The State of Games, Ep. 78: The One About Following the Rules

stateofgameslogonewWelcome to 2015 – the dawn of a new age for Dice Hate Me and The State of Games. Some things will remain the same on the podcast, but we’re also going to be experimenting with some new things. It’s only appropriate for a new year. What you’ll start to hear on the podcast are some experiments. Some will work, and some won’t. But what we want from all of you is feedback on what you like and what just falls flat. It’s kind of like a new rulebook; you might like how easy it is to learn a new game, but you just wish it could be a bit better. We can relate to that feeling, and it also happens to relate to our topic – rules. We can bend the rules, but we need your help in knowing just how best to do that. You’re the best around – so let us know your thoughts!

Links to important things mentioned on the podcast:

tragedy looperThe Unpub Network (details for Unpub 5!)

Contacting Karl at Games Keep for published games you want at Unpub 5

Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge

Credit Mobilier

KanBan

Panamax

Tragedy Looper

Clue

Eldritch Horror

Arkham Horror

Tier auf Tier

Battlestar Galactica

Elder Sign

Netrunner

Stone Age

 

ALSO, OUR KICKSTARTER ALL STARS:

The Rabbit card games! (Gotta catch ’em all!)

Brew Crafters (It’s here for pre-order – get some Game Trayz, too!)

Belle of the Ball (It’s here, grab your copy now!)

VivaJava: The Coffee Game: The Dice Game (It’s here – get your copy now!)

Compounded (All sold out! But more are coming this spring!)

The Great Heartland Hauling Co. (The second edition is here!)

VivaJava: The Coffee Game (Sold out!)

Carnival (The second edition is here!!)

 

And, finally:

The Dice Hate Me Games Newsletter! Sign up for the best in behind-the-scenes goodness from our hearts to yours.

Like what you hear? Subscribe to the State of Games podcast RSS feed!

 

Related posts:

  1. The State of Games, Ep. 76: The One About the Fireside
  2. The State of Games, Episode 53 – The One About The Germans
  3. The State of Games, Episode 73 – The One About Tales of Gaming Terror
  4. The State of Games, Episode 56 – The One About Surprises In My Pocket
  5. The State of Games, Episode 65 – The One About Staying Forever Young
Comments
4 Responses to “The State of Games, Ep. 78: The One About Following the Rules”
  1. Lee says:

    It’s easy to nominate this podcast when it comes through in your discussions how much fun you guys have recording it! That fun is contagious. Chris, your chick tracts reference gave me a laugh thinking of it being included as source material for that game. I loved the irony of Stephanie breaking the new format rules considering the name of this episode.

    Regarding the format changes, bring on the special segments. I really enjoyed T.C.’s previous one. I like the idea of unpacking topics about gaming heritage, especially since there’s a fair amount of historical perspective for those just now getting into the hobby to understand. It might be fun to do an episode that chronicles the growth of the hobby up to this point and to consider where it might be headed in the future.

    I look forward to what’s ahead for The State of Games. Lastly, congratulations on your new position, Darrell!

  2. Randy says:

    I concur with Lee, I think the (intra)group dynamics are the biggest strength of the podcast. It’s just a lot of fun hearing you guys bicker and having fun at the same time.

    The rules segment had a number of recognizable anecdotes and it was interesting to hear a bit more about unpub and the way it works (for playtesters & designers). I also liked that the show moved on to a new segment in a steady pace. I understand there’s potentially a lot more to say regarding stuff, but this way I felt certain topics didn’t drag on too long (from a listener point of view).

  3. Seth Jaffee says:

    Darrel: Congrats on the position at Panda! Wonder how long it’ll be before you work on our stuff 🙂

    Chris: Out of curiosity, for the same reason you are against early bird reward tiers on Kickstarter, do you think KS projects should charge full MSRP, or efuse to offer additional incentives for eople to pledge? Isn’t that the same thing? Why should people buy at retail for full price or miss out on other freebies just because they didn’t happen to see the KS project during the short time it was ongoing?

    I’m giving you a hard time – of course you’re entitled to your opinion about early bird reward tiers, I’m just curious if that opinion holds for the bigger picture or not. 😉

  4. JR Honeycutt says:

    I think there’s a specific method to teaching games that works best – title, goal, method to achieving that goal, and available actions to pursue those goals. It works really well! Then I tell players that it’s an environment of 100% absolution – “A high-stakes game for nothing”, to quote a friend – and let them know that any and all questions will be happily answered, and that take-backs are totally ok. It works really well!

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