I have been gaming since 1961; I enjoy it today as much, if not more, than I did 52 years ago. I have learned a lot of games and I have learned a lot about games. I have learned game design and game development. What keeps me interested is that you can make a game out of just about anything. (A note here: when I use the term games, or gaming, or gamers I am not referring to any one specific type. I also mean it to include the concept of game rules, whether boardgame or miniatures and certainly including RPG’s.) The development of a virtual digital vanity press through the Internet is a wonderful, and horrible, thing. Anyone that can type (and occasionally some who can’t) can put together a set of rules and share it with the world. That is the wonderful part, but also the horrible bit. Even Spell-check cannot save some of the offerings available. The greatest benefit of our current availability of PoD and PDF publishing is that truly good games become accessible if you can wade through the junk. It is limited almost exclusively to RPG and mini’s rules; you can’t print decent pieces when most printers won’t handle anything stiffer than #110 cardstock sheets, and which of us can gain access to a die-cut machine? However, I recently stumbled across a gem that is part minis and part boardgame. It is obviously a labor of love and more obviously upon inspection it is clear that the designer knew his subject matter. I’m willing to bet that he has not made very much money from it, and that is kind of a shame. There are two things working against him: all the other dreck out there that must be waded through, and the subject matter. I have long enjoyed games involving racing; three in particular are Circus Maximus, by AH by way of two other companies (chariots), LeMans by AH (esp. the “Giant” version as put on by Mike Carr every year) and The Great Space Race by KenzerCo (space chariots with mines and missiles). I also love dirt track racing. I am a fan of winged sprints, but will watch anything with four wheels race on dirt (I even did some after I came home from the Navy). Recently I ran across a comment on a game-design forum/board I belong to about the game that I am speaking of in reference to self-publishing a labor of love by someone else. The game is Dirt Track Saturday Night, by Tom Dzeigielewski, published by Tornado Alley Games in 2003. That the game was designed by someone who knew about and cared for the sport is evident. (Small track dirt racing was his family’s avocation.) The game has a simple set of rules for quick games and lots of laughs. It also has a much grittier Advanced Rules that are a marvel of well-thought design, complete with campaign/racing season framework suggestions. (I downloaded the game from rpg.drivethrustuff/product/65685/Dirt-Track-Saturday-Night-Core-Rules?term=dirt+track&filters=300_0_0_0_0) There are some nifty simple car counters, as well as some devilishly clever paper models available at https://wargamevault/index.php. And, now I have something I can use all of my 1:64 collectible winged sprints models for. The point I am making is that today, a niche game like this can actually find interested gamers like me. How cool is that?
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 05:40:04 +0000