Unpub2: The Smoke Clears

 I have been told by enough people in real life and through twitter and emails that Unpub2 was a huge success. I’m sure there’s a lot of you out there who couldn’t and didn’t make it to the show, so I’m going to tell you about it. Isn’t that nice of me?

We ran Unpub2 on Saturday January 14, 2012 in a little venue on the south side of Dover, Delaware. Almost 60 people were in attendance, players, game designers, and publishers. Nearly 30 games were displayed and played throughout the game. Games ranged from home-printed to professionally proto-typed and all points in between. It was a great mixture and really showed the appeal of the event to all levels of designer.

I’m going to talk a  little about the games that were presented. By the end of the week every game that was at the event will get mentioned and spoken about, so designers checking out this post don’t worry. I’ll get to you.

Also, I’m not talking about these games in any order, no best of list from me. Simply reporting. I didn’t get to play any games but my own and one other game… so I can’t honestly tell you what I think was best or not.

Here’s the first batch…

I’ll start with Fat. This game was designed by Nick Ferris. I’ve known Nick since 2010 and I still haven’t had a chance to play any of his games. Fat’s been on my list since July. It’s a deck building game about going on a diet (more to it than that, but that’s your one line pitch from the casual observer.) I watched people play the game several times and each group was having fun. The game came up in conversation many times and it just made me want to play it more…sadly, I didn’t get that chance.

…Off To College came to us from West Chester, Pennsylvania and a designer by the name of Stephen Craig. This game simulated the college the experience in convenient board game form. It was designed as a family game, but also an educational tool, so this one might appeal to those seeking a game that might help a person realize that resource management is real and something people do every day! It had a creative use of spinners, which I haven’t seen in a while.

Josh Tempkin brought Throne Dice back to the Unpub! I’ve played this game in the past, but didn’t get a chance to do that this year. I’ve enjoyed it’s innovative use of dice as money, building component and attack device. The game can get a little “messy,” but it’s fun. It was also one where people had the loudest vocal reactions. Every time it was played I heard shouts and laughter from the table. Players got engaged in the game. This one, as I’ve stated before, has been picked up by a publisher so it should be coming to a store near you in the future. He was testing the first expansion for it at Unpub2.

Sandwich City was brought to us by Jason Tagmire. I checked in on this game a few times because I was fond of the presentation and the unique theme, players competing to make the best sandwiches in town. I didn’t get to sit down and play this one, but those who did enjoyed their time. I watched a couple people play it more than once, so kudos for that. It’s easy to get hooked on a good game. You can find this game on The Game Crafter (it may have just won a contest there!)

My game Flummox was at the event. I know you’re totally surprised about that, right? I know it was played 4 times throughout the day. I only really played one of those games, which was awesome. I gained some valuable feedback as we move the game towards publication. There was laughter and fun at the table. I was happy to see repeat players from last year’s Unpub trying their hand at the game again. Gaining that feedback from people who played it in an earlier format is really valuable.

Joe Hopkins game Companies Inc is the last one I’ll mention today. I have heard about this one from several sources. It appealed to some very diverse groups of players in my mind and was overwhelmingly positively reviewed. I’m sure you’ll be hearing about this one from several other people in attendance. One of my local players told me point blank that this one would become one of our group’s main staples. That’s high praise.

So, that’s a start, eh? 6 more games will get some love tomorrow.

We’re working towards a big wrap-up post about all kinds of Unpub-by matters. So keep checking back this week. Thanks for all your interest and support!