July 20, 2018

martin

Dear Mr Wallace.
I notice with interest that an updated version of your classic game “Brass” is currently seeking funds on kickstarter. However I am very disappointed that you have not addressed the biggest flaw in the game - namely the omission of Huddersfield from the map of Northern towns of the Industrial Revolution.
I will acknowledge that you get quite close ��’ the map reaching as far as Oldham, which is just 23.2 miles from Huddersfield. This is significantly better than your game “A Few Acres of Snow” where the nearest place on the board is Louisbourg which is an outrageous two thousand five hundred and seventy nine miles away from Huddersfield Town centre ��’ or even longer if you don’t take Halifax Road in order to avoid the traffic.
When I heard you were going to bring out a sequel to the game my hopes were raised again. I was sure you had realised your mistake and had decided to rectify things. However I’m sure you can imagine my shock when I learnt you had decided to feature Birmingham instead. A town that no doubt has its own small merits, but it hardly the English jewel that Huddersfield is.
Fortunately as the kickstarter is not yet over there is still opportunity for you to include the town in a second sequel. You could perhaps make a special Brass ~Huddersfield edition, which I’m sure would prove of significant benefit for the finances of your campaign. If I might suggest Mirfield, Slaithwaite, Edgerton, Dalton, and of course Berry Brow as potential locations on the board. You could even do a link to Oldham if you wanted, although I’d suggest just labelling it “Lancaster” so as not to give them any ideas above their station.
I hope we can resolve this issue to our mutual satisfaction.
Yours sincerely.
Dan Hughes Noble Order of Huddersfield Board Gamers
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Hi Dan,
I certainly think there is a case for a ‘Yorkshire’ version of the game, which would obviously include Huddersfield. I will suggest it to Roxley.
Best
Martin

May 05, 2017

A letter to... Eric Lang

Dear Mr Lang.

Firstly I would like to congratulate you on your recent appointment with CMON and your fabulously successful kickstarter for Rising Sun.  I, like many others are very keen to see what your next project will be.

It is on this point that I am writing to you.  I’m sure you are aware of the increasing prominence of my home town (Huddersfield, England) within the board gaming industry.  For many years Huddersfield has been bafflingly overlooked when it comes to theming.  Up to press there has only been one game I’m aware of to feature the town - the 2006 Ragnar Brothers game Canal Mania.  Apparently Andreas Seyfarth very nearly set a game in the town too, but at the the last minute decided to go with Puerto Rico instead.

However things appear to be changing. For example Martin Wallace has said he is talking to Roxley Games about a Huddersfield themed version of Brass; and the town has had numerous mentions on the Dice Tower recently. It is entirely possible that that games set in Huddersfield may replace Zombies, Cthulhu, and Vikings in the gaming zeitgeist in 2017/18.

As one of the most prominent and respected designers of our age, as well as someone who is responsible for keeping CMON relevant and up to date, I’m sure you do not want to miss out on this explosive new trend in modern gaming.

Perhaps you could use Huddersfield as the setting for the third game in your Blood Rage/Rising Sun trilogy?  While we do not quite have the range of  legendary monsters and creatures that both the Japanese and the Norse mythologies provide, there are ample opportunities for antagonists if you scratch just a little bit below the surface.

For example there is a duck down on the canal which is considerably larger than all the other ducks. Also there’s a woman behind the counter at the post office who is incredibly grumpy and to certainly would not be too much of a stretch to call her a hag - although I’d advise against doing so to her face (She doesn’t work on Tuesdays or Wednesdays; perhaps that could be incorporated into the game mechanics in some way?).

I’m sure that with a bit more work even more examples of terrifying opponents and creatures could be found (I don’t want to do all your work for you!!).

I have enclosed a picture of the duck in case you wish to give it to your modelling team to create some prototypes.  Unfortunately I was unable to get a photo of the woman at the post office as she threw me out when I got my camera out.

I look forward to seeing the project on Kickstarter soon.  After the success of Blood Rage and Rising sun I’m sure it will be another record breaker for your company.

Yours sincerely

Dan Hughes
The Noble Order of Huddersfield Board Gamers.
Dear Mr Wallace.
I notice with interest that an updated version of your classic game “Brass” is currently seeking funds on kickstarter. However I am very disappointed that you have not addressed the biggest flaw in the game - namely the omission of Huddersfield from the map of Northern towns of the Industrial Revolution.
I will acknowledge that you get quite close ��’ the map reaching as far as Oldham, which is just 23.2 miles from Huddersfield. This is significantly better than your game “A Few Acres of Snow” where the nearest place on the board is Louisbourg which is an outrageous two thousand five hundred and seventy nine miles away from Huddersfield Town centre ��’ or even longer if you don’t take Halifax Road in order to avoid the traffic.
When I heard you were going to bring out a sequel to the game my hopes were raised again. I was sure you had realised your mistake and had decided to rectify things. However I’m sure you can imagine my shock when I learnt you had decided to feature Birmingham instead. A town that no doubt has its own small merits, but it hardly the English jewel that Huddersfield is.
Fortunately as the kickstarter is not yet over there is still opportunity for you to include the town in a second sequel. You could perhaps make a special Brass ~Huddersfield edition, which I’m sure would prove of significant benefit for the finances of your campaign. If I might suggest Mirfield, Slaithwaite, Edgerton, Dalton, and of course Berry Brow as potential locations on the board. You could even do a link to Oldham if you wanted, although I’d suggest just labelling it “Lancaster” so as not to give them any ideas above their station.
I hope we can resolve this issue to our mutual satisfaction.
Yours sincerely.
Dan Hughes Noble Order of Huddersfield Board Gamers
----
Hi Dan,
I certainly think there is a case for a ‘Yorkshire’ version of the game, which would obviously include Huddersfield. I will suggest it to Roxley.
Best
Martin