October continues to be very busy. I think I’m going to have to cut back on some things so I can manage it all.
I think the big thing will be not officially testing Vanilla at Metatopia. The design has been tricky and I haven’t been able to get it complete enough. I may still bring a partially developed version for after hours testing and maybe get some helpful ideas.
The design contest has been on autopilot for the moment, just waiting on the round 2 submissions, so that is nice.
Plutocracy is moving along, I finally found a half inch square punch and have been working on making the recessed planets and boards. It’s a lot of work for a prototype, but I want to test the physicality of it. Especially how it affects cognitive load and game time.
The secret project I mentioned last week is coming along. I spent a few days going in the wrong direction, but I think I figured it out now. It’s a very tight design space with a short deadline, so it’s been taking most of my focus lately.
The timing of the contest and Metatopia is tough. Next year’s contest I will definitely pay more attention to things like that. And there will certainly be a contest next year. This first one has had such a great response. I’ve learned a lot and see many places for improvement, but over all judges and contestants have really enjoyed it. So next year will be even better.