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Tony Fanchi
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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It's been a while since our last post, but that doesn't mean we haven't been hard at work. When we had Basketball G.M. polished to the point we felt we could call it "done," we set to work on some new ideas. We currently have prototypes for two games, which we are calling Downtown Dash and Intruder Alert! (Those who follow us on Twitter may know the latter as Self Destruct.) This past weekend, Gamicon was held right here in Iowa City, Iowa, so I packed up the two prototypes and took them to the convention. There, I had the opportunity to demo them for Jay Tummelson, the CEO of Rio Grande Games. This was a fantastic opportunity and a very encouraging experience. Though you won't be seeing one of our designs published by Rio Grande in the near future, I came away from the demos with lots of good feedback and many ideas about how to make the games more appealing to publishers. But that's not the main focus of this post.
In addition to demoing our prototypes, I also had the opportunity to listen to Mr. Tummelson talk informally about game design and, perhaps more importantly, game publishing. Mr. Tummelson has more than a decade of experience publishing games (he founded Rio Grande Games in 1998) and provided great insight into what it takes to sell a game design to a publisher, so I thought I would share some of what I learned in that respect with any other aspiring game designers out there.
1) Game publishing is a hit-or-miss business. Part of Rio Grande's business plan is to publish lots of games and hope that a few will hit the mark with gamers. Print runs for Rio Grande typically are about 2-3000 copies. Games that sell out will get reprinted, but those that don't, won't. Board gaming is a fairly small and highly competitive market, so just because your game gets published, doesn't necessarily mean it will succeed, so temper your expectations.
2) Rio Grande pays 8% royalties to designers. Other companies are likely somewhere in the same ballpark. That's 8% of what Rio Grande gets from a game. A game that sells in a store for $50 will probably bring in $20 for Rio Grande, which amounts to $1.60 for the designer. Coupled with #1 above, this means that even if a developer gets that first game published, it probably won't net the developer that much money. Perhaps a few thousand dollars. If you're hoping to make a fortune on game design, you're probably better off looking into another line of work.
3) Your best chance to sell a design is at a convention, particularly a German convention like Essen. Many game publishers have webpages indicating how to send game designs to them, but the best way to sell a design is to pitch it to the company directly, and the best way to do that is at conventions. Obviously this requires upfront investment to get to the convention, but it is far more likely to pay off than an online submission. (Still, it's no guarantee of success.) And the best conventions to attend to pitch a design are German conventions because game companies send representatives to these conventions specifically for the purpose of finding new games. And if you go, go early. Thursday and Friday are the best days to pitch a game idea because the conventions are much less crowded on those days.
4) Art is not required to sell a game. Publishers don't really care much what your prototype looks like or if it has professional art. They'll most likely replace the art anyway. However, that's not to say appearances don't matter. You still want the prototype to be functional and clearly presented, and if you want to get people to playtest it or demo it, you'll want it to look nice, but as far as publishers are concerned, art is not a requirement.
5) Don't worry about someone stealing your ideas. If you ask a publisher for a non-disclosure agreement, you'll get laughed out of the room. Publishers look at lots and lots of game designs, and most of them have similarities with other designs. There are very few truly original ideas out there, and even if your idea is an original one, it's probably cheaper for the company to pay you for your design than to pay someone else to develop it. So don't hesitate to share your designs with publishers.
6) If you're a game designer, you don't want to also be a publisher. While it is possible to self-publish a game first and then get it picked up by a publisher (we've seen this happen with a number of games recently, like Flash Point: Fire Rescue), being both a publisher and designer is not a great long-term strategy. It's just too much of a time drain to do both. As anyone who has self-published could tell you, publishing is a lot of work, which means you won't have much time for design. Once you get that first design picked up by a publisher, let them do the work.
7) Give your game to only one company. If a company likes your game enough to take a copy to look at closely, then they will actually put resources into doing so. If they come back to you with a contract for the game and you've sold it elsewhere, you've just lost a potential buyer for future games, and word will get around about that. However, when you hand your game over to a publisher for a closer look, you can ask how long they expect it will take to get you a final answer, and if they take longer than that, you can ask for your game back and they will return it with no hard feelings.
