Belle of the Ball - Jacqui Davis' Art Preview Part 3

It's time for another art preview for my line-drafting card game Belle of the Ball. Check out the previous art previews here and here. This completes the full lineup of guests from across the counties of Ludobel, but look for more art previews to come, including the actual card design!





Boarsend County's ranches are home to all sorts of livestock. Watch where you step. L to R: Dirigible Dinnerbum, Inch of Boarsend; Lady Jinglebell Jittersend, Fool of Boarsend; Lord Zigzag Zithermend, Gem of Boarsend; Yagustus Yellowhire, Key of Boarsend; Pinchlehead Pimpleleg, Inch of Boarsend.





Egg County hosts Ludobel's major university and its kooky faculty. Guests from Egg are eager to talk about the latest scholarly theory on something-or-other. L to R: Lady Veranda Vendorcaria, Fool of Egg; Korakora Kampenwell, Key of Egg; Abacus Edgaloo, Inch of Egg; Lord Windmill Winkleshire, Gem of Egg; Tickleboo Tenderzoo, Jack of Egg.





Flappingcap County is the technological hub of Ludobel, always rolling out some new invention. Guests from Flappingcap usually come straight from the lab. L to R: Lady Pantspantspants Patchpaw, Lance of Flappingcap; Amelio Shmelio, Zest of Flappingcap; Quentin Quanzaria, Wall of Flappingcap; Lord Lafayette Linenhatch, Quill of Flappingcap; Finrod Fungaldum, Rock of Flappingcap.





Latesun County life is focused on Ludobel's naval fleet and its finely uniformed crew. They've been idle for years, so there's plenty of time to look good. L to R: Dithith Dithercrath, Wall of Latesun; Gigglelack Lololol, Zest of Latesun; Lord Grumblin Gristlepinch, Lance of Latesun; Lady Ribbleraw Razzlaw, Quill of Latesun; Zanzibar Zinfenfire, Rock of Latesun.

Belle of the Ball - Jacqui Davis' Art Preview Part 2

Last week you saw the first art preview for Belle of the Ball. Jacqui Davis is still working away at the rest of the guests. There are a lot of 'em! Once again, here's more art from Jacqui. Don't forget, Belle of the Ball will be kickstarted by Dice Hate Me Games in late Summer 2013 for an early 2014 release. You can find more about the game on the DHM site here.

In this update, you'll see one guest who may have a subtle resemblance to yours truly. That's probably because I wanted a character making an exaggerated "FFFFFF" sound and I sent a silly selfie as photo reference. See if you can spot it!




Jamshire County's pristine vineyards produces the best jams and wines in Ludobel. L to R: Lady Radioactive Rendermum, Barge of Jamshire; Apple Ash, Cape of Jamshire; Bumblebee Bindlemeg, Eye of Jamshire; Lord Marmalade Megablade, Ace of Jamshire; Gapplepap Gravelsap, Drake of Jamshire.




Glitterfall County is a sunny resort island with a landmark waterfall, just off the coast of Ludobel's mainland. L to R: Lord Waffle Wumple, Ace of Glitterfall; Lady Hard Cider, Barge of Glitterfall; Ffffaaaaa Flippinbird, Drake of Glitterfall; Ragathan Roffle, Eye of Glitterfall; Mumblecore Masherfax, Cape of Glitterfall.




Krinkle County is a cold, mountainous region, best known for its surprisingly warm baked treats. L to R: Stitch Sandybag, Inch of Krinkle; Blisterpack Bitack, Key of Krinkle; Lord Decimate Dunditel, Fool of Krinkle; Lady Velocipede Vintertav, Gem of Krinkle; Satisfied Stainclop, Jack of Krinkle.




Dent County's jewel magnates are the wealthiest citizens of Ludobel. The county is named for the giant canyon left behind from mining, now grown over with vines and bamboo. L to R: Lady Ubwub Ungerdub, Ace of Dent; Thathery Thumbvee, Eye of Dent; Xenon Xylosub, Drake of Dent; Lord Humblebrag Hamperrag, Barge of Dent; Gravity Gingersass, Cape of Dent.

There are still four more counties, so look for more previews in coming weeks. To see more of Jacqui Davis' work, go see her blog!

Belle of the Ball - Jacqui Davis' Art Preview Part 1

Jacqui Davis has been working diligently on the art for Belle of the Ball, to be kickstarted by Dice Hate Me Games in late Summer 2013 for an early 2014 release. You can find more about the game on the DHM site here. It's been a thrill to see these guests with silly names and sillier titles finally come to life.

Developing the island setting Ludobel has been exciting as an opportunity for world-building I rarely get to do. It's probably been since Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple that I got a chance to fully direct character designs. Jacqui Davis' work has been magnificent so far. In particular, she's really taken to heart my desire for a diverse cast of characters featuring a variety of ethnicity, silhouette, and gender presentation.

Each guest has a first and last name, naturally. I randomly generated these names from a list of suffixes and prefixes I thought sounded funny. On occasion, I'd tweak the names to maximize their tongue-twisting silliness, thus you get guest names like "Dirigible Dinnerbum." All guests come from one of the twelve counties of Ludobel, and each county has a Lord and Lady noted by a sash. Each guest also has an honorary title, reflecting a noteworthy skill, achievement or occupation. Thus you have titles like "Wall of Flappingcap" or "Fool of Dent." Enough chatter, on with the art!




Highmount County is home to high mountain steppes and equestrian aristocrats. L to R: Obelisk Orlantop, Inch of Highmount; Lady Livery Lingridtub, Gem of Highmount; Lord Anteater Appletend, Fool of Highmount; Vorpal Vanbee, Key of Highmount; Embrose Excrew, Jack of Highmount.




Anglebottom County is known for its fine silk exports. L to R: Lady Maybe Mumblecaw, Ace of Anglebottom; Lord Calla Quizcave, Barge of Anglebottom; Penny Puzzlemass, Cape of Anglebottom; Orblah Openbend, Eye of Anglebottom; Lady Critique Crappique, Drake of Anglebottom.




