This page contains details about the games and game designers who will be on hand to demonstrate their games at this event. Each designer will be assigned two of three possible three-hour time slots: 10 AM – 1 PM; 1 PM – 4 PM; and 4 PM – 7 PM.
PIONEERS (Designer: Leland Righter)
In Pioneers, players take control of 1 of 6 nations, expanding their reach across a hexagonal grid through unit movement and engine building. For fans of games like Scythe, Rising Sun, Revive, or Civilization-type games, this is a game for you!
Number of players: 2-6
Game length: 2.5 – 3 hr.
Scheduled demo times: 10 AM – 1 PM; 1 PM – 4 PM
CHARGING ACROSS COUNTRY (Designer: Melinda Ashton)
In your new electric vehicle, you are ready to hit the open road. You will travel from city to city building charging stations for your corporation. The more you build the more conservation points you get. Whether you’re going to Seattle, Boston, Austin, or Miami you’re going to need supplies along the way. So, buckle up and get ready to charge your engines.
Number of players: 3-5
Game length: 60 – 90 minutes
Rules: http://nge.gamesclubofmd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/charging-across-country.docx
Scheduled demo times: 10 AM – 1 PM; 1 PM – 4 PM
EXQUISITE EXHIBITION (Designer: Bill Crenshaw)
You are the curator of a museum seeking to create exquisite exhibitions. Generous benefactors have donated paintings from their collections. You pick which paintings you want to grace your museum and where to place them to enhance their artistic effect. Critics rate your exhibitions to determine who wins!
Number of players: 1-8 (more than four, play as 2-player teams)
Game length: 45-60 minutes
Rules:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13wVD8w2eO6AAgACACQiWbTAFDziLsIHAfGT0WXmYNtU/edit
Sample game art: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oCyHVaRTPVwOwFG6tkdBj8T4KPnxWYsR/view
Scheduled demo times: 1 PM – 4 PM; 4 PM – 7 PM
WHEELS AND WHEY (Designer: Matthew Whitton)
Embark on a captivating journey as a seasoned farmer, where you’ll experience the challenges and triumphs of herding animals into pristine mountain pastures, crafting award-winning cheese, and expanding your homestead in the Swiss Alps. But beware, fellow farmers are vying for the same glory, and the competition is fierce. Will you work with them making cheese together or go it alone? And brace for harsh winters—animals hunger, debts loom, and avalanches threaten! Wheels & Whey is a mid-to-heavy economic game merging rondel action selection with deck building, multi-use cards, and contract fulfillment.
Number of Players: 2-4
Game Length: 2 – 2 1/2 hours
Photo:
Scheduled demo times: 10 AM – 1 PM; 1 PM – 4 PM
SHAHI TUKRAY (Designer: Sami Khan)
Shahi Tukray (Royal Pieces) is a 2-4 player node control game where players fight for political supremacy in the court of the Mughal Empire (c. 1640). Through the placement of their influence on the board, players unlock bonuses when allying with influential nobles. By manipulating their influence to take Noble cards out from under other players’ control, players can improve their own individual status, or pay tribute to different regional leaders to race to the top of the Mughal Empire’s ranks.
Number of Players: 2-4 (best with 4)
Game Length: 90 minutes
Scheduled demo times: 10 AM – 1 PM; 1 PM – 4 PM
REALM BUILDER (Designer: Derek Croxton)
Realm Builder is a card drafting game in which players try to craft the best medieval realm. Your realm will include territories and rulers, and you will need knights to defend them and a monarch to reign over them. You can enrich your realm with treasues and items, and protect your assets with castles and ships. The basic course of a round is for one player to play a card to the middle and other players follow with cards of the same suit. Then play goes around the table again, with the first player drafting from among the played cards and other players choosing from what is left. After three hands (twelve rounds of drafting), players score their tableaux. Realm Builder is a highly interactive game that can be finished in 30 minutes.
Number of Players: 2-4
Game Length: 45 minutes
Rules: http://nge.gamesclubofmd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/realm_builder_rules.pdf
Photo:
Scheduled demo times: 10 AM – 1 PM; 4 PM – 7 PM
VINES & WINES (Designer: Paul Owen)
“Vines & Wines” is a card game for two to four players racing to build vineyards, grow grapes, and deliver wine. Dual-use cards can represent either the features of the winery or the grapes and wine that you grow, produce, and deliver. Play involves clever timing and a balanced strategy between building infrastructure and delivering the goods.
Number of Players: 2-4
Game Length: 45 minutes
Rules: http://nge.gamesclubofmd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Rules-v5.docx
Scheduled demo times: 10 AM – 1 PM; 4 PM – 7 PM
COLLECTIONOMICS (Becca Horovitz)
Do you like to argue? Do you like the economics of monopoly but not want to murder your friends? Well, let’s go back to the basics. Arguing over shiny things we like. In this game your aim is to collect points based on how many people you can convince that your favorite die, rock, or marble is in fact bright, wizened, or looks like it really should be in therapy. Party game adjacent, reverse blind voting mechanic. Bribing! I’ll bring shiny rocks! Bring your own collection containing at least 50 of something (shells, dice, seeds) and we’ll play. (Be willing to let people handle your collection.)
