by BabyAngelSalutations, Reader.
These past few months, I have come to understand and feel the deeper meaning of “Health is your true Wealth.” As drawing was not in the cards, so to speak, yours truly embarked on a research and development mission. Before starting a Kickstarter or Gamefound campaign, one needs to know the production costs for the intended game-gear product. After several decades of searching for a factory, I found a one stop shopping company specialized in Plastic & Print. We set out to make an economic version of the StarArena®Gameboard and Pre-Production Copy: Made in China T06.
For those new to the game: StarArena® is A Strategic Multi-Leveled Rotating Tabletop Board Game! Meaning: The Pivot-Point, which is the central point of any rotational system, is the most crucial element of production. Or, in other words: The Game-Axle determines the level of enjoyment experienced during game-play of this tabletop sensation.
In the Limited Editions created and assembled by the artist, the King-Pin (name for game-axle) has been fine-tuned for game-play. The purpose of creating an Economic-Version is to reduce expenses and get ready for large-scale production and global distribution.
The obvious place to cut costs is by using different materials and reducing the thickness of the Game-Levels from 5mm to 2mm. This leads to the need for a new King-Pin design worked on with Team-Dragon (Billy, David, Leo) from Unicool-Games.
This King-Pin design also contains the Correct-Position system to avoid arguments and fights during game-play about who’s cheating or not. The Pre-Production-Copy was sent to me from the factory in China, and at first glance, it appears to work well. See below…
Made In China T06 Report:
The T-Series is a set of Technical Models used for quality control and kept as references for production. On occasion, they feature a mechanical upgrade that has the potential to become the new norm and game-play standard. Great expectations were anticipated from the new King-Pin and considered well worth the risk to spend the last Company-Capital on. The most Costly-Component in this endeavor is the Game-Axle and follows the plastic injection molding process. It could be a Game-Changer! So your humble GameSmith simply had to; Roll The Dice!!
Regretfully; I Roll Snake Eyes!! …And this first draft is not suitable for tabletop entertainment and cannot be produced in its current state or design. For it contains an unforeseen Design-Flaw which only became apparent when testing the prototype once received in real life. A closer look reveals that the spring-loaded King-Pin creates a centrifugal force that ‘Ejects’ the game-pieces from the game-board.
Reminding me of this Kid-Koala track; “If the sandwiches fly off the turntable, it is set at the wrong speed, in which case you and your guests will be eating much faster than usual.”
In this case; You Instantly Kill All The Gladiators In The Arena With One Turn Nine Out Of Ten Times. Which, I am sad to say, means that I took a risk that did not pay-off: Made-In-China T06 is UNPLAYABLE! If this technical issue cannot be resolved, it becomes “Close But No Cigar”… And StarArena® will never see mass production.
Making it the most expensive piece of cardboard and plastic I have lying about in the war room. If anybody out there knows any altruistic philanthropists with golden-geek standards and a fetish for ultra-rare collectibles?
Please direct this Power-Patron to the Gameboard-Gallery and acquire Model T06 so that I can replenish my production-budget once again. For those willing to trade Coin for Cardboard…
