Prototypes

Fairway’s Design Tips: 3 Easy Ways to Make Public Domain Art Better

May 21, 2018May 20, 2018 Fairway 3 GamesFeatures, Opinion

There are lots of free sources of high resolution, public-domain images out there. Many of the best pieces to use are illustrations from old books or oil paintings. And lots of new designers try to use those in their games. There’s usually one problem: just slapping them onto a card usually looks terrible. And while the following might not work for a retail version of the game, this will provide cleaner prototypes. In this quick tutorial, I offer three tips for “doing it better” using Gimp. This post originally ran on Fairway’s personal site.

Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger: Or Designing the Ultimate Engine Builder – YOU

November 30, 2016November 22, 2016 Steven AraminiReviews, The Indie Jungle

You’re there… in the jungle. You’ve got so many ideas. This week, Steve guides along the path of one game design mechanism: the engine builder. No experience with cars or tools necessary.

Played at Protospiel-Madison 2016

November 1, 2016November 1, 2016 Dustin OakleyPlayed @

If you’ve never been to a Protospiel event, you owe it to yourself to check one out. Whether you come as a game designer or playtester, it is a weekend jam-packed with great people, good games, and lots of fun. Last weekend was, as far as I know, the biggest such event, Protospiel-Madison. All told, 174 people attended. I was one of them, and so was Fairway. (Read his write-up here.) The following is a rundown of some of the games I played.

Ryan Cowler Recalls His Outlaw Days

September 20, 2016September 16, 2016 The Inquisitive MeepleInterviews, The Inquisitive Meeple

Interview with designer Ryan Cowler (JurassAttack & SuperPLEX) on his newest game to hit Kickstarter from Green Couch Games, OutLawed!. In OutLawed! (which is a bluffing 2-4 player card game), players are bounty hunters trying to catch the most bandits.