Uranus! takes BRONZE
I’m so thrilled to announce that Uranus! was awarded 3rd place in the Board Game Workshop’s annual design contest. Out of almost 100 entries and three gruelling rounds, the results finally came in this week.
The competition is fabulous because it really focuses on feedback from judges, so at every stage of the competition I’ve had support and advice to make this game the best it can be. Thanks in particular to my competition mentor – Ferne Hebig. You can see the final results here. Huge congratulations to the other finalists and of course the winner.
And of course… Uranus! comes to Kickstarter on 2nd March. You can pre-register for notifications here.
My new bi-weekly radio show
Last weekend a brand new radio station launched. Teacher Hug Radio is a station entirely for people others working in education. The launch weekend went brilliantly – two full days of amazing content. The station will be back on Saturday 13th February and will then run weekly – all day each Saturday and Sunday.
From Sunday 14th February you can hear my show on Teacher Hug Radio. The Game School is an hour long show about all sorts of games and how to use them for teaching and learning. On each episode I interview interesting people that straddle the crossover between board games and education, I answer questions from the mailbag, I do a quick review of a game suitable for the classroom and I share a game that you can play in school tomorrow.
I’d love you to tune in at 4pm on Sunday 14th February… It’s a lovely way to spend Valentines. Set an alarm… Now.
New Cracker Games
Christmas may be well and truly over, but people are still playing the Cracker Games. We’ve been sent two new games created by a father and son using the cracker game components.
IMPlosion is a stacking and flicking dexterity game designed by Shane Stewart (age 7) and IMPflakes is a pattern-creation game designed by his dad Martin.
We want to play more of your games! You can submit your own cracker games here. Don’t forget, there’s a 16-page family design challenge booklet bursting with tips and ideas from loads of different designers to help get your creative juices flowing. So now you have no excuse not to!
A new mini expansion
When The Maths rules are added to the game, animals could now be worth three times another animal. The addition of these simple rules can create much bigger disparities between the value of each bird and will increase the mental arithmetic required of players!
The expansion contains:
- 14 Rule Cards
- 1 Action Card
- 1 Rule Marker Card
- The Mayor (a purple wooden imp)
- 1 Expansion Rule Book
Get your copy now!
A lovely review of Uranus! …. in French
The Dark Imp has a special relationship with Patate des Ténèbres (The Potato of Darkness). Well of course. A dark imp and a dark potato.
David Abadie, the man behind the potato, is a French board game reviewer. He recently wrote an Eight Games blog for us – do have a read.
Well, David has now written a fantastic review of Uranus! on his blog. It’s in French, but I’m sure that for many of you that will be no obstacle. Enjoy the review.
An Alternative Valentine’s Guide
The Modern Guy blog has just released their alternative guide to Valentine’s day… and Doughnut Dash is featured!
This guide is stuffed with lots of interesting items from independent retailers – a lovely selection. Do have a look and share as far and wide as you can.