Thanks to the wonders of the internet, we are able to sell our PDF Print & Play of Marrying Mr. Darcy online. This is a good option if you want to spend less money, enjoy DIY craft projects, or MMD is not readily available in your part of the world. While the price is low, there is some labor involved in creating your print & play set. I've gotten a few questions about making Print & Plays, so I'm going to try and document every step in this blog. 

1. Buy and download the Print & Play .ZIP files. You can do that here.

2. Unzip the ZIP files. This will give you access to the PDF files inside. 

3. Open the PDF files. Most computers already have Adobe software installed that can open and print PDF files. However, if you don't, you can get Adobe Reader for free here. 

4. You will see that the game comes with several PDF files. Each of these is a a different component of the game. Let's look at each of these:

     4A. Each "card" file is a different deck in the game. For the "Event" deck and "Character" deck the first page of the file is the card back. The other pages of these files are the card fronts. I suggest printing all of the card fronts first, flipping over the paper, and then printing the card backs on the other side. 

     4B. For the "suitor," "heroine," and "player guide" decks, these files are only 2 pages each. They should be printed double sided, but make sure that with the "heroine" and "player guide" decks that the cards line up properly. For example, in the heroine deck, Elizabeth Bennet should be on the front and back of her individual card when it is cut out. 

     4C. There are a few files for the Rules depending on how much you want to print or in what format. I would suggest looking at all the rule files and then decide which ones you want to print. 

5. Print your cards and rules. On your print settings, be sure to select "Actual size" so the cards don't shrink. If you don't have a printer, you can often find a local copy store or printer (Kinkos, Staples, Office Max, UPS Store, etc.) that can do this for you. I would suggest printing on cardstock or a  heavier paper for durability. If you have a store print your copy, they will probably need fairly specific instructions, so be familiar with the files so you can relay instructions. 

6. Cut out your cards. The best way to do this is with a cutting mat, exacto knife, and ruler. Set the page down so you are looking at the card fronts. Set your ruler along the guides at the sides of the page and make your cut. I have found it best to stop and start the knife about 1/4 inch from the edge of the paper. This way the ruler guides don't get cut off the paper! 

7. Assembly and general craftiness. Find or purchase a 6-sided dice to go with your game and you are ready to play! You might consider purchasing some Eurosize card sleeves if you want to protect the cards and make them a bit easier to shuffle. If you are an extra crafty type, you might make a box to hold your cards, dice and rules in. Here is one made by justinboy24!

Or, if you want a really special box for your print & play, check out this tin available from Customized Girl. It is the perfect size and shape to fit your custom game!

8. Read the rules, get some friends together, make some snacks (optional but highly encouraged) and have a great time playing Marrying Mr. Darcy! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me! Enjoy! 

I've been working on the Emma Expansion pretty diligently for the past few weeks. I finally got the files finished last Thursday and got my copies back from the printer today. This is just in time to take them on a trip to New Hampshire where I'll hopefully get the chance to do some play testing with some friends of mine. I just have to pack it up with Marrying Mr. Darcy and we'll be good to go! 

After we work out the bigger bugs, I'll rewrite the cards and get the files prepped to send out to Kickstarter backers. I'm not sure how long this will take- probably depends on how well it works and how many changes there are. I'm guessing the play testing won't take nearly as long as the original Marrying Mr. Darcy took (many, many months) since a lot of the basic mechanics are similar as opposed to starting from nothing. Here's hoping! 

2. Brain storming
I have a bunch of notes of random ideas for various cards and character powers. This was significantly easier than brainstorming the original game. Since I decided early on that Emma should be an expansion/companion to Marrying Mr. Darcy, several of the mechanics were already in place. 

3. Writing/organizing
Eventually I started writing cards into my spreadsheet (picture above). I actually started by creating the left hand column which gave me an idea of what event cards were in MMD (like party cards, scandal cards) as a rough guide to what to include in Emma. It is definitely not going to be exactly the same- for example there are not as many scandals in Emma, but there will be much more Meddling. So there are some new mechanics that go along with gossiping, meddling, "helping" your friends, and my favorite - match making. I'm still writing cards for the beta test but as of today I'm about 2/3 of the was done. 

4. Making "cards" 
I had my husband set up a file that I could transfer my written text into a card size text box in a document that will eventually become the PDF Print and Play. I probably should wait until all the cards are written in the spreadsheet, but seeing it look like an actual card is really motivating. These are about 1/3 complete. We're keeping them very simple and art free until we've got the game play and text finalized. 

That's where I am at this point! Once I finish I'll do some in-house alpha testing, make revisions, and then send the files out to Kickstarter backers. I am optimistic that we would be able to eventually Kickstart a print run of the expansion and make it available in stores. 