Indigum County is an artists' commune, source of baffling fashion trends. L to R: Kickingsell Kittenbell, Zest of Indigum; Meowsmith Mutterhut, Rock of Indigum; Ragequit Rumplefatch, Wall of Indigum; Lady Lovelylady Lamp, Quill of Indigum; Lord Wibblywobbly Wantonmutt, Lance of Indigum.




Craw County is a misty, rocky moor home to ancient ruins and dour historians. L to R: Jugular Jugkeg, Wall of Craw; Lady Custer Cutterlub, Lance of Craw; Lord Capable Canklerack, Quill of Craw; Underpants Unterdaria, Zest of Craw; Original Orblack, Rock of Craw.

There are still eight more counties, so look for more previews in coming weeks, including guests from grape-growing Jamshire County, mountainous Krinkle County, and super-scientific Flappingcap County. To see more of Jacqui Davis' work, go see her blog!

More Playtest Findings from PAX

While I was at PAX East, I playtested three other prototypes currently in various stages of development.

Princess Bride Drafting Game has been long in development, but finally hitting a breakthrough now that it has departed from strictly simulating the Battle of Wits. It's now a drafting game in which players bid for milestones and landmarks to complete their personal quests while also trying to bluff their opponents into drinking poison. It's a drafting game where you're not just bidding for resources, but also turn order on the next draft and how many resources you'll get to draw. Most feedback was positive and I hope to formalize this prototype into something more pitchable soon.

• Retheme the cards slightly so that there are more main character options, including the villains of the story.
• Make the secondary characters in the deck landmark locations.
• Give the main characters unique abilities, like The Man in Black's immunity to poison, or Fizzik's great strength.

Belle of the Ball was a hit again. I got many play requests from people who had heard of the game from this blog. I also got a few thanks for non-violent/non-colonial theme. I tried out several new cards that generally followed the model of the "bad cheese" card, negating scores for certain interests in a scoring group. I also added several new Belle cards that scored you points based on other players' behavior, such as when they paid bribes, accepted bribes, invited lords or ladies or played Belle cards. On top of all this, I also tested the new two-lane format. It went swimmingly, offering far more substantial choice on each turn, preventing bribe-hoarding, and making a more satisfying experience overall.

• Come up with evocative names for the new Belle cards along with new diagrams that can more easily be recognized from a distance.
• Make the heraldry more subtle so it doesn't distract as much.
• Remove underlapping border around the interest icons so they have less interference with their silhouettes.

Suspense: The Card Game probably got the most play overall, simply because of its small footprint. The pitch really drew in the core gamer demographic: "Deduce the victory condition while also trying to meet it." I'm exploring ways to expand the game to four or five players, which might be difficult. I'm thinking about another set of six cards with red numbers, each victory condition based on highest/lowest black/white sum in play/hand. The problem of course is that 13 cards elegantly creates one possible outlier in an even deal, adding anymore makes things a little more messy. I'll figure it out though.

• Explore expanding the game to four or five players.
• Instead of waiting until the end of the round to introduce the "Fold" option, state it up front so players always have it available.
• Explore a gambling variant based on Wits & Wagers' wagering chips. (Score points equal to your wager chips x stars on the winning card.)

Belle of the Ball to be Published by Dice Hate Me Games!

I'm very excited to announce that Belle of the Ball has been purchased by Dice Hate Me Games! You can read the official announcement here. I'm particularly excited that they've tapped Jacqui Davis to illustrate the guests and the Belle of the Ball herself.

It's been a long road to get here, starting with the earliest versions of the game when it was a tile-placement game until its current incarnation as a light strategy set-collection/bidding game. There have been many many playtesters along the way from those early days. Sadly, I haven't been keeping thorough enough records during that process, but I'd still like to thank those playtesters I can for making this possible.

    W. Eric Martin
    Megan Miranda
    Jace-Leia Newhook
    Rob Newns
    Patrick Noto
    Leah Novak
    Lyndsay Peters
    Vitas Povilaitis
    Jesse Pudewell
    Megan Raley
    Tim Rodriguez
    J.R. Romero
    Adam Schultz
    Lisa Scodari
    Devon Silvia
    Jason Summerlott
    Sarah E. H. Thomas
    Dennis Ti
    Rebecca Ti
    Greg Tito
    Cheryl Trooskin-Zoller
    Joshua Unruh
    Jim Van Verth
    Anastacia Visneski
    Whit Vosburgh
    Rachel Weber
    Andrea Withers
    Simon Withers
    Austin Wilson

    Natania Barron
    Charles Beauvais
    Sara Beauvais
    Jonathan Bolding
    David Buerger
    Dave Chalker
    Richard Dansky
    Chris Deibler
    Tad Dockery
    Rael Dornfest
    Peter Fall
    Ben Farrell
    Danvers Fleury
    Cheryl Grinds
    Tom Gurganus
    Micheal Harrison
    Hayley Helmstetler
    Fred Hicks
    Quentin Hudspeth
    Jason Innes
    Scott King
    Dave Kirby
    Cherilyn Kirkman
    Chris Kirkman
    Mur Lafferty
    Val Lang
    Jonathan H. Liu
    Daniel Lofton
    Gia Lombardo


Sorry if there's anyone I missed! You're all awesome and you helped make Belle of the Ball much more streamlined and fun. This is just the beginning, of course. The Kickstarter will launch in late Summer for a release in Q1 of 2014. Keep an eye out for more news to come!

A Fictional Setting for Belle of the Ball

Belle of the Ball was originally inspired by the Shindig episode of Firefly, which presented a lavish party with clear visual influences from Victoriana and the Antebellum South, but mixed with lots of other aesthetic cues.

Since then, I've described Belle's setting as a Victorian or Southern ball, since that's an easier explanation to new players. I'd still like the game's art to take both as a source of inspiration, but both come with a lot of historical baggage. I prefer a more contemporary, balanced representation in the art than would pass "historical accuracy" nitpicking.

