#377; In which Progress looks likely

Comic Transcripts

KATIE: The big rallying cry for every election is ‘change.’ End corruption! Free democracy from the crushing grip of special interests!
KATIE: What happened to the last crew we elected to bring about change? We’re no closer now to the utopia they promised us last election. Why do we think this bunch will do any better?

FATHER: I think the realities of the political process probably mainstream the radicalism out of anybody, just in the name of being able to get anything accomplished at all.
KATIE: So if we feed the system visionaries, and it spits them out as mediocrities…then what we need is some sort of EXTREME DOUBLE MEGA-VISIONARY who’ll get worn down to the level of ‘visionary.’
FATHER: In other words, we should elect the most crazy nutball wackjob out there.

WALT HOPPENDORF: Mr. Gax, can you offer details about your plan to solve Social Security while also developing a new biofuel?
[[Mr. Gax is a dinosaur wearing a suit]]
MR. GAX: IF ELECTED, I PLEDGE TO FEED ALL HUMANS OVER SIXTY INTO THE INSATIABLE FURNACE OF MY GALACTIC DEATH-CRUISER

#377; In which Progress looks likely transcribed by in

The past few weeks have been a frenzy of assembling the very laborious, very bespoke first print run of NOODLE BATTLE, the puzzle game I am releasing this weekend at PAX West in Seattle!

PAX has an event called the PNW Tabletop Game Market (Saturday night ONLY), which is a curated selection of short-run games from local designers. As I’ve mentioned in this space before, I applied for a space in this fall’s event mainly as a way to force myself to finish a new game. And here it is!

The drawings are all by Jason Poland, good pal and cartoonist of My Dad Is Dracula. Jason played an early version of this game at Alaska Robotics Comics Camp this spring, and really liked it!

So I said, “Do you want to help me make it?” And so he has! It was his idea to make all the characters fun little animals, and I think it adds a ton of charm.

Because this edition is limited-run, it has been incredibly labor-intensive to make! The boxes and cards were made by a game factory in the usual fashion, but separately. The blank tiles were made by a woodworker dude out of Connecticut. For each game, we have had to:

Cut a piece of plastic and install the box window
Paint all the tiles, hundreds at a time
Apply a sticker to both sides of every tile
Apply stickers to the box (we couldn’t get the box back printed in time, so the whole back side of the box is a sticker too)
Apply the “Nutrition Facts” sticker, which was a late suggestion by my kid that I just had to run with
Fold up the rule sheet (they come from the printer as big strips of paper)
Put all the components into the box and seal it all up

I knew it would be a lot of work and would require some inefficient, expensive compromises AND I WAS RIGHT. But the final product is turning out great, which is the important thing!!

I will have 50 copies with me (if all goes well) at PAX, and then between now and the holidays we will be putting together additional copies to round out this first edition.

I will announce additional copies on Patreon first, once they are available online!! And here too, naturally, before long.

You can also sign up here if you’d like me to email you once the game is available online!