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).

Mormon Games: Re-themes of Previously Published Games

This is an interesting point of designing and publishing games that I wanted to share. In 2003 Covenant Communications published a game entitled: Search, Ponder, and Play! (here) The person who submitted the design to Covenant Communications claimed it as being their own design or just didn't say that it was a re-theme of another game that had already been published: Aquarius (here). Aquarius is a game designed and published by Andrew Looney of Looney Labs in 1998. Search, Ponder, and Play! is a game that just put different images and themes on the cards and theme of Aquarius. Here is an image of the cards from each game side-by-side:

The game was brought to the attention of Andrew Looney in 2004, where upon he posted about it (read the whole thing here). His wife decided to write Covenant Communications a letter. Andrew Looney was, understandably, quite upset that such a thing had happened. As was his wife. In the end it appears that everything came out fairly well, as well as could probably be expected. Covenant Communications ended up producing a second version of the game in which they credit Looney Labs and state that permission has been gained to publish this version of the game. It's interesting to me that in all the designing and publishing that goes on that this kind of thing hasn't happened more.

Also, I wonder what kind of impact, if any at all, this sort of thing has on people's perception of LDS/Mormon themed games. A lot of my experience has been that LDS themed games are re-makes of previously published games. I think that this is probably a safe move by publishers. I mean, if a previously published game is successful, then re-doing it as an LDS themed game is more likely to be successful too. I don't know that this is the case or the reason behind this, but it seems logical. Designing games is also a very time consuming process. You have to design, play-test, tweak, play-test, revise, play-test, etc, etc, etc. But when a game is simply re-themed, there isn't much besides new artwork and a little thought that goes into the components that is needed.

Is there a market for new games in the LDS market? What do you think?

Hagoth Demo Copy!!

Recently Seth from Mayday Games sent me on of the demo copies of Hagoth. He received 3 from the factory. These demo copies are sent as a way of checking to make sure everything is good before doing the full print run.

I figured I'd share some pictures of the game up to this point. For the most part everything looks good. There are a few things that need to be fixed before full production, but that is being taken care of and shouldn't take too long to finish.

It's great to get the game in my hands and see pretty much what it's going to be like once it's officially released. It sure is a lot different from the prototypes I had put together at the beginning. It's actually really cool to see how it has changed over time. I'm going to do a write up of the development of the game from idea to publication. But that won't be ready until the game has been officially released.

 

Also, SaltCon that is taking place this weekend (there's a link to the site in the right-hand column of the blog here). Seth will be there and is going to be running a session or two with Hagoth so that people can see the game and learn how to play it!

Passive vs Active Entertainment

Yehuda just posted about board games and whether they are passive or active entertainment (here). And that post, of course, really got me thinking (his posts seem to do that) about these sorts of issues in the both LDS games that are currently available and in the LDS themed games that I am designing.

Passive Entertainment
This shows up in a game when the game is ruled by randomness: you roll the dice or you spin the spinner or the drawn card determines what happens in the game. In Yehuda's words: "When you roll the dice and laugh, groan, or jump for joy at the outcome, you are enjoying passive entertainment" In other words, you don't have to do a lot of thinking or "strategizing" in the game. Your involvement is quite passive.

Active Entertainment
If you play a game that involves you making many decisions, laying out plans, or thinking up different strategies that will help you accomplish the goals of the game, then you are involved in a more active entertainment. Again, in the words of Yehuda: "When you're called upon to think or make a decision, you are enjoying active entertainment. There are different levels of active entertainment, from the simple (trivia: do I know it or not?) to the complex (how do I get my battalion to that base?). Regardless of complexity, you can rank better or worse players, and most of the time you can work to improve yourself."

In my mind these two "levels" of entertainment would lie on a continuum (each occupying an extreme).