To get around all that, I'm developing a fictional setting for Belle of the Ball. Not too vast, mind you, just a simple, short bit of worldbuilding to make clear that the game is set not in England or in the American South. Rather, it's some other place at some other time that just so happens to have dapper wardrobe and silly names. I've actually already given each guest a title and county of origin. For example...

• Gigglesack Lololol, Zest of Latesun
• Velocipede Vintertav, Gem of Krinkle
• Radioactive Rendermum, Barge of Jamshire
• Meowsmith Mutterhutt, Rock of Indigum
• Obelisk Orlantop, Inch of Highmount
• Mumblecore Masherfax, Cape of Glitterfall
• Lafayette Linenhatch, Quill of Flappingap
• Thathery Thumbvee, Eye of Dent
• Jugular Jugkeg, Wall of Craw
• Pinchlehead Pimpleleg, Jack of Boarsend
• Critique Crappique, Drake of Anglebottom

At first, this was an excuse to embed layer of information on each Guest card, in hopes of future expansions tapping into this data set. Now it may also serve as the outline of a whole fictional setting.

I imagine Anglebottom, Boarsend, Craw, Dent, Flappingap, Glitterfall, Highmount, Indigum, Jamshire, Krinkle and Latesun being counties (or tiny countries) on a large Isle. I'd love it if that isle had a name with "bel" somewhere in it. Here's what folks on Twitter have brainstormed so far.

• Isle of Beltingham
• Isle of Belton
• Isle of Belmont
• Isle of Claribel
• Isle of Maribel
• Isle of Belshire

Something like that. Happy to take any more suggestions!

Belle of the Ball Playtest Feedback from UnPub3!

Yay! I just got the feedback form results from the Belle of the Ball playtests at UnPub3. The data below is split between quantitative responses about the game's length, ease of learning, and so on. The qualitative responses get a sense of context for the player's preferences in gaming and what they liked about this game in particular. At the end are some findings and possible courses of action I could take in response to this data.

Many thanks to Car Trunk Entertainment for scanning 35 handwritten feedback forms from the show!

QUANTITATIVE DATA
Overall the data was positive. Most said the game was easy or very easy to learn, which for some was possibly a negative aspect. Also many found the game length to be appropriate, though several comments in the qualitative section wished it was a little longer in a four-player game. A surprisingly small minority didn't care for the theme. I say "surprising" because I expected a core gamer audience to be a little put off by the frou-frou premise. Perhaps my presence at the table made players feel more generous? I've already talked about the effect of designer presence can have at a playtest.

Learning the game was
Very Easy   ***************
Easy        ***************
Appropriate ******

Length was
Short       ****
Appropriate ********************************

Luck was
A lot       ***
Appropriate ************************
a little    *********

Interactivity was
Complete    **
Frequent    *********
Consistent  **************
Occasional  ***********

Game was
Hilarious   ****
Humorous    ***********
Fun         *************************** ("Whimsical")
OK/Boring   **

Was the game predictable?
Yes         ***
Maybe       *****
No          *****************************

Was the game balanced?
Don't know  ****
Maybe       *
Yes         ******************************** ("Yes, very")

Did you enjoy the theme?
Maybe       *
No          ****
Yes         ******************************* ("Hell yes!")

Would you play again?
No          *
Maybe       **
Yes         ******************************* ("Absolutely!")

Did the game feel original?
Yes         ******************************
Maybe       ********

Would you buy this game?
Yes         ********************* ("Def!")
Maybe       *******
Don't know  *
No          ******

QUALITATIVE DATA

Ah! Now this is the good stuff. I've compiled all the responses into a single dataset, so you're going to see a mix of negative and positive responses all mixed up together. Most of the positive responses liked how easy the game was to learn and the short play time (usually hovering around 20 minutes for 4-players). The hardest responses to pin down were the favorite and least favorite types of games. I expected players who liked Belle to prefer set collection games with light themes and easy gameplay, but there was a really wide variance in these two responses.

Did you like this game? Why/Why Not?

• Easy to learn, quick game
• Fun, moves quickly
• Great theme. Light and quick.
• I enjoyed this game. I always am up for some quick moving, lighter games to play between my deeper game experiences.
• I felt like it was alright. I didn't feel like there were enough strategic decisions. Also, I'm not sure of the balance of Belle cards.
• I liked it. Simple and strategic with a lot of choices. It's also very short.
• I liked the fast pace. I think once I got more practice, you could have a lot of fun with character names.
• I really liked the theme as well as grouping for the scoring component.
• It was okay.
• It would appeal to people who like lighter, more random games.
• Proper luck/skill balance for length of game with not-so-serious theme
• Sure maybe still good with more than four players?
• The presentation (cards) were great, the mechanics are few and it is well-paced.
• The theming and art are consistent and add to the enjoyment of the game. Cards are fun to read. Game has a good mix of luck and strategy.
• Very easy to understand and play.
• Yes, creative, easy to play, appeals to a wide amount of people
• Yes, easy, fun and casual
• Yes, interesting mechanics
• Yes, it felt unique even though it used familiar mechanics
• Yes, it made you think, but not to the point that it was tedious.
• Yes, it was fun and kind of like a puzzle, and personally I like puzzle games
• Yes, it was quick enough to keep interest and always kept you guessing.
• Yes, it was something that made me think
• Yes, moved quickly, good theme
• Yes, quick and easy to learn.
• Yes, silly names, fast-paced.
• Yes, there is good interplay and chances to interact with others
• Yes, to a degree. Set collection is my least favorite type of game, but I enjoyed it.
• Yes. Easy rules. Interesting concept. Fun theme. Short duration.
• Yes. Original theme. Fun play.
• Yes. Should announce the guest as they arrive.
• Yes. Simple mechanic plus creative flavor (names and art) is a very fun combination.
• Yes/No. Loss of bribes sets game into crash course. Need mechanism to pull bribes.
• Yes, theme fit the game well, solid art, balanced play

Favorite part?

