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- Beware the JarJarwock
jitney (jit'-nee) n. 1. a nickel.
2. a bus, especially one that carries passengers over a regular
route according to a flexible schedule [second meaning from the
5¢ fare of such a bus, originally.]
Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic :)
Sarah Silverman
makes me uncomfortable.
That's why I like her.
 
San
Francisco in Jell-O
"P.S. They put up a 'Toys For Tots' box at my office
today. In prior years my standard 'toy' for the box has been
a copy of Scrabble. I figure, if I'm going to give some kid a
toy at least it should be something fun and potentially educational.
This year I think it's going to have to be a few Looney Labs
games instead. Nothing against Scrabble but I simply MUST continue
to spread the Fluxx Love!" -- email from
Di
   
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If you want something from our
online store before Christmas, we need your order no later
than Monday, December 19th! And don't forget our Holiday
Special!
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Redesigning Just Desserts |
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 Sometimes,
when you're developing something new, the best thing to do is
to just start over, throwing away what you've been struggling
to make work and beginning again with the lessons learned firmly
in mind. I find this to be true in everything from romance to
software development, and the value of going back to the drawing
board was proven again this week, when we came up with an all-new way
of playing Just
Desserts.
Just Desserts is a card game I've been working on for several
years now. This past summer, we brought out a limited edition
beta-test run of the game, and a few rave reviews not withstanding,
reactions to the gameplay have been basically lukewarm. The consensus
has been that the concept and the components are really cool,
but the actual gameplay wasn't quite fun enough, that it still
needed something. The inescapable conclusion was that the original
version of Just Desserts just wasn't passing the crucial "Let's
Play Again" test.
Given these disappointing test results, we moved Just Desserts
to the back burner
and directed our attention to more definite successes. After
Origins,
we totally stopped thinking about Just Desserts, and instead
focused first on finishing up EcoFluxx,
then Family
Fluxx, and also Fluxx
3.1 and the reprinting of Chrononauts.
But then came last week's holiday, which got me to thinking
about Just Desserts again. You see, this year for ThanksIndians
we decided to host a real-life dessert party. We cooked up a
buffet of 9 different homemade desserts, and we used Just Desserts
cards both to plan the menu and to label the offerings on the
table. While eating leftover desserts with Alison
& Kristin
the next day, I started talking about new ideas I had for the
rules, and in almost no time we'd come up with this great new
way to play, which we think really does pass the "Let's
Play Again" test! Woo-hoo!
As I said before, the components work great, it's the rules
we're changing. (It's kind of like inventing a new Icehouse
game: we're using the same equipment, but we're playing with
it in a different way.) The system of icons, the food cards,
the guests and their preferences, none of that has to change
(although I'm sure we'll end up tweaking the selections a bit
in the final edition).
The new way we play changes the focus from a crowd at a party
to each individual guest, one at a time. Perhaps more importantly,
the game is no longer turn-style. Instead of letting the "waiters"
take turns working the crowd, the game now uses a much faster,
simultaneous play system. (Some readers will remember that the
original game included a "real-time" option which was
rarely used... the new method is kind of like that, but less
confusing.)
The new way is better because it focuses the players' attentions
on a single problem, which everyone competes to solve first,
instead of making players take turns solving a more complex many-to-many
equation. It's very exciting!
Well, that's enough overview. If you've already got a copy
of Just Desserts, please print out a copy of the all-new
rules and give 'em a try! (Let us know what you think on
the Betatesters mailing
list!) And if you haven't tried Just Desserts yet, copies
are still available in the Short
Run Depot. Be sure when you buy it that you also download
the new rules!
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 In other news, Chrononauts
is back in print! Yay! (I haven't actually seen a copy of the
new printing myself yet, but they've arrived at our warehouse,
so we're shipping it.) However, there's a minor disappointment
in store for the rabid Chrononauts fans who've been looking forward
to seeing the redesigned rulesheet I described in my 3rd
printing changes memo... that's not gonna happen until the
4th printing. It turns out Carta Mundi had a huge pile of little
Chrononauts rulebooks left over from the 2nd Printing... they
made too many back then, and just saved the extras, in anticipation
of us wanting them someday. And being the environmentalists that
we are, we couldn't just throw them away... they're still perfectly
valid. Which means the fancy new version of the rules we've been
planning will just have to wait.
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 Thanks
for reading, have a great week, and Don't Forget to Play! |
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Lessons we've learned from 3 movies we saw last week: 1.)
Wal*Mart is destroying America, 2.) Not even magical powers can
ease the angst of finding a partner for the junior prom, 3.)
It's a bad idea to use brain-washing to change one's opinion
of vegetables and 4.) Cheese can save your life! |
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It's that time of year again, when people ask me what I want
for Christmas, but since I'm actively packing towards moving
right now, I'm less inclined to receive more stuff than I usually
am. So here's an alternative gift suggestion I'd always be happy
to receive: a donation in my name to any of the organizations
listed on the Stoner
Fluxx Foundation Donation webpage. (If you're paranoid about
sending a check to a group with the word marijuana in their name,
how about Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition?) |
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"When the logic is in conflict with the law, we change
the law. We don't chuck our compassion. We don't throw away our
pragmatism. In this country, what we usually do is we recognize
this doesn't make sense any more and we make the change. Eighty
years ago the edifice of law said a female, as compared to a
male, didn't have enough intelligence to vote. Was the law correct?
Of course not! Just in the same way you'd have a hard time looking
into the eyes of an eighth-grade girl today and explaining why
women couldn't do all the things that they readily do today,
people in the future will look back and say, 'These people were
putting away people who were sick and dying for using medicine
that is effective, using upon their doctor's recommendation?'
" -- Allen St. Pierre, executive director
of the NORML, seen quoted
in an article called "Drug
War Victory" |
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