This continuum could then be used to categorize games; games could be placed along this continuum. Some games would include some active and some passive entertainment. Other games would include more passive entertainment, but still include a little active entertainment. Snakes and Ladders could be used as an example. In this game players spin the spinner and move their pawn the corresponding number of spaces on the board. If they end their turn at the bottom of a ladder, then they climb the ladder to the space above. If they end their turn at the top of a snake, then they slide down the snake to the space at the end of the snake. So, there is no decision making involved with this game. The random result of the spin determines all that happens in the game. I would place Snakes and Ladders at the extreme end of passive entertainment on the continuum.

This all raises a question in my mind: LDS themed games (those currently available and those that I am designing and will design in the future), where do they fall on the continuum and where should they fall on the continuum? I ask this second part of the question because I think the audience of the games needs to be considered. If the audience is one that would prefer games closer to the passive end of the continuum then, by all means, design and publish games that fall closer to that end. This quandary also arises from the following news post: Star-Telegram. Were those who rated the games looking for a more passive or active entertainment experience?

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!

Armor of God rejected

I just got word from FRED Distribution that they are not going to do my Armor of God game (it wouldn't have ended up to be the Armor of God (here) had they decided to do it, the theme would have been changed). It's disappointing but I did get some valuable feedback, such as there isn't enough "meat" to the game. They wanted something more to be done with the pieces of armor that players collect, instead of just adding to your faith points.

So, I've got some stuff to work out with the game if I want to resubmit to FRED. I was also given a couple of other companies that the game might fit better. I'm not sure if I want to submit the Armor of God to other companies. I'd probably work out a different theme and then go ahead and submit to them. I guess I'm just not sure what I will do with the game at this point. I do know that in a very short while I'll have a couple copies that I'll be selling and one copy that I'll be giving away to some special person via the blog here (I'm working out a way of choosing that special recipient, probably some sort of contest or something, so look for that in the near future).

Thanks again to Tony Peters for allowing me to use his awesome artwork (Armor of God Cards post)!!

Sons of Mosiah

Not exactly what you would call related to games, but I thought I'd share it anyhow.

Jay Fullmer has started his own company: Sons of Mosiah. The focus right now is in developing a book. The book, titled Hidden Stories of the Book of Mormon, will include over 160 pages and will relate, using Jay's paintings and illustrations, some of the "less well known" stories of the Book of Mormon.

As part of the project Jay made a trip to Central America (Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala) for research. During the trip he collected props and reference pictures for the paintings for the book.

This project sounds very interesting and I'm excited to see the progress as Jay shares it through his blog. I leave you with a couple of Book of Mormon images courtesy of Jay.

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!

Missionary Novelty Company

In my search for LDS themed games and places to find them, I came across the Missionary Novelty Company (link). It looks like they have a lot of games to offer: Build the Kingdom, Greatest Mission in the World, LDSopoly, etc. (I think I saw LDSopoly in Deseret Book here in Logan the other day.) They have both English and Spanish version of pretty much all their games.

As I looked over their games, it seemed to me that a lot of them are very much like remakes of already published games; I'll take Build the Kingdom as an example. Here's a quote from their website about the game:

You’ve been called to the “Greatest Mission in the World”, Earth. Your duty is to build the Kingdom of God by placing Books of Mormons (BoM), gaining converts and building ward houses. First player to gain 10 Celestial points wins. You gain Celestial points by placing the most BoMs, obtaining Principals of the Gospel cards-Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Prayer, “Preach My Kingdom”- which produces the most converts, and building the most ward houses with prayer and baptisms. Principal cards can be traded in to produce BoM, converts and ward houses. Beware of Satan who can slow your progress.

There is also a short video that describes the game that you can watch:



Sounds and looks interesting. From this description and images though, it does sound a little bit like Settlers of Catan (we've even got Settlers of Zarahemla that has been done LDS style). I wasn't sure so I looked at the rules which they have up on their site (link). I have to say, this is a great idea. I like it when I can find the rules for a game. It helps me know a little more what I'm getting into before I buy.

Anyway, after looking over the rules, I would have to say this game is very much like Settlers of Catan. Converts and Books of Mormon are used, as opposed to settlements and roads, and Satan is referred to instead of the robber. It was very easy to read the rules and understand the game. That is definitely important.

