Catch Up

So little actual 'progress' took place this month that I can't be bothered to make one of those little graphics. I put 'progress' in parentheses because, while very little was actually made (physically), I've been working hard on digital prototypes, graphics, designs, mechanics, and much much more. 

Caravans of CarRel saw a slew of play testing. Each test resulted in a near complete rework of the game. Each rework resulted in a near complete refresh of every one of the hundreds of cards and tokens that make up the game. So, it is taking a lot of time to get this thing right, but I am happy with where it is going. 

Cards of CarRel is still in the production prototype phase. I made a couple versions of the cards this month; they are feeling good, looking good, and working just as I want them to (they do take a hot second to actually make, but hey, progress is progress). The box is a bit of a bear (reminds me of Cartography...). The working of the box is simple enough, it is just a standard tuck box. The design, however, is not feeling right to me. I'll keep at it and keep you posted along the way. Getting this right is very important to me, so I don't want to rush it. 

Also Cards; I'm working on the second and third decks. I want to release the first three decks together if I can, as each adds a new element to the game as a whole and are a great place to get started. By 'working' on a deck, I mean I've already made the deck of 70 (72) cards based on theme and balance, I just need to make sure the abilities are worded correctly and that each card works well within the deck, but also beyond the deck (in the event of 'tournament' style play). 

I'm also casually working on other games (I won't move forward with these until Cards and/or Caravans is done, but it is nice to have a foundation to work from when the time does come to move forward). 

• Cities of CarRel is a city-builder / engine builder style game that can work with Caravans and Cartography if you really want to get deep into a game setting (it works just fine by itself, the other games just add a little something if so desired). 

• Conquest of CarRel is a Risk-esque conquest game with more in-depth battle mechanics and army construction. 

• Courts of CarRel is a print-then-play game focusing on political intrigue, scheming, and clawing your way to the top. 

• There are literally dozens more at this simple phase, I just wanted to share a few that have been rattling around my brain. 

That's all I got for the month. 

Cheers. 

Hello there, it is that time again, time for me to tell you that not much LITERAL progress has been made. That said:

The conversion of Caravans of CarRel to a print and play is well under way. The reference sheets (so you know what you drew from a standard deck of cards) for characters, cities, special items, and encounters are all done. I'm still working out some balancing for the contracts in each city, but that will just take a few play throughs to get right. All that is left for reference sheets is the mule sheet, which I really just need to move over from my existing rapid prototype document to my more streamlined setup for all of the print and play nonsense. I've also made a lot of progress on maps; I've been having a lot of fun trying to blend a somewhat classic fantasy map style with my existing iconography from Cartography of CarRel. Otherwise, it is really just a matter of play testing to see if the conversion is successful, but I am confident this is something I can get done before summer is over. 

I've started working on a creatures expansion for Cartography in which players draw a random animal and get extra points for placing it on their ever-expanding map of tiles; kind of like a little quest or something while laying tiles to give a little extra flair. I've made a spreadsheet of the animals I want to include as well as their tile requirements for placement / pertinent information, I am really just limited by my art skills (or lack there of), as it is taking forever to get the images of the animals where I want them to be. 

I've also started to flesh out Conquest of CarRel a little more. This is still a long term project, but I am liking where it is going. 

I am in a bit of a holding pattern on Cards of CarRel, getting people together to play test such a complicated game is kinda a big ask during the summer. So, this might develop a bit more as winter approaches. Otherwise, I've just been dividing my existing 1076 cards into roughly thematic or mechanically similar decks, tweaking various bits as I go. It is a tedious process, especially since I made many of these cards two or three years ago and the game has changed quite a bit since then, so abilities, geographies, affiliations, etc. need to be altered. But, I am having fun getting back into the head of past Kev and making the cards fit into the new systems. This is going to transition into a major long term project, I want it to be perfect (or as perfect as I can make it), so I don't want to rush. 

I haven't picked up Coloring of CarRel in a while, but I am kinda starting to feel the itch to start it back up again to finish off part 1. Maybe by the end of summer...

That's all for this month. I hope this informal check in is giving y'all a good enough feel for what I'm doing and why. If not, feel free to reach out (contact info in the footer). 

