Be the best Farm Hand you can be!
Hi everyone!!
Farm Hand is currently on Kickstarter, along with our other two games in the Pocket Series - Small Fjords and Tango. I thought I would share a little bit of how the game plays and how it came to be. Stay tuned for the designer diary from Craig, coming soon!
Discovering the game
As the head of a board game studio, I receive a lot of game design submissions. I always have a queue of terrific games that may or may not fit our lines, waiting for me to test and explore. But rarely do I chase a new design as I did with (what was then called) Dino Tricks! Posts of people playing the game started popping up in my social media feeds and I was intrigued. Because I personally knew the designer, I messaged him and asked if he had a spare copy. He said, "sure!"
I am not, personally speaking, someone who plays a lot of trick-taking games. I enjoy and admire them, but to get the most out of the wide variety of trick-takers that exist, one must have a group of players that like them a lot as well. I was tentative about bringing Dino Tricks to the first game night that I did, but there was just... something... about it that made me take it along.
I mean, not many trick-takers claim to cater for 2-5 players with just 21 cards...! And the rule book was so short! I knew it was either going to be a flop or a hit (no offence, Craig!)
Playing the game
After my first play I knew I had to try and sign the game. That almost NEVER happens. Not only that, but after that first play I stated, "this is one of the best card games I've ever played." Now, I know that's a big statement, but I guess what I meant was, "After just one play I know that this is one of my very favourite card games. Ever!"
There were a few things in this game that made it stand out (despite its small size):
It's very interactive!
The card suits are not evenly distributed - one suit even has just a single card!
There is the chance to mess with other player's plans - at times the game feels almost team-based!
It worked great at small and high player counts!
It is a trick-taking game, but it doesn't always feel like one. This helps give it broad appeal.
I immediately worked to sign the game while I kept playing it in different situations and with different groups. Some people I showed it to had even played it before! (It seemed Craig had been actively playtesting and demonstrating this little game for a while!)
Developing the game
Over the next weeks and months it became apparent that little to no further development was required...! Craig did tweak the scoring and developed a solo mode, but that was about it.
We decided to remove the score pad and add scoring tokens (the final tokens will differ from those in the sample photos), as well as extra player aids and the like. All of these additions don't change gameplay, but they do increase accessibility and clarity when playing and learning the game.
We also wanted to find a name and setting that would help it stand out. We went through countless brainstorming sessions until we settled on what became Farm Hand. Once we had the theme and name, the artwork almost painted itself!*
Samuel's illustrations have given the game a definitive style that has already found many fans. Not only that, but once I saw Farm Hand's completed illustrations, I knew that Grail's entire line of small games had to change! We worked to align all our upcoming small games into the same box size and with the same "look" as Farm Hand in order to create a unified, cohesive family of titles. We are so proud of these three games and we can't wait to get them to your tables :)
If you would like a closer look at how you play the game, please check out the videos on the campaign page!
Speak soon, and thanks again for your wonderful support :)
- David
Grail Games
* No AI was used in the creation of these games :D
