The Games of Rob Bartel - New Pages

Awards

RobBartel — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:08:01 CDT

Hippodice (Germany)

2007

Caribé - Best Full-Length Game.

Coffee - Shortlisted.

Concours International de Créateurs de Jeux de Société (France)

2007

Noah's Ark - Finalist.
Box Office - Shortlisted.

2006

Caribé - Finalist.

Premio Archimede (Italy)

2006

Caribé - Finalist.

About

RobBartel — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:19:50 CDT

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About Rob Bartel
email

Biography

Rob Bartel is an award-winning poet, playwright, essayist and game designer. He lives in Edmonton, Canada where he designs best-selling computer and video games for BioWare Corp.

Board Games

Rulebooks and prototypes for my board games are available to publishers on request. If you wish to be notified of new games as they become available, please subscribe to my RSS feed. I am a member of the S.A.Z. Game Designer Association.

Conventions

I hope to demonstrate my prototypes at the following conventions. Stop by and say hello!

Origins
Columbus, Ohio
July 5-8, 2007
STATUS: Completed.
(Read my convention report!)

FallCon
Calgary, Alberta
September 21-23, 2007
STATUS: Completed.

Pure Speculation

Edmonton, Alberta
October 13-14, 2007
STATUS: Confirmed.

Computer & Video Games

Baldur's Gate Series

Neverwinter Nights Series

Neverwinter Nights Premium Modules

Other Computer & Video Games

Plays & Anthologies

Periodicals (Poetry, Essays, Short Fiction & Visual Art)

Box Office

RobBartel — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:32:45 CDT

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How many millions will you bid for box office success?

As one of the ‘Big Six’ studios, you have multiple movies in the works, each costing well into the millions. Build your movies scene-by-scene in this exciting auction game, competing for the lucrative awards at season’s end.

Awards

Shortlisted: 2007 Concours International de Créateurs de Jeux de Société (France)

Core Information

Players: 2-5 (potentially capable of 6)
Ages: 10 and up
Duration: 75 minutes

Components

1 gameboard	1 In Production token
45 scene cards	1 bidding reel
9 event cards	30 award tokens
$250 million in three denominations	30 nomination tokens
36 bidding tokens (6 per studio)	1 rule booklet

Features

Two Ways to Play

Bollywood Rules offer a lighter game where bid amounts are kept secret until it’s time for them to be resolved. Money is less important and the goal is to obtain more awards and nominations than your opponents.
Hollywood Rules are for players who enjoy a more cut-throat strategic game where everyone can see each other’s bid amounts. While awards and nominations are important, the winner is the player with the wealthiest studio at the end of the season.

Unique Bidding Reel Mechanic - The bidding reel determines the minimum bid for any scene currently being filmed. The longer it remains in play, the more expensive it gets.
Dynamic Award Values - The value of each award and nomination category is determined through actual play. Be prepared to alter your strategies and reshape your movies to maximize your profit.
Every Movie Tells a Story - Individual scene titles combine in funny and surprising ways as each movie unfolds. Sharing your creations with each other once the game is over is half the fun!
Appropriate for Alternative Retail Channels - While a handful of movie-themed games already exist in the hobby market, none have been distributed through movie rental and theatre chains. Box Office's Bollywood rules offer another unique opportunity within East Indian communities.

Noah's Ark

RobBartel — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:36:15 CDT

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The floodwaters are rising and the animals need to board the ark!

In this deceptively simple game, players move their arks around a steadily deteriorating landscape, matching pairs to rescue stranded animals. When the game ends, the rarer the pair, the higher they score.