• Interesting Belle cards
• Theme
• Scoring/theme
• Belle cards.
• The cards, both appearance and their mechanics are fun. Some of the card actions were brilliant!
• Drafting.
• Light. Good player interaction.
• Matching interests
• The Belle powers were very well thought out and varied
• Names and symbols
• Makes you think with an element of luck
• Being able to affect other player's scores
• Light amount of strategy required
• Card based, so no board or crazy setups
• Interaction with other players
• The theme drew me in but the gameplay is solid and highly repayable. I enjoyed trying to find a good winning strategy when I played a second time.
• The theme
• The bribe and belle cards.
• Collection line of the cards in the middle
• It played quickly and was easy to learn.
• The ease of gameplay. The ability to see it and pick up and go.
• Design and creative cards
• Winning!
• Every part was fun
• The ability to score fast.
• Matching cards
• The Belle cards are fun to play with
• Cards were elegantly designed. Play was easy. Great for kids.
• It moves quickly. Decisions are meaningful, but not complex enough to bog down.
• It was all good, really.
• Winning, silliness
• Speed

Least favorite part?

• If you ran out of bribes, your choices were limited.
• Could over analyze, but we played quickly.
• Having to slide the row of available cards after each draw.
• Bribes/Not enough defense cards
• Sometimes choices felt pretty automatic.
• I felt like the decision of what to select was a bit proscribed.
• Theme. It's fine, but it doesn't seem organic.
• Really need to learn the Belle ability to master
• Not much interactivity, but we had a very bad shuffle. Five out of the last six cards were Belles
• Cards with words (Belles)
• Would have liked the guest deck to be bigger
• Wish it was longer
• Needs a better way to keep track of score.
• Potential for conflicts with Belle cards (could be fixed with a first or last played Belle card rule)
• Some wording tweaks need to be made to clarify how the Belle cards are used.
• I had no least favorite part.
• Bribes
• Set collection
• N/A, I very much enjoyed the whole game.
• Losing…
• Nothing, I liked it.
• I felt bad for the other guy
• The end-scoring system requires strategy to change when within a certain number of turns from the end. This is something the newbie must realize or be at a disadvantage.
• Can't think of anything. My main suggestion would be to have the game last 10minutes longer. Perhaps have a specific quantity of cards per people playing. This might have had enough cards for 2 players.
• Can't think of anything, but placing line of cards on a spinner so they face players may be handy.

Favorite type of game?

• Worker placement
• Tichu, card games.
• Euro
• Fun ones (not particular)
• TTRPG
• Aw man, I don't know.
• Family
• Medium weight euros
• Adventurous endeavors
• Strategy
• Party games
• Casual strategy / Resource mgmt
• Abstract strategy
• Abstract
• Thematic games
• Video games
• All
• Board games/puzzle games
• Cards, visual perception games.
• Co-op
• Strategy
• Board games
• Games that involve trading/auctioning
• Games that have a lot of social interaction, humor.
• Word, card, strategy
• RPG-themed
• Strategy, RPG

Least favorite type of game?

• Fluxx
• Agricola
• CCG
• Politics
• MMORPG
• Bluffing, diplomacy
• RPG
• Auction
• Abstract war games like chess. Games that overstay their welcome.
• Chance games
• Crazy strategy where your brain hurts!
• CCG
• PVP
• Set collection
• Puzzles
• Video games
• Boring games
• War, strategy, make-believe components (power, magic, etc)
• Luck fests
• MMO
• Games where enemies are auto controlled
• Word games
• Worker placement
• Fluffy, non-strategic party games
• War

Additional notes:

• Let me know when it comes out!
• Please email me when I can buy this!

FINDINGS
You know I'm excited about those last two notes! But still, there are some good actionable data to take into consideration from the negative responses. Here are a few takeaways:

• A more convenient way of moving the line. One suggestion from the show was to deal six cards in a line, then six more parallel to that. Only one line is "active" at a time. When the active line runs out, the neighboring line becomes active and you deal six more cards to replace the former active line. In this manner, you're not moving cards down every turn, but it may get confusing which line is active at any particular turn. Maybe a "front door" card to indicate this?
• Players hoarding bribes can really flatten everyone's choices. There ought to be some risk to hoarding bribes, like Belle cards that explicitly target the player with the most bribes. Belle cards in particular seem to be a popular element, but they do take a little bit of learning to understand how they can be used to their fullest effect. This may be something I include in the rulebook under a "tips" section.
• Some outside feedback has said the game is too simple, but dang near all the positive responses have shown that this simplicity a good thing. If I add any more elements to the game, I'm going to keep them through a few channels: New Belle cards, maybe some unique Guest cards, but that's it for now. Adding "event cards" whose effects are immediate and continuous as long as they are in the line could also easily be added, but it creates just one extra level of complexity that I hesitate to add to a light filler game. This is where expansions would probably be best.

Once again, many thanks to Car Trunk Entertainment for hosting the UnPub program and doing us game designers such an excellent service. 

Recent Feedback to Belle of the Ball Prototype O

» Download PnP PDFs: Rules and Cards

UnPub3 was a great experience and I'm really looking forward to the next show. Belle of the Ball felt very well-received and I spent most of my time running demos at my table. I kind of pride myself on being a demo-machine, but this was an even more prolific event than usual. By my best estimate, I demoed Belle of the Ball somewhere around 25-30 times to around 40 people. Several were repeat players who wanted to show the game to their friends.

Feedback from the attendees was excellent. One attendee said that she would have bought a copy from me if I had one with me. Another attendee insisted on paypalling me $10 for a PnP. Meanwhile, I've had couple publisher responses that I incorporated into the second day of UnPub. I call this Prototype O-2.

The main issue regarded the lack of tension in Prototype O. In Prototype O, players had room in each party for four groups and five cards in each group. This created a leisurely pace with scoring only happening once or twice a game for each player. 

In Prototype O-2, each party only has room for three groups and each group only has room for four cards. This makes choices tighter, there isn't as much luxury of a "throwaway" group. Each one matters. Scoring is frequent and in smaller quantities, usually ranging from 5 to 10 points. A natural 12pt group is extremely rare and a very satisfying accomplishment. The lead position often changes throughout the game, usually coming down to a spread of just one or two good groups. I also removed the Belle card that grants you five groups. It just presented no benefit at all.

