Clout is all about the community, and what a great one we've got. Thanks to the Venture Team, clout will be supported at the following conventions next month:
Ghengis Con - Denver CO 2/15 - 2/17
OrcCon - Los Angeles CA 2/16-2/19
More to come... (I shipped 6 con kits, just don' t know the cons yet...)
-Adam!!!
Friday, January 26, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
Clout Organized Play '07 FAQ
This FAQ requires a certain amount of "in the know" on the part of the reader. If you can't make heads of tails of this, please feel free to write me at ventureteam@hiddencitygames.com for more general information on Clout, CLINCH, and the Venture Team.
Q: It's 2007, why do the Medallions still say 2006?
A: Well, the easy answer is we don't have new Medallion stickers yet. =-) Actually, the original CLINCH 'season' was to start with the release of Defenders of Undersea (originally scheduled for release in Feb '06) and end at Gen Con SoCal in November '06. CLINCH didn't actually get launched until April '06 so we pushed the Nationals and Worlds to Summer '07. The new CLINCH Medallions will probably say "2007-2008" or simply "Season 2". I like the year better as it frames the age of the Medallion.
Q: Why isn't there a new Pirate chip?
A: Originally, the first set of Promo Prize Chips (Set 1) was to last from the release of DoU until the release of RR. When RR came out, the set of chips you're just getting now (Set 2) was to be released. As it turned out, we used Set 1 at the launch with RR stealing the Set 2 pirate chip. We were to go on-press with Marvel in time to produce a new Set 2 pirate chip (plus Marvel Prize chips) in time for the January release of Set 2. Those chips will still be produced along with the Marvel set.
Q: I have extra prize chips. Can I still award them as prizes?
A: Of course! Particularly if your players still want them. If you'd rather shelve the old chips in favor of the new ones, that's fine too!
Q: 10 players just showed up to my tournament. Can I hold a Rally tournament right now?
A: If you have a Rally prize kit, you are free to hold your tournament any time you have enough players. I would really prefer that Rally events be announced in advance so players who are interested are less likely to miss the touranment. If you have the kit already, it would be acceptable to have a standing announcement that any time 10+ players show, a Rally tournament will be held in place of a normal Throw-Down.
-Adam!!!
Q: It's 2007, why do the Medallions still say 2006?
A: Well, the easy answer is we don't have new Medallion stickers yet. =-) Actually, the original CLINCH 'season' was to start with the release of Defenders of Undersea (originally scheduled for release in Feb '06) and end at Gen Con SoCal in November '06. CLINCH didn't actually get launched until April '06 so we pushed the Nationals and Worlds to Summer '07. The new CLINCH Medallions will probably say "2007-2008" or simply "Season 2". I like the year better as it frames the age of the Medallion.
Q: Why isn't there a new Pirate chip?
A: Originally, the first set of Promo Prize Chips (Set 1) was to last from the release of DoU until the release of RR. When RR came out, the set of chips you're just getting now (Set 2) was to be released. As it turned out, we used Set 1 at the launch with RR stealing the Set 2 pirate chip. We were to go on-press with Marvel in time to produce a new Set 2 pirate chip (plus Marvel Prize chips) in time for the January release of Set 2. Those chips will still be produced along with the Marvel set.
Q: I have extra prize chips. Can I still award them as prizes?
A: Of course! Particularly if your players still want them. If you'd rather shelve the old chips in favor of the new ones, that's fine too!
Q: 10 players just showed up to my tournament. Can I hold a Rally tournament right now?
A: If you have a Rally prize kit, you are free to hold your tournament any time you have enough players. I would really prefer that Rally events be announced in advance so players who are interested are less likely to miss the touranment. If you have the kit already, it would be acceptable to have a standing announcement that any time 10+ players show, a Rally tournament will be held in place of a normal Throw-Down.
-Adam!!!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
SNOW!!!
I love the snow. We've got about 4-5" and I couldn't be happier. Made a snowman, threw snowballs at my wife (she threw at me first!) and generally had fun with my 5-year old for as long as we could stand the cold.
Good times.
-Adam
Good times.
-Adam
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Happy New Year!
Hi everybody!
I told you I was working on things for 2007. As most of you know, the old tournament prize chips are no longer available with your tournament kits. Starting with next week’s mailing, there will be new prize chips for 6 of the 7 factions (new Pirate prize chips were to be produced with Marvel, darn it!). Also look to the bottom of this document for the new Venture Point Catalogue, including several international promo chips which I see no reason to keep around, gathering dust.
Warlord Kharn and I will continue to work on the Living Rulebook and I hope to have a new version of that done by the end of the month, taking all the comments from the Forum into account (which, of course, forces me to disregard about 49% of you…sigh) My goal with the Living Rulebook is to encourage the maximum amount of deck variety, reduce rules confusion, and make sure black doesn’t win everything all the time. =-) The LR will focus on tournament level rules rather than on ‘how to play’.
Everything listed below is for Venture Team Tournament events. Events you can run yourself in your store or even in your house. Things like Nationals and such, which will be run by HCG, are not included.
Comments are welcome. I’m working sans editor, so pointing out typos is even a good idea!