8) If your game is picked up by a publisher, they will make changes to it. You have to be okay with that and work with them. If you are too inflexible, they will tell you to take your design elsewhere. You can voice your concerns over potential changes and tell them why you think they won't work, but do so succinctly and don't press the issue if they don't see things your way. It is their game to change as they feel is necessary. And if they publish the game, you have to love the game as it is, at least publicly. No one will buy the game if they think even the designer doesn't like it, and you won't get other designs sold if you publicly complain about the final product.
Those are the main lessons I took away from Gamicon. I hope that you find them useful. I want to thank Mr. Tummelson again for taking the time to speak about game design, and for offering feedback on our game designs. It was very enlightening and encouraging to have the opportunity to speak with the founder of such a prominent game publisher.
Thanks for reading!
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Chris Fanchi
United States
Arlington
Texas
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As many of you now know, Fanfare Games is a very new game company. If you have been following this blog, you should know all about our first official release, Basketball G.M. As a company, it is always important to have an eye on the future and plan for your next move, and with Basketball G.M. being fully rolled out, the time has come to look ahead to a new project. Today I’d like to talk a little about the game design process and how we have approached it. I would love to hear from you, as well, about how you like to approach designing a new game for either your own personal use or for eventual publication.
When we set out to make Basketball GM, the game was just a very basic idea. As Tony laid out in a previous post, Basketball GM began development late last year and by this summer, we felt we had reached a point with the game that it was ready to launch. Of course small issues have come up since we rolled the game out, but overall we continue to feel like the game is strong and ready for public consumption.
Obviously the product that you can buy from The Game Crafter today is quite a bit different than the initial prototype we made for Basketball GM, and this is to be expected. Now as we head into future game designs, there are a series of questions that we ask ourselves, and that I would like to ask you.
*When you begin designing, where do you start? Do you start with a theme that you think is underrepresented in the gaming market? Do you start with a mechanic that you enjoy and think you can improve upon from other games you’ve tried?
*When you pick a mechanic, or combination of mechanics, to center the game around, do you worry that "it’s been done to death?" This has come up quite a bit as we have looked into new projects to develop, and it’s a difficult issue to move past. Although we know that virtually everything has been done, it’s still hard to embrace a concept that focuses on a mechanic which is commonly seen or, worse, is seen in a very popular game.
*When considering a theme, do you care how common or uncommon that theme is in the board game universe? Take Basketball GM, for example. In this case, we chose specifically to do a sports-themed game because we felt that there was a hole in the marketplace as most sports games tried to simulate single games, rather than allow players to control the franchise. As we approach our next project, however, we wonder if there’s a reason some holes exist in the marketplace, and if we’d be better off going with a more well-represented theme.
*Where do you start on development? Most of us designers are going to do a bulk of the prep work in our heads, but at some point it reaches time to put pen to paper, so to speak. I know some people that try to flesh out a basic rulebook before anything else. Others like to design cards and boards first, to see how everything looks. Is there a best and worst place to start, or is it completely up to personal opinion?
At this time we have a couple of projects already in the pipeline and as we work to bring these from the idea phase to prototyping, playtesting and eventually to the market, we think about the questions above. I have spent the last few months trying to immerse myself in the gaming universe as much as possible, playing with a diverse group of people and trying to learn what is and is not successful, appealing and fun in a board game. In some ways this experience has really only muddied the water, but for the most part it has been very enlightening.
For those of you wondering what types of games we have in development, right now our most developed game is a territory and resource control based board game. For this game, the mechanics came first, and the theme has developed as the gameplay has developed. We are also working on the "G.M." concept for a couple other sports, and we will reveal more about those as the projects progress.
So now it’s time to hear from you. What do you game designers out there think about the questions above? Post your responses here!
Basketball G.M. is on sale now for 20% off! Get your copy today! For the latest updates, check out our Twitter feed (@fanfaregames). Also be sure to like us on Facebook (Fanfare Games) and check out our website ( www.fanfaregames.net) for more about our games! © 2011 Fanfare Games.
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Chris Fanchi
United States
Arlington
Texas
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As we wrap up our demo game for Basketball G.M., it seems this would be an appropriate time to discuss some alternate gameplay options that we enjoy. The beauty of Basketball G.M. is that it closely imitates a fantasy-style draft at the beginning of the game. The rulebook contains two options for GMs to try for the draft: a "Quick Draft" (pick and pass) and an "Auction Draft." The most common draft is going to be the Quick Draft as it allows GMs to quickly get through the draft and on to the heart of the gameplay. The Quick Draft is the method we chose for our demo game and is also the method demonstrated in our tutorial video.
