I released the board game (Curse of the Wymer Stones) my wife and I have been working on for a few years back in October, and we finally got some reviews back.

We got one review in that really liked the game, and another that did not like it at all.

Father Geek

Meeple Mountain

Isn't life interesting? Two completely different reviews of the exact same thing? Is one of them correct? I know I prefer the one that really liked it, because I worked hard on the game and want people to enjoy my hard work. Does that mean that the other review is wrong? I'm not certain it is wrong, even if I don't agree with it. Life is short, and who wants to waste their money on a thing that they won't like? So, as a marketing tool, both of these reviews stand as either an endorsement or a warning, and you wouldn't know which was closer to your own experience unless you played the game yourself and found out which one you agreed with more. Isn't that interesting? I know I think it is.

Below were all the entries for the Curse of the Wymer Stones Board Game Art Contest!

The Final Battle

The Y B G R heroes

The Dreaded Wymer

Heroes of the Wymer Stones

Wraiths R Us

The Cursed King

Triumph of the Wymer

Teamwork

So, I’ve got the winners selected, but before we get there I want to thank everyone who participated. Make sure you check them all out, and look at their other work. These are the kind of people that make Newgrounds great. So many different styles, all of them willing to spend their time on my little contest, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you! I enjoyed everyone of them, and you’re all the best!

Now, on to awards!

First Place:

Triumph of the Wymer

from Template88

I loved this one immediatly. It really nailed several things. There are a ton of great details, all of them related to the story of the board game. The stones in the corners. The expression on the Dwarves’ faces. The overall pose of the Dwarves is very solemn, like a renaissance painting. The color and texture work. Really, really loved this!

Second Place:

Teamwork

from Ozrk

I was blown away by this one. Talk about detail! Each one of the 4 heroes is re-imagined. Even the game’s logo is re-imagined! Ozrk’s style is really on display here, with great attention to lighting and textures. Look at the ranger’s bow hand, the light from the arrow under lighting his arm. So hard to rank these!

Third Place:

Wraiths R Us

from Maprower

There’s so much to love in this. The background is just right, the creepy eyes, the wild, awesome Curse of the Wymer Stones subtly written in it. The characters are spot on and the textures are great. Look at the warrior’s chain mail, how it folds and the scale keeps it’s shape. Really, there was such a small margin for me when ranking these! 

I’ve decided that all three winners will receive $100 and a copy of the game, as they were all three so good! The winners, PM me your address and I’ll get the games and your prize on their way to you ASAP. 

I'm running an Art Portal contest in celebration of my upcoming boardgame, Curse of the Wymer Stones, and if you're interested you should make something for it!

Check out this Art for Characters and Backstory

Download the Rulebook for Curse of the Wymer Stones (from dumping grounds here on Newgrounds)

Curse of the Wymer Stones on Gamecrafter

When to When: 08/19 - 09/25 [UPDATE: CONTEST ENDS OCTOBER 1 NOW!]

Judging will be done shortly following, and the winners will be announced soonish after.

Guidelines:

All submissions to qualify must:

Be uploaded to the Art Portal

Have the tag #CoTWS

Must be rated E

Prizes

1st Prize: $100 + a Physical Copy of Curse of the Wymer Stones

2nd Prize: $50 + a Physical Copy of Curse of the Wymer Stones

3rd Prize: a Physical Copy of Curse of the Wymer Stones

My wife and I will judge the entries, and announce the winners.

Below is some more information about the boardgame, if anybody is interested.

Backstory on Making the game

My wife and I started working on Curse of the Wymer Stones back in 2017. The game changed tremendously, every time we played it we found something to change or tweak. Little by little, it evolved into the finished product that we have today.

When we started, we knew we wanted a game that was simple to play, easy to follow and not too terrible to set-up. We finally got there, but it was a hard road to find playtesters during the lockdown, so we just played it ourselves, over and over, and over. Eventually, we got other humans to play it, and they gave us valuable feedback as well (Shout out to Playerlair).

What's the game like?