Other bits of feedback which I have not implemented, but which may influence future tweaks should they occur.

• Exponential Scoring: For new gamers, it seemed like a 1:1 score for each matching icon was just the right amount of strategic challenge. However, some feedback suggested more advanced scoring: Two matching icons: 3 pts. Three matches: 6 pts. Four matches: 9 pts. This would be good as an advanced option, or perhaps a specialized player role that gets exponential scoring from only one type of icon.
• Even Icon Distribution: Of course, that inflates the scores quite a bit since the 12 icons are distributed unevenly into three distinct Common/Uncommon/Rare columns. With the current setup, it's relatively easy to get at least one 9-pointer out of each set. Any extra points would be mostly incidental to the singular drive of maxing out each set. If I went for multiplier scoring, I'd prefer to evenly distribute the icons as 4x4x4 columns.
• Three Distinct Sets of Belle Cards: Some of the comments from euro gamers were that Belle cards felt a little too unpredictable in their behavior. Some are played as "instants" while others go to your groups for your benefit. Still others go to your opponent's groups to their detriment. Euro gamers wanted more predictability, but casual gamers loved the variety. Assume that there are thirty Belle cards. Ten instants, ten that go to your group, ten that go to your opponent's group. You can choose which set to use each time you play or mix-and-match.
• Three Rounds of Play: Some players wished the game was longer, which is way better than lasting too long. Still, for a longer game, I can see it played in three rounds. Between rounds, you reshuffle the guest deck and play through it again. Each time you do so, you can add a new set of Belle cards to the deck, either predetermined like 7 Wonders' age cards or randomly dealt.

Thanks to everyone who playtested Prototype O last weekend! I think you'll dig the optimizations in O-2.

Belle of the Ball - Prototype O

» Current Beta Rules PDF [Prototype O]
» Download the Print-and-Play Cards PDF

It's been a while since the last public release of a Belle of the Ball prototype. This is by far the most streamlined and elegant its ever been thanks to the excellent feedback of a diverse playtester cadre. In particular, it solves some of the production challenges introduced in Prototype N. That's less relevant for actual play, but very relevant for getting this game published. Here's an overview of the cards and changes.

You don't see the back of the Belle cards except when they are in someone else's hands. So, the back shows the Belle herself, holding a hand of cards and about to play one.

Belle cards show different things the Belle is doing to the party, such as moving guests around or changing how groups are scored. Because the Belle is now just one character, that left a big space for a diagram to help explain how each card works. I really tried to keep iconography simple and bold so it was readable from a distance or up close. The first line of text shows how to play this card. The second, larger block of text explains the card's effect.

Throughout the game, all guest cards are face-up. In the beginning of the game, some guest cards are removed from the deck and kept face-down. These cards are bribes, not guests, so they always stay face-down. The back design is meant to resemble a kind of currency.

Each guest has a unique combination of three interests, noted by the large icons. Each guest also has a Title and a Country, but those will be used in expansions or variants. Those icons are a little garish at the moment and I'd like them to be more subtle in a final production.

Some guests are lords or ladies and have a white border around their interests. Again, this information will be used in expansions or variants.

Now here are some rule changes.

• The Belle of the Ball is now just one character, which leaves a lot more room on the front of the Belle card to depict a diagram of play.
• The guest deck is now just 60 cards. I removed one of the rare interests and redistributed the remaining 12 interests.
• You use face-down guest cards instead of chips. Chips are now replaced with these face-down cards called "BRIBES."
• The game begins with three bribes per player and that remains for the whole game. Bribes are never added or removed from the economy and they do not count as points until the end of the game.
• Bribes always stay bribe-side-up and never ever get flipped. This solves two problems in one: We remove guest cards from the deck to add unpredictability AND we render moot the need for separate cardboard chits.
• Belles and Guests are shuffled together in the same deck. Players do NOT start with Belles in their hand. When you take a Guest card from the line, it goes into your party. When you take a Belle card from the line, it goes in your hand.
• Players begin with a starting party of one guest in each group, dealt at random. This is a nice way to speed up play and remind everyone that a party has room for four groups.
• At the end of the game, you score one bonus point per bribe in your possession, one bonus point per Belle in hand, and one bonus point for every two cards in your party. This was a way to at least make your unfinished groups worth something.

Now, there are surely some balance tweaks that need to be done to the Belle cards, but I'm keeping Prototype O in stasis while I send out prototypes to publishers. Don't expect another prototype any time soon. Hopefully the next time you see this game, it'll actually be for sale!

» Current Beta Rules PDF [Prototype O]
» Download the Print-and-Play Cards PDF

Belle of the Ball - Prototype N

Belle of the Ball has gone through some big changes in basic gameplay between Prototype M and now. All for the best, though! This prototype has all the same set-building strategic fun with a much clearer set of short-term tactics and take-that offense. In case you need a refresher on the premise:

You and the other players are holding parties on the same night, right next to each other! Attract guests, group guests with shared interests and mess with your opponent’s party! The player with the most popularity chips at the end of the game wins!

[DOWNLOAD THE RULES]
[DOWNLOAD THE CARDS]

SETUP

• Shuffle Guest cards. Discard twelve random cards. Set the rest as a Guest Deck.
• Shuffle Belle cards. Deal three to each player’s hand. Set the rest as a Belle Deck.
• Set aside spaces for discarded Belles and Guests.
• Give a Start Player token to the host of this gathering.
• Each player has implied spaces for four stacks of cards.
• Give each player five chips.

Example of a two-player setup.

START OF ROUND
The host deals three Guest cards per player face-up in a LINE. Read each name in an ostentatious voice. For example, a two-player game has a six-card line.

ON YOUR TURN...

OPTION: Belle
You may play a Belle at the start of your turn. Follow her instructions. Belle cards allow you to ignore certain rules of the game.

STEP 1: Invite
You may take the first Guest card in line. - OR - You may take a Guest card that is further back in line by placing one chip on each skipped Guest card. If you invite a guest with chips, you collect those chips, too.