Auction Draft
The Auction Draft is far more time consuming than the Quick Draft but gives GMs much greater flexibility in building their team. Rather than being "stuck with" the Star that came in your draft pack, you could potentially get a different one. And rather than being limited to one Star (unless an opponent passes on his or hers for some reason), you could potentially get two or more! Additionally, an Auction Draft can create greater strategic opportunities as all GMs will know the complete content of the draft pool and will also know who their opponents’ coaches are, thus allowing for more defensive drafting. The Auction Draft is definitely a fun alternative for the more serious players. Check out the Basketball G.M. rulebook for details on how to run an Auction Draft.
"Rochester" Draft
Another style of draft not included in the rulebook is similar to a Rochester draft from games like Magic: The Gathering. In this draft type, all of the players in the draft are laid out in rows of 2 x the number of GMs in the game (for example, a 2 GM game would have 4 players in each row). The first row will contain one Star per GM and one Starter per GM. The second row will contain 2 Starters per GM. The third through fifth rows will each contain 2 Role Players per GM. The sixth row will contain two Free Agents per GM.
Coaches will be drafted in the same way as a Quick Draft, with all players getting two Coaches, picking one, and passing the other until all initial Coaches would be passed around the table fully once. A draft order is then determined. This can be by coin flip, die roll, or any other way the GMs agree on. The draft rounds will be snaking, like a fantasy draft, so the player that chooses first in the first round will choose last in the second, first in the third, etc. The first player makes the first pick and the last pick of the first round, the second player makes the second pick and the second-to-last pick, and so on.
This draft type can be a lot of fun but it may favor the GM that goes first, depending on the distribution of the players and the quality of the Stars. This draft type may in fact work best in a game with 3+ GMs, as opposed to a 2-GM game, because that would potentially increase the value of picks in the middle of each round. Something to note about this draft type is that the Free Agents are drafted rather than randomly distributed. More than anything, this is to produce an even number of rounds so that the GM that goes last in the first round at least has the consolation of getting the first pick of Free Agents.
Fantasy Draft
A true fantasy draft is an option that could eliminate some of the possible imbalances of the Rochester draft. The primary difference here is that, rather than creating 6 rows of players, all players will be set out and the GMs will have the option of drafting anyone they want from any player caliber. As with the Rochester draft, this style will be a snaking draft with the order, reversing after all GMs have made their picks. Also similar to the Rochester draft, this draft style can lead to some moderate imbalances depending on the draft pool, and these imbalances are more likely to be mitigated with a greater number of GMs in the game.
The many different draft styles available with Basketball G.M. are sure to provide increased replayability. Try them all and let us know which is your favorite!
Basketball G.M. is on sale now for 20% off! Get your copy today! For the latest updates, check out our Twitter feed (@fanfaregames). Also be sure to like us on Facebook (Fanfare Games) and check out our website ( www.fanfaregames.net) for more about our games! © 2011 Fanfare Games.
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Tony Fanchi
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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Today we conclude our Basketball G.M. demo game with a head-to-head Championship Game. Chris finished the regular season with more victory points, so he will roll 3 performance dice, while Tony will roll only two. During postseason play, GMs do not draw Occurrence cards and do not sign Free Agents. The competing GMs put their best squad on the court, pick a Strategy card, and the winner is the champion!
Don't forget the NBA Lockout Sale is going on now! Get Basketball G.M. for 20% off!
Set Lineups Phase
Chris
Strategy Card: In Their Prime
Text: Your players with ages 25-30 are Ability +1.
Chris’s Analysis: From Joshua Jones (age 25) to Brian Colby (age 30), my entire rotation is within the sweet spot that this card hits. So in the final with me rolling 3 dice to Tony’s 2 based on Victory Points, a +8 should be almost insurmountable.
Tony
Strategy Card: Hot Shooter
Text: Modifier. Choose a 3-Point Shooter. He is Ability +2 (+4 if he is also a Scorer).
Tony’s Analysis: It’s playoff time! Time for my Stars to step up, specifically the guy who has been the face of my franchise the whole year, Wayne Dade. I will put the ball in his expert hands and hope that he can come up big.
Set the Standings
Chris
Ability Subtotal: 72
Modifiers: +8
Roll: 5 (5, 2 and 1)
Total: 85
Tony
Ability Subtotal: 71
Modifiers: +4
Roll: 6 (6 and 3)
Total: 81
Chris is the Champion!
