inventing
daVinci-punk Hi-jinx
The first review of this ‘play anywhere, no surface required’ card game came from a ski lift. That’s pretty cool.
Set in a comprehensive anthro- ‘steampunk’ fantasy world the game’s two published decks brought four of many factions to the skies, in 143+ cards.
Dirigibles
Dirigibles
Dirigibles
Crew
Dirigibles
Dirigibles
Bots
Dirigibles
Events
Events
Dirigibles
Events
Field Guide for a Marooned Pilot
the World Defines the Game
It started as an oddball fantasy with anthropomorphic animals and retro 20’s sci-fi style bots 🤷♂️
And then Jinx got crafted. After that came the dirigibles and mechanical whatsits and thingamajigs, and the various oddball Realms became steampunk’d. Well, rather more daVinci-punked, because that seemed to fuse more harmoniously to the fantasy aspect of the world. It’s all Jinx’s fault if you think about it.
the Game Defines the Lore
And so it is that the needs of the game require certain things of the world. By the existence of such things as a head-to-head contest, so factions and dirigibles are defined. With three skills to choose from so there is Sailing, Guns, and Melee: attributes that inspire the kinds of crew for each ship. And with the need of a wildcard so we have Events and the varieties thereof.
Oh Lore, That Means We Need a Field Guide
It’s inevitable. It’s the law even. With all that worldcrafting going on, it’s only fair to let players in on the world, and a field guide was the way to do it.
The Kickstarter for the Pilot Set came with two field guides. One for a stranded pilot and the other as a sketchbook with various lore and development notes within. The lore even extended to the crew cards, with many names chosen by backers and followers online.
Pirates vs the Pendragon
“a light strategy ‘no surface required’ card game of hi-jinx and dirigible dogfights”
The Pilot Set was funded on Kickstarter in 2013 and fulfilled shortly after with its myriad of extra stuff.
It was a wild ride, but over a year of research and planning paid off and the game found its way into player’s hands.