Adam "Wildcard" Conus
Venture Team 2007
CLINCH TOURNAMENT TYPES
Throw Down
Throw Down tournaments are the basic CLINCH tournament held by individual Venture Team organizers at local stores, clubs, and rec-rooms all over North America. Play format variety and creativity is encouraged for Throw-Down level events.
Requirements: Open Tournament, 6 player minimum
Judge Play?: Yes, if there are 9 or less players.
Play Formats: Any (1-on-1, multiplayer, team, Limited Faction Selection, Max Stacks, etc.)
Medallions: Winner : 3 Point Victory Medallion.
Faction Winner: 1 Point Faction Medallion.
Rally
The next level of CLINCH tournament. Rally events are roughly analogous to “qualifier” tournaments. Rally Tournaments may be held up to once per month by any tournament organizer provided the attendance requirements are met (subject to approval by the HCG OP Manager).
Requirements: Open Tournament, 10 player minimum
Judge Play?: No
Play Formats: 1-on-1 (strongly recommended)
Medallions: Winner : 4 Point Victory Medallion.
Faction Winner: 2 Point Faction Medallion.
Medalist
Medalist events are ‘invitational’ type events where only players who possess an adequate number and assortment of Medallions may participate. Medalist events should typically have better prizes than standard Clout tournaments. Medalist events may be held by HCG Staff or be arranged in advance for convention play or store play by experienced Venture Team Organizers.
Requirements: Standard Medalist Tournaments – 10 Points worth of Medallion to play.
Ace Medalist Tournament – 5 matching Medallions to play.
Judge Play?: No
Play Formats: 1-on-1 (strongly recommended)
Medallions: Winner : 4 Point Victory Medallion.
Faction Winner: 2 Point Faction Medallion.
Tournament Notes
Reporting
Reporting a CLINCH Tournament is worth 4 Venture Points. Reporting a non-CLINCH tournament is worth 3. Additional details about the tournament as well as suggestions are always welcome.
Too Few Players
If fewer than the required number of players attend an event, the event may be held and all non-Medallion prizes may be awarded.
Too Few Factions
If the required number of player attend, but there are still medallions remaining (in case all players play one color, for example.) the tournament organizer may keep the remaining medallions for themselves or save them for use as prizes in future tournaments.
Ties
In Clout, ties are ties. In a finals-type situation where a winner must be determined, a single game playoff should be played. If time does now allow a single game playoff, a single chip target toss for accuracy may also be used to break a tie.
One-on-One vs. Multiplayer and other Formats
Clout is, by design, a casual game placing fun above strict competition. As such, we’ve worked hard to stress a wide variety of light, fun, formats. This works fine at the Throw-Down level when the prizes are modest and the players (for the most part) know each other and are friends. Once the prizes increase, even as little as from Throw-Down to Rally, the intensity of play increases to a point where we recommend the standard 1-on-1 Clout format as the preferred format.
Holding your Own CLINCH Tournaments
All Venture Team members may request tournament support directly from Hidden City Games at no cost. We reserve the right to say no, but won’t do so without a good reason (example: we’re all out of what you’re asking for!) Please provide at least 2 weeks lead time on all tournament requests and 1 month lead time on all convention requests.
Requests must be sent via e-mail to ventureteam@hiddencitygames.com Please include:
Name:
Kit Requests:
# Item Requested
______ x Standard Throw-Down (max order 4 per month)
______ x Standard Rally (max order 1 per month)
______ x Six Playmats (max order 1 per month)
______ x T-Shirt (max order 1**)
______ x Give Away Promo ________________
______ x Rally Give Away Promo (w/Rally Event only) ___________
______ x Convention Kit* – Booster Prize
______ x Convention Kit* – Starter Prize
* Rally and Convention Kits available only to experienced Venture Team organizers. Date of event/s also required upon ordering.
** T-Shirts are generally limited to 1 per Venture Team member, at the discretion of the OP Manager
Prize Kits
Standard Throw-Down Prize Kit
Contents: 8 Throw-Down Medallions (1 Winner, 7 Faction)
8 Prize Chips (1 Winner, 7 Faction)
Standard Rally Prize Kit
Contents: 8 Rally Medallions (1 Winner, 7 Faction)
8 Prize Chips (1 Winner, 7 Faction)
Prize Kit Add-Ons
Six Playmats – Available with a request for 4 or more Tournament Kits.
Venture Team T-Shirts – Available with a request for 4 or more Tournament Kits (Limited Quantities Available, please specify size when requesting the shirt.)
20 Chip Give-Away Promos – Available with any Rally or Throw Down request. Combination of Helm of Leadership and Shrunken Heads to be given away to the players for attending the tournament.
20 Chip Rally Give-Away Promos – Available with any Rally or Special Event request. Mechanical Raven, Whale Call, Staff of Many Wonders. (I’ll always ship the chips, TO’s may request the specific chip, depending on availability.)