Chris’s Final Analysis: I have to say that in all I got fairly lucky in this game, and that luck plus some good roster management resulted in a fairly convincing win. Where I got luckiest was in the Occurrence department (almost no negatives) and in the trading block, with a second, very good Star coming up not long after Tony got the first. I may have been able to keep the game close without Colby, but I think ultimately Tony would have won. I do feel like I drafted the better team, in part because I had the better pack and in part because the players I got had a lot of synergy with my coach. Tony’s coach is one of the better ones in the game, and definitely kept things on even footing to start and made up for his slightly inferior draft pack. It’s definitely neat to win with Jones, the game’s “worst” Star, and it was fun making things fit with my coach and Antoine Parkman’s game text.
Tony’s Final Analysis: It’s unfortunate the final score wasn’t closer, but Chris deserved the win. He had the better team and his squad outperformed mine over the course of the season. I had a few unlucky breaks, but in the end he outmaneuvered me. I think it all goes back to the Howard White trade. I paid a steep price, but if I had to go back and do it over, knowing how things worked out, I think I still would have done the same. White was a great fit for my team, and Chris was smart to make me pay big for him. It was a calculated risk that another Star wouldn’t show up on the block, but one did.
Thanks for following this demo game! Basketball G.M. is on sale now at a holiday season discount price. If you haven’t taken advantage already, visit our shop page and get your copy of Basketball G.M. today!
For the latest updates, check out our Twitter feed (@fanfaregames). Also be sure to like us on Facebook (Fanfare Games) and check out our website ( www.fanfaregames.net) for more updates and spoilers! © 2011 Fanfare Games.
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Tony Fanchi
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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Today we continue our Basketball G.M. demo game with turn 8. Chris clinched home court advantage in the championship round by increasing his victory point lead to 3 with just one turn to play. Time for our GMs to rest their starters for the postseason.
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Chris’s Turn
Occurrence: Four Games In Five Nights
Text: Modifier. Each of your starters is Ability -1 this turn. You may add up to two players (must be different positions) to your rotation this turn. [1 Performance Die]
Free Agent: Did not sign SG Juice Kraft.
Chris’s Analysis: Thanks to last turn’s One Team’s Trash..., I have to lose 8 Salary to get to the cap. Thus I let Gallegos go, and obviously cannot sign the Juice. This Occurrence hurts, but thanks to Miles Michaels on my bench, I can plug him in as a 5-pointer, but I’m going to be even sneakier than that. Stay tuned to see the craziness!
Tony’s Turn
Occurrence: Too Many Scorers
Text: Modifier. If you are starting exactly 1 player with Scorer skill, your Total is +3. [2 Performance Dice]
Free Agent: Signed C Barry Sousa, Rookie Free Agent. 20 years old, 6’10”, 230 lbs, Ability 1, Salary 1, Value 2. Personality: TEAM PLAYER, Skills: REBOUNDER. No Text.
Tony’s Analysis: Turns out I have too many scorers to take advantage of Too Many Scorers (5 out of my 7 rotation players are Scorers), so I won’t be getting that +3. Still, at least it wasn’t a negative Occurrence. I sign Sousa to give me an emergency C.
Set Lineups Phase
Chris
Strategy Card: Win At The Charity Stripe
Text: Modifier. Your Free Throwers are Ability +2.
Chris’s Analysis: Alright, time for some roster management magic! Thanks to my Occurrence I can add 2 players to my rotation. The obvious choices are Miles Michaels (2 Ability SF, +3 if you’re in 1st place) and Seamus Montgomery (1 Ability PF/C). Since both of these guys are Team Players, I will start them. Michaels bumps Joshua Jones to the bench (take that, Diva!) and Seamus knocks DeMille Paulson to the bench. This makes Miles a 6 and Seamus a 3, so along with the -1 to all starters (-5 overall), I will be a net +4 from this Occurrence. Not too shabby. Additionally, my Strategy gives me another +4 for my two Free Throwers.
Tony
Strategy Card: Breakout Season
Text: Duration: Permanent. Choose a Free Agent. Attach to that player. This player adds 1 Skill (your choice). [+2 Ability, +3 Value]
Tony’s Analysis: Since this turn means nothing in the grand scheme (I’m too far behind in VPs to possibly catch Chris), I decide to beef up one of my Free Agents, just in case I draw a Strategy card that might make the player relevant. (Note: in the Championship round, no Occurrences are drawn.) I put the card on Walsh Upton since he’s got 2 Ability and plays two positions. I choose to give him the Defender skill since there is a Strategy card that gives me a bonus if I have a Defender on my bench. (I don’t have this Strategy card in hand now, but I might draw it.)
