Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Dungeons & Dragons, The Next Generation

A long time ago, in what seems a galaxy far away, I was bitten by the Dungeons & Dragons bug.

This bug afflicted me with a life-long virus that just won’t leave my system. This bug has, on occasion, kept me up into the wee hours of the morning, has had me screaming out loud in frustration, and left me breathless and close to exhaustion. The virus I was afflicted with so long ago is Dungeons & Dragons.
I was hit hard by this then new way of gaming. I devoured page upon page of source book material. I greedily saved my money in order to buy the latest adventure modules. I spent hours and hours developing my own PC sheets, dungeons, and world flavor. I spent many a day and night playing with friends, bonding over the adventures we shared.

Dungeons & Dragons RPG games
I still play today, although not nearly as much as I used to. Time and adult responsibilities have eroded into my playing time. One of these responsibilities is raising a son. As he became older, he began to share some of my wife and I’s interests. He likes Super-Heroes and Comics, he likes to read, he has a deep “appreciation” for anything Star Wars, and he also began to like the fantasy genre, especially that world created by Tolkien; Middle Earth.
He was introduced to most of these interests through movies. Those high energy, flash and bang productions of the modern era that are all the rage with today’s youth. They may not always be true to their source material, but they are entertaining, and because of this I never thought my son would be willing to play in (to his movie warped mind) a “slow-paced imagination driven” role-playing game. How could a game run by me ever compare to the action he saw on the big screen?

Boy, was I wrong!

From the time I finally got him to sit down and play he has been hooked. He is the driving force that actually gets the group together for session after session. He is the one that makes sure that our group (which consists of him, my wife, one of my oldest friends and his wife and daughter) has the next session date already set before we close for the night. He loves to play, he can’t wait to see what happens next. He sits with anticipation over what crazy voice his father will use for the next NPC that is encountered.  Wonders out loud at what monster may be lurking behind that next door in the dungeon.

Family Dungeons & Dragons game night
I never knew that the Dungeons & Dragons bug was hereditary, but for sure it has been passed down to the next generation.

 

-Steve R. (a.k.a. The Taskmaster)

Master of Spies Card Game Progresses

Hello again, and thanks for checking out Move Rate 20 Games!

Sorry for our long absence, but hopefully we will be here on a regular basis going forward!

If you have been here before, thanks for coming back…and be sure to spread the word about us to all your gaming friends. For those of you who are visiting for the very first time, WELCOME! I hope all of you stay with us for the ride, as we have what seems to be a challenging and exciting rest of the year ahead.

Work continues on “Master of Spies”.

Master of Spies Card game

The “new & improved” game play mechanics are now complete. Official rules have been written, the retail box has been re-designed and we have some demo copies set to go off to some reviewers. We still have some playtesting notes to comb through, but overall this game is very close to going to production.

So far the vast majority of our playtests for “Master of Spies” have resulted in positive feedback, so we are excited to move forward into the next stage of development. Hopefully we can bring “MoS” to Kickstarter again soon (Early 2017?).

So stay with us for the ride folks…it may get a little bumpy, but it will sure be fun!

Steve R

Total Con 2016 Report By The Taskmaster

So another Total Con has come and gone!

Total Con 30 was great fun and a real success for MoveRate 20  Games (despite the fact that I missed a Constitution Check and had to leave early Sunday with a stomach bug!).

The demos for our upcoming game, Master of Spies, all went great and all feedback from players was positive as we head towards the Kickstarter on Leap Day!

Kickstarter project Master of Spies at Total Con 2016
Our exhibition table set up for Total Con 2016

I would also like to send out a personal set of thank you’s to the people who went above and beyond this past weekend:

Naomi Price: Thanks for giving us a hand all weekend at the demo table. Takes a special kind of person to put up with me all weekend! More mudslides anyone?!?!?

LB (a.k.a. Robert Lynch): Thanks for all the help at the Rivendell vendor Table.

The Team at “Thunder” Role Playing: Thanks for your time and patience in answering all our questions and we look forward to working with you guys in the near future.

Don Higgins: Thanks for agreeing to do that ‘last minute’ art job we threw your way!

And a special shout out to Mr. Frank Mentzer, who not only came to Massachusetts a day early to game with us, but also played Master of Spies with us. Your insight and wisdom is invaluable sir…..!

See you all for the Kickstarter launch on February 29th!

The Taskmaster

More Move Rate 20 News From Our Beloved Taskmaster

Hello all…

Here are some further updates on where we stand heading into September:

All the artwork for Master of Spies has been finalized and added to cards. New prototype decks will be manufactured using this artwork and will “debut” in September.

Master of Spies Move Rate 20 Gomes
Card art by Chris Rooks
Master of Spies Move Rate 20 Games
Card art by Chris Bennet
mini-cards
Card art by Brian DeClercq
Card Art by Simone Rego
Card Art by Simone Rego

The rules have been revised and these will also be printed and “blind” tested in the coming months.