After looking over their site and the games they have to offer, I am stuck with two questions. 1) Does anyone have any experience with any games from Missionary Novelty Company? and 2) Why are so many of the LDS themed games available remakes of games that have already been published (without the LDS theme of course)?

About Mormon Game Design

Mormon Game Design is a site on the internet where LDS/Mormon themed games are discussed.

The word "games" can refer to board games, card games, video games, games and activities that are used for Primary or Young Men/Young Women. "Games" should be taken in the broadest terms possible.

"Discussed" means there will be postings about (a) games in general, (b) what people have said about games, (c) experiences playing and designing games, etc. If it is somehow related to games, then it will be discussed. Hopefully it can become a discussion with everyone sharing their opinions, perspectives, and insights as well.

Lastly, this site is dedicated to promoting the design and publication of quality LDS/Mormon themed games. There need to be original LDS themed games designed and published. How can that happen?

All in all this will be a fun, resourceful place for people who are looking to find LDS/Mormon themed games.

My Portfolio

Published Games


Hagoth: Builder of Ships (pre-order the game)
Being published by Mayday Games


 
Published Artwork

Nepal: Trade & Intrigue at the Top of the World
Being published (2nd edition) by BluePantherLLC. Now available!



Designed Games
Armor of God
Peril in the Promised Land
Temple Builders

A Gathering of Strangers

That was a whole lot of fun!! I was able to make the trip down to Salt Lake City on both Friday and Saturday. I had never attended A Gathering of Strangers, or any game convention for that matter, before, but I really enjoyed it and can't wait for next year!

Friday I presented my game, the Armor of God, in the guild competition. It went pretty smoothly. There were 2 groups of 5 judges (from places like FRED Distribution, Out of the Box Games, and Games Unplugged), so the game was played twice. Then the judges rated the game following Mike Compton's Evaluation Form (find it on baordgamegeek here). A total of 8 games were entered into the competition. I'm not sure what place I ended up taking, but it wasn't in the top 4. Not really a big deal though. I mean, I didn't really expect to win. There are a whole lot of great games that the members of the guild design. It was just great to be a part of it and I can't wait to get the feedback from the judges. I'm sure it will help me improve the game a lot.

There were a few highlights of the weekend that I wanted to touch on. After the judging on Friday, Carey from FRED Distribution approached me and asked about taking a copy of the prototype to Armor of God home. In other words, he's interested and thinks it's a pretty good game! No guarantees that they will publish it, but success!!! Part of the purpose of the competition was to get publishers to see the games from the guild and hopefully get them interested in the games we had to offer. Carey was also interested in Mike Compton's game Bandits of Persia! It's exciting to see that publishers have an interest in games designed by guild members!

Also on Friday, Seth picked up the finished painting that Scott has been working on for Hagoth!!! Here it is!!!

He brought it to the Gathering. We both had prototypes of the game as well and we got about 10 people to demo it during the weekend. Ryan from The Board Game Guy was very excited! We're getting closer and closer to being ready for production!!

Lastly, I wanted to add that there was a lot of free stuff given away by all the publishers and game stores on hand. On Friday I won a brand new copy of Dominion Intrigue!!! I ended up playing it 3 times that evening (I even won the first of the 3 games, which was pretty big because I don't thing I won anything else during the 2 days). It's a great game!

All in all, I just loved the convention. I got to meet new people (another guy from here in Logan, now we'll have 4 of us here that design games). I got to play a lot of games. And I found someone interested in another one of my designs. Really, what more could I ask for from 2 days?

Conversation with James H Fullmer

I recently was able to speak with James H Fullmer about his experiences with designing, illustrating, and publishing (via Covenant Communications) his two games, Book of Mormon Battles and Warriors of the Promised Land.



Download the conversation here.

I had a list of questions that we discussed. We didn't really read them out loud or anything, so here they are.

