Brenda Brathwaite, again

Brenda contacted me, and seemed not too offended about my write-up about her talk, ha. She did offer several clarifications though.

First, she says that there is only 1 copy of Train, not 6 copies. The number 6 referred to the number of games in the series of games she's making of which Train is just 1. Mexican Kitchen Workers is another of the 6 games, I think.

She had this to say about the rules of Train:

Regarding the rules of Train, think of them as the rules of Wizardry combat. At some point, I need user input or the game just becomes a simulation. Train requires these user inputs at very specific times. It also takes advantage of the  tendency I have seen in Euro rules - if it is not expressly prohibited by the rules, then it may be allowed by the rules. 

I must have a different impression of Euro games though, because to me they are games with extremely iron-clad rules, as opposed to games that leave parts of the rules up to the players. Anyway, she also commented on why she hasn't made the rules available on the net: she doesn't want a computerized version of the game created, she says.

Next, my statement that none of the players ever say "Oh it's the Holocaust" was not right. Many players said that, she says. What she meant was that during an actual session of the game, if one player discovers this mid-way through, he or she never seems to share this information with other players who haven't figured it out yet. Fascinating behavior, says Brenda (I agree). This is what I meant in the first place, by the way, that DURING a play session no one tends to ruin the revelation for others, but my previous post might have been unclear on that.

Finally, I asked Brenda if she had played Ayiti, because it's an example of a replayable game with well-defined rules that aims to make players really feel something. I personally think that game is very successful at its goal (as is Train, by the way), and that maybe its methods are something we should be trying to replicate. Brenda of course knows of the game, but said:

I am holding off on playing Ayiti until I've completed my own game that deals with the same geographical area. I'd like not to be influenced by that. 

Thanks for the follow-up, Brenda!