Unfiltered Games is pleased to announce that Calli Wright’s game design Moonshell: A Mermaid Game is now live on Kickstarter.

About Moonshell

Ideal for 1-4 players ages 8+ and taking under 30 minutes to play, Moonshell is a puzzle game with a low barrier to entry, making it a great game for families and introducing new hobbyists to modern games. Optional elements add to the strategy of the game, allowing strategy-minded players to dive deep into spatial reasoning and multi-step problem solving to prove themselves the cleverest mermaid of them all!

At the core, Moonshell is a game about collecting seashells of various colors and shapes and arranging them in your treasure chest to fulfill various open objectives. 

Additional elements you can add to the game include variable mermaid powers, secret objective cards, a wild moonshell piece, and that’s not including the stretch goal and expansion content that will be revealed throughout the campaign.

If funded, we anticipate a fulfillment date before the end of 2021.

Why Back Now?

Help everyone unlock 6 mermaid objective cards if the campaign is fully funded within 48 hours!

Watch the Moonshell Video

Watch it played live! Upcoming livestreams include:

• Man vs. Meeple on March 3 at 12 pm EST
• Unfiltered Gamer on March 3 at 9:30 pm EST
• One Board Family on March 4 at 2 pm EST

Join the Moonshell Community

Aspiring mermaid players can back the game today, choosing to add on a mermaid acrylic pin and/or a deluxe wooden insert with a rotating board (created by Sand Box Gaming!). Add-ons will also be available in the pledge manager after the campaign.

The post Moonshell: A Mermaid Game Now Live On Kickstarter appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

For those interested in the design process for Moonshell: A Mermaid Game.

As I mentioned in the first installment of the developer diaries, the initial mechanic in Moonshell was set collection, but how you collected and arranged your seashells would matter in a tableau. The initial thoughts were some mash up of Herbaceous and Sagrada, with square cards of all kinds of different seashells.

Feature: A Rotating Board

I imagined a match-three type grid as the place you’d collect seashells. But how to collect them? That’s where rotating the board came in, and it’s a main feature of the game.

Shifting the tides in the ocean to move seashells toward you just seemed to work so well with the theme of playing as a magical mermaid trying to get the perfect pieces for your collection!

Obviously, using cards was not going to work if the grid of them needed to rotate – the board would just be too big and cards fly everywhere…I imagined.

I started with a very mini version of the game, using some leftover wooden punchouts (thanks Sandbox Gaming!) and cardboard coasters.

I love cardboard coasters because you can draw on them easily, and it is easy to pull out another one to test something else, really really fast.

It seemed the idea of a rotating board with colorful seashells on it was working!

Feature: Pattern Building with Colorful Seashells

While it was super easy to do the initial mechanical “does it even work” testing with the mini components, when I deemed it ready to try play testing with others, while good for travel, the mini components were NOT a good user experience and got in the way of getting good feedback on the game.

Once I made a better (if more boring looking) prototype, it was a lot easier to get into playtesting for specific elements and mechanics.

Especially because the color AND shape of the seashells mattered and they needed to be clear for players to identify. Having two elements on each tile made it so our different objectives could overlap – players can achieve multiple objectives on their treasure chest board by combo-ing objectives for shape and color. 

Feature: Objective Cards for Varying Strategies and Replayability

You see, I really wanted to keep the scoring low and the game overall so simple but with strategic depth. But it wasn’t right yet for a board game audience – the depth wasn’t quite there. My friend Clinton Morris crafted a prototype and playtested as well way on the other side of the country.

Clinton Morris’s insight as a co-developer helped me get over that block and consider changes to the game (higher scoring, other types of objectives) that I had thought would not be a good fit for a wider, non-gaming audience. But it worked. The core experience was working – players felt clever and smart, and that is the end goal. 

I think that’s the magic of what good developers can help bring to the table in the process of designing a game. 

Putting it Together!

In addition, my husband Michael Wright was my sounding board for the next stage of development, especially as we were getting caught up in the art development process (I learned a lot but it took a long time, more about that in another session). So while art seemed to be going slowly, we just kept with the game mechanics, and when those were solid – as in so solid, multiple other publishers and designers who played the game said so (thank you!) – then creating the stretch goals and expansions to the game.