1. What made you first decide to design a game?
2. Was the idea Book of Mormon Battles from the beginning or did it sort of evolve to that as you worked on it?
3. How did the design process go? I mean, did you get some paper, cut it up, and mark them for cards, or how did it go?
4. When did Covenant Communications enter the picture? Did you contact them as you were working on the idea or more after you had it all worked out?
5. How did the whole relationship work with Covenant?
6. What was your process for the artwork (there are a lot of images in both games)?
7. What made you decide to go the second game Warriors of the Promised Land?
8. Was the process with that game pretty much the same as with the first?
9. Do you know the print run size for either game?
10. Do you know how successful the games have been (how many have sold)?
11. What did you learn from your experience that you would like to share with other "would-be LDS/Mormon game designers?"

This is my first dive into doing a podcast or recorded interview/conversation, whatever you want to call it. So I learned quite a bit about that. Plus I enjoyed meeting James (Jay as he prefers to go by) and learning about him and his experiences.

Hopefully this will be of benefit to someone besides me, but if not, I enjoyed it and found it enlightening.

Busy Summer

Things have been pretty busy lately. I was looking forward to summer as I thought it would be a little more relaxed and give me more time to work on my games and whatnot. Anyway, I just defended my thesis! So now I have to wait for the secretary to read through it, make the changes, wait for the grad school to read through it, make the changes, and then pay fees, get it bound, etc. Hopefully by the end of August I'll officially be a MASTER! Plus I'm trying to get going on the dissertation proposal, so that's keeping me busy.

I recently got the Armor of God printed by BluePanther. (I'll be posting a comparison between Guild of Blades, Artscow, and BluePanther here a few days.) I'm ready to take it down to SLC for A Gathering of Strangers. I'm really looking forward to that.

As I worked with Steve at BluePanther to get the cards printed he asked me about doing some artwork for his Nepal game! It was quite a surprise to me. I mean, I've been a little hesitant about my art abilities, but this gives me some added confidence that I do pretty good work. It has made me think more seriously about doing my own thing, publishing my games myself. I mean, having someone do the artwork is a big expense, but if I'm able to do it myself that would definitely cut back on costs. We'll see if I can get enough money together to really go out and do something like that. It would be great!!

The Game Design "class" (Game Design Concepts) started at the beginning of this week. It looks like it's going to be fun to follow along and hopefully contribute something. The problem will be trying to find enough time to participate in such a way that will allow for some contributions. There's a lot going on this summer!

On boardgamegeek a competition was posted for teams of 2 to design and produce a print n play cooperative game. Dane and I are going to design and submit to the competition. It will be a lot of fun to work with Dane, brainstorm, playtest, etc. as we move from idea to prototype to production. The brainstorming process has begun!

Lastly, we've had a little more discussion on the Korihor game that our Google Group (join us) is working on designing. This whole experience has been very educational and informative already. It's not easy working together on a game design, especially when it involves people from 5 states, many who have never met face to face, with so many different ideas and perspectives on what will make the game not only work but FUN! It's actually a lot of fun working on this project with the group. I hope that the end result will be a great game that we will figure out how to publish and offer as a ZGDI game!!! Then we'll put it up on our website as a great LDS/Mormon themed offering!

Anyway, quite a bit going on this summer! I guess it's good to keep busy.

Pre-Order Hagoth!!!

Update (5/27/09)
Already there are a couple other websites that have posted about Hagoth, that it is up for pre-order from Mayday. Here's what I've found so far:

Purple Pawn
Ludricus Games Festival


Mayday Games has put Hagoth up on their website (Pre-order Hagoth!!!) for pre-order!! You get the game for $4 off, making it $18.95, plus you get plastic sleeves for the cards (or for any cards that fit the normal euro dimensions)!

Needless to say, I'm am very excited and getting even more excited as Scott moves along with the artwork. He's shown us the mock sketch ups and is moving ahead from there on the artwork. Hagoth is going to look sweet!

Hagoth!!!

This is very exciting news (at least for me anyway)! Hagoth: Builder of Ships will be published by Mayday Games (updated 5/27/09: Pre-order Hagoth!!)sometime this summer!!! Sweet!

