Recap: Unpub Mini Labyrinth Game Shop May 27, 2012

Washington, DC is our Nation's Capital (if you happen to live in the United States,) and on Sunday May 27,2012 Washington, DC was home to one of the biggest Unpub events ever!

Our wonderful host store for this Unpub Mini was Labyrinth Game Shop, just a couple blocks from the Capital building! They were awesome hosts, tended to everything we need and almost provided us with more players than we could handle. Almost!

We had five games in presented at the event. Some awesome first timers and one or two veterans.

First up we'll talk about Atatat! This is a brand new one to the program designed by Charlie Hoopes of HoopCAT Games! I tried to sit down and play this one several times throught the day, but every time there were more players! I was calling it a tile and path laying game, but I think it's much deeper than that! Players were having a great time with the game and we'll have some video to put up after Origins.

Across from Charlie was Ben Rosset with his newly picked up game Mars Needs Mechanics. The game is to be published from Nevermore Games and saw a lot of interest. At one point the waiting line to play was 3 groups deep! Ben had a lot of activity at the table showing off his newest version of the game, which previously appeared at Unpubs as The Market! The new theme seemed to really ignite people's imaginations. I've enjoyed this one and really liked the new look, but once again I didn't get to play.

One game I did get to play was Top Ten, a neat party game by Danny Goodisman. What really struck me about the game was the strategy to it. Yeah, I'll call this one a party game with strategy. The big twist in the game is a simple shake-up of the genre, but really rewarding. Where many games encourage you to have different answers than your opponents, Top Ten wants you to have identical answers. Trying to plan your answers so that you score more points is great...but watch out in the later game when your opponents are higher in their scores slow them down by throwing weird answers out! It was really a lot of fun and has great potential!

Another fun game with a lot of potential is Meteor! Mike Young's cooperative real time resource management game (I think I missed a few keywords like non-turn based...) continues to be a hit for me. If yesterday was any indication it will be for you as well! Meteor has been signed by Pandasaurus Games and will be coming soon from the young publisher. I cannot tell you enough how much fun I had and others were having playing Meteor! It's a game where you job is to work together to save the world. Each round gets more difficult with more limitations and more possibilities! It's escalating madness of meteoric proportions!

Another game about proportions, at least on some level, is Urban Farm Heroes designed by Brent Kim. This game turns the farming on it's end a little. You've got to build your farm in a vacant lot! You've got to work with available markets and make the right decisions to grow your business surrounded by buildings! I didn't get a chance to play, but Urban Farm Heroes was one of the games with a full table every time I looked over and a short waiting list. This one's on my must play soon list!

As I said, we had around 70 pe0ple attend the event which is fantastic for the Sunday of a Holiday weekend. We really owe a lot of thanks to Labyrinth Game Shop. They really helped get the crowd out and showed huge support for what we're doing. If you are ever in Washington, DC you NEED to stop there.

I just want to extend a quick thank you to all the designers. You guys are the ones that really make these events a success with your games. You're the draw, as witnessed by people showing up asking for specific games. They didn't come to the mini, they came to play YOUR games. Thank You!

Big thanks to all the players who came out and played games!...You also probably waited for a table and a chance to play a game, we really appreciate that! Just an amazing turn-out. It was such a pleasure to meet and talk to so many people! Thanks!

I learned a lot on Sunday and the program is going to make a few adjustments because of it! It was a great experience. ...I didn't mind running out Feedback forms at all! ...and who knows when I'll get to scan them all in, but we're going to try!

And we're going to keep having these events while we do. Our next one is in Jenkintown, PA on Jume 23! We're at 7th Dimension games and we can't wait. 5 designers signed up already. More slots are available! Contact us to find out more and get in the program!

Until then, look for us at Origins. Stay tuned to this site and all our social media to find out about all the happenings! We'll see TC Petty III, Darrell Louder, Benjamin Rosset, Jason Tagmire, and so many more! We're expecting chats with Publishers like Dice Hate Me Games, Clever Mojo Games, Pandasaurus games, Gozer Games , and Nevermore Games! We're hoping to get some established designers to talk to us, people like Philip duBarry, Cherilyn Joy Lee Kirkman and others! We're going to have a blast! Stay tuned for details!

And enjoy the following photos from Sunday's Event!