Daniel Solis

Almost every Saturday morning, I volunteer at the local animal shelter socializing puppies and then tweet updates about each one. Part of this #pupdate is noting which puppies would be best in a family with lots of activity or other special conditions. I've been doing the #pupdate for over a year now and since the beginning, folks have asked if I'd do a game about it. Well, here we go! I'm happy to announce Arf! the game of picky puppies. Players are volunteers at an animal adoption fair, trying to offer puppies different homes that meet their very specific demands. Some puppies want lots of room, others want lots of food, some want only love and don't care about room or food. Picky picky! Arf! is now available on DriveThruCards ! Remember, you have to place your order before December 8 to be sure to get it before xmas!

Heyo! The rulebook for Arf! is available for your review here ! I'd love it if you could spot any ambiguities or grammar issues. There is a surprising amount of information to pack into this light auction game, so it was a challenge to fit it within such a small amount of space. It's surprising how much text you have to use in a rulebook when the components are language-neutral! I hope it all makes sense.

I've been developing Arf! internally for a while and have finally polished up some of the rough edges with outside playtesting. I always knew this would be one of the simpler games in its final form, but there's this inevitable step of development where I make it way too complicated before scaling it back to essentials. This is particularly important for a game with such light, approachable art. I didn't scale back Nine Lives quite enough during its development, which has led it to being a slightly less approachable game than it could be. I didn't want to fall into the same trap with these pups. So first, a recap of gameplay. Theme : You're volunteers at a three-day adoption fair, competing to adopt out puppies to the best homes. You're sort of a matchmaker, presenting several clients to picky puppies who have particular needs. Cards : Each card is multipurpose. If a card is in your hand, you only pay attention to the information at the top of...