So in the end, the longer development timeline worked out, because we could ensure the multiple levels of playing the game all worked:

• Core gameplay which is great for gateway or new players
• Adding secret objective cards
• Adding the moonshell wild piece
• Adding mermaid abilities
• A solo version of the game
• And…some stretch goal expansion elements I can’t talk about quite yet!

I am so excited to share more in the coming weeks and on the Kickstarter campaign starting March 2!

In other news, Moonshell: A Mermaid Game is in the running for “20 Most Anticipated Board Games of 2021” in the Family category on BoardGameGeek. Please vote if you have a moment!

The post Moonshell Developer Diaries #2: Game Mechanics appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

I love games where you create and have something to show for your work at the end of a game. As a crafty person, I like to think my time in the game’s world was well-spent, even if that end-result creation is only temporary.

I say this because I think the commonly of the game experiences we love play a huge influence when designing new games.

I initially conceived of Moonshell as a set collection game. In a way, it is still is. Instead of any arrangement of sets, players are attempting to meet the requirements of various open objectives (and possibly secret objectives).

Each player has a limited amount of space in their treasure chest (which must be arranged from bottom to top), which displays their endgame collection of arranged seashells.

Why Mermaids?

The idea of collecting and creating something fit so well with a mermaid and seashell theme. I have always been surprised at the lack of mermaid games in the board game landscape. 

Perhaps because mermaids are primarily seen as interesting to mainly girls and women?

But the mythology of mermaids is so varied and interesting, and I think many of the elements they represent – the unknown, patience, passion, deep thinking, vibrancy – is appealing to many. 

I wanted players to be able to feel those elements when playing the game, so playing as a mermaid character competing against others for varied seashells made sense as a connection of theme and mechanics. That’s how I developed the language around Play as a clever mermaid and May the cleverest mermaid win.

An additional bonus then, is the fact that the theme may be of interest to a wider audience. I know I have experienced that myself bringing out Wingspan to gamers new to the hobby. There is something about an attention to theme and art that draws people in. And while I don’t expect Moonshell to reach the same heights of popularity, I hope we can capture a similar feeling of excitement:

Oh, a mermaid game? With wooden mermaid figures? This seems like it could be for me!

Who Is Moonshell For?

For that reason as well, I knew at the core the game should have a low barrier to entry while still enabling strategic thinking.

The visual elements of different shape and color combinations, as well as the spatial reasoning of the placement of shells can be played intuitively, or as thoughtfully as the players want to make it. At the core, the game can be played in about 15 minutes, and players get better each game as they see how different combinations can be created in their treasure chest.

So the core game can be played with a wide range of players. There’s only 3 available actions and turns can be quick.

In addition, there is also the option to add on other elements to the game: secret objective cards, variable player powers, a wild moonshell piece. These add complexity to the game, giving players more avenues for multi-step problem solving to get the seashells they covet.

Either way, that is the emotion that I hoped players would experience – feeling like a clever, resourceful mermaid!

A big thank you to my colleagues who suffered through some of the very first and rough versions of the game, some of which are pictured below. And I hope to talk more about the development and design process that my husband, Michael Wright, and our friend, Clinton Morris, helped with so much, in the next installment.

Moonshell: A Mermaid Game is coming to Kickstarter on March 2, 2021. Aspiring mermaid players can sign up for updates on moonshellgame.com and on the Kickstarter pre-launch page.

Follow the Moonshell creation process

• Favorite the BoardGameGeek Listing
• Join the Facebook Group
• Follow on Instagram: @moonshellgame

Follow Unfiltered Games

• Like the Facebook Page
• Join the Facebook Group
• Join the Discord

The post Moonshell Developer Diaries #1: Why Mermaids, and Early Designs appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

Unfiltered Games announces the launch date of Moonshell: A Mermaid Game! This strategy puzzle game will launch on the Kickstarter platform on March 2, 2021.

Ideal for 1-4 players ages 8+ and taking under 30 minutes to play, Moonshell is a puzzle game with a low barrier to entry, making it a great game for families and introducing new hobbyists to modern games. Optional elements add to the strategy of the game, allowing strategy-minded players to dive deep into spatial reasoning and multi-step problem solving to prove themselves the cleverest mermaid of them all!

At the core, Moonshell is a game about collecting seashells of various colors and shapes and arranging them in your treasure chest to fulfill various open objectives.