An example of inviting the first guest in line.

An example of inviting the second guest in line.

STEP 2: Group
Each new guest goes to one of four stacks, or GROUPS, in your collection, or PARTY. Once placed, Guests may not move to another group. You may only have up to four groups. There may be only be up to five Guests in a group. A group of five is a FULL GROUP.

Example of grouping a newly invited guest.

STEP 3: Score
If you have a full group, look for any suits, or INTERESTs, the guests in that group have in common. Earn 1 chip for each matching interest in that group. For example, if your full group has 2 hearts and 5 globes, you earn 7 chips. You may score multiple full groups in the same turn.

Example of matching interests in a full group.

Example of collecting chips for matching interests.

END OF TURN
Discard any of your full groups. The player to your left takes the next turn. Continue until the line is empty.

Example of discarding a full group.

END OF ROUND
The round ends when the line is empty. Each player draws back up to three Belle cards. (Reshuffle the Belle discard deck if it runs out.) The player with fewest Chips gets the Start Player token. Play new rounds until the Guest deck runs out.


END OF GAME
The game ends after the last round is complete. Any remaining groups do not score. The player with the most chips wins!


NOTES
One proposal for has been to shuffle the Belles and Guests into a single deck. Belles can then be invited just like any guest, but instead of going to your party, they go to your hand. Otherwise, the rules are the same as above. It's an interesting thought, as it gives more incentive to spend chips up the queue in pursuit of a novel strategy. Feel free to test it!

Belle of the Ball at the UnPub Protozone and plans for Prototype M

Image from dicehateme.com

John Moller just posted his thoughts from UnPub protozone at the Escapist Expo, including his playtest of Belle of the Ball at the Escapist Expo. He had this to say:

"I finally had a chance to sit down with Daniel and play Belle of the Ball. It was a good experience. I really like the interactivity of the game. You get to take actions based on the actions that other player’s choose. There’s a lot of strategy to that, and I didn’t plum the depths of it as much as I could have. The theme is original and really fit what was going on within the mechanics of the game, which is always a plus. It’s a game about mingling at a  Victorian party. Your cards are guests and you’re building sets by grouping and grouping. Belle of the Ball is a little more complex than I first gave it credit for being, and definitely a game to note and watch for."

The UnPub event was a very productive experience. I actually think it was in John's game that the term "caller" naturally emerged in reference to the active player calling for everyone's actions.

One of the things I'm also learning is to keep my prototypes in a closed beta for a little while longer before releasing them for public view. There were some really nice changes to the game based on UnPub feedback, but unfortunately I had already ordered printed cards from an earlier prototype a few weeks prior. D'oh!

Well anyhoo, Prototype M is gradually trickling out to a select group of volunteer playtesters. It's not released to the public yet. There are some significant updates so far.

• The game supports up to 6 players.
• Every player begins with a set starting party of four guests. Each guest has one basic charm, so everyone has the same basic options in the beginning of the game.
• The basic charms call for simultaneous action, a la San Juan. The revised basic charms are
• Invite: The active player draws a card, then each other players may do the same.
• Announce: The active player brings a guest into play, then the other players may do the same.
• Group: The active player may group two guests (or add a guest to an existing group), then the other players may do the same.
• Excuse: The active player may move a guest out of a group, then the other players may do the same.
• Three bonus charms (Extra Invite, Extra Announce, Extra Group) allow you to do the noted action an extra time. Those charms are passive. As long as they're somewhere in your party, they are in effect, even when you're not the caller.
  
• The other red-bordered charms allow more mid-game scoring for the active player, like Delight (score 1 point per group in play) and Mimic (score any group in play as if it were yours). Other red-bordered charms are more offensive, like Steal (take a single guest from an opponent's party) and Lure (take a group from an opponent's party.)
  
• Group scoring is much simpler. All you have to do is match suits within the group. Each matching common suit is worth 1 point. Each matching uncommon suit is worth 2 points. Each matching rare suit is worth 3 points.
• Removing the "special guest" Belle bonus. It's too random and often doesn't actually decide a victory.
• Basic Belle bonus is revised so that you're trying to collect a third of the guests with a particular suit. So, 8 of a common suit, 6 of an uncommon suit, and 4 of a rare suit. I removed the Belle seeking 8 "Chat" guests, since they're all assigned to be a player's starting party. That leaves a total of 12 basic Belles, one focused on each suit.
• Endgame is triggered by the deck running out.
• Redesigned cards so groups can be arranged vertically, for more efficient use of table space.

But I'm going to wait for further playtesting and we'll see how long these changes last. For what it's worth, the game feels about 90% baked. It's been a long year of development, but I think what will emerge is a nice, elegant game.

Belle of the Ball Playtests at the UnPub ProtoZone at the Escapist Expo!

Look what just came in the mail right on time! I'm going to be running Belle of the Ball Prototype L playtests at the UnPub ProtoZone! Also look for me at the panels on Saturday!

Belle of the Ball Guest Name Generator

Here's a fun little toy to tide you over while Belle of the Ball's is still in playtesting. Come up with your own name for a Belle of the Ball guest! Start with a first name from the first table. Then add a surname by combining a prefix and suffix from the second table. Bang! Now you're one classy Dental Untercaw or Chive Pimplesack!

A or B? Two Scoring Options for Belle of the Ball

After playtesting Prototype L a few times, I've seen analysis paralysis set and delay the game. This is partly from the peculiar scoring method. For some context, consider the symbols on the top left of each card to be what that guest is talking about. So Queen Jewel Jaite is talking about conversations, coffee and shields. Make sense? Okay, here are the two scoring options. First, let's see how it works now.

A: Cross-Preference

The left guest grants 1 point per guest with a speech bubble. (The middle guest and right guest qualify, noted by the arrow.) The middle and right guests grant 1 point per guest with a heart, but there are no such guests in this group. This group earns 2 points.