Set the Standings
Chris
Ability Subtotal: 72
Modifiers: +8 (-5+9+4)
Roll: 4 (4)
Total: 84
Tony
Ability Subtotal: 71
Modifiers: 0
Roll: 4 (4 and 2)
Total: 75
Standings
Chris 14 (+2)
Tony 10 (+1)
Coming Next: The Championship!
For the latest updates, check out our Twitter feed (@fanfaregames). Also be sure to like us on Facebook (Fanfare Games) and check out our website ( www.fanfaregames.net) for more updates and spoilers! © 2011 Fanfare Games.
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Tony Fanchi
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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Today we continue our Basketball G.M. demo game with turn 7. The trade deadline passed last turn, so we jump right in with Chris’s turn. In turn 6, Tony faced a do-or-die situation, and came out with a win. However, he still has to win out in order to simply tie Chris in VPs by season’s end.
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Chris’s Turn
Occurrence: Godfather Offer
Trade. Reveal the top player of the Player Pool. You may trade any player(s), regardless of value, for the revealed player. [1 Performance Die]
Free Agent: Did not sign PG Morris West
Chris’s Analysis: In a way, this Occurrence actually hurts me. By rule, Occurrence and Strategy cards with the Trade keyword are treated as blank after the trade deadline. In a way, this is good because nothing bad happens. On the other hand, I’m still saddled with the 1 Performance Die number on the card, even though I didn’t receive the benefit. I suppose it could be worse. My free agent has 4 Salary, so he has no shot of being signed.
Tony’s Turn
Before his Occurrence was drawn, Tony played the Strategy card Risk Management
Text: Before your Occurrence card is drawn for the current turn, peek at the top 2 cards of the Occurrence pile and replace them in any order.
Occurrence: Insensitive Comments
Text: Modifier. Choose a Diva or Basket Case. Chosen player is Ability -3 this turn due to heightened media scrutiny. [2 Performance Dice]
Free Agent: Signed PG Kelly Collison, Rookie Free Agent. 20 years old, 5’10”, 165 lbs, Ability 1, Salary 1, Value 2, Personality: TEAM PLAYER, Skills: PASSER. No Text.
Tony’s Analysis: I decided to use my Strategy play in an attempt to find a beneficial Occurrence (or else avoid a bad one). Unfortunately, both options were bad for me, so I had to go with the lesser of two evils. Newly-acquired Jamar Adams has apparently been spouting off to the press, and it’s affected his play to the tune of a -3 Ability penalty. Unfortunately, no one on my bench is any better than Adams, even with the -3.
Set Lineups Phase
Chris
Strategy Card: One Team’s Trash...
Text: You may sign one player from the Role Player or Free Agent discard piles.
Chris’s Analysis: This is a tough decision. I can either play a card called Scapegoat, which lets me cut a player (in this case, a Free Agent) to get an additional Performance Die this turn, or I can play the card I did. I chose One Team’s Trash because it lets me sign PF/C Ken Chang, whom Tony traded away last turn. Chang is a 6 Ability Role Player that is a Team Player, so he will actually be 1 point better overall than Mario Gallegos, my starting Center. Also, because we have already passed the Manage Roster Segment, I can add Chang “for free” (regardless of cap and roster space) until next turn.
Tony
Strategy Card: Risk Management
Text: See above.
Tony’s Analysis: As mentioned above, I played Risk Management to pick my Occurrence from the top two Occurrence cards, and it didn’t turn out too well. Fortunately Chris didn’t play a Strategy for a bonus, and he rolls only 1 Performance Die this turn, so I might still get lucky. It’s no fun to see Ken Chang return to make me pay for offloading him last turn.
Set the Standings
Chris
Ability Subtotal: 72
Modifiers: 0
Roll: 1 (1)
Total: 73
Tony
Ability Subtotal: 71
Modifiers: -3
Roll: 3 (3 and 3)
Total: 71
Standings
Chris 12 (+2)
Tony 9 (+1)
Coming Next: Turn 8
For the latest updates, check out our Twitter feed (@fanfaregames). Also be sure to like us on Facebook (Fanfare Games) and check out our website ( www.fanfaregames.net) for more updates and spoilers! © 2011 Fanfare Games.
