DTV Episode 23 - Tom Designs a Game - with Tom and Holly Vasel

[glmathgrant]

It's neat to see how this prototype evolved into the nestorgames edition.

[PantyhoseLos]

I'd buy it, just even to support Tom and his family. They are fantastic.

[keithburgun]

Man, I don't know why this isn't published. Publishers would do well to accept designs from guys like you instead of some of the horrible stuff that actually gets made.

[firewarrior55]

shuuro board ftw

[sloppymantis]

haha its nice to see im not the only one drawn to the 8x8 board to make games on. As a computer dork I appreciate the math involved with 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 etc.. I think you may have inspired me to make some vids of my own games which I would naturally appreciate your input on. Also I'm sure the games I compile will likely not be 100% original as that would be hard to do in a world of 10,000 games. Anyway thanks for sharing this! have a good one!

[wargod700]

Very nice game, I too have a board game of my own. Took me a good 3 months to finish it.

[jestrada123]

Well done Tom.  Your game looks quite decent! What do your family and friends think of it?

[nestorgames]

NESTORGAMES 2010 :)

[gorende]

I agree that Mr. Knizia could have created it and it would be on every store. He got worst games than this one, which seems surprisingly solid.

[WilliB1969]

I was prepared to cringe, but didn't have to - nice game. I think you even evaluated it fairly as well. Slap Knizia's name on there and it would already be published!

[massimilianocuccia]

I want to read the rules! I'll ask on facebook

[MoritzEggert]

your daughter makes extremely funny faces, Tom!

[fumiaoi]

Good review!

[firstbarbarianprince]

great looking game Tom ....

[tommyguncrazylegs]

Nice looking game! How do the multi-colour tiles attack though, I didn't catch that - do you choose which colour to attack with? Or if they face in two different directions do they both score? Looks good, nice and simple :)

[0breadbeard0]

awesome game Tom! I think "Survival of the Fishes" is the best name -- it makes me crack a smile every time :)

If you found the right artist to illustrate it, I think this could be a truly excellent game.

Check out artist Joey Mars, I have seen some of his underwater work and it seems like he would be a great fit -- he draws some awesome fish!

[EirikrThorvaldsson]

Looks like a good solid game. Lite and fun but with enough tactics to make for an enjoyable game.

I like Vicious Fishes. The first think I thought of though was Big Fish Eat Little Fish but that's probably already been done.

Keep it up. It'a all about the fun.

[apostolic325]

LOL did anyone see Holly eat a booger at the end, or was I the only one to notice it?

[YoksterMan]

Awesome Tom, thanks for sharing your idea and it was fun to have Holly back on the show.

[Yugithzale]

I'd buy it, sounds great.

[Skullpudding]

Neat concept, Tom. It's got the makings of a great game - strategic variety, hidden agendas and a pinch of goofiness.

The only thing that might prevent me from purchasing one would be the "counting" method of scoring. If there were a way to keep a running total, it might seem less like a math test (to me) at the end.

[eviltofutube]

Interesting concept. Maybe someone can make a web or iPhone version of it.

[tommyguncrazylegs]

@eviltofutube I reckon this would work really well as an iPhone game.

[grumpchong]

vicious fishes works way better than fish wars. that being said, this game seems pretty good actually.

[ACWraith]

Why not offer the game through the print-on-demand service, The Game Crafter? They have the boards, cards and tiles (with stickers) that you'd need.

[Yaoau]

your idea seem very good Tom

Althought it would be much better if its not base on "fish", fish are lame

[FooDog74]

Thanks for sharing this, Tom. This looks like a fun game. I like the name "Vicious Fishes", the theme as it is now is OK. I would prefer to see this game re-themed into a space civ theme. Black holes instead of rocks, etc. Like I said, the theme as it is is still fine.

If it does get published, I would buy it and play it with my kids.

Hope you find a publisher. I'd like to see your name on the side of a game box!

[toddfrazie]

Very nice! I test games friends game designs regularly, and this is by far the most strategic I've seen.

[Medsas]

so you can prove survivability? tile counting is allowed?

[Yaoau]

sometime your fish can be "blocked" out so there would not be any more fish can eat it

[Grudunza]

Simple and clever. I like the name Fish Wars.

[joeveenpresents]

Survival of the Fishiest?

[Grudunza]

Ha, that's great. Or just, Survival of the Fishes.

[sabriath]

I designed a game after finding your reviews of many others...I'm still fleshing out the main part, but it's similar to lahavre with a bit of stock market trading/speculation.

Nice idea on the fish wars. Although I like a little bit more strategy involved, as an idea, maybe the tiles are like scrabble and you have to pick them randomly from a bag (holding some "inhand"), but you could choose either to place a tile, OR move a living fish?

[StexeGod]

Interesting. I like looking into the creative process behind other game designers. I've been working on a game called "Race for the Galaxy: The Board Game." It is fun to come up with the interworking systems that mesh and fit.

Not sure how well your game actually is, but it still seems like a nice light idea. And, heck, if a game like "Letter of Marque" can be published -- why can't yours! =)

[aderier]

I have made a couple games, and I do them for the same reasons, to have fun. and if i do, its successful.