It’s been a while since I blogged about game design. That’s not because I haven’t been doing any game design. On the contrary. In fact, I have three games I am actively designing at the moment. It’s more that all three are steadily moving along showing good progress. So today I catch up and summarise what’s happening with Gotlandia, Holmgang, and Draw, stranger, my three games in active development.
Gotlandia
Gotlandia is a strategy game about the Golden Age of Gotland. Using deck building, worker placement and area control, players compete to build the most magnificent churches. You also need to produce sheep, sink pirates, and bury silver to win. A true Euro game for 2-4 players in 2-4 hours. We played Gotlandia on Gotland this summer, it is still a great game. Very polished by now.
From play tests earlier this year I know what issues to work on: It takes time to learn the game. Certain specific rules are often misunderstood and need to be repeated. As a true engine builder, if you have weak early turns, you struggle to catch up. The interaction between players is low.
None of these are deal breakers. But worth having another go at. Can I make it simpler and more fun? It is good with some distance to come up with fresh ideas. A blind test by a group from Copenhagen last year underlined how difficult it is to teach a game with a rulebook. Updates to the visual design can fix some issues, but I also wanted to try rule variants. So I took it out for a spin again this week and came up with a some changes I’m happy with. Next is to revise the card designs and order a new set of cards.
Besides working on the game design, I also spent time thinking about what to do with Gotlandia.
It’s a great game, I enjoy playing it. However, it’s a niche game. I have not pitched it to publishers. I don’t want to self publish it commercially. Especially not via a crowdfunding campaign. I created Gotlandia because it’s fun to design games. I also enjoy teaching the game and have people play it.
So that leaves handcrafting a limited number of copies that I can bring to conventions and lend out and play with friends. So that is what I will do. Unless of course a publisher comes by and offers to do a print run. I would still love to see Gotlandia on the shelves in games stores in Visby for the one million yearly tourists to pick up.
Holmgang
In Holmgang you replay a duel from the sagas. Uffe the Meek defends his father’s kingdom and honour against the Saxon prince and their best champion. Two players move, attack and defend by simultaneously playing and resolving cards from a deck of 20 cards. It’s Rock, paper, scissors but as you only play cards from your hand and as you know what cards have been played, you have enough information to make qualified guesses about what your opponent will do. Plus you can trash talk and bluff to trick your opponent into lowering their defences.
The first prototype of Holmgang hit the table early spring. I iterated and play tested since then with family and friends and now have a great game. Kids played it to decide who got to sit at the middle seat on the drive home from Gotland. Twice I played it with strangers, both volunteered: I will buy it when you publish it. Games play fast. I particularly like that games frequently end in a series of exchanges where both players are one lucky play from winning.
Next up is to order updated cards from PrinterStudio for the next iteration of the prototype.
Holmgang needs five minis. I’m using minis from Gripping Beast for the current prototype. These look great but… wouldn’t it be cool if you could see that Uffe’s chainmail is stitched together in the left side? That his sword is worn and rusty? And Vermund should be an old warrior king sitting on a stool at the edge of the river. Maybe I can find a way to do custom resin printed minis for the game?
I have signed Holmgang up for Fastaval 2026, it’s a cool game to bring to Jutland. Let’s see if it makes the cut. I also pitched it to a couple of publishers but haven’t heard anything back.
I will continue to bring the game along to play with friends and at conventions over the winter. Let me know if you want to try it. I will probably run it at LinCon next year.
Draw, stranger!
Draw, stranger! is a 19 card micro game about duelling gunslingers in the Old West. It’s my most recent game design: The first version hit the table in July. As it is a two player game that plays fast and is easy to bring along, I have play tested a lot, also with strangers in the wild.
It plays well.
Essentially you try to find hidden bullets in three shared piles. In the first part of the game, you draw and play cards to manipulate the piles and to find and keep three cards for the shootout. For instance, you can add a tumbleweed card on top or a bullet to the bottom of a pile. In the shootout, when you play a gun, you reveal one or more cards. If you reveal a bullet, you hit.
Iterating through variations, I have landed on a set of cards and effects that work well. While the game potentially draws (both gunfighters miss), it rarely does. So I have moved to the next stage: I have designed cards fronts and backs, ready to order from PrinterStudio.
One minor nuisance is that the game needs 19 cards while a deck of cards comes in multiples of 18 when you order, due to sheet sizes and tooling. I solved this by adding two cards explaining the rules and then doing five sets, this leaves 3 blank cards in a deck of 108 cards. So I will have five decks to bring along and pass on to play testers.
I’ve used public domain/Creative Commons art for this iteration. It will be ready for blind testing. If I get good response, I can do the next iteration with licensed art.
I have offered Draw, stranger! to Fastaval 2026. Whether it makes the cut or not, it’s a fun little game that I want to bring into the world. If nothing else then as a fun unscheduled filler wherever I go.
See you at a gaming table near you
I have decided to visit Spiel in Essen this year. Not for pitching but for fun. I will bring my 13 year old co-designer and play tester along. See you there? Or at other game conventions over the winter? Let me know if there are opportunities out there for taking Gotlandia, Holmgang or Draw, stranger! for a spin. I’ll happily teach and play.