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Developing a New Solo Board Game

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I really enjoyed making my first 3d printed solo game ( You can see it here ), it was a space-themed game that could be played solo but also it allowed two boards to be connected together and played asa two player game. I wanted to dive deeper into making solo games, so I began developing ideas for a dice-based dungeon crawler. Honestly, the first prototype didn’t turn out very well. My original concept was to create a game you could play entirely on a Post-It note, using stencils for each level. The idea was that the player would pick a stencil, draw out the dungeon rooms, and gradually piece together a complete map of the dungeon as they advanced through the game. I still like this idea, but I think it would work better as a multiplayer co-op game since there would probably be too many parts for a single player to manage. I prefer to play solo games that are simple in set up. So how might a two-player version work? Players could team up to fight their way through the dungeon, collect...
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To the World's Greatest Hacker

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I recently came across something fascinating in a house clearance warehouse last week. It appears to be a trophy or commemorative gift, featuring an old 1980s Astro Wars console mounted on a wooden base with an engraved dedication. It's quite old and solidly built, which likely explains why it has remained in such good condition. There's something about it that gives off this vibe, as if it once held some sort of special meaning. The engraved plaque reads: "TO THE WORLDS GREATEST 'HACKER' FROM YOUR MUTUAL APPRECIATION SOCIETY" In an effort to learn more about it, I shared some photos on Reddit, posting to a few subreddits where I thought it might be a good fit. Unfortunately, all the posts were removed for apparently violating community guidelines. However, before one of them was taken down, a few people had commented and suggested I look into the famous hacker Kevin Mitnick. Often referred to as the "World's Greatest Hacker," Kevin Mitnick has a...
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Morse Code Chat Room

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I have recently been attempting to get a few personal projects across the finishing line. My recent efforts have been focused on an online chatroom that I've been developing whereby the users can only message one another via Morse code. This would be a great way to help people learn and practice their Morse.  When a user is connected to the chatroom and they're the only person present, then there is an option to trigger auto-generated massages to help simulate a conversation. I also include a helpful translate button for those users, like myself, who are rather rusty and need a little assistance at times. The online Morse chatroom can be accessed here . Just remember though, it's not perfect but it's still a lot of un to play with in its current state.
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The Squirrel Falls Gameboy Game has Arrived

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It's launch week! After more than two years of development my Gameboy game, Squirrel Falls is finally here! I think the physical release looks incredible. Massive thanks to my publisher Bitmap Soft for all their help with getting this to market and for such a great job on the beautiful box art and the charming instruction booklet. What I loved most about developing this game was working within the limitations of the Game Boy hardware. Trying to squeeze as much as possible into the cartridge was both frustrating and rewarding. The game is packed with so much code and tiled artwork, the cart feels like it’s taught like a drum. It's an awesome but also scary thought knowing that people are actually playing it now. I think I'm mostly worried by the fact that everyone plays games differently and so edge case scenarios might result in a undiscovered bug surfacing as some point. If people are interested in how this all came about, I first started learning how to use GB Studio ...
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Building a Solo Board Game - Part 3

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It’s finally time to play this game! I’ve spent a lot of time playtesting, experimenting, and fine-tuning key aspects to ensure the core mechanics are balanced. In the video below, I dive deeper into the rules and introduce some new ideas, in particular the orbital moves. These add a dynamic element to the board, keeping gameplay fresh and ever changing. The current rules provide a solid foundation to build upon, after all, every game has to start somewhere but I feel the gameplay is already off to a strong start. Since the pieces are shaped like cogs, they interlock with neighbouring pieces, allowing them to rotate together when moved. Right now, I’m considering incorporating a rotational move that could influence attack success. A head-on confrontation would have a standard chance of success, while a side attack would carry increased odds. An attack from behind, however, would guarantee victory. The challenge is to make the game feel balanced and I've been playtesting this new i...
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Building a Solo Board Game - Part 2

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There have been a number of improvements to the game since the first prototype.  The main change is the size of the board. The original board, despite me wanting the gameplay to be tight, was too small, so it's been increased to allow a little more manoeuvring during the game but is still small enough to be held in your hand. This was the second version, as you can see the board is larger but still maintains that handheld device feel that I wanted with the set. I also had a go at improving the pieces, ensure that they didn't fall out of their holes like they did with the first version. However, I wanted to improve on the game pieces further and redesigned the whole board itself. The current piece prototype now incorporates a cog design. This adds a very exciting additional level of gameplay as you could manoeuvre your piece alongside an enemy ship and action a rotation move. As all pieces are cogs, this will cause enemies to rotate. If enemy drone ships can only attack when fac...
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Building a Solo Board Game - Part 1

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I've been wanting to create a solo game for a while now, inspired by some of my favorites like Sprawlopolis and Cartographers . Drawing from the features that I love in those games, I've come up with an idea for a tactile strategy game. This is just the beginning of what I expect will be many, many prototypes, and I've put together a short video documenting the design process for the first one. My goal is to create a pocket-sized, strategy-based game with a space, rocket, and battle theme. I love the idea of a compact radar unit that players can use to navigate ships, engage in battles, and interact with passing planets. Unsure of where to start, I began prototyping in Tinkercad . I had a rough idea for the board layout but wanted to explore an additional feature: while the game is designed for solo play, two boards can be linked to create a larger battlefield for multiplayer mode. The idea of a pocket-friendly solo game that seamlessly expands into a multiplayer experienc...
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