Convention Kits
Standard Convention Kit
Contents: 5x Standard Throw-Down Prize Kits
1x Standard Rally Prize Kit
3x Venture Team T-Shirt
50x Give Away Promos (Helm of Leadership or Shrunken Head)
50x Give Away/Prize Promos (M. Raven, W. Call, S. of Many Wonders)
Prize Product:
1 Box Base Set Boosters, 1 Box DoU Boosters, 1 Box RR Boosters
Or
1 Box Base Set Starters, 2 Boxes Base Set Boosters
Venture Prizes
Venture Points
Each Venture Team Member is awarded points based on their activities. These points accumulate and may be spend on a number of Items and Promo chip not available any other way. In addition, as Venture Team Members reach Venture Point milestones, special award chips are also periodically shipped as a reward for participation.
Venture Award Chips
These award chips are shipped out at no cost to the Venture Team Member upon reaching specific Venture Point milestones
1 Point – CF Scout
12 Points – CF Hunter
25 Points – CF Forrester
50 Points – CF Warden
100 Points – International Promo Chip
+50 Points thereafter – International Promo Chip
Venture Point General Store
Venture Point Purchase Requests should be sent to ventureteam@hiddencitygames.com
Allow up to 4 weeks to process and ship requests (they all get done at one time, one per month.)
This list replaces all previous Venture Point Spending lists.
Product
2 pts - One Booster Pack (Base Set, Defenders of Undersea, or Redbeard’s Revenge)
50pts – One Booster Display Box (Base Set, DoU, or RR)
5pts - One Pre-Constructed Stack
30pts – One Pre-Constructed Stack Box (8 stacks, DoU or RR)
5 pts – Clout “Chip Holder” Keychain
50pts – Clout Display Tray w/Bag of misc. Chips
Chips
5 pts – Additional Award Chip* (CF Scout, Hunter, Forrester, or Warden)
5 pts – Season 1 CLINCH US Promo Chip Set
(Mechanical Raven, Cunning, Sunken Skull, Whale Call, Staff of Many Wonders)
10 pts – Season 1 CLINCH Prize Chip Set (8 Chips)
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Mercenary Sorcerer
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Distraction
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Mirage Projector
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Baliste (Ballista)
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – War Gods Banner
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Double Strike
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Lame Rotanti (Whirling Blades)
100 pts – Complete International Doom Chip Set (10 Chips)
* CF Award Chips only available to players who’ve already earned their first copy.
All items are subject to availability.
I told you I was working on things for 2007. As most of you know, the old tournament prize chips are no longer available with your tournament kits. Starting with next week’s mailing, there will be new prize chips for 6 of the 7 factions (new Pirate prize chips were to be produced with Marvel, darn it!). Also look to the bottom of this document for the new Venture Point Catalogue, including several international promo chips which I see no reason to keep around, gathering dust.
Warlord Kharn and I will continue to work on the Living Rulebook and I hope to have a new version of that done by the end of the month, taking all the comments from the Forum into account (which, of course, forces me to disregard about 49% of you…sigh) My goal with the Living Rulebook is to encourage the maximum amount of deck variety, reduce rules confusion, and make sure black doesn’t win everything all the time. =-) The LR will focus on tournament level rules rather than on ‘how to play’.
Everything listed below is for Venture Team Tournament events. Events you can run yourself in your store or even in your house. Things like Nationals and such, which will be run by HCG, are not included.
Comments are welcome. I’m working sans editor, so pointing out typos is even a good idea!
Adam "Wildcard" Conus
Venture Team 2007
CLINCH TOURNAMENT TYPES
Throw Down
Throw Down tournaments are the basic CLINCH tournament held by individual Venture Team organizers at local stores, clubs, and rec-rooms all over North America. Play format variety and creativity is encouraged for Throw-Down level events.
Requirements: Open Tournament, 6 player minimum
Judge Play?: Yes, if there are 9 or less players.
Play Formats: Any (1-on-1, multiplayer, team, Limited Faction Selection, Max Stacks, etc.)
Medallions: Winner : 3 Point Victory Medallion.
Faction Winner: 1 Point Faction Medallion.
Rally
The next level of CLINCH tournament. Rally events are roughly analogous to “qualifier” tournaments. Rally Tournaments may be held up to once per month by any tournament organizer provided the attendance requirements are met (subject to approval by the HCG OP Manager).
Requirements: Open Tournament, 10 player minimum
Judge Play?: No
Play Formats: 1-on-1 (strongly recommended)
Medallions: Winner : 4 Point Victory Medallion.
Faction Winner: 2 Point Faction Medallion.
Medalist
Medalist events are ‘invitational’ type events where only players who possess an adequate number and assortment of Medallions may participate. Medalist events should typically have better prizes than standard Clout tournaments. Medalist events may be held by HCG Staff or be arranged in advance for convention play or store play by experienced Venture Team Organizers.
Requirements: Standard Medalist Tournaments – 10 Points worth of Medallion to play.
Ace Medalist Tournament – 5 matching Medallions to play.
Judge Play?: No
Play Formats: 1-on-1 (strongly recommended)
Medallions: Winner : 4 Point Victory Medallion.
Faction Winner: 2 Point Faction Medallion.
