As those who follow my Twitter feed know, Corner Lot did rather well at the Kublacon design competition, coming in the top 3 and quite likely being second. Julie, the organiser of the competition said that if it had player aids it would have won.

Several changes:

• Player aids! Yep, there are now neat little player aids which contain the most frequently requested information (the 4 bonus categories and the 3 actions)
• Spiffy new art without conflicting colour pairs (all credit goes to Ariel Seoane here)
• An advanced variant which simply ups some costs and cash drains and thus significantly changes the timing and pacing of the Empty Lot cards¹

New rules. Playtesters will find that the file at the same magic URL has the new card images and rules.

• Won 18C2C: C&O+Wabash & Norfolk&NW+GMO for the win. Beautiful stations & destination runs. Phew! #18xx #kublacon #
• Late mid-game in yesterday’s 18C2C: http://twitpic.com/5s0sg #
• Cavum, Corner Lot, 18Mex, 18TN requested by others for today. #kublacon #18xx #boardgame #
• How strange: was just asked to sign a copy of Age of Sream: London/Sun. #kublacon #
• Corner Lot desc’d at #kublacon design competition as Knizia-like strategy-dense publishable. Another request for player aids. #
• Corner Lot in top 3 of #kublacon competition. Some complaint of too unobvious, mathy and tempo-driven: ie things I like & designed it to be! #
• @punkzter My #AgeOfSteam maps (Wales, Central America, Denmark, SE Australia etc) are still slowly moving toward publication. #boardgame in reply to punkzter #
• Played 18C2C, 18Mex & 1889 at #kublacon. 18C2C endgame continues long after gameplay dies. 1889 is proving deeper than I’d thought. #18xx #
• Winner of the #kublacon design competition was combinatorial game, “Kiva”. Simply brilliant game. Sadly unpublishable but deserved the win #
• Dice rolling redux (via IngredientX) http://gamesbyemail.com/News/DiceOMatic #
• @frandallfarmer More evidence to support man’s gestation as a creature of lightly wooded plains? in reply to frandallfarmer #
• A/B testing: when does it have meaning? http://tr.im/mAOe (via ericries) #
• Hummingbirds are nesting right outside my front door. Eggs too! I feel bad merely leaving the house for the scare I must give them. #
• RT @BoardgameNews:Article: Brett Gilbert applies John Maeda’s “The Laws of Simplicty” to game design – http://bit.ly/17tde0 #
• RT @asbruckman DRM encourages people to break the law to use content legally. Empirical study by Akester in Ars Technica: http://is.gd/IiF5 #
• Bing: But It’s Not Google. Ooops. #
• (Ahoy, the startup life!) “”Sleep” and I broke up a few nights ago. I’m dating “Coffee” now. She’s Hot!” (via @ev, @CoryBooker) #
• Marketing makes good works known, Sales makes them bought: RT @NotGodinREPOSTs:The difference between marketing & sales http://ff.im/-3mLLy #
• She’s right, but only at scale: RT @alleyinsider:Subscriptions Only Work “Selling Weird Porn,” Says Arianna Huffington: http://bit.ly/zruA5 #
• Gahh! Is a low noise twitter search for #18xx related (game) traffic possible? http://search.twitter.com/operators #
• Obama’s burger outings are both branding touchstones and incredible marketing. Could beat Teddy’s fireside chats. http://tr.im/mPRg #
• @haazmatt #18xx OR “Deep Thought Games” OR “Heron Games” OR 1830 OR (list of 18xx titles) -from:news5_1860 (last needed as I list 1860) in reply to haazmatt #
• @haazmatt Which isn’t a very good search, but is what I use for now. in reply to haazmatt #
• The cost of phyrric victories writ large at Microsoft? Or inclusive vs exclusive relationships with customers & partners? http://tr.im/mQ7R #
• @brettspiel I’d search for just 18xx and not just the hashtag #18xx, but it matches all the crime stat reporting services.. Bah! #18xx in reply to brettspiel #
• @brettspiel I suspect 18xx means it is from radio-scanned dispatch rather than official. 17xx & 18xx are usually dispatch in police lingo. in reply to brettspiel #
• Is the big problem with electronic speech the separation of intent & meaning? Human speech is not algebraic, but our electronic speech is. #
• I dislike the centralised model espoused by Facebook/Google Wave/Twitter etc. Where is personal federation? Must the model be hub & spoke? #

