The first round of printed cards…

I wasn’t exactly sure about the colors we’d use for the cards, or the ratio of Action Cards, Numbered Cards, and Numbered Enter Cards that we’d be using, so I opted to print the cards in multiple colors.

At the time, I expected to have a nearly even number of each type of card, so making rainbow decks seemed like a great way to test out deck size and composition, while being able to quickly sort the cards.

It was a terrible idea… Sorting the cards really wasn’t that much easier, and almost immediately, it became apparent that we would be using far less action cards than numbered cards, so we essentially wound up with marked decks.

The first box was made of foam-core like the tiles. I used a table saw to make sure the parts were square. It was held together at the joints with gaffer’s tape. Gaffer’s tape also served as the hinge for the flip top.

The wooden blocks at each end provided both finger holes and additional support, since they were glued in place with wood glue.

The pawns were just discs made by sawing off dowels and colored with Sharpies and paint pens.

It’s a pretty laughable solution now, but I was pretty proud of the box when I first made it. We were going to use a deck of cards, but we didn’t have a deck printed at the time… definitely forgot to accommodate that in the first box.

My first draft of the rules fit nicely in the lid… unfortunately, those rules left out a lot of pertinent information for those who did not invent the game. Eventually, I lost all hope in the idea that we might be able to print the rules on the lid, and created a pamphlet instead.

Once the cards were printed, I did the first round of glamour shots.

They weren’t perfect, but they helped people understand the game and get them excited about it.

Once the cards were printed, I did the first round of glamour shots.

They weren’t perfect, but they helped people understand the game and get them excited about it.

Once the cards were printed, I did the first round of glamour shots.

They weren’t perfect, but they helped people understand the game and get them excited about it.

Once the cards were printed, I did the first round of glamour shots.

They weren’t perfect, but they helped people understand the game and get them excited about it.

Once the cards were printed, I did the first round of glamour shots.

They weren’t perfect, but they helped people understand the game and get them excited about it.

Once the cards were printed, I did the first round of glamour shots.

They weren’t perfect, but they helped people understand the game and get them excited about it.

Once the cards were printed, I did the first round of glamour shots.

They weren’t perfect, but they helped people understand the game and get them excited about it.

Once the cards were printed, I did the first round of glamour shots.

They weren’t perfect, but they helped people understand the game and get them excited about it.

Once the cards were printed, I did the first round of glamour shots.

They weren’t perfect, but they helped people understand the game and get them excited about it.

By the time the patent was finally submitted in June, we were way too late to officially participate in GenCon, but we felt it was important to attend and get a feel for what the conference was all about.

 

I’d been to Astra and License Expo, but neither of those prepared me for how immense GenCon would be. 

 

It had to have been a capacity crowd… The will-call line for our badges snaked almost all the way across the front of the convention center, but the staff did a great job directing and organizing everyone, so the line moved fairly quickly.

The hall was enormous, and the booths were packed. We met a couple of other groups who were also self-publishing their games, and got some good advice and encouragement.

In July of 2023, I took a box making class in Cleveland. It was billed as a way to make slip cases and protective covers for books, but I was quickly able to adapt what I learned to create more production ready box.

I felt that there had to be some sort of universal standard language surrounding boxes, and sure enough, I discovered the FEFCO standard. I knew what I was going to make, but I now also knew that we were using a FEFCO 0302.

The new box was a huge step forward from the hinged, foam-core prototype. It was really exciting to see the finished box made of Davey Board, held together by Jade 403, wrapped in book cloth, and finished off with a Switchboard placard.

The placard was just printer paper glued onto the box with rubber cement. I had a feeling the printer paper would get damaged easily, so the rubber cement was ideal. I coated the back of the placard and placed it wet. That process provided a good bond white it was on the box, but made it easy to tear off the placard, clean off the residue, and put a new one on.

The placard’s greatest weakness was water. As Pigpen attracts dirt, so that placard attracted droplets. There were times when I was absolutely positive that the box had been protected, but somehow, water found it’s way to that placard.

The first glamour shots for the box and all the contents. When one doesn’t have a photo studio, one must improvise. With some cropping, it didn’t look too bad.

The first glamour shots for the box and all the contents. When one doesn’t have a photo studio, one must improvise. With some cropping, it didn’t look too bad.

I knew I wanted smooth, painted tiles, and in trying to figure out how those would be produced, I found the tumble finishing process.

In addition to using that for production, I was hopeful that I’d be able to use that for prototyping as well. 

Unfortunately, the commercial tumblers I was finding were extremely expensive and bulky; since I was working at a maker space, it wasn’t practical to buy one of those, even if I had the money.

I hand sanded a lot of tiles, and was eager to try tumble-sanding. 

Eventually, I struck upon the idea of creating a poor-man’s tumbler using plywood and a steel bucket.

I knew I wanted smooth, painted tiles, and in trying to figure out how those would be produced, I found the tumble finishing process.

In addition to using that for production, I was hopeful that I’d be able to use that for prototyping as well. 

Unfortunately, the commercial tumblers I was finding were extremely expensive and bulky; since I was working at a maker space, it wasn’t practical to buy one of those, even if I had the money.

I hand sanded a lot of tiles, and was eager to try tumble-sanding. 

Eventually, I struck upon the idea of creating a poor-man’s tumbler using plywood and a steel bucket.

I knew I wanted smooth, painted tiles, and in trying to figure out how those would be produced, I found the tumble finishing process.

In addition to using that for production, I was hopeful that I’d be able to use that for prototyping as well. 

Unfortunately, the commercial tumblers I was finding were extremely expensive and bulky; since I was working at a maker space, it wasn’t practical to buy one of those, even if I had the money.

I hand sanded a lot of tiles, and was eager to try tumble-sanding. 

Eventually, I struck upon the idea of creating a poor-man’s tumbler using plywood and a steel bucket.

I knew I wanted smooth, painted tiles, and in trying to figure out how those would be produced, I found the tumble finishing process.

In addition to using that for production, I was hopeful that I’d be able to use that for prototyping as well. 

Unfortunately, the commercial tumblers I was finding were extremely expensive and bulky; since I was working at a maker space, it wasn’t practical to buy one of those, even if I had the money.

I hand sanded a lot of tiles, and was eager to try tumble-sanding. 

Eventually, I struck upon the idea of creating a poor-man’s tumbler using plywood and a steel bucket.

Once assembled, there were some obvious problems… Turning by hand wasn’t ideal but it allowed me to test the idea without the major investment and design work needed for the gears, belts, and stand needed for a motor-driven system.

Once assembled, there were some obvious problems… Turning by hand wasn’t ideal but it allowed me to test the idea without the major investment and design work needed for the gears, belts, and stand needed for a motor-driven system.

Once assembled, there were some obvious problems… Turning by hand wasn’t ideal but it allowed me to test the idea without the major investment and design work needed for the gears, belts, and stand needed for a motor-driven system.

It’s kind of hard to see in these pictures, but I was comparing the before (1) and after (2) results of processing in my hand tumbler. It would have been a better comparison to compare two tiles with the grain running in the same direction, but at the time, I wasn’t aware of the difference.