Strange Magic Game Releases New Game - Fortunata
The company has been in business for about twenty-five years and this is its second game to market, according to Game Developer Kent Mitchell. Mitchell says another way of looking at it is that this company has been around for a long time and is still steadily making games.
Berkeley, CA, March 04, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Strange Magic Games released a new board game in late 2014: Fortunata. Eleven years in the making, the game developers claim it has balanced play for two to five players, they tout its elegant appearance, and note that it is rich in strategic options.
One can see that Fortunata features two interesting game mechanics. First, the game pieces are translucent spheres which rest atop small bases. The pieces rotate in their bases, giving them different power depending on their orientation, and also allowing for their identities to remain hidden. This game mechanic gives Fortunata a different look and feel than is created by typical plastic, cardboard, or even wooden pieces often found in games. Game Designer Ashley Kayler says the system for hiding piece identities also fosters bluffing and surprise moves.
Another interesting game mechanic is that all sixteen pieces have unique powers. While a game of unique pieces could easily become unbalanced (if some pieces were noticeably stronger than others) Game Designer Alexis Papahadjopoulos says this does not happen with Fortunata. The makers of Fortunata say they spent eleven years fine-tuning the piece powers to ensure that all of the pieces are equivalently useful. Depending upon how each game plays out, any one of the pieces could turn out to be the strongest piece for that round, "So regardless of which pieces you are dealt, you still have a fair chance of winning," says Kayler, who also says he and Papahadjopoulos have played the game several hundred times at Caffè Strada in Berkeley, CA over the last five years.
The object of the game is to have one piece seize the gold ring and escape to the edge of the board. With only sixteen pieces and sixteen spaces on the board, that sounds pretty easy, yet the game designers say a fine balance amongst the grouped characters makes achieving this surprisingly difficult: pieces have to work together, choosing stealth or brute force, daring or cunning, swift action or patience in hopes to win by attrition. And according to game designer Kent Mitchell, "It never hurts to have a bit of luck."
The rules say the game may be played by as few as two or as many as five persons, and that a typical game lasts from thirty to sixty minutes for game players aged eight and up.
Berkeley game center Games of Berkeley reports that it's third copy of Fortunata sold on March 2, 2015 and it has arranged with the manufacturer to obtain a stack of six copies under consignment to place in public view under one of their demo tables. Mitchell says, "We work with Retailers to support product visibility and availability because we know once people play it they will want to tell their friends."
An overview of the game by third-party board game reviewer Board To Death portrays the game as a game that can be played over and over:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FkQzLh2_MU
And more details are found on the Fortunata game website:
http://www.fortunatagame.com
One can see that Fortunata features two interesting game mechanics. First, the game pieces are translucent spheres which rest atop small bases. The pieces rotate in their bases, giving them different power depending on their orientation, and also allowing for their identities to remain hidden. This game mechanic gives Fortunata a different look and feel than is created by typical plastic, cardboard, or even wooden pieces often found in games. Game Designer Ashley Kayler says the system for hiding piece identities also fosters bluffing and surprise moves.
Another interesting game mechanic is that all sixteen pieces have unique powers. While a game of unique pieces could easily become unbalanced (if some pieces were noticeably stronger than others) Game Designer Alexis Papahadjopoulos says this does not happen with Fortunata. The makers of Fortunata say they spent eleven years fine-tuning the piece powers to ensure that all of the pieces are equivalently useful. Depending upon how each game plays out, any one of the pieces could turn out to be the strongest piece for that round, "So regardless of which pieces you are dealt, you still have a fair chance of winning," says Kayler, who also says he and Papahadjopoulos have played the game several hundred times at Caffè Strada in Berkeley, CA over the last five years.
The object of the game is to have one piece seize the gold ring and escape to the edge of the board. With only sixteen pieces and sixteen spaces on the board, that sounds pretty easy, yet the game designers say a fine balance amongst the grouped characters makes achieving this surprisingly difficult: pieces have to work together, choosing stealth or brute force, daring or cunning, swift action or patience in hopes to win by attrition. And according to game designer Kent Mitchell, "It never hurts to have a bit of luck."
The rules say the game may be played by as few as two or as many as five persons, and that a typical game lasts from thirty to sixty minutes for game players aged eight and up.
Berkeley game center Games of Berkeley reports that it's third copy of Fortunata sold on March 2, 2015 and it has arranged with the manufacturer to obtain a stack of six copies under consignment to place in public view under one of their demo tables. Mitchell says, "We work with Retailers to support product visibility and availability because we know once people play it they will want to tell their friends."
An overview of the game by third-party board game reviewer Board To Death portrays the game as a game that can be played over and over:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FkQzLh2_MU
And more details are found on the Fortunata game website:
http://www.fortunatagame.com
Contact
Strange Magic Games
Kent Mitchell
510-900-9209
www.fortunatagame.com
Kent Mitchell
510-900-9209
www.fortunatagame.com
Contact
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