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Tony Fanchi
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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Today we continue our Basketball G.M. demo game with turn 6. As turn 6 is the trade deadline, this will be the final turn with a trading block. Chris has pulled out to a 3 victory point lead with only three turns remaining, meaning Tony has to win out just to tie. We will be playing a championship round at the end, and the regular season winner will get a bonus Performance Die to roll.
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Trading Block
Role Player SF/PF Jamar Adams, Do-Everything Forward. 31 years old, 6'10", 230 lbs. Ability 6, Salary 11, Value 9, Personality: BASKET CASE, Skills: REBOUNDER, DEFENDER. Text: If this player is starting, he gains Scorer.
Traded to Tony for 13 Value (Dudley Garrett and Ken Chang).
Tony’s Analysis: I paid far more than was required to get Adams in order to make everything work under the salary cap. Adams’ addition gives me a +1 to my SF Ability, as well as an extra $2 under the cap, but costs me my last non-Free Agent bench player. Here’s hoping my guys can stay healthy.
Role Player SG Jim Friese
Not acquired.
Chris’s Analysis: I passed on the opportunity to make the first offer as neither of these guys would go into my rotation. If I had more salary cap space to work with, I probably would have tried to get one of the two just to stash on my bench for a rainy day, but with the cap as it is, I really had no choice but to let them both go.
Chris’s Turn
Occurrence: Rule Emphasis: Over the Back
Text: Global. Modifier. All Rebounders are Ability +1 and all Post Players are Ability -1. [2 Performance Dice]
Free Agent: Signed PF/C Seamus Montgomery, Rookie Free Agent. 22 years old, 6’8”, 245 lbs. Ability 1, Salary 1, Value 3, Personality: TEAM PLAYER, Skills: REBOUNDER.
Chris’s Analysis: My Occurrence is another non-negative one, which is always a relief, especially when you’re running a thin bench. I have 3 Rebounders who will get the benefit of the rule emphasis, but I also have 2 Post Players that will be under a closer watch by the refs, so I net a +1. As for my free agent, Seamus’s 1 Salary will put me at the cap but give me another body on the bench, just in case.
Tony’s Turn
Occurrence: A Marathon, Not A Sprint
Text: Global. Modifier. All teams’ Role Players are Ability +2 this turn. [2 Performance Dice]
Free Agent: Signed SF/PF Walsh Upton, Washed Up Forward. 35 years old, 6’8”, 260 lbs. Ability 2, Salary 2, Value 2, Personality: TEAM PLAYER, No Skills or Text.
Tony’s Analysis: I get +2 from the Chris’s Rules Emphasis, which gives me a +1 over him. We each have 2 Role Players, so neither of us gets a leg up from my Occurrence. Upton fits onto my bench under the cap, so I brought him aboard. He’ll only see play in an emergency.
Set Lineups Phase
Chris
Strategy Card: Physical Game
Text: Modifier. Your Free Throwers are Ability +3 and Scorers are Ability -1.
Chris’s Analysis: Not the best Strategy to play when I’m already behind in the turn, but my other two provide me no benefit at all this turn. Still, I have 2 Free Throwers (for a total of +6) along with 4 Scorers (for a total of -4) and a net of +2. Hopefully Tony’s isn’t too much greater than that.
Tony
Strategy Card: Carrying The Team
Text: Modifier. Your player with the highest Ability is Ability +X, where X is the Ability difference between him and the Ability of the next highest Ability player in your rotation. Add 2 to X if the player is a Leader or Alpha Dog.
Tony’s Analysis: Time for Mr. Howard White to step up and put this team on his back! White is an Alpha Dog, so he gets the extra +2, in addition to the +1 for the Ability difference between him and my next best player, Wayne Dade.
Set the Standings
Chris
Ability Subtotal: 71
Modifiers: +7 (+1+4+2)
Roll: 6 (6 and 3)
Total: 84
Tony
Ability Subtotal: 71
Modifiers: +9 (+2+4+3)
Roll: 5 (5 and 1)
Total: 85
Standings
Chris 10 (+1)
Tony 8 (+2)
Coming Next: Turn 7
For the latest updates, check out our Twitter feed (@fanfaregames). Also be sure to like us on Facebook (Fanfare Games) and check out our website ( www.fanfaregames.net) for more updates and spoilers! © 2011 Fanfare Games.
