On Mar 3, 2009 swandive78 wrote: My question was not only about marketing; it was also about the game designs that have come out since the merchandising shift. I'm interested in what the community at large, not just the Lab itself, thinks about the quality of games then v. now.
Sorry - I skipped that part of your question, since I didn't have an answer to contribute - but it's an excellent question and I look forward to hearing more answers...
For example: I like WW5 and Martian Coasters, but abhor Treehouse. I've never been overly keen on Martian Chess, preferring Pikemen and Extinction. I like both Binary and multiplayer Homeworlds, and am lukewarm to Black Ice. I liked Icehouse itself, but realize it will never be the Killer Ap. Zendo is one of the best. Gnostica and Zarcana were both meritorious, but I actually like Zark City a little better.
I love Zark City, gotta play that again soon!
Do any of you feel that there has been a more productive and/or creative crop of games coming out these days, or not? Why or why not? Is it more or less difficult to design a pyramid game in 2009 than in previous years?
Excellent questions! The switch to Treehouse opened things up for games that use less pyramids but still have 5 colors, which is a significant change to the system. I'd say the crop of pyramid games coming out if Andy since the switch are better...
And in a slightly off-topic comment, I just heard Andy's podcast mentioning "Are you the Traitor?" and think it sounds like the most brilliant idea from Andy in quite a while. It sounds like the first really original take on Werewolf by anyone for a long time.
Yay! Very glad to hear this, as this is our next new release - coming to game stores in July. (And we've got a really cool Fluxx promo card coming out to promote the release - but that is definately off topic.)
-Kristin |