{"id":570,"date":"2012-05-01T09:48:04","date_gmt":"2012-05-01T09:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/?p=570"},"modified":"2017-01-24T21:24:49","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T21:24:49","slug":"pony-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/blog\/2012\/05\/01\/pony-express\/","title":{"rendered":"Pony Express"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dans Pony Express, votre but est d’\u00eatre le courrier le plus rapide de l’ouest, sur le parcours historique de St Joseph \u00e0 Sacramento. Une course avec des d\u00e9s, mais des d\u00e9s tr\u00e8s sp\u00e9ciaux avec lesquels on peut bluffer, et m\u00eame parfois descendre les pions adverses\u2026<\/p>\n

Histoire du jeu<\/strong><\/p>\n

En 2007, lors des pr\u00e9paratifs du salon d\u2019Essen, Bruno , Ludo et moi furent quelque peu g\u00ean\u00e9s par une \u00e9tonnante co\u00efncidence. Parmi la dizaine de prototypes que notre petite \u00e9quipe francophone apportait dans ses cartons, et comptait pr\u00e9senter aux \u00e9diteurs, se trouvaient deux jeux de plateaux, de format \u00e9quivalent, tous deux sur le th\u00e8me du far-west et, surtout, bas\u00e9s sur l\u2019utilisation de d\u00e9s de poker. La ressemblance s\u2019arr\u00eatait l\u00e0, puisque le Dice Town de Bruno et Ludo \u00e9tait essentiellement un jeu de paris, lointain cousin du yams, et mon Pony-Express un jeu de parcours. Nous d\u00e9cid\u00e2mes donc de pr\u00e9senter comme si de rien n\u2019\u00e9tait les deux jeux, et il n\u2019est gu\u00e8re \u00e9tonnant que ce soit Dice Town, qui \u00e9tait le plus abouti, qui trouva le plus facilement un \u00e9diteur.<\/p>\n

J\u2019ai toujours beaucoup aim\u00e9 les d\u00e9s de poker, et cela faisait de longues ann\u00e9es que je cherchais \u00e0 faire un jeu les utilisant, jeu qui ne pouvait bien s\u00fbr que mettre en sc\u00e8ne des cow-boys. Le d\u00e9clic a du jeu fut l\u2019id\u00e9e d\u2019exploiter ces m\u00eames d\u00e9s tout \u00e0 la fois comme d\u00e9s, c\u2019est \u00e0 dire comme g\u00e9n\u00e9rateurs de mains de poker, et comme projectiles lors des duels. R\u00e9fl\u00e9chissant depuis longtemps aux jeux de parcours, je pensais alors au th\u00e8me du Pony Express, et la structure de base du jeu me vint tr\u00e8s vite. La combinaison obtenue aux d\u00e9s permet d\u2019avancer son pion sur le parcours menant de Saint Joseph \u00e0 Sacramento, avec bien s\u00fbr la possibilit\u00e9 de bluffer sur le r\u00e9sultat obtenu, et les rencontres entre pions se r\u00e8glent par des duels lors desquels les joueurs lancent les d\u00e9s d\u2019une pichenette pour abattre les pions adverse. Le r\u00e9sultat devait donc \u00eatre un m\u00e9lange original de chance, de bluff et d\u2019adresse, mais mon jeu, trop bas\u00e9 sur le bluff, \u00e9tait sans doute un peu long et un peu r\u00e9p\u00e9titif.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Le prototype de Pony Express, et une maquette de la boite, aux rencontres ludopathiques.
The prototype of Pony Express, and the mock-up of the box, at the Ludopathic Gathering.<\/p><\/div>\n

Fort heureusement, ce fut aussi le moment o\u00f9 notre petite \u00e9quipe fit la connaissance d\u2019un jeune auteur dynamique et prometteur, Antoine Bauza, qui comme moi s\u2019int\u00e9ressait beaucoup aux jeux de parcours. Quelques semaines apr\u00e8s le salon, je proposai donc \u00e0 Antoine de jeter un \u0153il nouveau sur ce vieux projet et de le reprendre avec moi. Apr\u00e8s quelques \u00e9changes de mails, Pony Express avait beaucoup gagn\u00e9 en dynamisme, en rapidit\u00e9 et en vari\u00e9t\u00e9. Nous commen\u00e7\u00e2mes par montrer cette nouvelle mouture \u00e0 quelques \u00e9diteurs qui n\u2019en avaient pas vu les versions pr\u00e9c\u00e9dentes, et Philippe, de Fun Forge, se d\u00e9cida tr\u00e8s rapidement. Lui-m\u00eame auteur de jeu, puisqu\u2019il avait cr\u00e9\u00e9 le jeu de cartes Illusio, Philippe a \u00e9galement apport\u00e9 une touche finale aux m\u00e9canismes de Pony Express.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Illustrations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mon ami Pier\u00f4 aurait d\u00fb \u00eatre le choix logique pour illustrer Pony Express. Ayant pris part \u00e0 tous les tests, il connaissait bien le jeu. Son trait color\u00e9 et plein d’humour convenait parfaitement aux m\u00e9canismes de Pony Express. Malheureusement, Pier\u00f4 venait juste d’illustrer Dice Town, et il lui aurait \u00e9t\u00e9 difficile de faire quelque chose de tr\u00e8s diff\u00e9rent pour Pony Express.<\/p>\n

