lionkingcmsl | LK the game designer?

Well, possibly. :=3

While I was in the D.C. area for my friend's funeral, I got an idea for a card game.

I had discussed the idea with Kamau and Smrgol about it, and they said it might be a good idea for a card game.

When I got back home, I thought about the card types, how many were needed and the basic rules.

After typing out the basic rules, figuring out what card types and number of each type of card, I quickly made a rough deck out of 3x5 index cards cut in half and hand lettered.

I then called

mooncat to see if she and her mate would want to alpha test the game. They said yes, and yesterday I headed to their house.

As Mooncat has mentioned, it went very quickly for the most part, but we did have some rough spots.
One thing I didn't count on was the build-up of a certain card type in one's hand. Well, a couple of new cards fixed that problem, though you can still get a build up, but not as quickly.
They also suggested some rules variations that I may incorporate into the rules.

We played 6 hands and the take is that it seems to be a fun game. You have to plan out what you are doing as Mooncat found out. She traded hands with her mate at one point, allowing him to win the game. ;=3

I have since made a full color mock up of the deck, using name badge inserts, as they are the correct size for a deck of cards. Now when I have people play test the game, they will get a real feel for the game.

I am also doing the play testing correctly, in my mind. I have created evaluation reports to be filled out by each of the players, and an evaluators report to be filled out by the one who is hosting the game.

I am putting aside my feelings on the game and will let these reports guide what I should do in the next stages of development.
If the game has no future, I want to know now. It is the only way I can develop the game to its best potential.

I also have been directed to game company that is actively seeking new games for release. After the game has been play tested a few more times, hopefully with other people hosting so I'm not an influence of what is written on the reports, and those reports come back positive, then I will approach that game company with my idea.

Who knows. Maybe in the next year or so you may see a card game that was developed by "Don Miller, Jr." sitting in your local gaming store. ;=3

Remember, you read it here first. ;=3