Father Christmas Kidnapped!

Price: £1.34 (reduced by 25% from £1.79) ... add to shopping cart

This is the cost of a licence to make unlimited prints for personal use (and some prints for friends and family). Also, if you live in mainland GB, you can add p&p&p later (e.g. printed in full-colour & packaged & posted 1st class £5.14).

Menu:- overview / meet the author / game preview / technical data

Questions for the author? If you can't see the answer below you are welcome to email Duncan James at duncanjames@ratherfun.com and he will answer your question and then also send it to us to add to this page. (If you have technical questions about the site please contact RatherFun.com directly for help.)

Questions Duncan James has already answered:-

What sort of game is it? It's a boardgame.

What sort of boardgame? It is a story that you can read together with 3 mini-games to play as the story unfolds and finally reaches an exciting conclusion. It is for 1-6 players who work cooperatively to try and ensure all the presents get delivered in time.

Can we be competitive? Yes, you can be very competitive... but remember you are competing against the clock and not against the other players. Teamwork is important to get the best time. Although the rules are very simple they have been mathematically designed to reward good decision-making.

How long will the game take? This depends on how long you spend trying to use the best tactics... I think an average game will take about 2 hours or so. Note, this game is split into 3 "mini-games"... this innovative game design means you can enjoy it (say) over three evenings during the Christmas break.

Why is it so cheap? You are buying the the game (with a great storyline, gameplay, artwork and design) without also having to pay the manufacturing and distribution costs. You are simply getting a great storyline and some great gameplay! Print it out (ink-friendly design... see below), cut out some bits and play! I think this is what boardgames should be about! You get a great evening's entertainment at a really great price!

What ages is it for? With games like these it all depends on the person... I think a mixed age group can enjoy it with anyone aged 8 or over able to fully engage with the game. It's definitely also suitable for groups of adults who like to play games and want a Christmas-themed game to enjoy.

Is it a good game? I think so! It's a gripping story of kidnap, adventure, friendship, superheroes, a supervillain and a race-against-time to deliver all the presents! You play the elves who start getting worried when Father Christmas is late back from a warm-up flight on Christmas Eve... follow an exciting storyline as you complete a series of tasks against the clock!

What does the game consist of? There are 14 sheets of A4 with game components (including the parts to make 2 gameboards and lots of tokens), 7 sheets of instructions (including in-game story and instructions for the 3 mini-games) and a score sheet.

Will it use much ink? No! I was under strict instructions from RatherFun.com to produce a high-impact, high-quality, easy-to-read look with an average of less than 5% coverage... printers usually quote number of prints based on 5% coverage and so there won't be any surprises!

Exactly how much ink will it use? This actually varies between printer, but using a reasonable quality printer is likely to result in the following coverage percentages for Father Christmas Kidnapped!:- score sheet (6% black, 0% colour), colour instructions (7% black, 1% colour), colour components (3% black, 5% colour), black and white instructions (7% black and 0% colour), black and white components (3% black, 0% colour). As you can see, the instructions go slightly over the 5% target (because of the amount of text) and the components come in using nice low percentages.

How long does it take to cut out? Although there are 3 mini-games, a lot of the components are re-used and I carefully designed it to minimise cutting out. I did a test... using a regular pair of household scissors... including tidying up the scrap bits of paper and sorting the bits I cut out... including being distracted for about three minutes by a phone call... and it took me 25 minutes.

What is p&p&p? RatherFun.com will print, package and post it to you by 1st or 2nd class post (you can choose). The game components will be printed in full colour (or black and white if you choose that option) onto card, with the rest of the sheets printed onto normal paper. Bags are provided for keeping the components sorted and stored... all these (plus the envelope it is posted in) are 100% recycled. Note, it is RatherFun.com and not me that does this... so if you have more questions about this best to ask them.