Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Okay, last week was the first week playing side by side with the other ccg's.  I talked with some of the others and shared Byron Hake's http://www.redemptionca.com/Misc/ccgs.htm
and
http://www.redemptionca.com/Misc/magic.htm
with at the end giving them a set of DVD's (free to me) of Hovind about the Creation/Evolution topic.  We had two kids interested in Redemption (both had come to play Magic that day, but didn't cause they were talking with us) with Matthew teaching one of them how to play and both are coming this week to play.

I had shared with the owner the two articles of Hake's earlier this summer and just recently gave him the DVD's too.  He has the Redemption game and played when it first came out.  He recently wanted to move most all the ccg's to one night, our Redemption night.  He just wrote his monthly newsletter and mentions Redemption.  Here is part of the newsletter:
--------------------
We CAN'T Do It Without You

One of the great aspects of having a community center focus for the store is the number of people you get to know. It's rather obvious that the more time you spend at Petrie's the more people you meet and the more people get to meet you. I said it last month but I think it deserves another mention that our volunteers and regular players are amazing. It's because of them that we can achieve the high quality of events and activities.

Last month we saw two events in particular that were shining examples of the Petrie's community at work. The first was the City Wide Gaming day which saw more than 100 people through the Petrie's door playing and learning games all weekend long. The second was the start up of our Wednesday Card Game Night. The gentleman who have taken it upon themselves to ensure that players have regular opportunities to meet and play their favorite games, never complain and give their time willingly. Thank you guys.

If you haven't heard, Redemption club (run by Matthew) is now joined by WoW, L5R and Magic on Wednesday nights for casual play and the occasional tournament. All are welcome and you'll find plenty of people willing to teach you their favorite card games. We'll still have tournaments on the weekends, which also includes Yu-Gi-Oh (run by Liam). We're also going to be launching LCG games. LCG is another style of card games produced by Fantasy Flight that includes A Game of Thrones, WarHammer Invasion, Call of Cthulhu and the anxiously awaited Lord of the Rings which will launch later this year.

So thank you to all of the volunteers. You know who you are and you are very much appreciated.

~Cameron
-------------------------------------------------

and here:

Q: Do you have a gaming group? And if so, describe your weekly involvement.
JM - I have 2 weekly gaming groups. I am running D&D 4E in my Tuesday night game. I am playing in an amazing Star Wars game on Wednesday and gearing up to run an Anima game after that. Between those two groups, I have run (over the last 5 years): DnD 3.5, Palladium Fantasy, Gurps, Burning Wheel, Serenity, Exalted and Shadowrun. I meet monthly up at Petrie's to run the World's Largest Dungeon. And I have, currently, three online play-by-post games that I run. Wow.... when I write it all out like that.... it seems like a lot.
JR - Yes. The usuals at Petrie's and friends outside of the game store who sometimes meet at Petrie's to play. I play at least 2 times a week.
JS - My gaming group is anybody that wants to play and is at Petrie's when I am there. On Wednesday nights and the occasional Saturday, I run World of Warcraft Card Game (WoW) Battlegrounds and Tournaments. Thursday night is board game night, Friday night and Saturday I am usually there for open play, so more board games or WoW. Occasionally I go to a meeting of Colorado Springs Boardgamers.
Q: What are your least favorite type of games?
JM - Settlers of Catan... Settlers of Catan... and any game that relies solely on randomness. Monopoly, the Farming game, and Settlers of Catan.
JR - Long luck-based games that have few or no meaningful decisions. Also, Puerto Rico.
Q: Describe your favorite aspect of Collectible Card Games.
JM - I enjoy the deck building side of the game. It is not just about playing the game and learning the strategy and rules. With a CCG you get to bring your own crafted version of the game and play it against another person's idea of the same game.
JR - Drafting tournaments are my favorite because it so obviously joins deck-building with actual play, which are my two favorite parts of CCGs. The deck-building is thoughtful and the fast, intense play is enjoyable as well.  I also like how draft tournaments level the playing field by not favoring those who have simply spent the most money.
JS - My favorite thing about CCG's is that every game has the possibility of being different. Two people may start with the same theme for the deck but the cards they include and their strategy will be different.

Q: What would you like to see your specific CCG game achieve? Or more specific, explain your hopes for growth of your CCG title for Petrie's.
JM - I would like to see Game of Thrones (and the other LCG's) host a weekly league. Six weeks of playing everyone in the league, and ending with a HUGE prize. I think you get a lot more fun out of the league format as opposed to the tournament format.
JR - Growth. I want huge tournaments where we can see both the greatest number of people enjoying Magic and the greatest number of varied decks. More than anything, I want to see people having fun and enjoying Magic... the more the merrier.
JS - I would like to see World of Warcraft get a big enough following at Petrie's and Colorado Springs that when big events are scheduled by Cryptozoic, they contact us to host. For now I would like to see our playgroup grow from the few regulars and several occasional players to a dozen regulars.

-------------

We are not familiar with the other ccg's, nor are we interested.  We like Redemption, and are there to play that.  Our group is small right now but will be nice to have more people playing, especially with having the others groups meeting then too.  It was nice to put into practice biblical principles and reaching out to others.  Hoping all is well with all of this.  And also just finished looking at the MTG vs Redemption posting here on the message board.

Thanks for letting me share and let me know if you have any comments, or concerns as we only know Redemption and just trying to go by God's leading.

Linda

Linda, tell Matthew that all my prayers are for your playgroup as it grows and makes other people grow in the game.

Godbless!

Looks like these are the stats so far.  Please feel free to invite others to our group.  Thank you!!!

http://www.meetup.com/Gaming-Events/calendar/15419077/