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Tony Fanchi
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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Attention basketball and gaming fans: In celebration of... er, homage to the soon to be lost 2011-12 NBA season, we are offering Basketball G.M. at a 20% discount! This sale will only last through Thanksgiving (Nov. 24th), so act now and get your discounted copy today! The 144-card Introductory and Advanced Sets are available for $19.99 ($5 off the regular price) and the Complete Set, which contains all 288 cards, is available for just $35.99 ($9 off the regular price).
We have updated the rulebook with the latest rulings for the game, including the new Performance Dice rules that are featured in our Demo Game blog posts. For those of you that have already purchased Basketball G.M., the updated rulebook is available for free on our website, fanfaregames.net.
Be sure to check back here all this week as we will be flying through the Demo Game with a new post each day.
For the latest updates, check out our Twitter feed (@fanfaregames). Also be sure to like us on Facebook (Fanfare Games) and check out our website ( www.fanfaregames.net) for more updates and spoilers! © 2011 Fanfare Games.
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Tony Fanchi
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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Today we continue our Basketball G.M. demo game with turn 5. In our last post, Chris had pulled out to a two victory point lead. Can Tony make up ground and keep from facing a must-win scenario?
Trading Block
Role Player SG/SF Miles Christianson, Jr., Sixth Man Extraordinaire. 26 years old, 6'6", 232 lbs. Ability 6, Salary 6, Value 6, Personality: CHUCKER, Skills: SCORER, DEFENDER. Text: If this player is a starter, he is Ability -3.
Traded to Tony for Sarge Akiba (Value 6).
Tony’s Analysis: Not a big move here. Christianson gives me a backup guard in case I lose a player for any reason, and he’s one Ability point better than the Sarge.
Role Player PG/SG Stu Dangerfield
Not acquired.
Chris’s Analysis: Dangerfield is 7 Salary and only 5 Ability, so there was no good reason to make a bid for him. Christianson is also only 6 Ability and not quite tall enough to get my coach’s bonus, so I let Tony have him for cheap.
Chris’s Turn
Occurrence: Jealousy
Text: Modifier. If you have a Leader or Alpha Dog, your Lone Wolves, Chuckers and Second Fiddles are Ability -1. [2 Performance Dice]
Free Agent: Did not sign Gregory Bodden
Chris’s Analysis: Finally! I’ve been due for a negative Occurrence, although this one is only a -2 after the trades I’ve made. It’s no surprise that Second Fiddle Jon Jacobson has become jealous of newly acquired star Colby, but Rios! C’mon, man! Bodden is a fun player, having game text that allows him to essentially absorb an injury, but I’m holding Dr. Andrew James in my Strategy hand that can cure an injury, so I don’t need to cut Miles Michaels to add Bodden. If only Bodden was Salary 1...
Tony’s Turn
Occurrence: Rule Emphasis: Charging
Text: Global. Modifier. All Defenders are Ability +1 and all Free Throwers and Scorers are Ability -1. [2 Performance Dice]
Free Agent: Did not sign SG Jack Lucas.
Tony’s Analysis: The league crackdown on charging has really put a crimp on my Scorer-laden team, but Chris is just as negatively affected. Fortunately for me, the green-headed jealousy monster has reared its ugly head in Chris’ locker room, which will give me a bit of an edge for this turn.
Set Lineups Phase
Chris
Strategy Card: Dynamic Duo
Modifier. If you have an Alpha Dog and a Second Fiddle OR a Leader and a Team Player in your rotation, your Total is +4.
Chris’s Analysis: Well, it seems the jealousy was short-lived and soon my locker room was singing "Kumbaya" as a dynamic duo is formed to lead the team, hopefully, to victory. Once again I will be discarding a Strategy this turn, although it's one that may be helpful (currently just good for a +3).
Tony
Strategy Card: Tactician Assistant Coach
Text: Duration: Season. Attach this card to your Coach. If you replace your Coach, discard this card. (Adds +1 Salary and +1 Strategy.)
Tony’s Analysis: This week's Strategy was a tough call. The only bonus card I had was worth +1, which I didn’t figure was significant enough to play, so I went with a longer-term strategy by playing the assistant coach, who will hopefully provide me with better Strategy options on future turns.
