Hi folks, quick updates on the status of my games. I was able to show off Skrap Packs at Break My Game recently and was able to figure out some aspects I wasn’t sure how to codify. The rules are written, and now I’m trying to cut them down from 17 pages to something more manageable. I’m looking to post the game on sale online sometime before the end of the year. For Alter Arms , I’m tweaking some special abilities still but otherwise on track. I want to get the setting stuff fleshed out more. Regarding upcoming public games: I’m running at AwesomecCon in Washington, DC at as part of Games on Demand June 16 - 18. I hope to see you there!  

  I had a great set of demos at KatsuCon this past weekend with some awesome players! Highlights include the Alter Arms player who played a hero with a Stage Magician gimmick, allowing them to tie up opponents with escapology chains and use balloons to gather intel. There was also the Skrap Packs player who combined their metal gauntlet with a potato peeler to make a clawed glove they named “Can I Borrow a Peeling.” Players are liking the assets mechanic, since it allows them to better collaborate on actions. I need to consider how to scale difficulty as a result. There were some instances where players weren’t able to make an impact on the opponents—at least not as much as they would like—without using assets. Assets are a mechanic where characters change the battlefield in some way (causing debris to rain down from a building that was struck, a smoke bomb thrown into the field to provide cover, or cars knocked over to provide cover). During combat, instead of interacting with o...

PAX Unplugged and MAGFest were both delightful experiences where I got some great feedback from folks about the status of both of my games. For Alter Arms , I had some minor updates for special abilities, and have introduced tokens into physical play to keep track of turns. For Skrap Packs , I’ve updated some cards and included mechanics for restricting inventory. This has encouraged players to be more considerate of the items their characters keep, use and combine. My current upcoming goal is to work on additional theme cards for Skrap Packs—this time based on medieval fantasy adventures—and setup Skrap Packs for sale on Itch.io by the end of the year. The current plan is to demo both games during KatsuCon 2023 on both Friday and Saturday.

  I have two conventions coming up where I’ll be running both Alter Arms and Skrap Packs . The first is PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Dec. 2 & 3 as part of Games on Demand . The next will be at Super MAGFest in National Harbor, MD at the Gaylord Convention Center, Jan 5-7, 2023 as part of the MAGFest Indie Tabletop Showcase (MITS). Some changes I am implementing for playtests the playtests include: Alter Arms Updates: For a look at the full rules, you can join the discord . Updated references to drama (the health mechanic) levels to reference base 5 instead of base 4 (each form that a character has unlocked gives them an additional 5 drama they can take before they crash (as opposed to the prior 4 drama per form) Update pratfall rules to mention that you can choose to either lose 2 drama or add +3 to any current assets (creating a new asset at +3 if none currently exist). Rolling a ‘1’ when making a move gives you the c...

  I'll be in the tabletop room at BlerdCon 2022 on Saturday, July 9 from 2PM - 8PM Eastern time. Be sure to stop by for a demo at one of my favorite conventions! Learn more here about the event here!

  MAGFest 2022 was a great experience! I learned more about encounter balance for both Alter Arms and Skrap Packs, and met a number of wonderful people with some great stories to tell through the games and feedback to provide. With Alter Arms , the main feedback I got was in terms of learning the system and encounter balance: Coming into the game with characters with at least one advancement can be fun when multiple special abilities are applied to actions, but it can be overwhelming for new players learning the new system. The different kinds of actions a character can take, the bonuses they can create for themselves and their allies, and managing the pressure their characters are under can be a lot to take in all at once. What I've found by comparing the MAGFest 2022 playtests to other playtests is that the game is easiest taught in steps: at PAX Unplugged I brought characters in before they had any transformations or special abilities. They were left to solve problems with just ...