#1571; Of Integrity and Youth (Part 2)

Comic Transcripts

CHARLEK, one of the kids from the previous comic in which kids were talking about how adults always try to change them, is now speaking with his MOM.

MOM: Please wash your hands for dinner!

CHARLEK: I’m perfectly self-actualized just as I am, thank you.

MOM: Honey, when we give you instructions like “Wash your hands”, we’re not trying to make you into SOMEONE ELSE. We’re trying to help you become the BEST version OF you, using knowledge and perspective that you don’t have yet. Such as the germ theory of disease.

MOM: So when we ask you to do things, it’s in what WE believe to be YOUR best interest. Do you TRUST us?

CHARLEK: I mean, I GUESS

CHARLEK: But what about when you make me assembled sticker packs for your Etsy store? Is THAT in my best interest?

MOM: THAT’S because Mama’s got a bunch of BACKORDERS! Come on, let’s HURRY UP with that DINNER!!

#1571; Of Integrity and Youth (Part 2) 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!