Tournament Notes
Reporting
Reporting a CLINCH Tournament is worth 4 Venture Points. Reporting a non-CLINCH tournament is worth 3. Additional details about the tournament as well as suggestions are always welcome.
Too Few Players
If fewer than the required number of players attend an event, the event may be held and all non-Medallion prizes may be awarded.
Too Few Factions
If the required number of player attend, but there are still medallions remaining (in case all players play one color, for example.) the tournament organizer may keep the remaining medallions for themselves or save them for use as prizes in future tournaments.
Ties
In Clout, ties are ties. In a finals-type situation where a winner must be determined, a single game playoff should be played. If time does now allow a single game playoff, a single chip target toss for accuracy may also be used to break a tie.
One-on-One vs. Multiplayer and other Formats
Clout is, by design, a casual game placing fun above strict competition. As such, we’ve worked hard to stress a wide variety of light, fun, formats. This works fine at the Throw-Down level when the prizes are modest and the players (for the most part) know each other and are friends. Once the prizes increase, even as little as from Throw-Down to Rally, the intensity of play increases to a point where we recommend the standard 1-on-1 Clout format as the preferred format.
Holding your Own CLINCH Tournaments
All Venture Team members may request tournament support directly from Hidden City Games at no cost. We reserve the right to say no, but won’t do so without a good reason (example: we’re all out of what you’re asking for!) Please provide at least 2 weeks lead time on all tournament requests and 1 month lead time on all convention requests.
Requests must be sent via e-mail to ventureteam@hiddencitygames.com Please include:
Name:
Kit Requests:
# Item Requested
______ x Standard Throw-Down (max order 4 per month)
______ x Standard Rally (max order 1 per month)
______ x Six Playmats (max order 1 per month)
______ x T-Shirt (max order 1**)
______ x Give Away Promo ________________
______ x Rally Give Away Promo (w/Rally Event only) ___________
______ x Convention Kit* – Booster Prize
______ x Convention Kit* – Starter Prize
* Rally and Convention Kits available only to experienced Venture Team organizers. Date of event/s also required upon ordering.
** T-Shirts are generally limited to 1 per Venture Team member, at the discretion of the OP Manager
Prize Kits
Standard Throw-Down Prize Kit
Contents: 8 Throw-Down Medallions (1 Winner, 7 Faction)
8 Prize Chips (1 Winner, 7 Faction)
Standard Rally Prize Kit
Contents: 8 Rally Medallions (1 Winner, 7 Faction)
8 Prize Chips (1 Winner, 7 Faction)
Prize Kit Add-Ons
Six Playmats – Available with a request for 4 or more Tournament Kits.
Venture Team T-Shirts – Available with a request for 4 or more Tournament Kits (Limited Quantities Available, please specify size when requesting the shirt.)
20 Chip Give-Away Promos – Available with any Rally or Throw Down request. Combination of Helm of Leadership and Shrunken Heads to be given away to the players for attending the tournament.
20 Chip Rally Give-Away Promos – Available with any Rally or Special Event request. Mechanical Raven, Whale Call, Staff of Many Wonders. (I’ll always ship the chips, TO’s may request the specific chip, depending on availability.)
Convention Kits
Standard Convention Kit
Contents: 5x Standard Throw-Down Prize Kits
1x Standard Rally Prize Kit
3x Venture Team T-Shirt
50x Give Away Promos (Helm of Leadership or Shrunken Head)
50x Give Away/Prize Promos (M. Raven, W. Call, S. of Many Wonders)
Prize Product:
1 Box Base Set Boosters, 1 Box DoU Boosters, 1 Box RR Boosters
Or
1 Box Base Set Starters, 2 Boxes Base Set Boosters
Venture Prizes
Venture Points
Each Venture Team Member is awarded points based on their activities. These points accumulate and may be spend on a number of Items and Promo chip not available any other way. In addition, as Venture Team Members reach Venture Point milestones, special award chips are also periodically shipped as a reward for participation.
Venture Award Chips
These award chips are shipped out at no cost to the Venture Team Member upon reaching specific Venture Point milestones
1 Point – CF Scout
12 Points – CF Hunter
25 Points – CF Forrester
50 Points – CF Warden
100 Points – International Promo Chip
+50 Points thereafter – International Promo Chip
Venture Point General Store
Venture Point Purchase Requests should be sent to ventureteam@hiddencitygames.com
Allow up to 4 weeks to process and ship requests (they all get done at one time, one per month.)
This list replaces all previous Venture Point Spending lists.
Product
2 pts - One Booster Pack (Base Set, Defenders of Undersea, or Redbeard’s Revenge)
50pts – One Booster Display Box (Base Set, DoU, or RR)
5pts - One Pre-Constructed Stack
30pts – One Pre-Constructed Stack Box (8 stacks, DoU or RR)
5 pts – Clout “Chip Holder” Keychain
50pts – Clout Display Tray w/Bag of misc. Chips
Chips
5 pts – Additional Award Chip* (CF Scout, Hunter, Forrester, or Warden)
5 pts – Season 1 CLINCH US Promo Chip Set
(Mechanical Raven, Cunning, Sunken Skull, Whale Call, Staff of Many Wonders)
10 pts – Season 1 CLINCH Prize Chip Set (8 Chips)
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Mercenary Sorcerer
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Distraction
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Mirage Projector
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Baliste (Ballista)
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – War Gods Banner
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Double Strike
25 pts. – International Promo Chip – Lame Rotanti (Whirling Blades)
100 pts – Complete International Doom Chip Set (10 Chips)
* CF Award Chips only available to players who’ve already earned their first copy.
