Daniel Solis

In my last post, I announced Pencil Park , a co-designed game with Adam McIver. For now the plan is to get a DriveThruCards edition out on the market while the timing is hot for a roll-and-write game. The tricky aspect was the "pencil" part of things. All of my tests had been with sleeved home-printed cards and dry-erase markers. In the off chance DriveThruCards' boxes couldn't fit sleeved cards, I had to test whether the bare stock itself could handle repeated dry-erase marking. Here are my test results! SCIENCE!! In all of these tests, I used relatively fresh Expo brand dry-erase markers and Premium stock DriveThruCards. Obviously I don't live in a lab, so I couldn't control other environmental factors like humidity and temperature, but I hope these results hold true for most home use. Naturally, I tweeted the results as they arrived. Test 1: Black Ink Over Time Experimenting with DriveThruCards Premium Stock and dry-erase markers. Erased with pap...

Tuckboxes are now live for I Can't Even With These Monsters and Curse You, Robin Hood! When you're in the checkout page, just select the third option for the item. It's entirely optional as always, but they look great. Here's a quick tour of their features!   First off, the print quality is great as always. The print is smooth, the colors are vibrant, and the consistency is top notch. When you take a closer look, you'll notice this seam along the edges of one of the panels. This is because these boxes use no glue in their construction. They're entirely secured with folds and flaps. This has the additional benefit of making the box very rigid and sturdy. When you open the box, you'll see the deck of cards you ordered without the usual order # card or cellophane band that comes with no-box or plastic box decks. The rear hinge of the top lid needs a crease here to open properly, which is why I designed the back of my box to be on thi...

Hello, all! These are the first two card games I'm self-publishing in over a year and I'm mighty proud of them. Curse You, Robin Hood! is a rowdy pub-style card game where you're merchants in Sherwood Forest trying to get as rich as possible. The only problem is that if you're the richest in a particular type of good, Robin Hood will steal it all from you. Different legendary characters will also join your game, introducing the basics of bluffing and negotiation to new players without getting in the way of gameplay. I really love the art by Molly Ostertag . » Buy it here: Curse You, Robin Hood! » Watch the video tutorial here: I Can't Even With These Monsters is the first game in the I Can't Even series. In these games, there's one major rule: Only the highest odd-numbered score will win the game. Even if four players have 22, 20, 18, and 3 points respectively, the player with 3 points will win. This edition introduces the basic concepts w...

Happy new year, everyone! It's been a long time since I've done a proper sales report, which probably foreshadows the transitions from 2015. I kicked off the year knowing that I couldn't repeat the same pace I held in 2014, releasing one new game or product each month via DriveThruCards' POD service. That wasn't sustainable for the long-term, but it really yielded great rewards and I'm glad I did it. Without further ado, let's look at the numbers and break down some context. The Numbers Here are the sales numbers for each product in 2015 (in red) compared to 2014 (in blue). The good news is that every product that existed in 2014 sold more units than it did in 2015! Across the board growth is very positive. These are the gross sales numbers for each product in 2015 compared to 2014. As you can see with some small low-priced products like the Koi Pond promo cards, the sales numbers far exceed their actual dollar gross. These numbers fluctuat...

Hello, last-minute holiday shoppers! Today is the last day to order my games from DriveThruCards in the continental US and be pretty sure they'll reach you by December 24. Stuff those stockings!

A bunch of DriveThruCards titles are deeply discounted today! This sale is on top of the already deep discounts for my card games like Trickster: Starship and Koi Pond . These make great stocking stuffers and deliver within at most 2 weeks for most locations in the continential US. Plenty of time to wrap them up as a gift! Enjoy!

  I'm happy to say the two newest Trickster sets are now live at http://www.smartplaygames.com ! Trickster is a series of fun casual strategy card games featuring heroes from many genres and universes. You’re trying to keep those gallant chumps from meddling in your business. Lure them toward your opponents and try to keep them away from you. Whoever has the fewest heroes will be the winner! Each Trickster set is a standalone game, but you can mix heroes from different sets to customize the play to your group’s tastes. Trickster: Starship is a fast-paced and competitive set featuring the motley crew of the starship Emphasis as they explore the unknown. Art by Brian Patterson . Trickster: Symbiosis is a highly strategic set featuring characters from the biopunk setting Symbiosis by Steven Sanders . Both games are completely compatible with Trickster: Fantasy and Trickster: Tianxia . For more news on the future plans, see below. Kickstarting Trick...

Woot! It's the annual Xmas in July sale over at the DriveThru network, including all Smart Play Games on DriveThruCards . Head over there now to get 25% or more on every single card game on my storefront! If you've been holding out for the past few months, now is the time to get off the fence. These are the BEST deals you're going to get all year. Don't wait! The sale only lasts until July 30th. Go go go!

They're here! Finally! Trickster is a fun pub/strategy card game that's easy to learn and quick to play for 3-7 players! Each set of Trickster cards is a standalone game featuring seven heroes from a different genre or unique setting. You can mix up heroes from different sets to customize the game for your group! Trickster: Fantasy features a Knight, Bard, Mage, and other familiar fantasy heroes. It's a good introductory set for new players, with simple effects th at sync together for a lot of fun light strategy. You can get it here: http://www.drivethrucards.com/product/148126/Trickster-Fantasy?src=newest Trickster: Tianxia features Wuxia-inspired heroes from Vigilance Press' role-playing game. It's a fast, highly competitive take on Trickster's gameplay. Good for players comfortable with a little "take that" in their game night. You can get it here: http://www.drivethrucards.com/prod…/151157/Trickster-Tianxia ...

People of Earth! I just released a new game called HEIR TO EUROPA . Get it here: http://www.drivethrucards.com/product/148042/Heir-to-Europa It's an exciting new card game with set in a new universe of psychic intrigue and shadowy manipulation. Designer  +Nick Ferris combines traditional trick-taking games with some innovative new tactics and subtle strategies. It features eye-catching new art by Marisha Lozada, which you can see above. Check out more product shots below: This is my first game from a designer other than myself! It's exciting new ground for me and my publishing model, so I hope you dig it. We're all very proud of how it all turned out. I hope you enjoy it! Once more, you can get your copy here: http://www.drivethrucards.com/product/148042/Heir-to-Europa

In the year 10,000, the throne of EUROPA sits empty without a clear successor. A series of elegant psychic contests will sway the loyalty of the world’s Factions. Whoever can accurately predict the tide of public opinion will become HEIR TO EUROPA.   I'm happy to say Heir to Europa went out for print proofing last Monday. In about a week and a half, Nick Ferris and I will each receive test copies of the complete deck with rules and cards for approval. Given DriveThruCards' past record of high quality printing, I'm pretty confident we'll be ready to flip the switch shortly thereafter and have the game available for sale before the end of April. I definitely hope it'll be the big star of the second quarter for DriveThruCards. Lots of good buzz about this game from the last UnPub. I'm also sending out review copies in about a week, so I'll be reaching out to a few board game media peeps to get their contact info. Hope all of you dig it!

All aboard! The first expansion for Light Rail is now available! Light Rail: Downtown adds enough cards for two players to play out a full four-player city. New cards have three different buildings, making them more valuable for building routes.  The Express lines count as double-segments to quickly build a majority claim to routes, but have no terminals so play them carefully! So go get Light Rail: Downtown ! Don't forget, this is an expansion that requires Light Rail to play. Pick that up, too!

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!