A new design for the game’s “chits” has also been completed and will be manufactured in the same time period.

(Special thanks to Steve P for all the design work and time he has put in for all the above!)

Move Rate 20 Games will be hitting the convention circuit starting with the Boston Festival of Indie Games on September 12th. Other convention appearances will follow…stay tuned here for updates.

As of now, we have re-worked our Kickstarter timetable, and we are aiming for a February start date.

We also plan to continue development on our second game…as this one has kinda been pushed off to the side the last few months while we got MoS ready.

Stay tuned here folks for further updates!

May your dice always roll true…The Taskmaster.

Peace,

The TM

We Take Our Card Game On The Road!

game convention
We will be at table U4 demo’ing our card game “Master of Spies”

As we steadily head into fall, we are getting ready to launch our Master of Spies Demo tour. First stop is Boston Festival of Independent Games on Sept. 12th from 10am to 5pm at the Johnson Athletic Center on the M.I.T. campus in Boston. We will be at table U4! Get your passes here!
As we confirm more stops, we will share them here and to our email list. We will be visiting several local gaming stores, small cons in New England and possible visits in NYC!

We’re also asking you all to take part in a fun, community building game we are calling “Where in the World is Oger?” Our dwarven mascot/intern has been demanding a vacation, which we can’t afford to send him on, so the next best thing is to put him in your vacation pictures. You can download his picture by right clicking and choosing “save as”, then either put him in your photos digitally, or print him out, color him in and take a photo with him in an interesting location, in the style of “Flat Stanley”.
Right-click out picture of Oger the Dwarf and put him in your vacation picture, emnail them to info@MoveRate20,con and We'll put them together in a montage of the Travels of Oger.
Right-click on the picture of Oger the Dwarf and put him in your vacation picture, email them to info@MoveRate20,con and we’ll put them together in a montage of the Travels of Oger.
We promise to share every picture we get through our email on the webpage and our Facebook page and if we get a great response we will create a video montage of the pictures. Here are some examples our Beloved Taskmaster, Steve R., had created for inspiration.
Oger the traveling dwarf
Oger visiting the Liberty Bell
Oger the Traveling Dwarf
Oger with Lord Vader
Oger the traveling Dwarf
Oger at Epcot Center
Oger the Traveling Dwarf
Oger on a hike.
-Steve P.

Our Beloved Taskmaster has an Announcement

So we did it…we finally really did it. We took the plunge, got our feet wet, and got the ball rolling!

We are an official LLC! The paperwork was signed last weekend and will be filed with the commonwealth. The four of us are now official partners in this thing called Move Rate 20 Games!

Here are some pictures of us during the “celebration”…

New Gaming Company Formed
From Left to Right: Steve P., Ethan, our Assistant Art Director, Our Beloved Taskmaster, Rob L., & James M.
Our Beloved Taskmaster, Rob L. and his daughter Emma discuss the import of what just happened.
Our Beloved Taskmaster, Rob L. and his daughter Emma discuss the import of what just happened as Simone looks on.
Rob L., James M, and Mrs. P at the "first" company cookout.
Rob L., James M, and Mrs. P at the “first” company cookout.
WP_20150726_020
Break out the games!!!
Gravwell is a new favorite in our group.
Gravwell is a new favorite in our group.
Here is Asst. Art Director Ethan's sketches dedicated to Sauron.
Here is Asst. Art Director Ethan’s sketches dedicated to Sauron.

 

Play-test night at Rivendell Books & Games

Both Card Games Get Tested

Last night (4/1/15) we met in Rivendell’s Game room to test both card games we are developing. “Master of Spies” and “Project: Lightning Sword”

The classic 1st ed D&D image watches us no matter what we play.
The classic 1st ed D&D image watches us no matter what we play.
Mike and Rob run the demo of P:LS to get Mike's feedback on the description of the game.
Mike and Rob run the demo of P:LS to get Mike’s feedback on the description of the game.
Rob & Mike play-testing Project: Lightning Sword (working title).
Rob & Mike play-testing Project: Lightning Sword (working title).
Neil, Steve R. and Steve P. (taking the picture) play-test Master of Spies.
Neil, Steve R. and Steve P. (taking the picture) play-test Master of Spies.
The P:LS demo test starts to heat up.
The P:LS demo test starts to heat up.
Our feedback form that e use to collect comment and input from our volunteer ply0testers.
Our feedback form that we use to collect comment and input from our volunteer play-testers.

 

If you enjoy board games, card games, role-playing games or interesting pop culture collectables be sure to visit:

Rivendell Books & Games in Rehoboth
224 Winthrop St (Rt 44) Rehoboth, Massachusetts