• I see the #eurovision song contest is still long on kitsch but catchy hyper-enthusiasm: http://bit.ly/u9WKq (via @om) #
• @andrew_chen TwitterTools is good software: Does what it claims, does it well, and what it claims is useful. in reply to andrew_chen #
• Why should stem cell research have more oversight than shooting people in wars or killing people in capital punishment? #stemcell #
• Until 26 May, comment on NIH #stemcell research guidelines: http://tr.im/lzlP Respect sapiency & intelligence more than tissue. #
• @timoreilly I love clotheslines for how crunchy my clothes, especially cotton, are afterward. Towels feel like super-absorbent mega-wicks. in reply to timoreilly #
• 3P 1832 last night. 2nd by $300. It is a fine game up to the 5-trains, maybe the 6s, then not so much: typical uninteresting Dixon end-game. #
• @jdhuntington I’ll take #irssi over #Adium or #Colloquy for the win thankyouverymuch. #irc in reply to jdhuntington #
• Mergers and acquisitions are back up. Is this really a bellwether or merely temporary (in)digestion with better credit? http://tr.im/lHJp #
• The fact that I can’t go back and edit my 1832 post from earlier this morning to append an #18xx is bugging the crap out of me. Gahh! #
• 18C2C game starting Friday morning at Kublacon. We may have a seat open. #18xx #
• @BoardgamesToGo You have questions on Chicago Express strategy? in reply to BoardgamesToGo #
• @BoardgamesToGo No worries. I should post the next Wabash Cannonball: Set Piece article, The next one deals with end-game timing. in reply to BoardgamesToGo #
• Yes, yes, we know: The world is small and space is big and HOLY CRAP THERE ARE A LOT OF STARS OUT THERE! http://tr.im/m3sw #

• @jdludlow Mind sending a summary of your game of Corner Lot? A comment on my blog would be great – that’s how the rest are reporting. in reply to jdludlow #
• Played 1832. I’m not a Bill Dixon-game fan (cf 1870). Too many levers, fiddle, exceptions & chrome. Bank private & price protection are nuts #
• I should learn: the lower the player count, the faster the train rush in #18xx. 1860 tonight? #
• Played my favourite #18xx: 1860. Hugely facile & dynamic: 4 competing rhythms/phases, nasty tile set & track, many precise timing points. #
• @msaari 1860 is the next on JKLM reprint list, incl mult improvements over 1st ed. It is a truly weird 18xx, weirder than 18EU or 1841 #18xx in reply to msaari #
• @msaari Yup. JKLM’s relationship with printer is not…ideal. I am patiently on edge of my seat. 1st ed took 8mo from order to ship. #18xx in reply to msaari #
• RT @icheyne:On the advice of @securitynow podcast 195, I’m disabling Javascript in Adobe Reader - http://is.gd/z833 #
• RT @ericries:Great article “Fear is the mind-killer” by @ericries… reduce consequences, and fear often, fear early. http://is.gd/z33N #
• Retweet this if you disagree with Twitter’s decision to hide replies to people you don’t follow. #fixreplies #
• @icheyne I use the all-replies model to find useful people & conversations. It is the only signal network that Twitter actually represents. in reply to icheyne #
• Nail-biter Stephenson’s Rocket: Last move merged all networks into 1, giving me share & station lead & win after trailing all game by 40+VP #
• The most clear visual evidence we live on an orbiting planet, seen while standing on said planet: http://bit.ly/pK9I1 #
• I doubt: RT @ericries:RT @mashable: Twitter’s Response to #fixreplies: We Can’t (please RT) - http://bit.ly/FAoUV #
• Oh #twitter, the caterpillar of death is far less charming than the #failwhale of uncertainty! #
• Remember how the HHGTTG runs on about how very large space is, how unimaginably huge & population zero? Yeah, me too: http://tr.im/lgVx #
• @ChrisTheCat I’m mostly pleased with Nambu. in reply to ChrisTheCat #
• @ev Voice amplification of @ replies is what made #twitter useful to me. I hope #fixreplies doesn’t toss the baby with the bath water. #
• @ChrisTheCat Just upgraded #twitterfon. Where are the ads? in reply to ChrisTheCat #
• @andrew_chen Did the “coffee?” email you requested I send you get spam trapped? #

I’ve canonised and rendered into PDF form the teaching script for Corner Lot as part of my Kublacon Design Contest submission.