L’\u00e9diteur d\u00e9cida donc de faire appel \u00e0 un jeune illustrateur qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, qui n’avait pas encore s\u00e9vi dans le monde du jeu de soci\u00e9t\u00e9, Mathieu Beaulieu. Le r\u00e9sultat est splendide et plein d’humour. Les personnages, les animaux, les objets, tout donne envie de sourire. Quant au plateau de jeu, je n’en ai jamais vu d’aussi r\u00e9ussi. Il est riche en d\u00e9tails, plein d’humour, et malgr\u00e9 tout d’une lisibilit\u00e9 exemplaire. Rien d’\u00e9tonnant \u00e0 ce que Mathieu ait depuis illustr\u00e9 d’autres jeux, parmi lesquels l’excellent Sobek, de mon ami Bruno Cathala.<\/p>\n

Pony Express<\/strong><\/span>
\n Un jeu d’Antoine Bauza et Bruno Faidutti<\/span>
\nIllustrations de Mathieu Beaulieu<\/span>
\n 3 \u00e0 5 joueurs \u2013 60 minutes<\/span>
\n Publi\u00e9 par FunForge (2009)<\/span>
\nTric Trac<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Boardgamegeek<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In Pony Express, you must prove that you are the fastest rider of the Pony Express, from St Joseph to Sacramento. It’s a race, with dice, but special dice with which you can bluff and even shoot at opponents’ pawns.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2007, in the very last days before the Essen fair, Bruno, Ludo and I noticed a problematic coincidence. Among the dozen prototypes which our small team was bringing to show to publishers, there were two board games of very similar weight, look, theme and components \u2013 family boardgames using poker dice in a wild west setting. Of course, a game with poker dice has to be about saloons and cowboys, but this was nevertheless a striking coincidence.<\/em><\/p>\n

The games worked very differently, but they looked very similar, and that was the problem. Ludo and Bruno\u2019s Dice Town was a dice game loosely based on Yahtzee, while my Pony Express was a luck based race game with some bluffing and dexterity thrown in. So we decided to show both and Dice Town, which was better finalized, was first to find a publisher.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always liked poker dice, and for years I was trying to design a game using such dice \u2013 of course, it had to be a western themed game. This game started with the idea that the same dice could be used both classically, to generate poker hands, and as bullets in duels. I like race games, and thought of the Pony Express theme. The poker hand rolled with the dice gives the number of spaces one could move on the track from St Joseph to Sacramento \u2013 of course with some opportunities for bluffing. When two or more players land on the same space, there is a duel in which dice are used to shoot at one another\u2019s pawn. This made for a nice mix \u2013 luck, bluffing and dexterity. Unfortunately, with just these elements, my game was a bit too heavily based on bluff, and felt a bit repetitive.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A new author was joining our team this year, Antoine Bauza. Antoine was, like me, much interested in race games. A few weeks after the fair, I asked him to have a new and fresh look at this old project, and suggested we worked on it together. After a few mails and some testing, the game became more dynamic, more varied, faster paced. We showed this game to some publishers who had not seen the earlier one, and Philippe, from Fun Forge, a new small French game company, decided to do it as his second game, and first big box. Philippe is also a game author, since he designed the first game published by Fun Forge, Illusio, and got involved in the last development of the game. Pony Express was published by FunForge in 2009.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Art<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

My friend Pier\u00f4 should have been the obvious choice to illustrate Pony Express. He took part in most game tests, and knew the game really well. His colored, humorous and cartoony style would have fitted the game perfectly. Unfortunately, Pier\u00f4 had just illustrated Dice Town, and it would have been difficult for him to make something different enough for Pony Express.<\/em><\/p>\n

That’s why the publisher asked a young canadian illustrator, Mathieu Beaulieu, who had not so far illustrated games, to work on Pony Express. The result is gorgeous. The characters, the animals, the items, everything looks fun and makes you want to play. The best part is probably the board, the nicest one I’ve ever seen. It’s full of small details, and nevertheless perfectly clear. I think we’ll have one of the nicest looking boxes in Essen, and I’m sure we’ll have the nicest looking board. No wonder Mathieu has since been hired to work on some other games, including Bruno Cathala\u2019s Sobek.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pony Express<\/strong><\/span><\/em>
\n A game by Antoine Bauza & Bruno Faidutti<\/span><\/em>
\nArt by Mathieu Beaulieu<\/span><\/em>
\n 3 to 5 players\u00a0 \u2013 60 minutes<\/span><\/em>
\n Published by FunForge (2009)<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span>Boardgamegeek<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Cette image un peu triste avait \u00e9t\u00e9 dessin\u00e9e pour figurer au dos de la boite, mais l’\u00e9diteur a finalement pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9 y mettre une descripion du jeu et une photo du mat\u00e9riel. Commercialement, il a certainement eu raison, mais c’est un peu dommage.
This sad picture was intended to be at the back of the game box. The publisher later changed his mind and opted for a more classical description of the game, with a picture of its elements. This was commercially sound, but I regret that this nice picture is not in the game.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dans Pony Express, votre but est d’\u00eatre le courrier le plus rapide de l’ouest, sur le parcours historique de St Joseph \u00e0 Sacramento. Une course avec des d\u00e9s, mais des d\u00e9s tr\u00e8s sp\u00e9ciaux avec lesquels on peut bluffer, et m\u00eame … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[85,331,293,345,361],"class_list":["post-570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pony-express","tag-antoine-bauza","tag-course-race","tag-funforge","tag-mathieu-beaulieu","tag-pony-express"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2HNOP-9c","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6846,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions\/6846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}