Call for Playtesters

I’m looking for some playtesters to try out our newest offering. 

Right now, the project is still under wraps, but here’s what I can tell you.

  • There are six games and you can test as many or as few as you like. 
  • Games will be sent to you digitally. You will need to print out two pieces of paper to test each game. No special assembly is required.
  • There’s a range of player counts. There’s one game suitable for solo play, one for exactly 2 players and several for for 3+ players. One game can be played with a big group.
  • The rules for each game fit onto one side of A4. So none take very long to learn.
  • Games are suitable for hobby board gamers and family gamers alike. You don’t need any prior experience to playtest.
  • All games are suitable for age 8+

Due to Covid restrictions, it’s been harder to get playtesting done. So I’d really love to hear from any keen playtesters. 

Punchboard

Adam Richards from Punchboard has written a great Dark Imp feature article. He does a whistle-stop tour of almost all the current Dark Imp games. There’s an index to find his thoughts about each of the games, and he summarises as follows… 

“The Dark Imp make great games, and you can tell there’s passion behind everything Ellie Dix has touched. Ellie is clearly a hobby gamer, and I can see flashes of inspiration from other games and designers all over her work. Nothing is ripped-off, and there’s plenty there that feels fresh.

“What I love about the lighter stuff like the placemat and coaster games, is that all you need is a bit of space and some dice and pens. What I couldn’t escape while I played all of the games, is just how well they’d fit in with holidays. You could throw a whole load of games in a bag and take them to a cottage or caravan, or even camping, and guarantee fun. The themes can, and do, appeal to anyone and everyone.

“If you’re the parent of a young family, or if you know a young family and you’re a hobby gamer yourself, I’d really recommend picking up a game or two and seeing how they go. Ellie’s mission is an important one, and one I feel a connection with. Screen time is okay, but we all need to get our kids back to social interactions with their immediate family, and what better way to do it, than with board games?”

Meeples on the Ground review Doughnut Dash

Meeples on the Ground have done a groovy review & playthrough combo of Doughnut Dash. 

Here’s a quote from the final summing up: “We definitely encourage everyone to go and check out Doughnut Dash from The Dark Imp. This is high production quality, really interesting program movement and a good simultaneous action selection game too.”

Bez’s Daily Morning Stream

Regular visitors to The Dark Imp blog will know that I have been a guest on Bez Shahriari’s live broadcasts several times before. Last week, I joined Bez again and this time was joined by two other publishers – Shem Phillips from Garphill Games and Peter Blenkarn from Inside the Box Games. I’ve got huge admiration for Bez. She’s been streaming every morning for least 1-2 hours for a year, which is insane but totally amazing. 

This time we talked about motivations for publishing. It’s a really interesting discussion, and I’d love you to watch the broadcast.