The final game is what I would call a "Classic Board Game" in that you have a character that moves on the board and interacts with pieces on the board. The part that is different is all the traps and monsters are played by a single player (the villain) and the other players (the heroes) try to beat the villain. Also, if one of the heroes dies, their game isn't over yet. They become a wraith, and the outcome of their die roll will either help the other players or hurt them. Eventually, the villain gains control of their playable characters, the Cursed Dwarves. Then, it's a head on fight between the living heroes and the Cursed Dwarves to see if the heroes win the game or the villain is victorious.

It isn't re-inventing the wheel. There aren't weird mechanics that are difficult to remember. It's pretty much smash your way to victory or die trying. There are a lot of strategic opportunities, depending on how you play, but there's only one way for the heroes to win: Defeat the Cursed Dwarves. The villain wins if all of the heroes become wraiths.

It can be played by up to 5 people (1 villain vs 4 heroes)

How are we making the boardgame?

We made a bunch of just paper and pen prototypes to start with. We used a few different print-on-demand companies once we narrowed down the art, then eventually we found Gamecrafter and decided to use them to make it. They're super nice, have been ultra helpful, and they don't require us to buy a ton of these up front. Sure, they're a little more expensive, but we'd rather support them than get a little cheaper game that is built by what is essentially slave labor. Not cool. Not to mention that storing a bunch of these things would be super-duper expensive.

We wanted to make the game cheaper, but there just wasn't a way that we could afford.

There is, however, freeish ways to play it if you have a PC.

There's a Tabletopia version and a Tabletop Simulator version (thanks again Playerlair)

Make time for the people you love. Call them and talk to them. Find out about their lives and share your life with them too. Life is short, life is brittle and the things we say in anger might be the last things we say. All in all, we are all only here for a very short time, and that time is unknown. There are people who you could help in real life, who might miss hearing from you. People have the ability at their fingertips to speak to anyone who is in their life no matter where they are for the first time in human history. Use it. Make the most of it. Call those people and eat a meal with them, or just sit together and talk with them. Visit the old people in your life. The overwhelmed people in your life. The lonely people. Do their dishes. Take out their trash. Sit and listen to their advice and really try to apply it. Actually do the thing. The world is dark but you can bring a little light to it if you decide to.

Make your world smaller.

Find people geographically close to you and help them in real life. Your family, friends, or neighbors. Actually do a thing, even if you're miserable...maybe especially if you're miserable. Help a friend move, or maybe help an old lady load her groceries. Make some food and take it to a friend, or a lonely person. Go to a restaurant and buy somebody else's meal without them knowing. Does your community have a help center? Lend a hand.

Newgrounds is a pretty good community too if you want it to be. Make something new and share it here with all of us.

There's all kinds of things you can do in real life to bring a sliver of light into the world if you decide you want to.

You need help? PM me. I'll lend an ear.

Just my two cents.

So, we're in our second week of the Kickstarter and I thought I would ellaborate a little more on what our card game is like to play for anybody who might be interested. 

The underlying game is really simple.

It's basically a race to get the most points, or in this case, Settlers for your settlement.

You lay down a Supply card, and on your next turn, you can play a Settler card of equal or lesser value than the Supplies you have. So, Supplies are like money, and you use them to pay for Settlers. 

If that was all there was, the game would be kind of dull.

Luckily, that's not the case.

There are attack cards and defensive cards as well. So, while you're trying to get your 200 points, you might find it's easier to win if you were to NUKE another player who is about to win. If they don't have a defence card (in this case, a TRUCE or a BUNKER card), all their settlers and supplies are NUKED, and they basically have to start building their settlement from scratch.

This tends to upset people.

Their frustration is hillarious. 

That's a very basic rundown of how the game works. It can be a lot of fun, especially if you play it with people who have a sense of humor, and sometimes even more so if you play it with people who don't.

If you get a copy of this game and play it with a group of friends, someone will get angry. It will be amazing to watch.

Thanks for watching everybody! Anyone who wants to take a look at the Kickstarter, follow the link below!

OUR KICKSTARTER!

Kickstarter!

www.nukedcards.com

www.NukedCards.com

KICKSTARTER!