Additional elements you can add to the game include variable mermaid powers, secret objective cards, a wild moonshell piece, and that’s not including the stretch goal and expansion content that will be revealed during the campaign.

If funded with our March 2 launch, we anticipate a fulfillment date before the end of 2021.

Aspiring mermaid players can sign up for updates on moonshellgame.com and on the Kickstarter pre-launch page.

GET NOTIFIED ON KICKSTARTER

Follow the Moonshell creation process

• Favorite the BoardGameGeek Listing
• Join the Facebook Group
• Follow on Instagram: @moonshellgame

Follow Unfiltered Games

• Like the Facebook Page
• Join the Facebook Group
• Join the Discord

The post Moonshell: A Mermaid Game Coming to Kickstarter on March 2, 2021 appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

We’ll start with a few family friendly games, then delve into the darker horror themes later on!

Haunt the House

Haunt the House by Kids Table Board Gaming (KTBG) is a 2-4 player game for ages 8+. In Haunt the House, players play as ghosts trying to scare away the ghost hunters. It is a shorter, family-friendly game, taking about half an hour to play.

Twisting the role of the players to be the frighteners, instead of the frightened, helps ghosts seem like something less scary and more relatable. Also, many of the game pieces glow in the dark, which adds a fun bit of whimsy for a crisp, fall evening.

Watch our interview with KTBG at Gencon and if you missed the Kickstarter, you can preorder it here.

Lucidity

Lucidity has been on a lot of our tops and favorites lists since it launched on Kickstarter last year, and in addition to having great mechanics, the game has a cool factor that elevates it in the horror theme space.

It is a push your luck style game, with beautiful and terrible dice. If/when you bust, you become a nightmare with special powers, and you still have a chance to win!

Ages 14+, the deluxe version of the game came with two art styles, one more kid-friendly, and one darker. It plays 1-4 players and takes about half an hour to play, sometimes less!

Check out our video review of Lucidity and find Lucidity on Amazon.

Bullets and Teeth

Bullets and Teeth is a great horror card game! In Bullets and Teeth, players are running from a horde of zombies, taking turns acting as the bait. Remember, you don’t have to outrun the zombies, you just have to outrun your friends. It plays 3-5 players, and last about 20 minutes, unless your friends are really into it!

Watch the hilarious review of Bullets and Teeth and find out more about the game on the Last Ditch Games website.

Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories is a classic. A cooperative game that is super difficult to beat, this 1-4 player game is overflowing with difficult decisions, multiple things to juggle and just as many ways for the players to lose.

This game is a bit longer than some of the others, at least an hour, unless you fail and fall horribly to the legions of ghosts.

Find Ghost Stories on Amazon.

Growl

Growl is my new favorite werewolf-style party social deduction game. Unlike traditional werewolf, it’s a lot more difficult to die, so players tend to be able to play longer (sometimes we have zero players die). We love how it can play up to 10 players, but the minimum required is 4, which is less than most social deduction games. The cards you have to swap with other players gives you clues as to who might be a werewolf, and who is just a villager trying to survive, like yourself!

Check out our review of Growl!

Unfortunately, you’re not likely to get the game in time for this Halloween, but you can still pre-order Growl and have it in time for the winter holidays.

Escape the Dark Castle

This role-playing style cooperative game has all players (1-4) waking up deep inside a dark castle. With very limited supplies and specialized abilities, you have to work together to defeat the obstacles and denizens you encounter in the dark castle.

The art and theme of this game is perfect for a candle-lit October evening. Taking turns reading the encounter cards aloud adds to the ambiance and the tension! With 30 minutes you a game, you can immediately play another game, as the story cards change each game.

Watch a video review of Escape the Dark Castle.

You can order the game at the Themeborne website.

Elder Sign

Another cooperative game (you can tell I get easily scared this time of year and need to trust my friends!), Elder Sign is a 1-8 player dice rolling adventure game that takes over an hour to play.

Immersed in the world of Arkham University and Cthulu, players take on the role of investigators working together to close gates before a big bad gets through. Players roll dice to complete different adventures, gaining benefits and sometimes elder signs that can be used to stop the gate from opening. The most entertainment though is definitely when the Ancient One does get through before players close the gate. These guys are no joke and can easily decimate an unprepared team!

Learn more and get Elder Sign through Amazon.

