Tech Tantra Thursday - Bill Eberle

It's all in the (Cosmic) powers. Check out last week's article and Bernie DeKoven's series of coliberation articles too.

Bernie DeKoven (g+): I like where you going with this - a lot. Having the choice to negotiate adds, as you suggest, a coliberating factor to the whole game.

As for me, I'm not playing many games any more. Not even Cosmic. The games I am focusing on are like the games in my "Playing for Laughs" collection - http://www.deepfun.com/playing-for-laughs/ - games between people, in the flesh, propless.

I'm also pretty much retired.

Though very recently I experienced a minor renaissance. I was invited to speak at DiGRA - a conference of the Digital Game Research Association - http://www.facebook.com/thinkdesignplay - to learn that my book and my work with New Games has become profoundly relevant to the evolution of online gaming.

Which makes your connecting with me and coliberation that much ore, um coliberating.

Bill Eberle (g+): Great! I really like the idea propless games "between people, in the flesh" … will explore

Bill Eberle (g+): It just occurred to me that another simple change that Cosmic players could make would be to add a simple new rule: Negotiate cards are never discarded (unlike spending energy to Attack it's always an option to Negotiate). Other rules would be adjusted slightly; e.g. when you have no more Attack cards, you must discard any Edicts and draw a new hand of cards.

Bernie DeKoven (g+): I really like the way you're examining some of the very basic assumptions of the game - opening things up to new possibilities. Kind of a Cosmic Spring. Play on, my friend.

Bill Eberle (g+): One important point, perhaps the most important point, of Cosmic Encounter is to break the rules. The idea of not discarding Negotiate cards is just that, a way to change some games by breaking one of the rules . . . a way to create even more possibilities because each set of aliens playing with that one rule change would be different than a game with the same set of aliens without that change.

Bill Eberle (fb): Play testing power ideas is the best way to discover "what actually happens" and improve a power. The set of powers for the current article are focused on powers that work on the decision about playing Attack vs. Negotiate. What are your ideas for new powers that focus on the Attack vs Negotiate decision? And what are your experiences during actual games with your power ideas?

Bill Eberle (fb): interesting discussion with Bernie DeKoven over on Google+ archived at ideabout.