Diskwars variant.

Aquilius

Hi all,
I've recently bought myself the Warhammer Diskwars board game. I had two friends play the training scenario while I coached them from the rule book, so I could get the best possible idea of how the game played. In the end they both seemed to like it so I could probably give the game as a present to any friend that I think I could corrupt into playing proper war games.

But for myself I'd like to make a variant of this game because there are a few things that I don't like about it. I hate games that involve any type of playing cards, so I guess I'll never play poker or magic the whatever. Secondly the fantasy setting is alrightish, but I'm more of a scifi guy. Plus I'd have to assume that FFG was trying to stay as true as possible to the original Diskwars game (so I can't be too angry with them for polluting it with cards, as they do with all their other card games that is disguised as board games). But because of this there are many opportunities that they had completely missed that would have made the game much more tactical.

Would it be possible to have my game printed and punched somewhere after I've designed it? I know there are some places online that could do it, but is there any printing house locally that could do it?

Tuism

1. Have you seen the Shut Up and Sit Down of Diskwars? :) http://www.shutupandsitdown.com/videos/v/video-warhammer-diskwars/

2. Publishing is a HUGE task. It's certainly not as easy as "hey I made a game, you, print it, you, sell it, profit!" :) Especially now considering you're talking about specialty stuff (there are places that make cards with Print On Demand - but tokens and such are usually WAY customised, requiring custom die cut, custom card stock, etc, which drives up price.

If you're interested in self-publishing, here's the best place to start looking: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/322382/game-design-self-publishing-resource-game-designer

BUT ULTIMATELY. Right now, stop wondering about publishing. Make your game first. If it's fun, you'll have no problem getting it published eventually.

If it's not fun, you've worried about publishing for nothing.

Without testing and playing, you wouldn't EVER know an idea is fun. Remember that you will NEVER know everything about your idea until you make it and test it :)

(by making I mean make a prototype. If that means going out to buy cardboard, drawing all over it with a protractor, and writing on it with markers than cutting things out with a pair of scissors, DO THAT.

Get started, don't think yourself into a hole first!

francoisvn

Agree with everything @Tuism said, especially watching the Shut Up & Sit Down (SUSD) video.

That SUSD video was part of the inspiration for a small prototype I designed: Coin Wars

If you're near one of the regular meetup locations (Cape Town and Joburg) you should bring along a copy you've made yourself. The meetups are a great way of getting good quality feedback on game prototypes, including board games :)

Aquilius

Thanks for the replies, guys. I liked both the review and the coin wars game. Take note though, I said nothing about publishing. I want just one game printed and was hoping to have this done for under R3000. I have access to high quality A3 laser printers and (A0 plotters) at work and I have printed and crafted a couple of games over the past 10 years, so I know the limits of what I can do myself. I couldn't care less if my game can be sold or not. My friends have enjoyed all the games I've made so far, and this new game has the greatest multi-player potential of them all.
So, are there any local printing store that can do card printing and punching?

Tuism

Oh ok, my mistake :)

Then I dunno, the best thing you can probably do is go ask for quotes from Jetline or Minuteman. Minuteman is more "artistic", they seem to be more flexible with requirements and things :)

Have you made prototypes of your game yet? Would be interested to know how it plays, there's some cool ideas in there, but might be too complicated for me personally.

You have some good toys to go prototyping with, good sir :)

dislekcia

There's also always the various Fablabs around SA if you want to laser cut perspex or wood pieces :)

Aquilius

@Tuism, no worries. There is a Minuteman close to my work, I'll go and show them a disk today to see if they can help. It is indeed good to have access to these printing toys at work. There is also a little company across the street from where I work that sells resin and silicon for custom moulds and casting. The first time I bought resin and silicon from the same guy was in 1998, and I had to travel about 200km at the time. Needless to say, I've become expert at duplicating anything. It has all come together nicely somehow.

@dislekcia, funny, the closest Fablab is exactly in the town I used to stay when I had to travel 200km to get my mould and casting materials. But I'm also lucky as far as tools and stuff goes. I married a lady who has a wood workshop in the backyard. She used to make various types of furniture as a hobby. There's a dremel and a jigsaw cutter in there that I abuse from time to time. I'm somewhat careful though, my wife used to be a kickboxing champ.