Fury of Dracula

This game is intense! Especially if you are playing as the famed vampire Count Dracula, attempting to evade the rest of the players as they hunt you across Europe. Dracula has a few tricks up his sleeve (as do the hunters) in this hidden movement, one vs. many game.

For groups of 2-5 players, the game takes around 3 hours to play. Fantasy Flight will be releasing a fourth edition soon, but if you can’t wait, it’s available on Amazon.

Thank you for reading through my list of favorite horror games for this season. I hope you found a new game to try out or two. Please let me know in the comments if I missed any of your favorites!

Unfiltered Gamer was not paid to post about any of the board games above –  while some games were given to us for free, the review is our unfiltered opinion. Some links go to affiliate links which help contribute to the upkeep of this site. Thank you for supporting Unfiltered Gamer!

Similar board game content you might like:

• Top 5 Deduction / Deception Board Games (video)
• Top 8 Dexterity Games (blog)
• Escape Room Board Games (blog)

The post Top Horror Themed Board Games for Halloween appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

The post Giveaway: Side Effects! appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

I’m Calli and in this video I share some of my favorite cheap board games and affordable card games. These are some of the best cheap board games for adults, families and all kinds of groups of people! Plus, I really feel we have gotten our money’s worth and beyond by playing these games.

These are all more modern board games (check out that video first if you’re lost!).

All the games mentioned in the video above are linked below as affiliate links – feel free to check them out and thank you for supporting Unfiltered Gamer!

First, these inexpensive board games are under $15 (usually):

• Coup 
• The Mind 
• Codenames 
• Love Letter 
• Welcome to The Dungeon 

Next, these affordable board games are usually under $25:

• The Resistance / Avalon 
• The Chameleon 
• Forbidden Island 
• Tiny Epic Mechs

Check out the other Calli’s Corner videos!

Click HERE to support Calli on Patreon.

The post My Favorite Cheap Board Games appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

Have you heard of these unique board games? Here’s some of my favorite but less well-known obscure board game and obscure card game titles.

These are some of the most unique board games with unusual mechanics, but are still accessible and easy to learn and teach!

What do you think are the best unique board games or card games are your favorites that you want the community to know about? Leave a comment!

Top 5 unique games mentioned (includes affiliate links):

Mystic Vale https://amzn.to/3iOnE01
Review: https://youtu.be/ThMfHqWj5ZE

Pyramids of Pengqueen https://amzn.to/2ZhL5Y3

Escape from Aliens in Outer Space https://amzn.to/2Og1YMo

Crystallo https://amzn.to/326zkFm

Master of Wills https://masterofwills.com/

Check out the other Calli’s Corner videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…

Click HERE to support Calli on Patreon.

The post Unique Board Games (My More Obscure Favorites) appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

Board game categories can help us really quickly gain a basic understanding of what the game is about.

There are so many different types of board games! Categories can be used to help you quickly understand if you or someone you know might be interested in the game, and if you want to learn more about it.

And if you are a board game designer, categories can help you pitch, demo and sell your game. So this board game guide can also be helpful for anyone who is in or wants to be a part of the board game industry. Categories can be based on the board game mechanics, the audience, board game design, the complexity or weight of the game, and much more.

Categories are not fully agreed-upon by everyone, there’s going to be some grey area and different opinions. This guide is just my opinion based on playing quite a few games and being a part of the board game industry.

Click HERE to support Calli on Patreon.

The post The Beginner Guide to Board Game Categories appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

Sharing my top tips for understanding board game rule books. Learn and teach games like a pro!

Reading rules and learning how to play board games is one of the biggest barriers to building and growing the board game community. There are certain conventions and formatting of rule books that you only understanding after playing so many games and reading so many rule books. But, I hope these tips provide a bit of a shortcut as you are delving into the world of board games, so you can learn and understand how to play a lost faster!

Any other tips you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments!

If you are a game designer, check out my tips for writing rule books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVWaR…

Thanks for watching Calli’s Corner!

Reviewers Mentioned:

Shut Up and Sit Down, Man Vs. Meeple, The Dice Tower, Rahdo Runs Through and Quackalope – he’s okay too.

Games referenced: Everdell by Starling Games, Five Tribes by Days of Wonder, Tiny Towns by Alderac Entertainment Group

Check out the other Calli’s Corner videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…

Click HERE to support Calli on Patreon.

The post Tips for Understanding Board Game Rules appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.