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...

About a week before UnPub 2017, I posted a weird little idea for a roll-and-write game. I didn't realize how much of a hit it would be until a few days later when I saw dozens of people playing it on home-printed or hand-drawn cards. It's been a fast development process since then, but where did it start? Someone on my twitter feed once described a game mechanism where the arrangement of pips on a dice face could literally be translated to a range of movement on a grid or an arrangement of tiles on a table space. If you're that person, please @ me so I can give you proper credit. Clearly that idea stuck with me for a while, eventually becoming the seed of Pencil Park. Very rough draft of Pencil Park. Reference on one side, playable side on the other. pic.twitter.com/eHcmFZCS6C — Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis) March 15, 2017 I've always liked drafting mechanisms that make what you don't choose as meaningful as what you do. In Seasons, the die result that n...

Howdy all! Long time no see. It's been a wildly busy couple of months since last year, most of which culminates in this new game from Action Phase Games and Indie Boards and Cards. Trickster: Champions of Time is a big polished update of my old game series Trickster which long-time followers might remember from a few years ago. The art is all new, the base game contains more hero cards, and the expansions planned introduce even more. I handled art direction and Beth Sobel did the illustrations. I'm happy to have a diverse and inclusive cast of characters from across time and space so skillfully depicted in the game. Check out the video above and help spread the word. Thank you!

Thanks for being patient with my slow posting schedule the past few weeks. I'd been preparing non-stop for BGGcon this year (and then catching up on all the other freelance work that backed up before then). I wanted to come to this con more prepared with prototypes that might be a better fit for the current market. Seemed to work out! It was certainly my most hectic and busy con in many years. Seemed like I was always bustling from one impromptu meeting to another the whole time. I arrived with about 7 prototypes and they're all now in someone else's hands. That's no guarantee of publishing, but at least it's a nice start! Always a good sign of a healthy business trip. The rest of my time was spent trying out fun new games and some old favorites with new friends. Check out the video above for a highlight reel of some of the games that hit the table.

Hey all! Quick update from Greater Than Games regarding Belle of the Ball Second Edition . It's being printed right now! Barring any unforeseen shipping problems, copies of Belle of the Ball Second Edition should be available on the Greater Than Games web store and on Miniature Market in early December. They'll be rolling into stores shortly thereafter. Cutting it a bit close, but GTG is 90% sure we'll make it! If you're a store owner and want to get Belle back on your shelves ASAP, contact paul@greaterthangames.com for info. If you own the first edition, here's a quick overview of some changes to the rules and a few bits of card text.

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...