Personal Highlander Projects

[n107]

Figured I might as well tell the audient void here since the number of people I can discuss Highlander-related matters with dwindle evermore with each passing revolution around this lonely star.

About 10 years ago -- probably much longer -- I started to design a Highlander board game. I wanted to make something that could capture the core elements of the films and TV series with its gameplay and mechanics. I worked on it on and off over the years, with some lengthy breaks in between, and actually got quite far with the development. There were a couple of parts of the game I wasn't satisfied with and constantly revised, but I could never get them to meet my satisfaction. Sadly that was what stopped me from progressing as I felt they were too important to do incorrectly.

Unfortunately enough time has passed that the general trend of board game design has moved on from the style that my original game was designed to be. It now looks "archaic" when compared to modern board game design. So I'm going back to the drawing board to try to revise the game in a way that fits more in line with the style of modern gaming, hopefully in a way that allows it to remain as complete as I intended but with smoother and, more importantly, faster gameplay. I have no idea if I can do this, but I'm going to take what I've come up with so far and see what I can do with it.

With that said, I'd be interested to hear if anyone else is involved in your own Highlander projects. I know Neo has his series but is anyone else doing anything to try to spread our love of this franchise to others?

[Kladdagh]

Unfortunatly, I have no project ... I just try to play games like the board one or the late ccg ... Wish to see you project n107

[Cyrus The Great]

You have got me thinking about some of the board games I played years ago. I enjoyed Monopoly, Scrabble, Risk, Life, and probably a few others I can't think of at the moment. Of course, I have played chess and checkers many times. I tried Go a few times, but I didn't put in the time to begin to understand the rudiments of Go strategy.

I'm curious about your game. Some things that occur to me to ask are: 1.) Are all participants playing an immortal character? 2.) Is it like "The Gathering"? 3.) Do players move a figurine around the board? 4.) Is play controlled by dice rolls or the draw of cards? I'm just curious, feel free to not give details, especially if your aim is to market the game.

As for myself, I am not involved in any Highlander projects, but the franchise has certainly stimulated my imagination and it has been fun to discuss Highlander related trivia here over the years.

[n107]

Unfortunatly, I have no project ... I just try to play games like the board one or the late ccg ... Wish to see you project n107

I only have 1st Ed. of the CCG but I like it for what it is. I'm eagerly looking forward to the new version of the CCG, if the creator ever gets it off the ground. The one Highlander board game I do have is ok. I would prefer a little more depth, which was why I started this project in the first place, which happened to be many years before the game I have was even announced. I actually tried to speed up the design after I saw the other board games announced a few years ago, hoping that their release would spark interest in more Highlander related games. But that was when I hit the roadblock of certain mechanics that I couldn't get to feel satisfactory.

[n107]

You have got me thinking about some of the board games I played years ago. I enjoyed Monopoly, Scrabble, Risk, Life, and probably a few others I can't think of at the moment. Of course, I have played chess and checkers many times. I tried Go a few times, but I didn't put in the time to begin to understand the rudiments of Go strategy.

I'm curious about your game. Some things that occur to me to ask are: 1.) Are all participants playing an immortal character? 2.) Is it like "The Gathering"? 3.) Do players move a figurine around the board? 4.) Is play controlled by dice rolls or the draw of cards? I'm just curious, feel free to not give details, especially if your aim is to market the game.

As for myself, I am not involved in any Highlander projects, but the franchise has certainly stimulated my imagination and it has been fun to discuss Highlander related trivia here over the years.

Unlike the "classic" board games you mentioned, I'm much more a fan of the current trend of thematic board games.

I don't mind answering the questions. I highly doubt that I could market it, even if it were finished, for a variety of reasons. I figured eventually I might be able to put it on a service like Tabletop Simulator or provide files for print and play. As I said I'm in the process of rethinking the entire thing, so these answers will be mostly based on the original idea. I am hoping to keep a lot of the same elements, but I don't know what the final design will look like just yet.

1. All players would control an Immortal. I planned for a selection of starring characters but there would be room to possibly create original characters.

2. I originally designed a number of scenarios that would change the overall goal of the game and determine how much of the game was cooperative or competitive. "The Gathering" would be one such scenario.

3. If this were a physical game, I would love if there were figurines for each character. I fantasized about an idea of figurines with detachable heads. lol But I also ran some other weird ideas like having cardboard chits of each characters head that you add to your character board to represent who you're playing and an opponent would take the chit (take your head) if they killed your character in certain scenarios. The chits would provide some kind of power-up or benefit for the victor. But I would really love having actual figurines.

