Author Archives: JW Gray

Legend of Vivian Video Game RPG

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vivian17b_smWe have developed a video game RPG, The Legend of Vivian. The game is inspired by the King Arthur stories. You start the game as Vivian, the Lady of the Lake. It is a JRPG-style video game with similarities to Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and Octopath Traveler. The game is complete*, but we need play testers!

*Version 0.55. It is a complete rough draft. It has been extensively playtested, but more is needed.

If you want to try the game out for free, let us know using our Crazier Eights contact form. The game is in a Google Drive folder, which will have updated versions of the game. Continue reading →

Myths & Magic

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back myths and magic smWe have finished two very different prototypes for Myths & Magic, a fantasy card game. Making your own deck can be a good way to play the game, but it is not a “deck building game” at this point insofar as you make the game before the game begins. It’s enough cards to be a trading card game, but it will probably be released as a cube that can be used to make decks or run deck construction events, such as draft or “sealed” events.

The main inspiration of the game is to have four very different win conditions — it is a game almost entirely based on “alternate win conditions.” Each color focuses on certain types of win conditions, such as controlling enough characters (mainly for red). The default win condition is to cause opponents to have zero cards in their draw pile. If anyone runs out of cards in their draw pile, they lose the game. That is the main focus of purple cards. Continue reading →

Tabletop Gaming Etiquette

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James Gray, December 5, 2009 – May 11, 2021.

Introduction

This is a guide based on my personal views of etiquette. The main reason to play tabletop games is to have fun, so etiquette demands that we constrain our behavior in order to try to make sure people can enjoy themselves. Not everyone will object to the same behavior, but there are some rules of thumb. Although etiquette is not technically the same thing as morality, some actions of etiquette are “right” or “wrong” to a minor degree. There are at least three main categories of etiquette: obligations, beyond the call of duty, and indifferent.

Tabletop Gaming Etiquette is mostly an issue when you are playing at a tabletop gaming event, such as a tournament or convention. It also applies more when you play with strangers. If you are playing with a group of friends that you know well, then you probably already know the best way to play together. Etiquette is not as much of a concern for that context. Continue reading →

Crazier Eights: Elysium

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Crazier Eights: Elysium greatly expands the world of Greek mythology, and features four more gods.

Crazier Eights: Elysium is scheduled to be the next Crazier Eights game to be released, but there is currently no estimated release date. We have been working on Crazier Eights: Elysium for multiple years, and the latest version is greatly focused on alternate win conditions.

box front back elysium sm Continue reading →

Magician (the Card Game)

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Magician is still in development. It’s a combat oriented deck building game James Gray has worked on for years. The latest version of the game is untested. The main idea is that the game is something like a combination of Magic: the Gathering and Dominion. You spend each turn buying cards to add to your deck (originally added to your discard pile), playing cards, and attacking with characters. Continue reading →

General Tournament Guidelines

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Tournaments are events that rank players based on how many matches or “rounds” they win. A group of at least four players are needed. In general, each match can be 30 minutes for a single game (“best of one”), or 40 – 50 minutes for best two out of three. Tournaments usually have two player games, but multi-player is an option as long as one winner can usually be determined. Continue reading →

Olympus Was Released

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box front back olympus 2020 bigger

Crazier Eights: Olympus & Crazier Eights: Pantheon were both released on August 14, 2020, and we are now taking orders:

Crazier Eights: Olympus

Zeus, Artemis, Atlantis, and many other wonders from Greek mythology come to life with these 52 imaginative and unique cards. Each card represents a different aspect from a story, and new stories are created in each game. That’s 52 different card abilities.

Continue reading →

History of My Game Design

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crazier eightsThis is James Gray, the owner of Recoculous, and the game designer for the Crazier Eights games. I have made board games and RPGs as soon as I could. I have been told that I started making them when I was four, but I have no idea what I made at that point.

I suspect I was seven when I made a roll and move board game a little like Candy Land, except the winner was whoever got to the dragon’s treasure first. I know that the dragon’s treasure was drawn carefully and colored in. Continue reading →