Trading Gets Wild in Hafid's Grand Bazaar
It started innocently enough with a group of five players, four who knew each other and a fifth stranger (spoiler: he didn’t stay a stranger for long!). The cast of this story is Corey (nephew), Jacqueline (niece), Steve (uncle), Ruth (aunt), and Daniel (stranger, for now).
In round two, the imaginative trading started and it was the first time real money had entered a game for us. Corey really wanted a card representing Linen in the Textiles category and put up a Finished Goods card, a commemorative Gen Con 50 die, AND all the change in his pocket for it. Daniel agreed to terms and they made the trade.
Table talk is highly recommended in Hafid’s Grand Bazaar and Daniel (our non-related player) fell into an easy camaraderie with the other players. There was a lot of laughter and joking as the players discovered a shared love of the show Parks & Recreation and there were a lot of quotes thrown around, particularly quotes from Ron Swanson. Daniel told the group about St. Elmo’s Steakhouse (just across the street from the convention center we were in), how good their steaks are, and that they filmed some scenes for the show there.
The conversation kept returning to food and those St. Elmo’s Steakhouse steaks were on everyone’s mind.
The final round progressed with everyone furiously trying to make the best deals they could to score big one last time in the Selling Phase. Steve had been a pretty even keel player throughout the game, not buying into any of the crazy deals the other players were offering, and remaining a shrewd bargainer making sure he got the best end of each deal he made.
The table got quiet for a moment while Steve mulled it over. Jacqueline tried to talk him out of the deal. Ruth stated she should get something from Corey as well since it was their money that would be spent on the steak. It turns out Steve REALLY wanted to win so he could hold that over Corey for years to come, and despite the protests and counter offers Ruth, Daniel, and Jacqueline tried to make Steve ultimately agreed to the deal.
The rules of the Negotiation Phase are 1) You can’t lie, 2) You can’t steal, and 3) You must honor the deal. This group came by our booth on Saturday with photo proof that Corey DID get his milkshake and steak dinner and that he was satisfied with the deal. And in true Hafid style, Steve negotiated with our show staff to get to take one of our demo copies of Hafid’s Grand Bazaar home with him after the show. That is what we call dedication to a theme!
Gen Con 50 Success for Rather Dashing Games
It has been a full week since we got home from Gen Con 50 in Indianapolis and we are still riding the high of such a successful show! Thank you to everyone who came by our booth to say hi, check out our games, and give many of them good homes.
Element continues to be a solid hit for us and all three demos setups were slammed the whole weekend! A lot of new players out there now, it should be easy to find a group to play with. Check out this demo video from Team Covenant from the show.
This Belongs in a Museum was the favored co-purchase with Element. People really enjoy this “simple” tile-laying game loaded with layers of strategy.
Our fans are so dashing! Check out these dapper fellows!
Pre-Order Hafid's Grand Bazaar!
To get you up to speed before the game releases September 20, we will be running demos of Hafid’s Grand Bazaar in booth 1439 at Gen Con and we have a few slots left in our full play-through events scheduled in the evenings after the exhibit hall closes.
To sign up for an event, visit the Gen Con Event Page and you can either search by Title under Board Game events, or use the following event IDs
Thursday, August 17 (7–9 PM) Event ID: BGM17122300
Friday, August 18 (7–9 PM) Event ID: BGM17122301
Saturday, August 19 (7–9 PM) Event ID: BGM17122302
Take advantage of these opportunities to learn from our design team, Michael Richie and Grant Wilson! At least one of them will be on hand for every event.
Brush off your bargaining skills and get ready to wheel and deal to become the greatest merchant in the land in Hafid’s Grand Bazaar! Pre-Order Today!
Getting Ready for Gen Con 50!
Looking for a bit more than a quick demo of Hafid’s Grand Bazaar? There are still a few slots open in our full play-through events! This is a unique chance to get to play a game before it is released and our team is excited to introduce you to this lively game of bidding and negotiation.
You can sign up for a slot in the following events by visiting the Gen Con Event Finder page.
Thursday, August 17 (7–9 PM) Event ID: BGM17122300
Friday, August 18 (7–9 PM) Event ID: BGM17122301
Saturday, August 19 (7–9 PM) Event ID: BGM17122302
Take advantage of these opportunities to learn from our design team, Michael Richie and Grant Wilson! At least one of them will be on hand for every event.
You will also want to grab one of our 2017 collectible “I Am Rather Dashing” buttons while supplies last!
Got little ones? We are providing activity pages featuring our characters from This Belongs in a Museum to the kids area. We’d love to see your child’s artistic skills, so swing by booth 1439 with their completed art to show us!
RETAILERS: We will have copies of the Quick Start Demo Guides for Element and This Belongs in a Museum for your stores. You can stop by and ask any booth staff member for a couple for your stores and sign up for our mailing list and store locator map!
We can’t wait to see you all in Indianapolis! (Cue the Benny Hill music!)
Unboxing Hafid's Grand Bazaar
Hafid Marker – this 3-D representation of Hafid, the market’s grand master, is passed around throughout the game to indicate the leading player for that round. The game is played in a series of rounds equal to the number of players (for a 2-player game you play four rounds). Each player gets a turn to go first in a round and this marker helps you keep track of which player is leading the bidding that round.
Bidding Cubes – Each player will get 6 bidding cubes to use each round to bid on the various Caravans, Customers, and Influence. Once a cube is bid in a round it is forfeit for that round, even if you get outbid by another player, but you do get them all back at the end of the round for use in the next round. Use them wisely to maximize your access to lucrative goods and information!