a game fun. The quick and dirty conclusion to that question is "whatever you enjoy!" and for whatever reason. Given the outstanding price-tag, there's no reason you shouldn't pick up or at least try a copy of Hagoth to find out if it's fun for you and your family. It may introduce you to a whole new way to spend time with your family. 

Using Mike's system of ratings, I give this game 4 Moroni meeples - one off for some component issues.

Because I prefer probabilities over Likert scales, I will also use the d6 Generation's rating system, and give this game a 3+ (basically, using the results of a d6, what are the odds that the "average" gamer, whoever that may be, would enjoy this game; the odds of rolling a 3 or higher on a d6 are 4/6).

Review written and images supplied by Jon Cooper,

who can be contacted at: jcentdecker@gmail.com
 

Capture: A Book of Mormon Card Game

Looks like we've got a fast-moving Book of Mormon based card game here. Designed by Stephen Wood and published by Deseret Book, this game is all about matching things from the Book of Mormon. Players attempt to "create a moment from the Book of Mormon." Match Lehi with the Brass Plates or Samuel the Lamanite with the walls of Zarahemla.

From the Deseret Book website:

Capture: A Book of Mormon Card Game is a fast-paced, cardchanging, thrilling adventure. Be the first to collect Lehi and the brass plates, or Samuel the Lamanite on the walls of Zarahemla. But don’t blink! This game moves fast! Multiple action cards keep the game exciting as players struggle to create a moment from the Book of Mormon—the first one to do it wins! A fun game for the entire family.

• Helps players become more familiar with Book of Mormon characters and events
• Great for ages four and up
• A perfect family night activity

This is up for pre-order right now (here). I can't find an actual release date.

Find Hagoth on LDS Board Games

LDSBoardGames.com

So if you've ever wanted to buy an LDS themed game you've found the mecca of LDS themed games:

LDS Board Games (here) is a site that has a listing for pretty much every LDS themed game ever sold! It's broken down into type of game as well: Board Games, Card Games, Party Games, Table Top Games (none in this category as of yet), and even Used Games. They aren't all available for purchase, as many are out of print and hard to find. But, if it's for sale somewhere, there's a link to that somewhere so that you can purchase it!!

Another really cool aspect of the site is that independent game designers can publish their games to the world! So, if you've got an LDS themed game that you've designed up and are ready to start selling, you can get the game listed on the site for all to see and buy!!

Anyway, all in all it looks like a great site with lots of good information regarding LDS themed games. Go check it out!!

Introducing Keystone Games!

Well, I wanted to let everyone know that we've got our little company up and running! Keystone Games, LLC is our start-up that will focus on providing fun, original LDS-themed games (board, card, video, ARG, all types). These games will be focused mostly on getting families together to share some fun quality time together. They will also help people learn a little about the Gospel and church history, LDS culture, etc.

With this we'd also like to announce our first game: Caractor Match! It's a card game (for 2 to 6 players) in which players collect cards with matching characters on them. Each turn a player draws until they have 5 cards in hand, then plays any matches, and finally discards 1 card. The first player to collect the winning number of matching sets (which varies by number of players), wins the game!!

Caractor Match plays in 10 to 20 minutes by players 5 years old and up. To learn more check it out! (here) We are starting out with a pre-order for the game. Once 200 copies have been pre-ordered the game will go into production and will then be shipped as soon as they arrive!

You can follow Keystone Games, LLC on Facebook (here). We'll keep everyone updated as to the number of pre-orders, production progress, etc.

Search, Ponder, & Play: A Review

Search, Ponder, and Play is a game published by Covenant Communications. It's based on Andy Looney's Aquarius (here). And when it was first published had quite a bit of controversy surrounding it (read about it here). The game is for 2-5 players and, because of the way the game can be played, can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes.

How to Play
The gameplay is pretty straight forward, each player is dealt one of the Search cards (there are 5, one for each book of scripture: Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price). The card you are dealt determines your goal for that round. The goal is to get a total of 7 images, that match your Search card, to connect. I know, that doesn't make much sense, but it will in just a minute.

So, on your turn, you draw a card and then play a card to the table. Cards may be played as long as at least a part of the side of the card you play matches a part of the side of a card already on the table (you place it along side of that card, like in the picture below; you can see that the yellow has 4 images connected at the moment).

So, if you have the yellow Search card, then you'd need 3 more yellow images to connect to those 4 in some fashion or other. Your Search card stays hidden so that other players don't know what you are going after, but you can start to deduce what Search cards other players have as the game progresses.

