1. We are still looking for someone to help out by updating the Free at Last Vassal module. I can offer a free copy of the game. I would involve replacing the map, leader counters and cards. As playtesting and development proceeds there would be updates to the cards on a weekly basis. Because I don't know how to make a Vassal module I don't know how much work is even involved. The current Free at Last module is very functional, but we need to replace the cards with the new deck.
2. This month I added a new mechanic, which is very simple, but adds to the players' choices about how they want to spend their Ops. The new action is a special ability track called the Achievement Chart. The player may make 1 Achievement Chart roll per Year. He can commit as many Ops from the card played as he wants, and then rolls a die. If the die roll plus the Ops are high enough he has earned an achievement counter, which gives a special ability that the player can cash in when it is useful. The special abilities range from getting +1 Ops or a +1 die roll modifier to drawing extra card and getting an extra action round. The minimum to earn an Achievement is 5, and if the number attained is already taken the player can take the next higher available Achievement counter, so there is some strategy in the timing of the attempt as well as the amount of Ops to risk and when to cash in the special ability.
The achievement chart focuses on black achievements in the fields of sports and entertainment. Through their achievements these athletes and artists changed attitudes in the wider society which helped advance the civil rights movement. Here is a look at the prototype counters. The 1950s counters are on the top and 1960s on the bottom. The Civil Rights player begins the game with the Jackie Robinson achievement counter.
3. Also we are working on a new scoring system for Free at Last. The Freedom Track was a bit too linear. Instead, at the end of every odd numbered year beginning in 1957 there will be a scoring phase, with different states scoring depending on the year. The states that score points will move from the easier states like North Carolina and Tennessee in 1957 and 1959 down to the Deep South of Alabama, South Carolina and Mississippi in 1963 and 1965.
4. We are always looking for playtesters though that is it somewhat on hold until I can get a means to play online. Just send a PM or reply here if you are interested.
The black achievement mechanism sounds like a good addition.
But wouldn't it be more true to what it portrays, if it were to lead to a gradual shift in attitudes that would make things easier over time for the civil rights activists in the South - and perhaps affect the pace of national desegregation efforts?
In other words, wouldn't a "white attitude" (or whatever) track that leads to lasting effects be a more suitable way to model this?
The black achievement mechanism sounds like a good addition.
But wouldn't it be more true to what it portrays, if it were to lead to a gradual shift in attitudes that would make things easier over time for the civil rights activists in the South - and perhaps affect the pace of national desegregation efforts?
In other words, wouldn't a "white attitude" (or whatever) track that leads to lasting effects be a more suitable way to model this?
Yes, that is a good observation and certainly that was an important part of the success of the civil rights movement in the later years. It is reflected in the game through the poltical climate chart that acts as a modifier to protest rolls. There are 3 types of protests in the game: School integration, Accomodations, like lunch counters and city buses, and voting rights. The political climate changes during the game through elections and events. In the print and play version the modifier was either -1 0 or +1. In the new version the modifier is much broader, between -3 and +3.
It's geeky/silly--but could you replace one of those images with the Star Trek image of Kirk kissing Uhura? It was the first interracial kiss on television which is a big milestone (though that seems odd now that it would be a big deal...)
Also possible--what about a picture of a significant black author? That is as much entertainment/mass media as the others.
It's geeky/silly--but could you replace one of those images with the Star Trek image of Kirk kissing Uhura? It was the first interracial kiss on television which is a big milestone (though that seems odd now that it would be a big deal...)
Also possible--what about a picture of a significant black author? That is as much entertainment/mass media as the others.
Sure I can add up to 3 more 50s and 60s achievements. I think that Star Trek episode aired in '67, but I like including some events that did not happen but could have. As far as an author I don't know one that had a cultural impact during the time. Any suggestions?
Maya Angelou was in the Harlem writers guild in the 50s, and I know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published in 1969. Not sure exactly what timeframe you are shooting for though.
Richard Wright wrote The Long Dream, Uncle Tom's Children, and Native Son plus a collection of short stories published in 1961, a year after his death.
Sammy Davis Jr. was one of the most important members of the Rat Pack, and both Ocean's 11 (1960) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) are era-appropriate.
Posted Mon Oct 3, 2011 6:00 am
