Hey Reader!
David Kessler here.
When most people think of games, they usually think of a fun diversion. But games can do a lot more than we often give them credit for. When you find a game that offers a dose of education in addition to fun, well then, that’s the cherry on top, the icing on the cake, the feather in your cap, the cream in your cup, or…the earthworm in your soil (you heard it here first).
Max Helmberger, Tim Lampasona, and Jane Chartreuse of the Cardboard Revolution cooperative have launched a game that hits the sweet spot of good ol' fun with a healthy dollop of science to go with it. Plus, the clay creature art is just the cutest.
Loam is a set-collection strategy game about building healthy soils. You are a plant, who for obvious reasons is into that sort of thing. You also have a lot more power and agency over your environment than humans often give you credit for: use input cards to sculpt the soil’s weird and wonderful biodiversity, unlock special powers, and create the healthiest soil to win!.
This game was designed in no small part with help from the Protospiel community. Playing at official events and chatting in the discord about Loam helped it reach its current completed state.
Max and Tim are both biology professors with Ph. D.'s in Entomology. Max is even teaching a course at Boston University in the fall called "Tabletop Game Design for Biology Education." It's got me thinking about going back to college.
Back Loam on Gamefound! |
OK, fine, here's one more glimpse of the adorable clay critters in Loam. If you want to see more, you'll have to find them yourself!
That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more awesome events, community opportunities, and updates about games tested at Protospiel!
~David
P.S. If you have something you'd like to see featured in our Community Newsletter, you have 3 options -- either submit an official feature request, reply to this message, or post in the #🙌share-your-wins channel in the Protospiel Online Discord server to let us know the details. We'd love to celebrate you!
We love helping our community of game designers and playtesters find encouragement and connection through our virtual conventions and the supporting content like our Twitch streams, YouTube channel, and Community Newsletter. It lights us up to see all the amazing milestones Protospiel community members are reaching with their game designs.
Hey Reader! David Kessler here. Who let the dogs play games? Woof Woof Woof Woof Congratulations to Courtney Sherman. Treat, Please! is being published by Solis Game Studio and the Kickstarter is live until November 12th. In Treat, Please!, each player takes on the role of a different dog competing for attention from “the human” with the goal of becoming the most spoiled doggo in the house. In the game, you play behavior cards from your hand like “Boop the Human with your Snoot” or “Stare...
Hey Reader! Heather Newton here. We've had lots of exciting news about games from our community lately. This weeks feature is one I've been looking forward to for awhile, so let's get to it. Tomten Now on Kickstarter! Way back in January of 2022 Tomten: The Tactical Game of Christmas Gnomes made the rounds at Protospiel Online. It was one of my personal favorites of those I got to playtest that weekend, and I've been eagerly awaiting my next chance to play. That time is nearly at hand!...
Hey Reader! David Kessler here. Indie Games Night Market at PAX Unplugged The Indie Games Night Market is coming to PAX Unplugged on Dec 7th, 2024, and three vendor tables will have games by Protospiel Community members! In the same vein as the Tokyo Game Market, the Indie Games Night Market serves as an in-person marketplace for small batch, unique games that would otherwise have no channel for purchase. The featured games have not been signed by publishers and have no intention to go on a...