All items are subject to availability.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Clout Fans are Amazing!
The responses to the last post in my e-mail have been, well, really really terrific. What a great bunch of people we've gathered together (online, anyway!) for the express purpose of having fun for fun's sake.
M: What's that make us?
Z: Big damn heroes, sir.
M: Aint we just!
(Expect a lot of Firefly quotes from me in the next few weeks!)
-Adam!!!
M: What's that make us?
Z: Big damn heroes, sir.
M: Aint we just!
(Expect a lot of Firefly quotes from me in the next few weeks!)
-Adam!!!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Clout, no Clout, more Clout, and Horses
Hi everybody,
Let start with some Clout news. Some not great Clout news.
Clout is essentially on hold for the time being. Right now Hidden City Games only has the staff and resources to support one product and that product is Bella Sara, a horse themed card/web game aimed at younger girls. Say what you like about this, it’s turning out to be a good choice because we’re having trouble keeping Bella Sara on shelves. There’s been a lot of concern that we’ll be dropping Clout in favor of Bella Sara, which is a fair concern, but not what we’re doing. We’ve got two Clout expansions more or less in the can, Clout Marvel Heroes, and the third Clout Fantasy expansion. Assuming Bella Sara is a success, it is our plan to launch Clout Marvel Heroes in the summer, run nationals and worlds as planned, and generally do all things I’ve been planning on doing for the last year. If Bella Sara isn’t a success…well…let’s not go there. =-)
What we are doing:
All organized play programs will be fully supported. In fact, Tuesday December 19th will be the last tournament kit mailing of the year and also the last tournament kit mailing with the current batch of prize chips. That’s right, starting in January I have 7 brand new prize chips for your Clout tournaments (why not 8, well I don’t have a new Pirate chip. It was to be printed with Marvel…sorry!)
Enhanced tournament support for conventions. Part of the ‘belt-tightening’ has our convention scheduled nearly cancelled, but that doesn’t mean we can't support those of you who’d like to attend the shows on our behalf. I’ve got a couple of different Convention kit builds (depending on your needs) and I can send those out to active VDT members upon request. I’ve also got a better system for keeping track of conventions, so I don’t miss any more shipments.
More events like the Turkey Shoot. Without a huge number of new chips for variety, I want to introduce new playing formats that stress different aspects and strategies for Clout. We’ve already got a number of great ideas on the table, and I want to run the next Turkey Shoot style event in February (a groundhog day themed event?). I’m looking for these ideas to come from fans, just like the Turkey Shoot did. If you have a great idea, let me know. It DOESN’T have to be holiday themed. In fact, I’d prefer it not be!
I’m working on all new tournament rules as well as a tournament rulebook, more detailed than the current rulebook with a lot of the clarifications players have been requesting (and a couple of the changes.) I’ll be working on that after the holidays, so expect that to be rolled out late January.
When it rains…it does pour a bit:
While it has nothing to do with what’s going on, I misjudged my demo kit supplies, and as such I don’t have the ability to build and ship any more demo kits (technically I could build one more kit, but it hardly seems worth it.) I only discovered this Tuesday, when I went to build and ship the current kit requests. If you have requested a kit, I won’t be shipping any more until I can print more inserts, again, after the holidays.
If you have questions, concerns, or just want to yell at me for not making Clout the “must produce” game on our schedule, I’m right here.
Merry Christmas!!!
Adam "Wildcard" Conus
Let start with some Clout news. Some not great Clout news.
Clout is essentially on hold for the time being. Right now Hidden City Games only has the staff and resources to support one product and that product is Bella Sara, a horse themed card/web game aimed at younger girls. Say what you like about this, it’s turning out to be a good choice because we’re having trouble keeping Bella Sara on shelves. There’s been a lot of concern that we’ll be dropping Clout in favor of Bella Sara, which is a fair concern, but not what we’re doing. We’ve got two Clout expansions more or less in the can, Clout Marvel Heroes, and the third Clout Fantasy expansion. Assuming Bella Sara is a success, it is our plan to launch Clout Marvel Heroes in the summer, run nationals and worlds as planned, and generally do all things I’ve been planning on doing for the last year. If Bella Sara isn’t a success…well…let’s not go there. =-)
What we are doing:
All organized play programs will be fully supported. In fact, Tuesday December 19th will be the last tournament kit mailing of the year and also the last tournament kit mailing with the current batch of prize chips. That’s right, starting in January I have 7 brand new prize chips for your Clout tournaments (why not 8, well I don’t have a new Pirate chip. It was to be printed with Marvel…sorry!)