Cheers!

My wife gave birth to our beautiful baby girl last month! So I've been busy being a father. Funny thing about babies though, they don't mind sleeping on a pillow in your lap while you work on the computer all night; they actually love it!

I've pretty much wrapped up chapters 6 and 7 of Coloring over the last week, just need to print them and test them and they are good to go. THAT MEANS, part 1 of Coloring is almost done! Woot! I'll package all 7 chapters up and replace the individual ones with the one big boy. Moving forward, the Coloring chapters will be more focused on coloring pages and less on puzzles and keywords and such; this will be more fun for me and more fun for you, I think. 

I've also made a lot of progress on the art assets for Creatures of CarRel, a little add-on to Cartography I've been working on. I've included one example card above. But, there is still a bit to go before it is a functioning game. I'll keep you posted. 

That's it!

Love,

Kev

I got a better working prototype of Creatures of CarRel done and have continued testing and tweaking where necessary. The box is coming along, but it isn't 'perfect' yet so I'll keep at it.

Cards of CarRel is on my mind too. I've been working on sorting out the thousand or so individual cards I have in a rough draft state into thematically relevant and mechanically neat decks to get a better idea of what work I need to do on them. I'm also waffling on how to best distribute these. Not only physically, ie professional print, personal print with plastic coating, or personal print on nice cardstock with an option of adding plastic sleeves if the shuffling is too difficult for y'all; but also conceptually, ie 1 deck at a time, a few decks that make sense together, or ALL of them in one chongo glorious mega box that will take forever to make and probably cost too much to buy... So, if anyone reading this has any thoughts, use the contact email below to let me know. 

Caravans has taken a backseat lately, but I am gearing up to finish this sucker off sometime in Winter or Spring of 2024. I've taken so long off from it that it will take me a hot second to get my head wrapped back around it in order to complete the transition to print and play. It is still a game I am very much in like with, but it is a bear to keep track of all of the different iterations and small tweaks I've put it through. I'll be glad when it is done and you all can enjoy it!

I've also been toying around with high-level concepts for other games (Conquest, Campaigns, Court, Proving Grounds: A CarRel Games Story, etc), nothing concrete, but it is nice to know that even with a tired brain and body I can come up with new ideas! By the way, that last one, Proving Grounds, is something special I think; it'll take me a good while to flesh it out, but it is something I am good and excited for. 

Another light month. The baby is very chill, but she is still a baby and requires / deserves most of my attention (no regrets!). 

Love,

Kev

More conversion of Coloring Part I into a physical notebook that has led me on a stationary tangent. Made some journals. Cut some paper. Feels good to work with my hands a bit. 

More work on converting Caravans into a print and play, kinda got a little bit of a trick-taking thing going on with battle instead of the incredibly elaborate encounter system we used to have. Making progress, feels good. 

More thoughts on silly things that are well beyond my grasp at this point (rework of Cards of CarRel to make it simpler and more fun, Conquest, Campaigns, Commodores, Commanders, etc.). I need to focus on one thing at a time, but my brain is averse to focus. I'll do my best. 

Love,

Kev

Not going to lie, it has been a nice early Spring and I have been spending the majority of my rare spare time getting the garden in place. 

That said... I'm cooking on the Caravans of CarRel print and play conversion. It is feeling nice, slick, and groovy. I've been testing and working and testing some more. Progress. 

I did a classic Kevin and started a new game... I'm sorry, I can't help myself. Crops of CarRel is simple, elegant, and maybe something I could actually get to 'market' at the same time I wrap up the stupid box for Creatures of CarRel. Oh yeah, in case I haven't mentioned it in a while, THAT is pretty much the only thing keeping me from pushing that gem. Boxes are hard, and I want to get it right. Anyway, Crops; it has cards (cards with rules)... And that is about it. Dead simple. I dig it. Just getting the art together (it is simple vector stuff, nothing too fancy) and dinking around with the rules and whatnot. Earlyish days, but seriously, this one could be done before all the rest that I've been trudging through over the past year plus. We shall see. 

That's it. Light month. Hope to move more next. 

Love,

Kev