So, Now What?

This has been a rather surreal week.

Over a week ago, last Monday to be exact, I started my new job as Director of Conquistador Games, a company that develops and publishes boardgames. If you have been reading No High Scores for any length of time, you know we’re all boardgamers to some degree — from the fanatical to the Brandon. So the idea of running the day to day of a company that deals in boardgames…well that’s something I couldn’t pass up.

However over the past week or so, I have played precisely zero videogames. Well, that’s not entirely true: I am still playing my online Summoner Wars matches, but that’s it. I remain hooked on that game despite my ineptness. It’s very odd — these types of tactical games are normally right in the sweet spot of the bat for me, but I continue to lose a LOT. I think I’m 8-15? I’m a friend list target.

My Xbox hasn’t been turned on in two weeks. My PC has been used solely for Firefox, Adode InDesign, Word, and Email.

(Again I am technically lying as I continue to run our OOTP 13 baseball league.)

But for the first time since the Clinton years, I spent a week that I wasn’t on vacation not following the videogame industry in any way, shape or form. If anything went down last week — I missed it. I am somewhat grateful to the fact that it remains a downtime for new releases and Steam Sale aside, there isn’t a lot going on at the moment. That will certainly change in August.

Dark Souls on the PC. Enough said.

But what does the Director of a new game company actually do? Yeah, see, I wasn’t sure either. Turns out, so far at least, a little bit of everything.

Still, it was a bit strange not playing anything plugged into a wall.

I certainly played a lot of stuff this week, though, all in cardboard and plastic form. Over the past week I have playtested The New Science (our latest game that is currently still in development), taught people how to play Lancaster (a brilliant worker placement Euro), lost a game of Olympos (got crushed actually), watched helplessly as my monster got trounced in King of Tokyo, and tried out the new Leaders expansion for 7 Wonders. I also traded Quarriors for yet another worker placement game called Fresco. Hooray! I have been in a serious Eurogame mode of late. It’s like Barnes and his JRPG thing. Hard to explain.

Oh, and I also taught myself how to play Macao.

So, a Director just plays boardgames all day!

OK, not really. There is much to be done and I have been exceedingly busy, which is why I haven’t been posting much.That WILL change once I start playing games again but in the meantime:

• The CQ website needs an overhaul. I am starting to learn the CMS but there’s a lot of work to be done here from basic updating with our current designs to getting the store to work.
• I have been editing The New Science manual, which is another high priority as the game nears completion. If CQ Games has bad instruction manuals, well, we can’t have that.
• We’re also getting another Kickstarter campaign, this time for The New Science, prepared for the coming weeks.
• We are also gearing up for WBC and getting the Kickstarter orders for Road to Enlightenment ready to go. This is going to be a long trip but I’m looking forward to it.
• Speaking of — if you are in the Lancaster, PA area on August 3rd or 4th stop by the Academy Games booth. We are sharing their booth this year at the Con and I’ll be there in full Company Man mode, talking Road to Enlightenment and we may also be showing off Pocket Armies: Red Storm.

So a rather busy week. This does not include a trip to a chiropractor in yet another attempt to fix my neck/arm/hand nerve issues. That was wild. I have never heard my neck crack like that.

But I will close with puppies.

Jack and Monty came home last night and we have some great pictures of the little devils. They are full brothers and have been a blast so far. We have been visiting them for the past month so they already know us to some degree.

Little brown furballs of awesome.