Palatial: A new Dark Imp game
I’m really excited to announce that a new Dark Imp game is now available. Palatial is a roll & write game for any number of players and is available as a downloadable print & play game!
You have inherited a palatial stately home, but sadly it’s in a terrible state of repair. The house is falling down and the grounds are being reclaimed by nature. You must tackle this fixer-upper before you can move in. Protect the historical features and cover up the worst of the blemishes to gain the most points.
Beach Life and Castaway – two Dark Imp placemat games – are also available as downloadable print & play games. We’ve made the decision to enable downloads as so many families will be separated for Christmas this year and all these games can be played via Zoom!
Playtimes Hong Kong
I was interviewed by Jennifer S Deayton for Playtimes Magazine in Hong Kong. She was writing about the benefits of playing games as a family and wanted to get my opinion. She was particularly interested in how to level the playing field so all players can compete fairly.
“It’s actually quite hard to totally level the playing field,” Dix explains. “The adult sense of logic and strategy is usually more developed than that of a child. But it is possible to find games where there are lots of different possible routes to victory. One player may take a very strategic path, planning moves carefully. Another may take a more tactical approach and make shorter-term decisions, but both methods of play could each lead to victory. Light strategy games that give lots of opportunities for different ways to gain points are good for levelling the playing field.”
The article is a great read and is freely available in digital format. Browse the full magazine here or click the button for the article alone.
Fantastic Female
I was thrilled to be featured as a Fantastic Female on Mumsforce, which is a Scottish lifestyle and parenting blog.
It’s quite a comprehensive profile. Have a read if you’re interested to find out…
- Who has inspired me and why
- What advice I’d give to a young woman in the workplace
- What’s the best career decision I ever made
… and more.
Yahoo Finance: Dreaming about work
The journalist Lydia Smith has written an article called “Why we are dreaming about work all the time at the moment” and I was excited to be quoted in the piece.
For Ellie Dix, who runs her own board game publishing company called The Dark Imp, dreaming about work rarely used to be a bad thing. In fact, she would sometimes dream up ideas for new games and wake up with a fully formed idea which she would go on to create. But this year, things have changed.
“Recently, the dreams haven’t been quite so productive,” she says. “We’ve got a rush of orders on and I’ve had dreams of running along an assembly line of board games, like a never-ending treadmill. I’ve had dreams about creating games encrusted with diamonds — I have no intention of doing this — and then them getting lost in the post or delivered to the wrong person.”
Don’t worry everyone – I don’t think any orders placed through the online shop have ended up in the wrong place yet!
City Kids
City Kids Magazine has published an article about the Best Christmas Board Games and I was asked to write the introduction. Here’s a tiny snippet…
“Good board games evoke all sorts of emotions; happiness, delight, tension, intrigue, awe, trust, anticipation, surprise. Our emotional reactions connect us to the game, the experience and the people we’re playing with.”
We’re also thrilled to see that the Cracker Games are featured in the article. Well, of course they are! What better Christmas game is there?
The School Run
Two recent articles from The School Run have featured The Dark Imp.
15 Life Lessons Children have Learned in Lockdown
Check out Number 12
100 Best Educational
Toys
The Cracker Games come just after Harry Potter 🙂
Translating and Localising Games
The Dark Imp Coaster Game – Free the Frog – has been used in a Case Study written by Mia Alietti a games translator and localisation specialist.
It’s so fascinating to have a glimpse into the thought process of even just translating the game title.
The Learning Curve Podcast
I was invited by Tabitha Droy to guest on her podcast – The Learning Curve. We talked about why many families have probably been playing the wrong board games and how by leaning to play new games we can reconnect with our families… whatever their ages or abilities.
Virtual Christmas Market
Well 2020 has been a strange year in so many ways and the run up to Christmas is no different. This year instead of visiting lots of different Christmas markets, The Dark Imp has a stall in several virtual ones instead.
Most of the virtual Christmas markets are on Facebook, but Virtually Christmas has gone one better and made virtual chalets that you can browse! Ok, you’ll have to make your own mulled wine and pop on your own Christmas soundtrack, but at least you can browse the chalets from the comfort of your own sofa!
Even more gift guides!
More gift guides featuring Dark Imp games have come out in the last couple of weeks. Click the images below to visit the articles.
What the Redhead Said
The London Mummy
Brit
Voyage
Serenity
You
Lukeosaurus
and Me