Here's a more complicated example. The left guest grants 1 point per guest with a heart. (The middle guest and right guest qualify, noted by pink arrows.) The middle guest grants 1 point per guest with a speech bubble. (The left guest qualifies, noted by a blue arrow.) The right guest grants 3 points per guest with a tree. (The left guest qualifies, noted by a yellow arrow.) This group earns 6 points.

Keeping track of these cross-relationships is a lot of mental overhead when you're also thinking about how to combine charms, tracking your opponent's party, and hoping to satisfy your Belles. So I am considering this simpler scoring method.


B: Matching

In this scoring system, I'd remove the whole group scoring diagram from the cards entirely. All that remains are the symbols on the top left corner. The new scoring system rewards you for having matching symbols in a group, one point per matching symbol. In the example above, the group has two shields and two speech bubbles. This group earns 4 points.

The group above has two hearts, but otherwise has no other matching symbols. This group earns 2 points.


Naturally, my inclination is to favor the option that takes away visual clutter from the card. It certainly makes more thematic sense that a group "discussing" the same subject would enjoy each other's company more. Think of it kind of like the Sims visual conversation. "You like trains? I love trains!"

I'm eager to see how the other playtesters feel about option A and if they'll respond better to option B.

Building the Belle of the Ball Card prototypes

Here's a status update! I've ordered seven prototypes from SuperiorPOD. These are going to six different playtest groups around the country.

• Oklahoma
• Missouri
• New Mexico
• Oregon
• Connecticut
• Maryland

Look for playtest feedback from these code-named groups in coming weeks. I feel very confident that the game's mechanics are mostly baked. The main tweaks need to happen to the actual presentation, making it more clear when a guest has a symbol and when a guest desires a symbol.

Oh! But I digress. Yesterday, I had a few latecomers ask about getting prototypes. It was too late to change the POD order, so I got to work making a couple handmade decks. I live tweeted the process last night and now I share it with you through the magic of Storify! 

Belle of the Ball - Prototype L

» Download the Current Beta Rules PDF [Prototype L]
» Download the Print-and-Play Cards PDF
» Follow the conversation on BoardGameGeek

Sorry for releasing a new prototype so soon after the last one. There were some real inelegant features from that prototype that I would rather replace than leave out in the wild too long. Here are the new changes.

• Each guest's three characteristics are consolidated into one circle at the top left of their card. Each circle is divided into three suits.
• The "Sword" suit is replaced with a "Book" suit.
• All the County suits are replaced with icons. The letters were just not registering as an icon like the other suits. Instead, those six suits are show Fish, Tree, Sun, Moon, Shield and Gem.
• Removed base popularity from all guests. The only way to score points is to get the group points. This emphasizes building optimal combos and streamlines scoring.
• There are many more opportunities for group points now. 36 guests grant 1 group point for being grouped with chat, snub or flirt. (12 of each.) 24 guests grant 2 group points for being grouped with music, book, cake or tea. (6 of each.) 12 guests grant 3 group points for being grouped with Fish, Tree, Sun, Moon, Shield or Gem. (2 of each.)
• The "Insults" are consolidated into the general listing of "Charm" and revised so that they do not have an additional cost. That was just too much information to convey. Instead, these charms simply require that they be discarded from your clique instead of from your hand. So, there is still a timing strategy to consider rather than resource management. 
• The text of each charm is now displayed directly on the card. It was easier to do this than to force players to refer to an icon glossary. Once you know the game, the text is unnecessary and you can figure out all the necessary info along the left edge. Unfortunately, this makes the cards less international than I had hoped, but I have to be realistic about my sales goals.

Hope you dig it!

Belle of the Ball - Reducing the Deck Size and Moderating Wabi-Sabi

I began the current cycle of Belle of the Ball prototyping with a real desire to experiment with wabi-sabi card game design. I still want to pursue that goal, but in more moderation. See, for design and economic reasons, I'm considering paring down the Guest deck from 96 to 72. This should still make a 4-player game feasible, but might just barely leave no cards in the draw or discard deck by the end of the game. That's fine.

Because of the smaller deck, I would need to reorganize all the guest attributes. That means diving back into the wild world of spreadsheets. Here is how the deck would break down in a 72-card guest deck.

SUITS
The deck is divided into distinct combinations of County, Interest, and Mood.
There are 6 Counties, 12 guests of each.
There are 4 Interests, 18 guests of each.
There are 3 Moods, 24 guests of each.
Each County has 4 guests of each Mood.
Each County has 3 guests of each Interest.

Each County has 6 guests of each Gender, though that's not relevant to the mechanics of the game, just the art direction.

POPULARITY
Each County has 1 guest with popularity -2.
Each County has 3 guest with popularity -1.
Each County has 4 guest with popularity 0.
Each County has 3 guests with popularity 1.
Each County has 1 guest popularity 2.
So, each county has a total popularity of zero. This is partly to keep the point scores easy to count at the end of the game.

FRIENDSHIP BONUSES
The 49 guests with popularity -2 through 0 get a friendship bonus:
Any guest with popularity -2 have a friendship bonus of 6
Any guest with popularity -1 have a friendship bonus of 4
Any guest with popularity 0 have a friendship bonus of 2

The prerequisites for getting a friendship bonus are randomly distributed.

7 guests have Boarbottom friendship bonus prerequisite
7 guests have Crawhole friendship bonus prerequisite
7 guests have Dundifax  friendship bonus prerequisite
7 guests have Lordhurtz  friendship bonus prerequisite
7 guests have Richminster  friendship bonus prerequisite
7 guests have Wineberry  friendship bonus prerequisite
6 guests have Any County friendship bonus prerequisite

POWERS
Ten different powers are randomly distributed amongst guests with popularity -2 through 1. Guests with popularity 2 do not get powers, as they are plenty useful on their own.
7 guests Backdoor
6 guests Breakup
7 guests Draw Two
6 guests Group
7 guests Invites
6 guests Mingle
7 guests Steal
6 guests Peek
7 guests Reject
7 guests Shove

ATTIRE
The art direction calls for some guests to wear hats, sashes or eyewear.
24 guests wear hats.
18 guests wear eyewear.
12 guests wear sashes.
All attire is randomly distributed across the whole deck.

