A retrospective of 22 years of Cheapass Games, more than 100 titles in a handsome hardcover book.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Last Day! & Ask James Anything
about 7 years ago
– Sat, May 04, 2019 at 01:28:10 PM
Cheapasses:
Thanks so much for your support! We have just eight hours left in our campaign; please spread the word to anyone who might be interested!
Ask James Anything
Join us on Facebook Tuesday, April 30 from 6 PM-7 PM Pacific/9 PM-10 PM Eastern! We'll be streaming from Mox Boarding House in Bellevue, WA as we celebrate the end of the campaign. You can ask James about game design, juggling, and more!
Chief Herman's is coming!
Thanks to over 250 fans who shared the campaign, both Chief Herman's Holiday Fun Pack and Chief Herman's Next Big Thing will be released as free print-and-plays! Both Chief Herman packs contained over two dozen games each. When they're posted, our free game library will offer over 80 games! Look for these in the first half of May.
Fans like you helped build the Cheapass Games brand, and thanks to you we've been able to bring cheap fun to the masses for many wonderful years. We appreciate you.
As always, please let us know if you have any general questions via the comments section. Questions specific to your pledge should be sent via Kickstarter messenger or email at [email protected].
Have a great week, and thanks again for backing!
Team Cheapass
Book Preview & Upcoming Livestream!
about 7 years ago
– Tue, Apr 30, 2019 at 05:50:15 AM
Cheapasses:
We're over 400% funded! Thanks so much for helping to spread the good word of Cheapass Games.
Book Preview
We've had some questions about whether or not the games are playable from the book. They are not; Cheapass Games in Black and White is a history book meant to be an entertaining overview of our history, as well as a convenient rules reference for more than 100 games from our black-and-white period. While select components may be pictured, there's no good way to include playable game cards and boards in a book.
For an example of what you'll find in Cheapass Games in Black and White, please click through to enjoy a preview chapter on fan favorite titleHuzzah!. Obligatory disclaimer: This preview has not been to editing and is subject to change before publication.
*We redacted some outdated information, like our old street address. Don't bother those folks.
Upcoming Livestream!
Tune in to the Greater Than Games Twitch channel next week to watch James Ernest, the Cheapass family, GTG crew, and surprise special guests play classics like U.S. Patent No. 1, Escape from Elba, and the Devil Bunny games! James is already safely ensconced at GTG HQ, digging through their demo library for spare parts and preparing to game for your entertainment. Visit cheapass.com for a detailed schedule.
Finally, don't forget to check our Facebook and Twitter for daily challenges and giveaways during the campaign. Today we're giving away a copy of Cube Farm!
As always, please let us know if you have any general questions via the comments section. Questions specific to your pledge should be sent via Kickstarter messenger or email at [email protected].
Have a great weekend!
Team Cheapass
First Look at Table of Contents
about 7 years ago
– Wed, Apr 17, 2019 at 10:18:17 PM
Cheapasses & Book Lovers:
Unlike our previous publications, Cheapass Games in Black and White is a book, not a game. It will have as much information as we can pack in there for game-lovers, game designers, and scholars and historians of Cheapass Games. We're including all of the rules to all of the games, along with the history and design notes, but there’s no good way to put playable game cards and boards into the book.
Happily, many of the games are already available as completely free print-and-play PDFs, and we'll be making more available as the campaign continues. Some games only require a board, which is simple enough to print. In other cases, you might have to print cards, boards, etc. (James has created handy reference videos to help you make bespoke print-and-plays.) In true Cheapass Games fashion, you will need to dig up generic parts like dice, pawns, play money, etc.
Below is a preliminary list of titles covered in Cheapass Games in Black and White, with notes on whether they’re available as a print-and-play or shiny new deluxe edition, or whether they’re lost for good. (Or until James makes a new edition.) Both Chief Herman packs include over twenty individual games, pushing the total number of games in Cheapass Games in Black and White to over 100! Please note this list is subject to change.
Don't see something you're curious about? Send us an email, and we'll see what we can find. Visit our web store to see our current catalog and order new games, and don't forget to check out our print-and-play library.
We’d be remiss not to mention The Island of Doctor Lucky, one of our newest games. You’re still trying to kill Doctor Lucky, but you’re on his private island, which is trying to kill you!
Make the free print-and-play, available April 17th!
CAG 025: Change!
Change! is currently unavailable.