Enhanced tournament support for conventions. Part of the ‘belt-tightening’ has our convention scheduled nearly cancelled, but that doesn’t mean we can't support those of you who’d like to attend the shows on our behalf. I’ve got a couple of different Convention kit builds (depending on your needs) and I can send those out to active VDT members upon request. I’ve also got a better system for keeping track of conventions, so I don’t miss any more shipments.
More events like the Turkey Shoot. Without a huge number of new chips for variety, I want to introduce new playing formats that stress different aspects and strategies for Clout. We’ve already got a number of great ideas on the table, and I want to run the next Turkey Shoot style event in February (a groundhog day themed event?). I’m looking for these ideas to come from fans, just like the Turkey Shoot did. If you have a great idea, let me know. It DOESN’T have to be holiday themed. In fact, I’d prefer it not be!
I’m working on all new tournament rules as well as a tournament rulebook, more detailed than the current rulebook with a lot of the clarifications players have been requesting (and a couple of the changes.) I’ll be working on that after the holidays, so expect that to be rolled out late January.
When it rains…it does pour a bit:
While it has nothing to do with what’s going on, I misjudged my demo kit supplies, and as such I don’t have the ability to build and ship any more demo kits (technically I could build one more kit, but it hardly seems worth it.) I only discovered this Tuesday, when I went to build and ship the current kit requests. If you have requested a kit, I won’t be shipping any more until I can print more inserts, again, after the holidays.
If you have questions, concerns, or just want to yell at me for not making Clout the “must produce” game on our schedule, I’m right here.
Merry Christmas!!!
Adam "Wildcard" Conus
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Something sad, today.
Comic book illustrator Dave Cockrum died, Sunday:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/28/comic.death.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
=-(
-Adam!!!
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/28/comic.death.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
=-(
-Adam!!!
Monday, November 27, 2006
New Year, New Prize Chips!
December will be the last opportunity to get the original CLINCH Promo Prize Chips for your CLINCH Tournaments*
When Hidden City Games returns from Holiday Break after New Years, there will be a new set of Prize Chips included with your CLINCH Throw-Down Tournament Kits. If you want to get a head start on guessing what the chips do, the art for the chips can be found on the Rally Medallions.
I'll be accepting requests for kits with the current prize chips for the next few weeks, but the clock's ticking.
* Sadly, a new Pirate chip was never produced, so the same 'ol tired Pirate prize chip remains in the set. The original chips will remain available as additional prize support for tournaments run by Hidden City Games. They will also be available to Venture Demo Team members for purchase with their Venture Points.
-Adam!!!
When Hidden City Games returns from Holiday Break after New Years, there will be a new set of Prize Chips included with your CLINCH Throw-Down Tournament Kits. If you want to get a head start on guessing what the chips do, the art for the chips can be found on the Rally Medallions.
I'll be accepting requests for kits with the current prize chips for the next few weeks, but the clock's ticking.
* Sadly, a new Pirate chip was never produced, so the same 'ol tired Pirate prize chip remains in the set. The original chips will remain available as additional prize support for tournaments run by Hidden City Games. They will also be available to Venture Demo Team members for purchase with their Venture Points.
-Adam!!!
Gen Con So-SoCal?
The content of this post is completely colored by the fact I just spilled spagetti sauce down the front of my shirt...my NICE SHIRT! BAH!
After a year of running convention tournaments, you'd think I'd be better at it. I mean, I do fine, but it's rough when you realize you aren't doing it at the same level as the other companies around you. I'll wager Clout players had as much if not more fun than anyone else, but the attendance numbers don't lie. It was a small-ish show with small tournaments. Why?
First, Gen Con SoCal is a small-ish convention. It feels like it wants to be huge (I think because its format copies the huge Gen Con Indy, as it should) but it's not huge. Thursday, in particular, was dead dead dead. To be fair, Saturday had it going on.
Second, I have been long been confusing casual with minimalist. I have intentionally kept the complexity and logistics of running Clout convention events to a minimum. The computers and loudspeakers and podiums and over-the-top decor of the other companies are not only expensive, but, I felt, a distraction from the fun of the game. Those things are a good choice for *their* games, sure. Not what I wanted for Clout. This was sort of a mistake. Sort of. Clout needs DIFFERENT tools, decor, communication tools, etc. to succeed at conventions. What it needs exactly, I'm not sure of yet. If I could swing it, there'd be sofas and round coffee tables surrounding the tournament tables, and large magnetic boards keeping track of points and standings for all to see. And a ICEE machine. Ooh yeah, that'd be perfect. All Con tournaments should come with refreshments. It's stupid that they don't. Could you imagine filling out your Pizza order along with your stack registration so it'd be delivered between round 3 and 4? We'd just charge and extra couple of bucks for the tournament to pay for it. Yeah.
Lastly (and this is going to sound bitter, because I am a little.) all the publishers seemed to get creamed by Upper Deck's World of Warcraft TCG. I just want to say for the record: I DON'T GET IT. It's so been done. Fantasy TCG, big prizes, nice licence. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. I don't see the appeal. Don't get me wrong, the game's fine. Paul says they followed the WoW model for MMRPGs and built a TCG that didn't have anything wrong with it. Perfected the existing TCG model, as it were. That flies in the face of my "innovate or die" worldview, so I'm ticked that it's working so well for them. I *think* WoW TCG is a product with a short lifespan, because it has brought nothing new to the table. As soon as somebody does innovate in a way that registers with gamers, they'll move on. Even so, I'd kill to have buzz like they've got. If nobody does innovate soon, it follows they'll have a good long run with it. If so, good for them! (grumble grumble.)
