Re: On Feedback and Reviews

["Clark D. Rodeffer" <clark@...>]

For the record, I wholeheartedly agree with Jorge. There has been a
general lack of qualitative feedback for piecepack games, both new and
old. I'll point a finger at myself as well, because with the exception
of the group projects contest, I have rarely given the sort of
feedback (whether positive or negative) that I would like to have
about my own games, feedback that would help me improve and refine
them to be the best they can be, and feedback that would help others
decide whether or not they want to try them.

So yes, we do need "reviews, comments, first impressions." If the
piecepack community is going to thrive, every game needs a little
something, even if it's negative, and even if it's as simple as (to
use one of my own early efforts as a bad example), "Black Thursday is
probably OK for people who like pure negotiation games such as
Diplomacy, I'm The Boss or Intrigue, but the theme is not very family
friendly, and the 'take that' elements could lead to hurt feelings,
especially among younger players." Those of us who are game authors
should be thick-skinned enough to take a bit of vinegar along with the
honey. Those of use who play the games should be willing to try a new
game now and then, and be willing to say what we thought of it without
having to pull any punches. Both of these groups overlap at least some.

So I'm in Jorge's camp. I'm going to make an effort to try some of the
games I've never played, and I'm going to put up comments on their
wiki pages when I do, positive or negative. I'm not up to the one per
week schedule that Jorge has set as his goal. Heck, I may not even be
up to one per month. But I'm going to play some more of these games,
and I'm going to let others know what comes of it. There will probably
be a few duds, but I'm betting there will be a lot of great games as well.

Clark