• !? http://tinyurl.com/dn6vll #
• @cshirky While I am in awe of the technology, to be $viable it has to sell not only its product, but a whole new market and that’s unlikely. in reply to cshirky #
• Clever. RT @frandallfarmer:The Palo Alto Medical Foundation Parkinglot Nightmare could use some of this: http://bit.ly/EJTqW #
• RT @ingredientx:You will not see a better comic about Ada Lovelace in all the internets: http://tinyurl.com/cngrar #
• Wow! RT @alleyinsider:Kindle Books Now A Shocking 35% Of Sales When Kindle Version Available by @hblodget http://bit.ly/LRfp0 #
• RT @BoardgameNews:Just joined a twibe. Visit http://twibes.com/boardgames to join #
• Twibes are less than useful. No advantages over simply using a #hashtag and a search filter. (cf @boardgamenews and #boardgames #twibe) #
• @frandallfarmer Twitter is the perl of social networks: the common glue and transport. in reply to frandallfarmer #
• @raphkoster I have rarely been so delighted to suck a lemon as when I read your RT. Umm, delightful. in reply to raphkoster #

Well that was fast!

Thanks to Tim Harrison, there are two substantive rules clarifications in this release:

• If nobody bids on a Capitalised bank share then the active player loses 3 months
• Secondary company shares are not available at all until after the 3rd General Dividend

Unless you’re likely to be playing 5 player games, and likely even then, there’s no need to print out a new map for either the #69 or #71 releases. Just grab the new rules and be done. Just remember that 5 player games have one more month than shown on the map if you’re playing with the older graphic.

The download file is in the same place as usual with 71 in the filename instead of the previous number.

Changelog:

• Removed support for 6 players
• Added a month to 5 player game
• Small legibility changes to the map.

There are no other rules changes. The download file is in the same place as usual with 69 in the filename instead of the previous number.

Again, please append commentary, questions, reactions, thoughts etc¹ as comments below so we may all easily track exactly what is being talked about.

• @neilhimself Have a look at #Nambu. I found it preferable to #Tweetdeck for managing high traffic feeds & searches. in reply to neilhimself #
• One of the better flu/pandemic commentaries: RT @terrycojones: Blogged “A few comments on pandemic influenza” http://bit.ly/kK3zQ #swineflu #
• RT @timoreilly: For govt info on #swineflu, follow @CDCemergency and visit http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/ (via @AndrewPWilson) #
• @timoreilly @billpena Same problems with #tweetdeck here. #Seesmic doesn’t save searches. #Nambu does & is faster/richer. in reply to timoreilly #
• @brookscl I found Small World’s art distracting & misdirecting. The gameplay changes didn’t seem an improvement. Not enough arc or depth. in reply to brookscl #
• Facebook’s official AIR applicaiton: http://tinyurl.com/dkblsu #
• RT @timoreilly:Fascinating from NYT: “skeletal integrity consumes maybe 40% of our average caloric budget.” http://bit.ly/yaZL3 #
• @elenuial HR resume parsing has long-since been out-sourced to 3rd party app stacks. Rarely is even PDF or ASCII supported. in reply to elenuial #
• @elenuial Resume is a key-word farm, yes, but cover letters more important to pass HR. Word’s just a standardised data-interchange-format. in reply to elenuial #
• @elenuial The other version is: This is a human problem, not a technical problem. in reply to elenuial #
• @elenuial Yep, and that’s the fate of all communication: finding the common middle ground (lowest common denominator). in reply to elenuial #
• @elenuial BtB I’m getting 1:1 in-person interviews for crafted cover letters. Bare resumes don’t cut it any more. Active selling required. in reply to elenuial #
• @timoreilly So few use #twitter usefully that there are few +ve role models and fewer ways to find ‘en. Celebrity sizzle doesn’t help in reply to timoreilly #
• @toddbert Heck no. Submissions to publishers. in reply to toddbert #
• @elenuial MUDs are rightly incredible. Nothing beats social engineering on that scale. in reply to elenuial #

I’ve posted a first draft of the rules for the un-named game to give an idea where I’m headed. Please note that I’ve not checked or otherwise verified any of the game’s basic arithmetic (eg component counts, scoring values, map sizes, etc), so they are likely to be way off. However the rules should show the intended basic structure and character of the game and to hopefully help get the game name suggestions flowing!