Anyway, it's good to be back home. I'm catching up with e-mail as I often must do following conventions and holidays (particularly when they butt up against eachother!)
Until next time,
-Adam!!!
After a year of running convention tournaments, you'd think I'd be better at it. I mean, I do fine, but it's rough when you realize you aren't doing it at the same level as the other companies around you. I'll wager Clout players had as much if not more fun than anyone else, but the attendance numbers don't lie. It was a small-ish show with small tournaments. Why?
First, Gen Con SoCal is a small-ish convention. It feels like it wants to be huge (I think because its format copies the huge Gen Con Indy, as it should) but it's not huge. Thursday, in particular, was dead dead dead. To be fair, Saturday had it going on.
Second, I have been long been confusing casual with minimalist. I have intentionally kept the complexity and logistics of running Clout convention events to a minimum. The computers and loudspeakers and podiums and over-the-top decor of the other companies are not only expensive, but, I felt, a distraction from the fun of the game. Those things are a good choice for *their* games, sure. Not what I wanted for Clout. This was sort of a mistake. Sort of. Clout needs DIFFERENT tools, decor, communication tools, etc. to succeed at conventions. What it needs exactly, I'm not sure of yet. If I could swing it, there'd be sofas and round coffee tables surrounding the tournament tables, and large magnetic boards keeping track of points and standings for all to see. And a ICEE machine. Ooh yeah, that'd be perfect. All Con tournaments should come with refreshments. It's stupid that they don't. Could you imagine filling out your Pizza order along with your stack registration so it'd be delivered between round 3 and 4? We'd just charge and extra couple of bucks for the tournament to pay for it. Yeah.
Lastly (and this is going to sound bitter, because I am a little.) all the publishers seemed to get creamed by Upper Deck's World of Warcraft TCG. I just want to say for the record: I DON'T GET IT. It's so been done. Fantasy TCG, big prizes, nice licence. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. I don't see the appeal. Don't get me wrong, the game's fine. Paul says they followed the WoW model for MMRPGs and built a TCG that didn't have anything wrong with it. Perfected the existing TCG model, as it were. That flies in the face of my "innovate or die" worldview, so I'm ticked that it's working so well for them. I *think* WoW TCG is a product with a short lifespan, because it has brought nothing new to the table. As soon as somebody does innovate in a way that registers with gamers, they'll move on. Even so, I'd kill to have buzz like they've got. If nobody does innovate soon, it follows they'll have a good long run with it. If so, good for them! (grumble grumble.)
Anyway, it's good to be back home. I'm catching up with e-mail as I often must do following conventions and holidays (particularly when they butt up against eachother!)
Until next time,
-Adam!!!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Gen Con SoCal good / 3-player games bad
As is normal for a convention, I'm getting back to a mountain of e-mail (only 67 flagged for follow, and a lot of them are internal e-mails. Phew!)
As most everyone knows, we were going to have a booth at Gen Con SoCal and at the last minute we pulled the plug. It was all there, in the back, just no people to put it together or maintain it. The amazing Gabe "Mondo" Vega allowed us some space in his booth in exchange for helping staff it. That allowed many demos to de done as well as gave the new players a place to purchase Clout. Again, Phew!
My job, of course, was to run the tournaments and run the tournament I did. Thursday was dead dead dead. Through event registration mishap we only had one event scheduled, but it was only attended by 5 players, so having one event seemed reasonable. Aside from Thursday we averaged about 14 players per tournament. Without a booth, I'm pretty satisfied with that. It was doubly hard because of the all the attention going to the World of Warcraft TCG. Heck, even Paul spent a day playing it! (Research, I think he said. =-)
I've about had it with 3 player games. They are hard to judge, hard to make matchups over several rounds, and when there are prizes on the line, people get steamed about getting ganged up upon. I heard many complaints about the format over the course of the tournament, so I may not host any more 3 player tournaments with meaningful prizes. Fun is fun, prizes, even modest ones like I provide, change the dynamics dramatically and not in a way that works well with 3 player multi.
I want to give special thanks to Daniel, Ben, and Stephen who came and volunteers all weekend as well as Craig who came and ran the Dragon Invitational on Sunday while I ran demoes and packed up the mountain of stuff we had stored in the back. I couldn't have done it without you! You guys ROCK!
I also want to thank April and the whole group of SoCal Clout players for the wonderful card they gave me. I was really, really touched. I can't believe how lucky I am to such wonderful people in my life. I wish I could hang out with you all more!
Derak won the Saturday night Clout Dragon Invitational! Contgrats Derak!
Chris won the Sunday Dragon Invitational but I bugged out too quick to take a picture. My bad!
-Adam!!!
