Lasers and Wallet Games.

Last weekend I built a laser cutter. I intend to use it to make higher fidelity hex tiles than I used to be able to make (and also square, and round ones as well.) I bought some cardboard, but haven't yet tested it against cardboard. It cuts through paper like nothing, so I think that it should work. Now I need to make up artwork for the tiles for TLDR.

I have just also discovered a new contest, and hope to enter it (in addition to all of the other contests that I entered this year. It is the Button Shy Wallet Game Contest, and it looks pretty interesting. They limiting factors make it quite a constrained game design, which really tends to focus my mind and make things move along more quickly for me.

As a side note, I really respect Button Shy for inventing an idea that I totally also invented (albeit a little after them). Also, the published Avignon (which I totally play-tested and provided feedback for). They are one of the companies that I would like to publish a game through, because I can get behind their way of publishing.

I already have a first prototype even though I haven't known about it for three days. Right now it is about engineering the "perfect moment" through the use of time travel (righting a wrong, killing hiler, making someone fall in love, etc). Each player has four cards: two in their tableau, and two in their hands, and they try to make them match in a specific way in order to score points. The more matches you make before the game ends the better your score. The abilities that are available to the players are limited based on what cards are out.

I hope that it goes well. The first playtest was a little bit complicated, but the game did end successfully, so I have a good start.

Finally, Terran League of Defense Robots is moving along a little slowly right now. I have spent so much time on the laser cutter that I haven't really done much on anything else. Perhaps this weekend will remedy that.

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