On May 9th the Guild had put together a meeting with Seth from Mayday Games, where we could come and show Seth our games. Four of us showed up to show him what we had. All together we spent 4 hours or so playing each game. Seth said that he liked the games and that he might look into doing a couple of them.

Later he told me that he wanted to do Hagoth. I was very excited (and still am)! I really had no idea that anyone out there would be interested in publishing a Mormon themed game. I always hoped that there would be someone or that somehow we could convince someone that they wanted to. But now it is actually going to happen!!

Anyway, Seth emailed me a contract on the 11th. I looked it over; asked about a couple of changes (like getting my name placed on the cover of the box); signed it and email it back on the 13th. Then yesterday Seth came up here to Logan with his signature now attached to the contract as well. So, it's official!!!

While he was up here we met with Scott Wakefield (an artist I know; here's his website). Scott is going to do the artwork for Hagoth!! I'll post some updates as Scott moves along with the artwork. Very exciting!!!

Well, that's how it's all happened. I can't wait to see the final, finish, published version of Hagoth. Seth is hoping that we can get the whole thing put together and take a couple of copies to A Gathering of Strangers in July. I don't know if that is feasible, but it would definitely be extremely cool!

Zion Game Designers International

We are moving forward on this idea: Zion Game Designers Internationl (ZGDI). Thanks to Chester we've got a nice looking shield logo and a nice introduction to who we are and what we hope to accomplish. Brian, who has some web designing experience, has put this all together here. So far there are 6 of us who are serious about carrying this thing forward (hopefully soon we'll have a members page there at zionboardgames. We hope to use the website to showcase the games we have as well (this will be added in the near future as well).

We hope that this will provide a great resource for publishers and distributors to be able to contact us and see what we have to offer. We're still working on figuring out how to become members of the LDS Booksellers Association and get to their annual convention. Hopefully ZGDI will be able to grow and give us that opportunity. In order to become members of their association we need to have 3 references that will verify that we have "active accounts" with them. We also need a business license. So, the ZGDI will have to become a business.

Some have talked about getting the LDSBA to open up a sort of third category for us (currently they work with retailers and wholesalers). That seems like a something that would be a little more difficult, but I guess we never know.

Anyway, we've got some hurdles to overcome but we're working at it and hopefully we'll see some success.

Keystone Games!!

Well, I've decided to give my little chunk of game designing/publishing a name: Keystone Games, with the following logo:

It's a play on the Book of Mormon being the keystone of our religion. Anyway, to start things off, I've decided to put the Armor of God out as a Print n Play (PnP) game. It will be my first official offering to the world. As soon as it's all ready I'll be providing a link to the pdf that can be downloaded, printed, and played!!

I've also decided to submit my little company to boardgamegeek along with my game (I've also got to add myself as a designer!). Anyway, I'm in the process of doing that right now, so we'll see how it goes.

Once it's all worked out and up and running I'll shout it to the world a little bit more. Yippee!!

Paid to Play: A Review

I wouldn't call myself a critic or anything like that, but I am enjoying reading about game design and how to attempt to make money with it. And I thought I'd share what I thought about Paid to Play by Keith A. Myers.

He offers a lot of helpful information. Some of it is just logical, but you don't really explicitly think about it. For example, he has a section about where a game comes from or The 3 Core Concepts. These include:
1) A Name or Phrase
2) A Theme or Story-Line
3) Game Play/Thought Process
For me anyway, I think I've had games come from each of these, but I never really thought, "Hey, I could turn that name into a game." Thoughts and ideas just kind of spring up and I attempt to grab them. I have consciously thought about, as LDS/Mormon themes are my focus, "That (theme or part of the Book of Mormon) would make a great setting for a game." But I don't think I've said to myself, "I've got to think of a new theme or story line from the Book of Mormon to start a new game." Again, I think it's just something that we do but don't explicitly know that we do it. Nonetheless, it's good to get it explicitly spelled out for us (for me anyway; I know it will help me in future game designs).

