Wait…Board Games?
One of my hobbies outwith politics is both playing and designing board games. I can’t say I’m staring down the road of massive commercial success (yet?) and I haven’t (yet?) been brave enough to get any of them professionally published or crowdfunded though I haven’t ruled out the possibility of self-publishing or print-on-demand if there appears to be some appetite.
Till then, many of the games are available to play in digital form on Tabletop Simulator. Tabletop Simulator requires a payment to buy but my games within the workshop do not. I do not receive a cut of any purchase of TS. If you enjoy the games and would like to throw me a tip, you can do so at: https://ko-fi.com/craigdalzell
Ten Minute Tabletop
Ten Minute Tabletop is a minimalist Napoleonic style wargame inspired by HG Wells’ Little Wars but designed to be played in ten minutes.
Battles are fought on a 9×9 hex grid that can be printed on a single sheet of paper with models taken from any game you have lying around or easily 3D printed. Plus a single six-sided dice and a few tokens or bits of paper.
Under Pressure
A fast, casual, dice-based, trick-taking game where players compete to build up interlinked lines of dice while trying to block their opponent from winning the high score. Each turn you roll up to three dice then place some or all of them on the field, discarding the others. If you score a trick AND discard one or more dice, you can capture an opponent’s discarded dice and set yourself up for unexpected combos down the road.
A little bit Yahtzee, a little bit Bananagrams, a little bit Mancala.
Heart Under Blade
My first published game. Many thanks to the team at Tabletopia for making that happen.
For the first time in generations, the nation is at relative peace.
The Shogun rules his vassal Samurai Lords with an iron fist, using his privilege to move among them, relying on his Samurai to protect him even as they grow lazy and wealthy on the riches of the new world.
However, all is not well. One vassal is secretly the Lord of the Ninjas and seeks to bring back the days of war by assassinating the Shogun before their agents can be discovered.
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Heart Under Blade is an asymmetrical strategy game in the tradition of the deckbuilding genre though as the Shogun owns everything in this feudal society, he also owns the sole deck being built by all of the players, so be wary of adding to the power of the nation lest you find it being used against you.
The majority of the players aim to protect the Shogun as he visits their domains but one player seeks to assassinate him and must create their opportunity to Strike.
Into The Void
Into The Void is a 4X game of exploration, colonisation and combat in a hostile galaxy.
You play the role of a young interstellar civilisation taking their first steps into the void of space – to journey through the stars, claim new planets or take them from the others who beat you to them.
Cast your civilisation into the stars, develop planets, expand your fleets and your technology base until you can conquer all who oppose you, crack open the secrets of the Precursors or find your own path to Enlightenment.
Under Pressure
Steam is the lifeblood of The Factory. Without enough steam in the right places at the right times, the entire operation would grind to a halt.
Unfortunately, The Factory is also so complex that no-one really knows what it does or how it does it any more.
Least of all you, one of the myriad of almost ignored Pressure Regulators who direct the steam where it needs to go.
Under Pressure is a competitive puzzle game where players try to adjust the central board to match three numbers their own target Pressure Card by playing Steam Cards to claim it then draw another.
Each Steam Card always adjusts two columns up or down and each Pressure Card always shares precisely one target number with every other Pressure Card (so there’s always a chance that you may be helping your opponent instead of hindering them). Be careful you don’t accidentally max or bottom out one of the pressure columns by hitting their red lines!
Palisade
My first released game and…it shows. I might come back and refine this at some point. In its current state, it’s not particularly playable but please feel free to try it and tell me where I went wrong.
An experiment in creating a fully 3D printable game as well as calling back to classic 1990s siege warfare video games like Rampart.
Palisade places you as castellan of your keep, trying to maintain your castle, protect the serfs who feed you and fight back against those who would slight your walls and leave you defenceless.
The Common Green 