4. The original design combined dice rolls and card play for different mechanics in the game. While I think that will still be a part of the new design, I'm looking to streamline it and make it faster to play. However, the game isn't a "roll and move" like Monopoly but the dice would be rolled to try to succeed at tests in the game similar to a roleplaying game.

The overall goal I had with the game is to replicate all the key themes and tropes that we see in the films/series so that Highlander fans would "feel" the authenticity of the game in its mechanics.

[Perfect Warrior]

Hmm. Points 2 &4 would fit better into D&D style play, not a board game.

[n107]

Hmm. Points 2 &4 would fit better into D&D style play, not a board game.

Rather than "fit better", I think "more natural" is a far more appropriate description as, indeed, that is what roleplaying games are designed to do. But that, however, is the point: the idea behind the game could be considered an "RPG in a box". There are quite a number of examples out there, utilizing various degrees of the concept, from Arkham Horror, to Flying Frog Productions games to big behemoths like Gloomhaven. So the fact that some of the concepts sound as if they belong in an RPG is because this follows the narrative design philosophy that brings a lot of RPG elements into the world of board gaming. That doesn't mean it will appeal to all roleplayers just as roleplaying doesn't appeal to every board gamer. But there's nothing in this game's design that hasn't already seen the light of day and found success in many other board games. This would just be the only one that has a Highlander theme attached.

[Perfect Warrior]

Well, I guess that just makes it obvious that the boxes in my house contain such things as scrabble and backgammon. (I recognize none of your examples.)

I have 'gamed' on my desktop, but never a stand-alone system.

[n107]

Well, I guess that just makes it obvious that the boxes in my house contain such things as scrabble and backgammon. (I recognize none of your examples.)

I have 'gamed' on my desktop, but never a stand-alone system.

The hobby of board gaming has come a long way and the past 25 years or so has really seen an explosion in variety, design and complexity. If you're not familiar with the current state of the hobby then it probably is hard to visualize how any of what I said makes sense for a board game. And, much like with my idea of Highlander, there are a vast number of board games based around different IPs such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Marvel and so on. While a lot of them are just thematic skins put on top of unrelated mechanics, there are some glorious examples where the gameplay recreates the feeling of the source material.

One of the best examples I can think of is Battlestar Galactica. If you're familiar with the TV series (or, more specifically, the remake from the early 2000s), it features the lone surviving military ship called the Galactica escorting the last 50,000 surviving humans after the rest of the species was wiped out in a sneak attack by robots called Cylons. Some Cylons look human and have infiltrated the escaping fleet and are trying to sabotage it from within. The Galactica and fleet as a whole have very limited supplies and weapons so they are desperately trying to avoid detection from the Cylons and escape to a hidden world where they can try to survive. However, there is the constant fear and paranoia that anyone could be a Cylon and lead the last humans to their doom.

The Battlestar Galactica Board Game recreates all of that, including the tension, suspicion, desperation and mistrust at every turn. I highly recommend checking out some videos about it. This is a very old one on YouTube but I think the players were able to clearly show the elements of the game and present it in an easy to understand way (and in a relatively short time). Please take a look if you want to see an example of just how "modern board gaming" has grown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gjo1q3sbKo

[Cyrus The Great]

I like your idea for detachable heads on figures in your game. It would be even more fun if they were spring loaded.

I am a fan of the original and the remake of BSG. I watched some of the game video. It looks like it would be fun to play. You are right, board gaming has come a long way!

[Andrew NDB]

Just still chugging on "Highlander: Dark Places" as a serialized version on Youtube. New content is coming soon.

[n107]

I like your idea for detachable heads on figures in your game. It would be even more fun if they were spring loaded.

I am a fan of the original and the remake of BSG. I watched some of the game video. It looks like it would be fun to play. You are right, board gaming has come a long way!

Spring-loaded heads for decapitation would be hilarious.

The BSG board game is insanely fun. If you can find a way to play it, please do so. I believe there is a workshop mod for it on Tabletop Simulator, which you can download on Steam. So it should be possible to play online, which is better than nothing.

Modern board gaming is a truly magnificent hobby.

[n107]

Just still chugging on "Highlander: Dark Places" as a serialized version on Youtube. New content is coming soon.

Looking forward to the next episode.