Well, the games have finally arrived and I'm beginning to fulfill Kickstarter rewards. I got a few games in the mail today, but the process of fulfilling 1400 orders will definitely take a couple weeks. Here are a few pictures of the process so far!

The Kickstarter campaign for Marrying Mr. Darcy - the Pride and Prejudice Card Game has picked up in the past few days. The stretch goal for the  Undead Expansion Pack was reached in record time! The expansion pack will consist of approximately 20 new cards that include undead suitors, becoming cursed, cures for the wounded, battle axes for protection and serious consequences for both the dead and the living at the end of the game. 

You can check out our work in progress below. Be sure to check out our Kickstarter campaign in the next few days if you want a copy! 

I spent a lot of time yesterday shooting and editing footage for my kickstarter pitch video. I had previously made a "How to Play" video and was able to reuse a lot of the same footage. I have watched a lot of different pitch videos and have my own opinions on what makes a good one:

1. Don't make it too long. I made mine 2 1/2 minutes. Anything over 3 minutes feels too long to me. 

2. Make it good. I appreciate videos where clearly some time was taken to make something of quality that reflects the care that you are putting into the project.

3. Don't make it too good. I feel like a lot of pitches are almost too professional. They miss that Do-It-Yourself quality that makes kickstarter so great. Whenever I see something that is too flashy or clearly professionally shot I feel like I'm giving my money to a company and not a person. 

4. Be in the video. I personally like seeing the person who I'm donating to. Adds a human factor. 

5. Put some cool music in there. This really adds something in my opinion. However, you have to be careful that you use music that is legally free to use. I found something at www.musopen.org, but there are other sites as well. Also, be sure to credit the composer, performer, and source somewhere in your video. 

6. Don't sit on your butt- get the damn thing done. I have trouble with this. I love to research stuff and could probably research various aspects of a kickstarter campaign to death. I've been talking up this campaign on social media for a couple months now, and I am really at the point where I need to launch or I will be forgotten. I think a lot of people get stuck at this point.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Keep in mind that this is my first pitch video and I don't actually know what I'm doing. I guess we will find out if my theories are correct!

If Marrying Mr. Darcy (a game about Pride and Prejudice) sounds like your cup of tea, you can visit us at www.marryingmrdarcy.com.

Pride and Prejudice is full of events that progress the plot and character development. The biggest turning point (in my opinion) is when Elizabeth reads a letter from Mr. Darcy after she has rejected his proposal. This is the big turning point in the book where Lizzy’s opinion of Darcy begins to change, but also the point where she discovers that she is quick to judge and these judgements are not always accurate. She later says to Jane something like “I did not know myself.” 

I wanted to put this kind of discovery in the game. I ended up making the event card above that basically forces you to change how you have been building your character. If you get this card early in the game, it is more advantageous because you will likely only be discarding one or two cards and gaining four, plus you have time to make adjustments before the end of the game. However, the later you get this card in the game, the more devastating it can potentially be as the strategy you’ve been employing up to that point may need to change. I think this makes sense of the book. Elizabeth can't move forward until she knows this about herself, it is initially devastating. But because she discovers this before she goes to Pemberley she is able to move forward with Darcy. If she hadn't discovered this by the middle of the book, things would have turned out quite differently! 

My talented husband Erik Evensen (erik-evensen.com) drew this original art for the Heroine and Suitor cards for "Marrying Mr. Darcy." He loosely based some of the characters off of various film/tv/web adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, but not so much we need to ask permission of the actors. 

These were sketched in pencil and then inked. Digital colors were eventually added for the final version to be printed on the cards. 

If you'd like to stay up to date with announcements about "Marrying Mr. Darcy" be sure to fill out our contact form or follow us on Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter! 

About a week ago I received my first professionally printed prototype of the game from a print on demand game publisher called The Game Crafter. I discovered The Game Crafter about a year ago when I was just starting development on the game. My husband has a couple of books he has written available via a print on demand service, and I wondered if this kind of service exists for games. Apparently it does!

Game Crafter is a company based in Madison, WI. They can print cards, boxes, rule sheets, boards, as well as put whatever pieces or dice you need all in one package. It looks great! The playtesting I've done with this prototype definitely adds to the experience of playing it, making it feel like it is a real game. 

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So I just drank a Red Hook Wise Cracker WIT beer for the first time. (Very tasty by the way- a little hint of ginger.) I was pretty amused by the bottle cap, an orange circle that has WIT stamped right on it. The color on the photo above is a little bit off, but in the game “Wit" and the level of Wit you can add is represented by an orange circle. 

Beer + games: together forever. 

Be sure to help spread the word on this upcoming game and reblog and follow me for more news and updates! Also check us out here:

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