Awards

Finalist: 2007 Concours International de Créateurs de Jeux de Société (France)

Core Information

Players: 2-4 (capable of 6)
Ages: 8 and up
Duration: 45 minutes

Components

1 island gameboard	2 unicorns
4 ark sideboards	72 other animals (12 species, 6 of each)
4 ark playing pieces	90 water tokens
4 scoring tokens	1 rule booklet

Features

Accessible Gameplay - Each turn consists of two actions: placing a water token and moving your ark to rescue an animal pair.
Variable Scoring- Each player has three species that they receive double points for and must protect at all costs.
Variable and Deteriorating Landscape - The random placement of the animals and the player-determined water placement keep the game fresh and exciting time after time.
Agonizing Decisions - Do you place your water token to maximize your points, improve your ark's mobility, deny your opponent, or protect the animals you've already rescued? Decisions such as these provide the foundation for rich and compelling gameplay.
Appropriate for Alternative Retail Channels- A worthy contender in the hobby games market, the game's popular theme also happens to be well-suited to specialist distribution in the environmental and religious markets.

Coffee

RobBartel — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:35:22 CDT

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Plant, harvest and roast your way to a coffee-lover's fortune!

As an emerging coffee exporter, compete with your rivals for the best plantations, the timeliest harvests, and the choicest roasts. Market your coffee to shape the tastes of a fickle public in your favor. Decide whether to save your hard-earned money or spend it on assets and labor that will expand your capacity and increase your flexibility. The winner is the player with the most cash at the end of the game.

Awards

Shortlisted: 2007 Hippodice (Germany)

Core Information

Players: 2-4 (capable of 6)
Ages: 10 and up
Duration: 60 minutes

Components

1 gameboard	10 dual-sided roasters
4 warehouse sideboards	1 progress indicator
53 playing cards	$830 in fourdenominations
24 plantations in four colours	1 rule booklet
14 warehouses

Features

Player-Controlled Futures Market - The value of your coffee depends on how closely it matches the current market conditions. Can you predict or, better yet, control the market's preference for region, blend, and roast?
Mutually Beneficial Actions - While planting and processing apply only to the card-layer, harvest actions and selling phases apply to everyone, forcing players to weigh their own profit against that of their competitors.
Player-Controlled Endgame - Players choose when and if to trigger a market event. The game ends after a defined number of market events have been completed.
Appropriate for Alternative Retail Channels - By distributing their games through the Starbucks coffee chain, Cranium created a whole new market of gaming enthusiasts. Now's the time to introduce that market to the Euro gaming movement.

Caribé

RobBartel — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:20:42 CDT

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Visit this game's Board Game Geek entry

Four empires, five islands, one winner. Welcome to Caribé!

It’s 1590. The mighty Spanish Armada has been defeated, throwing the empire’s wealthy Caribbean territories into turmoil. The merchants of the Dutch West India Company have begun to siphon off trade while shrewd governors from the courts of Paris seem to be arriving on every ship. Meanwhile, the English crown has sent its legendary privateer, Sir Francis Drake, to disrupt the islands’ settlements.

Awards

Best Full-Length Game: 2007 Hippodice (Germany)
Finalist: 2006 Concours International de Créateurs de Jeux de Société (France)
Finalist: 2006 Premio Archimede (Italy)

Core Information

Players: 1-4
Ages: 10 and up
Duration: 90 minutes

Components

1 rule booklet	24 stackable soldier units in four colours
1 gameboard	24 stackable merchant units in four colours
4 player screens	24 stackable governor units in for colours
4 progress indicators	24 stackable pirate units in four colours
1 pad of score sheets

Features

Limited Resources- Settlers are the lifeblood of your island colonies. Use them wisely.
Variable powers- Each imperial power specializes in a different unit type. Each unit type has a different role on the islands.

Variable turn order - It takes time for your ships to reach the islands. Manipulate the turn order to your advantage.
Variable scoring - Different islands are worth different values for each player.
Hidden information - Hide units as stowaways on your ships to take the enemy unaware.
Pure Strategy- Outwit your opponents in this exciting and dynamic strategy game with absolutely zero luck.

The Games of Rob Bartel

RobBartel — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:38:24 CDT

NOTICE: This website has been discontinued.
Visit my new website at http://robbartel.blogspot.com/


Four empires, five islands, one winner. Welcome to Caribé!	Plant, harvest and roast your way to a coffee-lover's fortune!

The floodwaters are rising and the animals need to board the ark!	How many millions will you bid for box office success?

About Rob Bartel