THE SPREADSHEET
When constructing this spreadsheet, I started by splitting 72 rows into 6 subsets of 12 (Counties), then each of those into 4 sub-subsets (Interests) and 3 sub-subsets (Mood). I randomized the placement of moods within the Counties, so we still get organic randomness for perfect matches. Some counties have several perfect matches, others have few.

There are some more predictable elements in this construction. For example, you know there are such-and-such number of Chatting guests in each county. You also know that any guest with low popularity has a high friendship bonus. These predictable elements should satisfy the card-counters.

Meanwhile, the powers and friendship bonus prerequisites are randomized within their sub-groups. Still balanced, but organic. Chasing the friendship bonuses feels different depending on the current game state. The powers you have available are totally independent of the value of the clique as a whole.

Belle of the Ball - Prototype J - New powers, new backgrounds.

Phew! It's been a long couple of months during this round of playtesting, but I'm happy to release the latest prototype for Belle of the Ball. This prototypes updates include some big presentation changes and a handful of new additions to the list of powers.

Download the Rules
Download the Cards

PROTOTYPE J [JUNE 24, 2012]

Complete list of powers in Prototype J

• The card backgrounds have been redesigned and polished up.
• All Belles grant 10 bonus points.
• All Ribbons grant 5 bonus points.
• BFF and friend terminology scrubbed.
• "Matches" are now fully described relationships between those characters, with a subtle Victorian flair. These are tentative.
• "Friending" is now "grouping." It's more grammatically correct and easier to parse in game terms.
• You may now use powers of a single guest or group of guests.
• New powers added: Shove, Reject, Peek, Befriend, and Breakup.
• Many, many power guests have powers. The only ones who don't get powers are usually those with 6 popularity.
• Mingle revised to be exclusively within your own clique. Symbol restriction is lifted, though.
• Consolidated the complete game rules onto one double-sided 8.5" x 11" sheet. The third and fourth pages are extra, are an example of scoring and space for any forthcoming FAQs/credits.

UPDATE: I answered some questions about symbol-matching and dueling. Hopefully these make things a bit more clear. I'll add these notes to the rules doc shortly.

UPDATE J-2

• Renamed "Duel a Guest" to be "Call a Guest" since it seemed to make more sense based on what you're actually doing in the game. Unfortunately, that made the Dueling bonus make less sense, so I removed it. The benefit is that it makes the call a direct popularity contest.
• Because the Dueling bonus is lost, some element of unpredictability is lost in the procedure. So, now you're allowed to reveal more than one card at a time and total their popularity.
• Expanded and cleared up the wording of Mingle and Befriend actions.
• Clarified that claiming a ribbon is an automatic thing. If you have the most of that symbol, you get that ribbon.

Further Feedback and Changes for Belle of the Ball

Wow, I'm so pleased to see the feedback for Belle of the Ball so far. I've got feedback from Fred Hicks and Jason Innes (designer of Empyrean, Inc.) Here are some findings:

• It's Fun: Response has been really good from a mixture of gamers. The mechanics fit the theme and it's lots of fun to build clever combos of guests, then see how they stack up later in the game. There are some edits that could be made to make it a little more accessible, case in point...
• Edit for Clarity: There is some wording that could be a little bit more clear, such as "a single guest's powers may not be activated, it must be in a group." Whenever I run into those issues in a rules document, my impulse is to just remove that rule rather than re-write it for clarity. This will be the case in the next draft, so "You can activate the powers of any guest in one group, in any order." I'm also going to restrict the "Mingle" power to a your own clique.
• Adjust Power Distribution: When you're lucky enough to draw guests with high popularity, it's overkill if that guest also has a useful power. So, I'm redistributing the powers so that they mostly go with guests who have low or negative popularity.
• Broaden the Friend Bonus: The Friend bonus counts for each other guest in the group. So, yes, it does stack. 
• Remove the First Player Token: This is a tentative change. I introduced the First Player token in an earlier prototype when the threat of dueling made any singleton very vulnerable. Thus, turn order was very important. Now, the token may not be as necessary, especially in a two-player game.
• Increase Power Density: A lot of the game's fun comes from building clever synergistic combos, so I'm adding some more powers and making them much more common in the deck. These include:
• Reject: Discard your whole hand.
• Shove: Move one guest from your clique to your opponent's clique.
• Breakup: Remove one or more of your guests from one of your groups.
• Befriend: Combine two or more of your guests to form a group.
• Peek: Draw the top three cards from the draw deck, re-arrange them as you wish and return them to the top of the deck.
• More extra invites.

And that's about it! If you want to test out the game and offer your feedback, please check out the links here. Soon, I will export a new set of cards and get them printed out along with a new rules doc.

New Art for Belle of the Ball from Morgan McLamb!

Morgan turned in some new line art for Belle of the Ball! I'll just shut up and let you click the image above to admire her work. It's pretty dang awesome.

By the way, I'm still eager to hear more feedback on the current prototype. Give it a play and send me your thoughts! We've got some good input from designers and players alike.

So far, it looks like the game is something like 95% complete, but it's always those last little details that need to get hammered out by persistent playtesting. The question is: Launch the Kickstarter before those details are resolved or after? I usually advocate not starting a game project funding campaign until the game is "mostly complete" and Belle certainly qualifies at this point. Main design questions that remain:

• Limit the Mingle power to just your own clique? It's basically a free steal at this point, and it makes dueling less powerful. Keeping it to your own clique makes it an optimization tool and a way to swap out powers in the middle of a turn.
• Should there be a "Discard" action where you  can dump your whole hand? I originally had such an action in an early draft, but struck it when players just cycled the whole game. At the time, reaching the end of the deck was an endgame condition, so cycling was more problematic then.
• Should powers be more common and/or more varied? Setting up synergistic friend-groups is clearly one of the more fun aspects of the game. Making more opportunities for that to happen might be a good direction, but will lengthen the development process as those powers get playtested and balanced.

So yup! Progress, progress, progress.