In the quintessential neo-tradition of first-time game designer/publishers, Ironmark Games has successfully crowd-funded and released debut designer Mike Sette's rather fascinating little trick-taking game with a Ninja martial arts theme. San, Ni, Ichi, whose title translates from Japanese as "Three, Two, One," features simultaneous card play with a rock-paper-scissors resolution mechanic.
I ran the tournament for Pillars of the Earth (designers Michael
Rieneck and Stefan
Stadler, artists Michael Menzel, Anke
Pohl, and Thilo Rick; publisher Mayfair) at PrezCon again this year. This worker placement game is based thematically on the Ken Follett novel of the same name. Players compete to contribute the most to the construction of Kingsbridge Cathedral. They have at their disposal a team of unskilled workers for collecting sand, wood, and stone, and for working in the wool mill for money. Players can pay or recruit a team of up to five skilled craftsmen to use those raw materials to contribute to the cathedral's construction. Metal is also available but more difficult to come by.
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