Set the Standings
Chris
Ability Subtotal: 71
Modifiers: -1 (-2-3+4)
Roll: 5 (5 and 4)
Total: 75
Tony
Ability Subtotal: 70
Modifiers: -3
Roll: 4 (4 and 1)
Total: 71
Standings
Chris 9 (+2)
Tony 6 (+1)
Coming Next: Turn 6
For the latest updates, check out our Twitter feed (@fanfaregames). Also be sure to like us on Facebook (Fanfare Games) and check out our website ( www.fanfaregames.net) for more updates and spoilers! © 2011 Fanfare Games.
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Tony Fanchi
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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Today we continue our Basketball G.M. demo game with turn 4. Last turn, Tony took a hit when his best player was suspended for too many technical fouls. This turn, he tries to pull even again with Chris.
Trading Block
Star SG Brian Colby, Super Star. 30 years old, 6'6", 205 lbs. Ability 12, Salary 12, Value 14, Personality: ALPHA DOG, Skills: 3-POINT SHOOTER, SCORER.
Traded to Chris for Warwick (6 Value), Mosely (5), Nasser (5), Whitted (1) and $6 cash.
Chris’s Analysis: Obviously when the roll came up with a 1, I knew I had to get the Star, whoever it was. When it turned up Colby, then I REALLY knew. Tony made a nice run at it considering his lack of bench players and cap space, and made me pay pretty good value to make the deal (in fact, I probably would have gone up another 3 but that’s all). Now I’m as cap-strapped and short-benched as him, but my talent level is a lot better than it was.
Role Player SG/SF Chris Turk
With just 3 Ability, Tony lets Turk go.
Tony’s Analysis: I was not pleased to see another Star come up on the block when I had so depleted my bench of any excess Value. I drove up the price as high as I dare without leaving myself in a position to be crippled if Chris left the player to me. Even so, he got Colby at a discount compared to what I paid for White. The final half of the season should prove to be very competitive as my Ability total lead has disappeared.
Chris’s Turn
Occurrence: Favorable Schedule
Text: Modifier. Your starters with at least 2 skills are Ability +1 this turn. [1 Performance Die]
Free Agent: Did not sign PF Paul Vasser.
Chris’s Analysis: Another positive Occurrence for me (all 5 of my starters have 2+ skils!). Unfortunately Vasser’s 3 Salary was simply too much for me to sign, so I’ll be running a thin bench for at least one more turn.
Tony’s Turn
Occurrence: The Old Guard
Text: Global. Modifier. All players over the age of 29 are Ability +2. [2 Performance Dice]
Free Agent: Signed SG/SF Byron Talapia, Towel Waver. 26 years old, 6'6", 230 lbs. Ability 2, Salary 1, Value 2, Personality: ENERGY GUY, no skills. Text: If this player is not in your rotation, your Total is +1.
Tony’s Analysis: I get no help (but also no harm) from my Occurrence, while Chris pulls a lucky one of his own, giving him a +5 from his and a +2 from mine. The only good news is Talapia, who’s enthusiasm and cheerleading from the bench gives my team a +1 bonus.
Set Lineups Phase
Chris
Strategy Card: Share The Rock
Text: Modifier. If you have a Scorer and a Passer in your starting lineup (must be separate players), your Total is +4. If you have a Passer and no Scorer, your Total is +2.
Chris’s Analysis: Again, this is the only Strategy card I have that gives me any kind of a bonus, so I have to play it immediately and try another discard to get something better for the future. Still, with my Occurrence and this card, plus the Colby trade, I like my chances this turn.
Tony
Strategy Card: Major Turnaround
Text: Modifier. Your Total is +1 for each turn you had the lowest Total this game.
Tony’s Analysis: I didn’t have any great options from which to choose a Strategy, so I picked my best option, which was a measly +2. But hey, it’s better than nothing.
Set the Standings
Chris
Ability Subtotal: 71
Modifiers: +11 (5+2+4)
Roll: 1
Total: 83
Tony
Ability Subtotal: 70
Modifiers: +2
Roll: 3 (3 and 3)
Total: 75
Standings
Chris 7 (+2)
Tony 5 (+1)
Coming Next: Turn 5
For the latest updates, check out our Twitter feed (@fanfaregames). Also be sure to like us on Facebook (Fanfare Games) and check out our website ( www.fanfaregames.net) for more updates and spoilers! © 2011 Fanfare Games.
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