There are also cards that let you, for example, pick up a card from the table, move a card on the table, or even switch hands with another player. These are the Ponder cards. The cards you play to the table, that have the different images on them, those are the Play cards. That's how you get the whole Search, Ponder, & Play!

The game also includes a pad of paper where you can list every player and the different Search cards they've won with. The rules suggest playing until one player has won with all 5 different Search cards, but for what the game is, that takes way too long. I mean, you might win one time with the blue and then be dealt the blue Search card again, yes, you might be able to switch Search cards in the middle of a round and win with another color, but it would just take too long, for me anyway, playing until someone wins with all 5 Search cards. Just playing as many rounds as you like, keeping track of who wins each one, that is easier for me to handle.

I'm giving it a 4 out of 5!

Overall, I think the game is easy to learn, quick to play, and contains a little strategy (like how you place cards on the table, making sure to leave a bunch of open sides of the color you are going after; the rules state that you can start blocking your opponents during the game, but that's only if you've been able to deduce what Search card they have, so that strategy might work in). Kids can also play the game, making it a nice family game. I recommend giving it a try if you haven't yet!

Buy from www.ldsboardgames.com

LDS Bookseller's Association Convention

So, I spent a day and a half last week in Sandy at the LDS Bookseller's Association Convention Trade-show. I got to show off Hagoth! It was a lot of fun! I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting it to be, but I think things went pretty well. Not a whole lot of orders or sales there at the convention, but lots of connections made and new people and organizations found.

One quick example was Sounds of Zion (here). I was unaware of exactly what they do. In essence they are a distributor of LDS products. So, Mayday Games needs to hook up with them and get Hagoth out into more and more stores that are aimed at the LDS community in general. Deseret Book is a good start, but why not get out there in all the stores that sell LDS products!!? Not that I don't think they are going to pursue that, I just think it's important and a great way of getting your product out to LDS people.

I had a lot of fun working the booth. Friday morning I was able to hang out with my wife there in the booth, meeting people, playing Hagoth, and showing others how to play. Overall it was a great learning experience and I'm grateful that Mayday Games gave me the opportunity to attend. Find some more pics of the booth below.

Hagoth Update

I wanted to give a quick update about Hagoth and how things have been going with sales and whatnot. Overall the reception has been really good. Lots of copies have sold, so many so that Mayday Games is putting in an order for more copies of the game! In fact, they are ordering twice as many as their original order!! The new order will be done by a different manufacturer, which will improve the game's quality. So that's something to look forward to. The only downside of that is that the retail price will be raised slightly, but not really too much.

Also, there is a company in Poland who is working on translations for Hagoth. It will soon be available in: French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Polish!!! This is super cool! Who would have thought that this would turn into an international affair! But, the more the merrier.

 

Lastly, Mayday will be attending GenCon (here) at the beginning of August in Indianapolis! There are several Hagoth demo "events" scheduled during the show. Plus people can go by the booth and see it there. And we'll have Hagoth at the LDS Bookseller's Association Convention (here) that also takes place at the beginning of August in Salt Lake City. So, the game is getting shown all over the place!

Hagoth on MormonTimes.com

Several weeks ago I talked with Ryan Morganegg from MormonTimes.com about Hagoth. He was preparing to do a write-up about it. He had played the game and enjoyed it.

The article has finally been posted to MormonTimes.com (here).

Mormon Game Design 101: Episode 03

Alright, we've finally got the how-to play video ready here. Enjoy!



I've also put together a written how-to play that can be found here. And lastly, if you are interested in giving the game a try, let me know and I'll get you the files needed to put the prototype together.

President Monson must be a gamer!!

It's interesting how many people are familiar with Monopoly! Here's a great story about President Monson quizzing someone on the different property spaces on the Monopoly board. As we all know, President Monson has pretty much a photographic memory, or at least it seems that way. She never had a chance against him!

Bee Attitudes: A Review

Published by: Covenant Communications
Illustrated by: Rocky Davies

I've been able to play Bee Attitudes several times with my family. I think we've been able to do this because of how simple the game is. It doesn't take long to play and even my 3 year old gets it. This isn't to say that the game can't be fun. For the most part I enjoy playing it with my kids. But I get ahead of myself. Let's get to what's in the box first.

Bee Attitudes is a card game, so, in the box you'll find a deck of cards. There are 8 different kinds of "Bees" in the deck.

Seven of these are desirable and 1 is not. Can you tell which one that is?

Well, if you guessed the Stinger Bee (it's looks pretty bad, doesn't it?) then you were right!!

The object of the game is to collect as many of the "good" bees as you can. The way that works is that you shuffle the deck, choose a player to go first. That player starts flipping over cards from the deck until 1 of 2 things happens: 1) the player flips over a Stinger Bee or 2) the player decides to stop flipping.