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Vacation with the Mouse
I freely admit I should have told more people I was going on Vacation, but since I was only missing Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, I didn't think I'd be missed. =-)
You've got to hand it to Disney. In a lot of ways, I'm in the same buisness they are. We both sell fun. The Disneyland fun machine is a work of art (literally, in a lot of ways.) I know it's not the same for everyone, but as soon as I walk through the tunnel onto Main Street USA, I've got a huge smile on my face. Part of it is nostalgia. I first went to Disneyland in 1976, for the bicentennial celebration. I was 6. The sights, the sounds, and particularly (this may sound weird) the smells of Disneyland bring me right back to the best parts of my childhood. I don't know if its the same for folks who go for the first time as adults, but from the smiles, I'd say it's still pretty good. If you have a 5-10 year old, and you can afford to go to Disneyland or Disneyworld, GO. They'll love it now, and they'll love it again in 20-30 years when they take their children.
If you went to Disneyland as a kid like I did, and want to relive some of those memories check out my favorite Disney fan site, Yesterland.
-Adam!!!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Server Reconstruction!
I've got e-mail again! I know a lot of stuff got bounced. I have no e-mail from Saturday through Monday. If you're not sure if a message got through or not, go ahead and resend. When I get behind like this, I group messaged by sender. If you request the same thing twice, I'll catch it!
Thanks!
-Adam
Thanks!
-Adam
Server Destruction
Hidden City Game's e-mail server died a couple of days ago and I've been without e-mail all week. It *should* be fixed today, but the inability to get the files I need have delayed the Turkey Shoot kit construction. I'm still shipping this week, but not in time for this weekend. I hope nobody was planning a Turkey Shoot event this week. The plan is to ship them out USPS First Class by Friday, and they should arrive by next weekend.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Bella Sara is GO!
With test market launches in Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle ,HCG is soon to be something more than just the Clout company! Warning! If you're a die-hard gamer that bleeds Mountain Dew, this may be a bit of a shock:
www.bellasara.com
I've been aked to help with the web site's games and such. I hope I can find the time!
-Adam!!!
www.bellasara.com
I've been aked to help with the web site's games and such. I hope I can find the time!
-Adam!!!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Up, Up, and Away
This graph shows the total event attendance over the last year. WooHoo!
April 133
May 334
June 124
July 285
August 483
September 608
Holiday Happenings!
Happy Halloween! My birthday is October 30th, so Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. Pirate King kicked off the spooky season early with his Orange and Black Tournament, and now AIM in Pittsburgh is running one. I supplied both events with Rally-Level Medallions for the winner, as well as for Goblins and Undead.The response to November's Holiday Turkey shoot has been tremendous, and with good reason. The idea came from Brian Wildrick and Lucio "mndwrm" Rodriguez and some amazing turkey art has been provided by Bobby "Pirate King" Doran. This Throw-Down level event is available to all Venture Demo Team members who want to run it.
Before the tournament starts, each player receives his or her three Turkey
chips.
Turkeys are all thrown into the play area prior to the start of the
game. Pick a player to go first and toss the turkeys, one at a time, going
clockwise around the table (as normal.) In a two player game, if a turkey is
thrown off the table, the turkey’s Clout value is added to the opponent’s score
at the end of the game. In a 3+player game, the turkey is re-thrown by the
next player, in addition to the turkey he or she would normally throw. Once all
the turkeys have been thrown into the play area, game begins as normal.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Gen Con SoCal
If you've been living under a Rock, Gen Con SoCal is coming!
THURSDAY 11/16
11 AM Clout Starter Tournament $3 – 3 hrs
FRIDAY 11/17
11 AM Clout Starter Tournament $3 – 3 hrs
2 PM Clout Rally Clinch $3 – 3 hrs
6 PM Clout Rally Clinch $3 – 3 hrs
SATURDAY 11/18
11 AM Clout Starter Tournament $3 – 3 hrs
2 PM Clout Rally Clinch $3 – 3 hrs
6 PM Clout Invitational $3 – 4 hrs
SUNDAY 11/19
11 AM Clout Invitational $3 – 4 hrs
All events except the Starter Tournaments will be CLINCH Rally-Level Tournaments. For players who know the game and want additional Medallions, I will run Throw-Down tournaments during the Starter Tournament slots if there is interest. Purchase event tickets as if you were attending the Starter Tournament.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Video Killed The Radio Star
Is this the coolest video I've seen...ever?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeEnrxdRnUE
Okay, not Battlestar Galactica cool, but still pretty cool!
-Adam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeEnrxdRnUE
Okay, not Battlestar Galactica cool, but still pretty cool!
-Adam
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Another Wildcard Weekend
I didn't compete this week, but I was the lone judge of the combat robotics portion of the show
That's right. Winners and Losers were decided at my whim (and a complex set of judging criteria.) The FOOLS!
Check out the photos of Robothon 2006. I'm the chubby guy in the red and black shirt.
-Adam!!!
That's right. Winners and Losers were decided at my whim (and a complex set of judging criteria.) The FOOLS!
Check out the photos of Robothon 2006. I'm the chubby guy in the red and black shirt.
-Adam!!!
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