#will hindmarch

We know how it is.

Some prefer to invent astonishing Steampunk contraptions, usually laboring by candlelight in the dim, dusty recesses of their cluttered workshops.

Others prefer to play Astonishing!, a game of Steampunk contraptions, where the possibilities are endless... and a card table will suffice in lieu of a mad scientist's lair.

We present to you Astonishing!, a freely downloadable game created by noted game designer Will Hindmarch as an exclusive add-on to The Steampunk User's Manual. 

Aston­ish­ing!

A game of steam­punk con­trap­tions designed and exhib­ited, for 2 – 4 players.

Ver­sion 1.9.12 — 2014 by Will Hindmarch

The year is 1899. The World’s Design & Inven­tion Fair draws near. Across the globe, inven­tors and artists lead design houses in the craft­ing of new tech­nolo­gies to exhibit at the fair. Soon, you shall debut your con­trap­tion, hop­ing it oper­ates cor­rectly on the fair’s dais, and see which inven­tion elic­its the most mar­velous recep­tion from peers and pub­lic alike. A grant from Queen Vic­to­ria and the ado­ra­tion of the audi­ence await the inven­tion deemed most astonishing!

Overview

Each player con­trols one of four inven­tors in charge of a fab­ri­ca­tion work­shop some­where on the Earth at the end of the nine­teenth cen­tury. By draw­ing, trad­ing, and play­ing num­bered cards, each player shall con­struct a pro­to­type steam­punk con­trap­tion for exhi­bi­tion at the World’s Design & Inven­tion Fair in London.

This is a cut­throat affair. The dif­fer­ent work­shops squab­ble and scheme in pur­suit of the final prize: a com­mis­sion from Queen Vic­to­ria to pro­duce a final, fully func­tional ver­sion of the win­ning prototype.

Depend­ing on the contraption’s qual­ity of con­struc­tion — and a bit of luck — the device may have a good show­ing at the fair … or it may mal­func­tion on stage. It may earn acclaim … or it may fail spark the audience’s imagination.

The more the audi­ence mar­vels — and the more peo­ple that are aston­ished! — the more Acclaim play­ers earn. The inven­tor with the most Acclaim wins.

The first one there is from On Writing and may need some explanation. He told a story about this very nice, very large desk get got for his office at home. He put it right in the middle of the room, and not much else was in there. Years later he moved it to the corner and put in a couch and tv so his kids could come in and hang out while he was writing.