Let's take a look at each scenario. If the player flips over a Stinger Bee all the cards flipped over thus far on that turn are lost!!! If the player decides to stop flipping cards before a Stinger Bee comes up, then all the cards are, what we like to call "banked." Those cards are yours no matter what happens on future turns. Once the deck is gone, everyone counts up their cards and the player with the most cards wins the game!

So, if you like "press your luck" types of games, that's exactly what you've got here. The cards aren't of the highest quality, especially since this is aimed, in my opinion, at younger children. It's pretty easy to bend them. But the artwork is cute and I think does a good job of drawing kids in.

Overall, I give Bee Attitudes a 3 out of 5.




I think it's a game that is simple enough for younger children to understand and play, thus adding to the options a family with younger children would have. I also like that it's easy to get out and set up and start playing. Really quick! But the low quality of cards really lowers my rating here. I mean, the cards won't last too long if this game gets played a lot.

I wanted to add here a variant that we like to play in my house. We change the object to be the first player to collect all 7 "good" bees. So you can bank your cards when you like, as is the normal rule, but you are really looking to collect at least 1 of each of the 7 types. So, we just discard any extra bees that we collect and reshuffle the deck when the need arises.

Buy from www.ldsboardgames.com

Finally, Another Drawing!!

I know, I know, you're all thinking, "It's about time!!!" We've needed to have another drawing for some sweet prizes for a little while now, but I've put it off and put it off. I guess I can say I apologize. I've just had a lot going on with holidays and school and whatnot, but the wait is over!!

And the winner is...

John Burns!!

He is now the proud owner (as soon as he contacts me with an address) of the Armor of God. Congratulations John!

Don't forget to spread the word and let others know that they can enter to win games by becoming a Facebook fan of Mormon Game Design.

Mormon Game Design 101: Episode 02

This is the 2nd video in the Armor of God Jr series. In it I cover prototyping the game. Enjoy!

The two sites I mention in the video are:
Children's Bible Studies: here
Free LDS Art: here

I wanted to give a big thanks to them for having those sites up for us to find and use.
Stayed tuned. The next episode will cover how to play the game. I'll also have a document up that describes the rules and I'll be asking for some feedback from any and all who want to give the game a try. Remember, it's aimed at kids, ages 4 and up, so I'm sure that the older crowd won't be too motivated to give this a play.

Hagoth on Google Maps

I was just introduced to setting up my own Google Map. So, there is now a map where anyone and everyone can add places where Hagoth: Builder of Ships is available for purchase or yourself if you own the game, you know, those kinds of things. Just in case anyone wants to find it in a retail store nearby or find some stranger that lives near you who you could contact to get in a play of Hagoth!!


View Hagoth : Builder of Ships in a larger map

Feel free to add yourself or a nearby store! The more the merrier!

Top Selling LDS-themed Games

I went into a Seagull Book this afternoon. I always look at the games that are available. I must say that they do sell everything for less than Deseret Book. And I was interested to find, after doing a quick search (check this link), that the church owns both Deseret Book and Seagull Book. Anyway, I saw that It Came to Pass (here) had a little note on the package declaring that over 40,000 copies had been sold!!! This blew me away! I can't believe that so many copies of the game have sold.

This made me want to figure out the top selling LDS-themed games. So, according to what I've been able to find out this is a list of the top 3 selling games of all time:

1. It Came to Pass
Over 40,000 copies sold!!

2. Settlers of Zarahemla
Over 30,000 copies sold!!

3. Book of Mormon Battles
Over 20,000 copies sold!!




This is great news in my mind. I mean, these games are specifically published for members of the church and that many copies have sold!! I think there is a great market here, with great potential. I'm hoping to see Hagoth sell even a fraction of that many copies!!

Hagoth on Board Game News!

For a while now I've been wanting to put down on paper the story of Hagoth and how the whole game came to be. Well, a few days ago, Eric from Board Game News (here) asked me if I would be interested in writing a Designers Diary article for his website. So, there was the slight push to get this put together. He just posted the write up (here) for anyone who may be interested in how the game design happened and how it came to be published by Mayday Games and ready for purchase (here).

Recap of Hagoth Release Event

I figured I'd post this link to Game Night Games (here) that gives a short recap of the release event. There are some nice pictures of the game and of several people playing!

It was a lot of fun! It was great to see other people playing the game and enjoying it. Hopefully we'll be able to set up a few more events like this in an attempt to spread the word a bit more. I would especially like to get one going up here in Logan, but we'll see how that goes.