Overall, I can say that I took several things away from the book that I think will affect what I do in designing my games in the future. For example, the section about writing rules had a lot of good guidance, steps to take in the process of writing it all up and important things to keep in mind as you do it (like date each document file and don't delete previous versions). One thing he said he doesn't suggest is trying to write the rules document at an early stage of game development. I can see where he is coming from; there will probably be a lot of tweaks to the gameplay and rules as you continue to develop and playtest. I do think it a good idea to write up all your ideas and how the game plays from the beginning. This will really help flesh out ideas and it makes it easier to see if something will work, even before actually attempting it in a playtest. Many times I've had some, what I thought were really good ideas as to how the game would work, only to find, as we (my wife and I; I'm so glad and thankful she puts up with stuff like this) sat down to try it all out, that some of it didn't work. So, the initial step of writing it down and kind of working through it all helps with that. I guess you shouldn't attempt to write the whole rules document, but just how the game will work and what will happen.

He had quite a bit about connecting with publisher and getting your game in stores. This was probably the least beneficial part for me (but I'm an extreme case). I don't foresee myself publishing games as he suggests, but there were still valuable insights that he had to offer in that section of the book. I do think a lot of it will be valuable as I attempt to self-publish most of my stuff. For example, I think more about how the box will look that I eventually will use to package my game. The three Ps: Placement, Packaging, and Pricing will be important to keep in mind when I get to that point.

He also gave good information on how to get your game copyrighted to protect what is yours.

Lastly, here are a few one-liners I thought were good:

• "No matter how your game is created, take time to come up with the best name possible."
• "By drawing up a long-term, well-thought out financial plan and budge accordingly, you have a head start on moving forward with the best possible vision."
• "As a closing note about self-publishing, I want to add, that while it may be an all-consuming job, it is in my opinion, the best industry there is. Every day, hopefully, you will go to work at a job that you truly love."
• "I have had the most success with games that are innovative, combined with something familiar."

I enjoyed the book and know that I learned quite a bit from reading it.

We've Got a Plan

So we've had quite a bit of activity on the Google Group lately. It was pretty much started when Chester (boardgamegeek profile) found us and joined in. He is very fired up and excited about getting something like this (i.e., Mormon themed games) out for publishers and distributors to see and pick up. We talked on the phone last night for a little over an hour about the idea. It goes something like this:

A Co-op will be created (we'll call it something like Zion Game Designers International (ZGDI)). We will hook up with the LDS Booksellers Association (become a member) and start attending their annual convention (happens in August; we'll be shooting for the convention in 2010). At the conventions we will have a booth where members of ZGDI will display their games. Members will bring games that are 'Ready for the Box.' If it isn't ready to be sold, then that is just what it is - not ready to be sold. Those at the LDSBA are there to make plans for the entire next year - decisions will be made on what goes into what store and what publisher will buy what game. Prototypes don't need to be professional in appearance, but they need to be functional and the game needs to have all the bugs worked out and read to be sold. That's another part of where we come in as a group, we'll be vetting games and helping get them ready for the LDSBA. This will give us access to the publishers and distributors in the LDS world of books, and we hope to get them to adopt new game designs as well.

He explained it to be sort of like an Essen-type setup: a convention where designers come with hopes of hooking up with a publisher. We'll be there for publishers and distributors to see us and our games. The Co-op will give us a chance to save on costs (all costs split by those of us who are members of the Co-op) and also provide us a way of letting the publishers and distributors know that we will always have quality products for them to consider. In essence, as a Co-op we would put our "stamp of approval" on the games that the members bring to the LDSBA conventions.

We also hope to be able to showcase our games at the Gathering of Strangers (that will hopefully happen this summer here in Utah). We hope to be able to go there with some games ready for others to play. Then we can get LDS people's feedback on the games and have that for 'market research' to back up our pitches to the LDSBA.

Anyway, it's a lot to take in. It makes me very excited though. I hope we can get this all set up and ready to go. I'm especially excited that someone other than me is excited to give quality Mormon themed games to the world!

Thanks to Chester for this brilliant idea!!