Hello once again!
Last week and the week before, we talked about two very different games: Reef Rescue and Alphabeasts Attack! Reef Rescue is a light family strategy game with elements of push-your-luck and memory, and Alphabeasts Attack! is a co-operative word-lovers' tower defence game. Today, we're rounding off with something different that will satisfy our combo-loving gamer friends.
The third game in our mid-2022 slate is The Korean Wave, a menu-building, dice-cooking expansion to Wok and Roll inspired by one of our favourite cuisines. The Korean Wave brings more of the scrumptious choices and combo-chaining gameplay that Wok and Roll was famous for, and adds extra flavour with all new mechanisms such as the Kimchi mechanic as well as tantalising new skills and a skill tree.
To bring you behind the curtain of the game-making process, here are five fun facts about The Korean Wave:
1. The colours in The Korean Wave were chosen for their significance to Korean culture. If the box cover looks familiar, it's because it utilizes the red and blue of the Korean flag. The colours of the 5 dish types in the game were inspired by Obangsaek, traditional Korean colours representing the 5 cardinal directions and the 5 elements.
White = Metal = Rice
Yellow = Earth = Noodles
Red = Fire = Meat
Blue = Wood = Vegetables
Black = Water = Seafood
These 5 colours are a big part of Korean culture, not only being omnipresent in clothing, paintings and architecture but also in the food of Korea.
2. Kimchi is a quintessential aspect of Korean dishes, and is both a dish AND an ingredient. Kimchi is a key feature in The Korean Wave, because you can cook it (both the regular and vegetarian versions!) and you can use the kimchi again as an ingredient in other high scoring dishes such as Kimchi Fried Rice or Army Stew or to unlock game-changing skills. Another new mechanic in the game is First Flowers, which gives bonuses to the first player to complete a dish of that type. You'll need to keep on your toes if you want these tasty bonuses!
3. The inspirational illustrator behind the brush, @bwin_bear, created the 17 fully illustrated dishes in the game as well as all of the graphical elements that you see in the menu. She did extensive research on Korean patterns such as flowers, octagons and waves, Korean architecture, and of course Korean food, and you can experience all of this at a glance when you unfold the 3-panel menu. She was constantly getting hungry while working on the game, and we don't suggest playing The Korean Wave on an empty stomach :)
4. Wok and Roll is our very first published expansion here at Origame. Through social media and word of mouth, we know that folks around the world have enjoyed the delicious menu-construction of Wok and Roll, and this is our way of saying thanks to everyone who has bought a copy of Wok. We've kept all of the combo-mashing fun of the original Wok and stirred in more tasty decisions and kitchen gadgetry, so we're certain that you will love it. We're always grateful for your feedback so drop us an email at ask@origame.co anytime or just chat with us via our webpage at your convenience. There's lots more where The Korean Wave came from, so if you enjoy it (or any of our other games) please let us know and we'll see what else we can conjure up in the design kitchen!
5. Daryl, the designer of the game, isn't Korean but he does have half-Korean nephews-in-law. He also lived in Koreatown in Toronto for many years, where he spent many years enjoying all of the dishes that you see in the menu. Two favourite dishes he regretted not being able to incorporate into the game are Gamjatang and Jjimdak. Being a designer means having to make difficult design decisions, and this was one of the toughest ones.
Here is the promotional code for 10% off The Korean Wave that will last from now until the end of August: "launch10off"
Be one of the first in the world to play The Korean Wave. You can also read the rulebook to The Korean Wave here. By popular demand, we are extending our launch promotion code for ALL THREE GAMES till the end of August, which is coincidentally also Singapore's birthday month. What better way to celebrate National Day than by playing local games?
This concludes the third of our mid-2022 trilogy, but the fun never stops at Origame. Please stay tuned to our social media as well as newsletter to see what we are dreaming up.
We're also happy to recommend Carnival Connect, designed by Origame designers Daryl Chow and Daniel Lee (of Arachnoir fame) and published by our partner MooMeeNyu Games. Carnival Connect is now live on Kickstarter!
Carnival Connect is a semi-cooperative puzzle game for 2-6 players and may be the only game in the world that blends both puzzle and negotiation! Players form partnerships with their neighbours to build just the right combination of colour themes, rides and train tracks into the shared Carnivals to score Mission objectives before other players do.
But watch out! Every player has their own scoring agenda and will favour different rides. Not only do the Carnivals have limited space, but each round an old ride must be demolished to make way for new development. How far will players be willing to demolish their scoring rides for a common goal? What negotiation skills and mind games will they bring into play? And how long will they work together amicably before the thought of demolishing their neighbour's high scoring rides becomes a juicy option? Find out in Carnival Connect, on Kickstarter for a limited time only.