Number of Players: 3-5
Game Length: 30 minutes
Scheduled demo times: 1 PM – 4 PM; 4 PM – 7 PM
HERDING CATS (“It’s More Than Child’s Play”)
(Designer: Jed Horovitz)
Three cats seek adventure while a crazy Cat Lady tries to keep them safe in a dangerous world.
Number of Players: 2-4
Game Length: 30 minutes
Scheduled demo times: 1 PM – 4 PM; 4 PM – 7 PM
MINE! MINE! MINE! (Designer: Alan Ernstein)
Mine Mine Mine is an economic development game where players represent a mining company. Over 5 Eras, players will travel to different planets, earn income from mines they own, purchase mines and other improvements, and ultimately be the most profitable company in the system.
Number of Players: 2-6
Game Length: 30 minutes per player
Scheduled demo times: 10 AM – 1 PM; 1 PM – 4 PM
GALAXY SCROLLER (Designer: Scott Saccenti)
Scroll through the Galaxy like an 80s arcade ace. Players take the roles of pirates, navigating space in search of adventure and profit.
Number of Players: 2-4
Game Length: 20+ minutes per player
Scheduled demo times: 10 AM – 1 PM; 4 PM – 7 PM
QUEEN’S FAVOR (Designer: Corey Kliewer)
Queen’s Favor is a strategic 1-4 players dice/card/board game where players take on the role of nobles in the court of a dying Queen. The goal of the game is for you, as one of these powerful nobles, to become the chosen successor to the throne by using 6 sided dice combos and skill cards to outmaneuver your rivals and proving that you have the Queen’s Favor!
Players must navigate the complex political landscape of the court, completing quests for the queen to increase their favor all the while protecting themselves from their rival’s treachery. This will include managing troops, acquiring mercenaries, and sabotaging well thought out plans.
You must also be aware of the Queen’s cousin, who is determined to usurp the crown for themselves and stop at nothing to eliminate their rivals. Players must prevent them from completing quests or attacking anyone that stands in their way.
The Queen’s Favor is won by the player who has the highest prestige and favor at the end of the game. Players use a tableau to manage their political and military fiefdom, interact with the Queen’s court, visit a tavern to acquire mercenaries and skills, and prevent the usurper from becoming king. The game is designed for 2-4 players and takes about 2-3 hours to complete.
Number of Players: 1 – 4
Game Length: 45 minutes per player
For more info, see: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2922603249
Scheduled demo times: 1 PM – 4 PM; 4 PM – 7 PM
OPPRIMO (Designer: Rosello Estabillo)
Opprimo is a board game played between two players. It is a game of skill and strategy which can normally be played in under 20 minutes. At the start of the game, the players command a force of eleven (11) pieces which they try to maneuver through the board to gain positional advantage in order to penetrate enemy lines, convert enemy pieces to their side, and eventually surround the enemy’s most vital piece, the King.
One unique characteristic of the game is that from the game’s start to its end, all pieces take an active part in the battle. No pieces are removed from the board. The pieces merely change sides. The players will at times find their respective forces either depleted or reinforced. This characteristic is what makes Opprimo intriguing, challenging, and entertaining to players young and old alike.
Number of Players: 2
Game Length: 30 minutes
Rules: http://nge.gamesclubofmd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opprimo-Rules-of-the-Game.pdf
Photo:
Scheduled demo times: 1 PM – 4 PM; 4 PM – 7 PM
Finally, although ineligible for the winner’s prize (as this game has been accepted for publication), designer Kevin McPartland will be on hand seeking feedback on his latest creation. Here are some details:
Wind and Stars: Exploring in Polynesia
Your people have always been great explorers, voyaging out to sea in your double-hulled canoes. For several generations, they have been content with settling and growing in your homeland in Samoa and Tonga. But now it seems it’s time to venture out to sea again. Yes, there are many dangers; success is far from certain! There will be thrilling adventures, but the gods will certainly place obstacles for you to overcome. Think of the rich islands you might find! Do you have the strength of spirit – the mana – to succeed? The happiness of your people depends on your success.
Wind and Stars is a boat-level game about exploring and settling in Polynesia. It emphasizes adventures and mythology, focusing on passion and cooperation rather than direct conflict. It uses a deck-building mechanic to enable your exploration (on land and sea), development, and adventures. It is, however, a competitive game: whoever earns the most Hau’oli (happiness) wins!
Number of Players: 2-4
Game Length: 2 1/2 hours
Scheduled demo times: 10 AM – 1 PM; 4 PM – 7 PM
NOTE: Even though Kevin’s game is ineligible to win our Game Design competition, anyone filling out a feedback form after playtesting his game will be entered in our prize drawing!