Theo

[Theo]

Steve's point is actually very good (good to hear from you buddy), Michael was working for West End Games at the time and I was an avid gamer. I didn't and really, and still don't love the poker/venture aspect of the game, but it was easy to learn, made for a fun game and the venture piece added a nice bit of strategy. Bill's exact phrase to us was "Make me a game with the complexity of chess that you could teach to a 10 year old in 10 minutes." A tall order and one we did not quite achieve to be honest. In the end, the game was a blend of the mechanics Michael and I stared with, massaged significantly through input from Steve, Ron and Bill over about 9 months of meetings and play test sessions. The game as it ended up was well suited to the target market and fun which in my book makes it successful.

[gameplan.exe]

you know, I've never been interested in any other CCGs, not even in the slightest. What always appealed to me was the simplicity of this game. It was that simplicity that allowed me to really enjoy the characters and the fantasy of having Colossus throw a Haymaker, only to have Cable Bodyslide out of the way!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again here; this game feels SO much like an old-school RPG! It has that same simple-to-complex sliding scale. On the base level, you just need to know simple math. On the more advanced level, it's about prep, balance, timing, synergy, etc etc etc.

I'll be forever grateful to the makers of this game, however it came about