Unpub2: More Games Galore!
First up: It’s here! The long awaited downloadable version of the Unpub2 program. It now includes three more games and the thank you page that missed the first printing. Also included is the typographical correction of Dicehatemegames.com! Thanks for your patience! Don’t forget to check out our supporters and feel free to contact the designers to learn more about their games!
Here’s my take on a few more games from Unpub 2!
Joe Hopkins had two games with him. We already talked about Companies Inc., but now we can turn our attention to his second game, Traveling Salesman. I was told the game has a little more of a Ticket to Ride vibe which people really liked. I’m assuming that’s in reference to the board for the game and the fact that you are traveling. The more cities you visit to hawk your wares, the better off you are. There seems to be an interactive component as well as you can swindle the competition!
Secretly, Joe also brought his copy of Space Shipping. I sat down to play it, although I’d already played it in July. I was keen to hear about some of the changes. That one is a game I liked a lot, so I was hoping to get a chance to play it. Suddenly I had a crowd waiting to play Flummox, so I had to back out of the game. I will get another chance to play this one!
I talked about Stephen Craig earlier as well. He brought three games with him including Off To College (the one we already spoke about.) His other two games were Toys and Staples. Sadly, I have no player information on Toys. I did catch some people playing Staples and they were having a good time. Staples is a cupboard stocking game of resource management. Invest and grow your wealth so your family doesn’t go hungry!
Another food based game (and food based games seemed to be a trend this year) was Alex Nastetsky’s Food Chain. This tile laying game seeks to model the circle of life with plants, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and decomposers all fighting for survival. This one was a late entry, so you didn’t get a chance to hear about it before the event. Alex was great and the game was well received. I’m looking forward to learning more about it, as I didn’t get a lot of time to get in on the game.
Pond Farr seemed to be the little game that could. The salmon spawning deck builder is the game I’ve actually heard the most about after the show. Most players who gave Jesse Catron’s game a play have been very positive about it and are looking forward to it. I’ve had some preliminary discussions to get a play of this game. He lives in Salisbury, so I may be able to handle that drive and go down there to play this fast paced game. He’s got a run on Kickstarter coming up soon. Watch for it folks!
New Jersey brought us another last minute entry, Kathy Scoppetuolo’s Jersey Devil Chess. This variant is based on the legend of the Jersey Devil. It uses regular chess pieces on a custom board. It’s a two player game that seemed fast and fun. Everytime I turned around it seemed there were people playing, so that’s a great sign. Kathy has the game self published and has some copies on her website. Go check out Jersey Devil Chess!
Last one I’ll mention today will be Wartime. This is from Josh Tempkin and Brad Lackey, who also designed Throne Dice from the other day. Wartime has interested me since the WBC. I didn’t get a chance to play it there, but at Unpub2 it was the only game besides mine that I got to play. Why? Well, it’s a quick game. Wartime is a “real time” combat game. It was really intense, pretty strategic, and a lot of fun. Don’t beleive me? Roll tape! The video is Jason Tagmire (designer of Sandwich City) and I playing our first ever game of Wartime. Remember this was taken during a live event, so it’s not the cleanest audio. The video takes about 10 minutes, but gives you a real good idea of the game. My understanding is that Wartime has found a publisher, so it’ll be coming to you soon!
Part 5 of the epic blog comes tomorrow! Did you miss Parts 1, 2 or 3?
Photo Gallery -Now including shots by Darrell Louder!
Matt Morgan’s MTV Geek Write-Up on UnPub2
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