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 currently up for sale on the Game Crafter website (here), for anyone who would like to get their hands on a copy.

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.

Nephite & Lamanite Wars

In 1974 the church included several games in their seminary curriculum. One of these games was Nephite & Lamanite Wars (boardgamegeek link). It was an historical war game/simulation based on the wars and battles that took place in the Promised Land as related in the Book of Mormon.

As they were part of the seminary curriculum the games/simulations were meant to be opportunities for helping students learn. There are both objectives and indicators associated with each game. For example, the first game/simulation is based on the encounter Captain Moroni had with Zerahemnah.

The objective is stated as the following:
Students will realize that the strength of the Nephites in battle was a result of their faith in Jesus Christ an obedience to his commandments.

Indicators are that the students should be able to:
1. Relate the account of the battle between Captain Moroni's forces and those of Zerahemnah.
2. Explain the cause of the Nephites' involvement in the war.
3. Contrast the preparation and objectives in the Nephites and the Lamanites for war.
4. Explain the Nephite superiority in war.

In a game, one player plays as the Nephites and one player plays as the Lamanites. Each player receives a number of pieces, each of which represents individual Nephite/Lamanite armies. Each army has a combat strength and a movement factor.

On a players turn he may move his armies and then attack (Lamanites go first). The game baord is a map consisting of a number of hexagons. Here's a remake of the board, done by Chris Hansen (the one in the seminary manual was black and white):

Any number of armies can attack on a players turn. This is done using the Combat Resolution Table. Players create a proportion (attackers combat strength to defenders combat strength) and look up the odds ratio on the table. After which the spinner is spun and a second table is used to determine the final result of the attack.

There are also follow-up sections that take students into the scriptures and ask them questions that get more into the particulars of the situations and those involved. For example, there are questions about Captain Moroni:
What kind of man was Captain Moroni?
How would you like to serve under such a man?

All in all this seems like it would be a lot of fun! I'll post again about it once I sit down and play.

Hagoth at GenCon 2009

Seth had told me that he would be taking Hagoth (both the prototype that he put together and a big banner that he had made) to GenCon this year (it ended last week).

Anyway, he also had the other game he is doing, Space Junkyard, with him. He had a finished version of that game. Anyway, up on boardgamegeek now is an image of Space Junkyard at GenCon. And, looking closely enough at the image you can pick out Hagoth on the side. Here's the image (with nice annotations included, ha, ha). Thanks to Chester for finding this little gem.
















I'm getting very excited to see the final, produced version of Hagoth. Scott did a great job with the artwork and I know that the components will also be very well done!

Learning & Resources

I've been looking around for some ideas about mechanics. I first looked on boardgamegeek under mechanics. The list they have is a lot smaller than I had thought would be there. I've also found a blog on Board Game Designers Forum by KrinkleChip about game mechanics. And of course, there is the wikipedia article. I've also come across some pretty good ideas regarding putting together a nice database of mechanics in forums here and there, but I'm unable to really find anything like that currently. It would be a huge undertaking.

The reason I'm looking into all this is that, with the restrictions I've placed upon myself (discussed here), I'm working on a card-based game (calling it Korihor: Anti-Christ right now), attempting to keep the components down to cards, one die, and some tokens. In this attempt, I'm trying to become more familiar with the kinds of mechanics that have been implemented with cards before. Having that kind of knowledge definitely provides a great benefit. In fact, I think I'm going to join the effort to provide such a thing to others. Mainly because it would be a great resource, but also because it will help give me a lot more knowledge of game mechanics.

So Much To Do

I've come to realize that there are so many different places to discuss game design on the internet and so many more resources than I had previously even imagined. I find it difficult to focus on writing here on my blog. I mean, the forums at Board Game Design Forum and at Boardgamegeek.com, both offer a lot of insight into the world of game design. Not to mention the opportunity they afford to getting involved. Not to say that I've got much experience in this realm, but I am making an attempt to contribute in any way I can.

Game Journal for Peril in the Promised Land

Sharing my experience submitting to LDS/Mormon publishers

Plus, all of this has helped me meet others who are interested in this realm of designing games with LDS/Mormon themes.