Old chestnut
Today, the shipping of 51st State: Ultimate Edition has begun. It’s another iteration of the game. Another reason for jokes, another reason for complaining, another reason to mention that I am the master of old chestnuts and that I am selling the same thing over and over again. And I generally agree with this. I generally see a lot of sense in this. What sets me apart from those who make fun of me is the perception. Some of you think that I should be ashamed that I’m selling the same over and over again. For me, on the contrary, this is a reason for pride. Let me explain!
51st State was released in 2010. The game was well received, although fans complained about the lack of interaction. I took the rules, shook them up, changed this and that, and in 2011 the expansion (that was also a stand-alone game ) appeared – The New Era. Great reception, interaction fixed, so in 2012, the next one appeared – Winter. In the following years, the Scavengers add-on was released, and the number of fans did not decrease. The game’s print run was exhausted, so we finally decided to take all these expansions, throw them into one box and make 51st State: Master Set. It came out; people liked it, and they played and praised it. So we made more expansions, Allies, Moloch, the group of fans still stood faithfully by the game. The print run, meanwhile, was long exhausted. So we decided again, let’s throw all the content into one box and reprint again. Now under the name 51st State: Ultimate edition! Another few thousand fans will discover this system and will build their empires. And that’s what we did, 51st State: Ultimate Edition was put on a crowdfunding platform and made a great success. Now, in a few days, more fans will discover this game.
For some of you, I’m still the old chestnut dude. And for others? And for others, I am the author of the game that, 13 years after its release, is still one of the best engine builders on the market, still has a loyal group of fans, and still thousands of people want to add it to their collection. So, false modesty aside, maybe this is an old chestnut, but man, this is a freaking awesome one.
I strongly believe that good board game is the one that tells a good story. You play it and suddenly you are sucked into it, you feel chills on the skin. Emotions grow. In a moment you defend castle. You hear roar of warriors. You smell boiling oil. You are into it.
That's how I design my games. I always want to tell a good story. I want players to be into it. As deep as possible.
I couldn’t agree more, however I will change my mind if someday, someone will announce The 51st State – Christmas Edition.
By the way, I’m waiting for my copy of Ultimate Edition upgrade pack and looking forward to play it before I move all the stuff to new location.