Sequel to Half Truth (coming soon)

[Bob Zager]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/halftruthgame/halftruthsecondguess?ref=discovery

I'm almost led to think it's in the planning stages right now.

[clemon79]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/halftruthgame/halftruthsecondguess?ref=discovery

I'm almost led to think it's in the planning stages right now.

Well, there really isn't much to plan, right? I'm sure it's just new content.

[TLEberle]

Well, there really isn't much to plan, right? I'm sure it's just new content.

It looks like a redesign of all of the art, which is too bad because Richard has experience with Magic: the Gathering and making sure that the card backs are identical across various sets and expansions.

I've only gotten to play a couple of times but it's certainly plenty of "game show adjacent" content so I have already set up to be reminded which the campaign launches.

[DoItRockapella]

I guess while we're talking about "game show adjacent" Kickstarter pages, Kevin Shinick (for our purposes the host of Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego, but also a comic book writer) is trying to crowdfund "Host Mortem", a graphic novel in which thinly disguised versions of Mr. Shinick and Greg Lee are tasked with solving an actual murder mystery.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kevinshinick/host-mortem-graphic-novel-from-emmy-winning-writer-and-host

As with Half Truth, the page is up, but donations are not yet open. Mr. Shinick said at one point on Instagram that the campaign would launch on June 17, but that clearly didn't happen.

[clemon79]

It looks like a redesign of all of the art, which is too back because Richard has experience with Magic: the Gathering and making sure that the card backs are identical across various sets and expansions.

I'm sure Richard and Ken designed the game here and have nothing to do with it at this point beyond any NIL clauses involved when they sold the original concept, if even that. And in both cases I suspect said clauses would be designed to be *more* restrictive with regard to NIL, not less.

I mean, it's a pretty decent little trivia game from what I remember (releasing during the thick of the pandemic didn't help it at all), but without the "MAGIC'S RICHARD GARFIELD AND JEOPARDY'S KEN JENNINGS PROUDLY PRESENT" banner across the top, it gets lost in a sea of dime-a-dozen trivia games while we're all still playing Wavelength.

[JasonA1]

And to your point, I think both versions of the box art are a little more coy than they should be with using their names. Trivia fans are going to find the game no matter what, but for Target and the like, having Ken's name be as easy as possible to spot would be a benefit.

The first edition of Half Truth was a solid play for our group. It helps that everybody plays in every question. And the material is at least a notch better than other trivia titles.

-Jason

[MSTieScott]

A question for those who have played it:

I remember that one of the selling points made during Half Truth's introduction was that it was suitable for both trivia aficionados and casual players, and that the former would not have a game-breaking advantage over the latter.

I'm no trivia aficionado, but when I play trivia games with my family, because I watch more game shows than they do, I nearly always end up with the highest score, which is no fun for anybody at the table. So far, Wits & Wagers is the only game we've found that both levels the playing field and is enjoyable to play.

I passed over Half Truth because my initial impression was that a player who had been exposed to a lot of trivia would still likely win in a way that felt inevitable. Is that assessment correct?

[TLEberle]

Scott—a game I played at my birthday party quickly turned into a boat race, and with other trivia guys came down to the bonus points earned in the third round, and I think I eked out victory by a single point.

Unless you want to give certain players a head start it will be tough sledding.

[JasonA1]

I passed over Half Truth because my initial impression was that a player who had been exposed to a lot of trivia would still likely win in a way that felt inevitable. Is that assessment correct?

In short, you're playing Wipeout (or an upper tier Greed question, take your pick) each time. 3 choices are right, 3 are wrong, and each player can choose to go for 1, 2 or all 3 correct answers depending on their confidence. If you play aggressively while others play conservatively, it may even out in the long run. But that's an "if" scenario. YMMV.

-Jason

[clemon79]

In short, you're playing Wipeout (or an upper tier Greed question, take your pick) each time. 3 choices are right, 3 are wrong, and each player can choose to go for 1, 2 or all 3 correct answers depending on their confidence. If you play aggressively while others play conservatively, it may even out in the long run. But that's an "if" scenario. YMMV.

I'm lucky in that our table is generally a table of *very* strong gamers, but yeah. And the strong player is not likely to play aggressively because they know they won't need to since the points will come to them in the long run and that the weak players will need to play aggressively to keep pace; as such for them the windfalls will be offset by the risks that don't pan out.

We enjoyed the concept it but it definitely needs an even table. (Or at worst, going into it with a Who's Line mindset.) If I remember rightly we had a couple of fixes in mind to make it a little more interesting but I couldn't tell you what they were at this moment because I've erased most of the events of that year from my brain.

[DoItRockapella]

I guess while we're talking about "game show adjacent" Kickstarter pages, Kevin Shinick (for our purposes the host of Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego, but also a comic book writer) is trying to crowdfund "Host Mortem", a graphic novel in which thinly disguised versions of Mr. Shinick and Greg Lee are tasked with solving an actual murder mystery.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kevinshinick/host-mortem-graphic-novel-from-emmy-winning-writer-and-host

As with Half Truth, the page is up, but donations are not yet open. Mr. Shinick said at one point on Instagram that the campaign would launch on June 17, but that clearly didn't happen.

If anybody cares, Mr. Shinick now has a countdown up for a new launch date for this project in September.

https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/27031bca-92d6-4cc7-b5d2-606a4676dbc7/landing