2000
CAG 026: The Big Idea
The Big Idea is currently unavailable.
CAG 027: Save Doctor Lucky
Make the free print-and-play, available April 18th!
CAG 028: The Great Brain Robbery
Make the free print-and-play, available April 19th!
CAG 029: James Ernest Writes Off Another Trip to VEGAS
You should not play this game. It is terrible. And also unavailable.
CAG 030: Chief Herman’s Holiday Fun Pack
Chief Herman’s Holiday Fun Pack is currently unavailable. However, many of the games included require only the rules included in the booklet, with the exception of a few games that require a board. Chief Herman’s Holiday Fun Pack will be in Cheapass Games in Black and White.
2001
CAG 031: Witch Trial
Make the free print-and-play! We have a slightly updated version of this game that has been free online since 2014. A PDF of the original version will be available on April 22nd.
Make the free print-and-play, available April 25th! Check out its deluxe sister game, Stuff and Nonsense, which has the same story (and many of the same cards) in a prettier wrapper and features Professor Elemental as the villain!
CAG 520 Diceland: Deep White Sea
Diceland is currently unavailable. Is uses custom-cut paper 8-sided dice, which are hard to find and even harder to duplicate.
CAG 036: Freeloader
Make the free print-and-play, available April 26th!
CAG 521-523: Fightball
Fightball is currently unavailable. It's difficult to make print-and-plays durable enough to stand up to real-time games.
2003
CAG 963: Steam Tunnel
Steam Tunnel is currently unavailable.
CAG 964: Light Speed
Make the free print-and-play! This is about the only real-time card game that can survive being a print-and-play. It takes a lot less abuse than Falling or BRAWL.
CAG 037: One False Step for Mankind
Make the free print-and-play, available with its expansion (One False StepHome) April 27th!
As with the previous Chief Herman collection, this assortment of 20 games is mostly playable with the rules found in Cheapass Games in Black and White and basic components.
2004
CAG 039: Jacob Marley, Esquire
Make the free print-and-play, available April 28th! You should also check out the updated version of this same idea, Young Jacob Marley!
2005
CAG 041: Secret Tijuana Deathmatch
Make the free print-and-play, available April 29th! However, even with those files, you will have to be creative to duplicate the die-cut counters that came in the original game.
As always, please let us know if you have any general questions via the comments section. Questions specific to your pledge should be sent via Kickstarter messenger or email at [email protected].
Have a great week, and be sure to share the campaign with your friends!
Team Cheapass
We funded!
about 7 years ago
– Mon, Apr 08, 2019 at 11:16:21 AM
Cheapasses:
Thanks to you, we doubled our funding goal in less than 24 hours! We sincerely appreciate your support and enthusiasm.
Free Print & Play Games
In celebration of Cheapass Games in Black and White and our legion of Cheapass Games fans (that's you!), we're releasing a free print-and-play every day of the campaign. The first two, Kill Doctor Lucky and Before I Kill You, Mister Spy... are available now at cheapass.com. Check out James Ernest's YouTube channel for instructional videos on crafting durable and handsome print-and-play components.
While going through our archives in preparation for writing Cheapass Games in Black and White, James Ernest came across a box of spare old games. More important, we're giving most of them away! Look for daily challenges on Twitter and Facebook to enter. In addition to older games, you could unlock preview book content and other fun surprises.
Today, we're giving away a copy of Before I Kill You, Mister Spy... to someone who tells us the best Cheapass Games conspiracy theory.
Greater Than Games Partnership
We're thrilled to announce our new partnership with Greater Than Games of St. Louis, MO. You might know Greater Than Games from hits like Sentinels of the Multiverse and Spirit Island. Partnering with Greater Than Games will free James from the business and logistical obligations of game publishing, and allow him to focus on completing Cheapass Games in Black and White, design more games, and maybe one day even spend some time on a beach.
This also means that Greater Than Games will be handling the printing and fulfillment of the Kickstarter, so don't be surprised to see some of their crew pop in to answer questions!
Finally, per backer Chris Mortika's request, here's a picture of James Ernest and Carol Monahan (our VP and Mrs. Cheapass) from the early 1990s.
Did you know James Ernest used to be a professional juggler?
As the campaign progresses, please ask general questions in the comments, and ask questions specific to your situation via Kickstarter message or email at [email protected]. Thanks so much for backing!
