Mangoes and independence

Free and independent — for a few days.

Cambodia achieved independence from France on Nov. 9, 1953, as the Fourth Republic's global empire slipped from its grasp.

It's been a rocky 60 years, to say the least.

It's not much, but in honor of Independence Day, "Falling in the Well of Love" is free. Grab a copy while you can. If you like it, I suggest you buy a copy of "At Home on the Mekong."

In other news, Mango Republic is now officially enshrined on Board Game Geek. The Kickstarter campaign is at 24 percent — check it out if you're interested in playing at being a dictator of a developing nation.

Learning to play Mango Republic

As the Kickstarter campaign for Mango Republic ticks ever onward, I put together a video to teach the basics of the game.

Basically, players use cards to gain activists, who help them elect parliamentarians, who allow players to hold more cards. You build your power base until you establish complete control of the government — and win the game.

The game moves quickly and the cards offer witty commentary on political shenanigans that any wonk or newshound will be familiar with:

Eight of 99 unique cards in Mango Republic's deck.

If you're interested, see more at Kickstarter.

Mango Republic comes to Kickstarter

The Mango Republic Kickstarter campaign is up and running. If you've ever secretly yearned to sink your teeth into the bitter struggle for dominance in an young, unstable democracy, here's your chance — in board game form.

For the Republic!

The latest prototype of Mango Republic arrived. This copy was printed by The Game Crafter, which is a truly amazing resource if you're interested in making your own board games. All the parts look and feel professional, like a mass market game.

The colors and cropping came out perfectly.

The shots are a little blurry, but that's because of the rather limited iPod Touch camera, not the card quality.

It's the kind of card Hun Sen's Eye would play. Hee hee!

Reintroducing Mango Republic

My next project is a bit of an old one. I'm updating and revising Mango Republic, a board game that I first developed in 2006 in Cambodia. As I only sold about five copies of the first edition, I don't think I've quite saturated the market. More information is here.

The game will eventually be available on The Game Crafter.

If you're interested in play testing and live within a reasonable distance of Salem, Oregon. Contact me on Twitter.