PolyCon
Release Date: Fall 1999
Publisher: PolyCon
Designer: James Ernest and Jeffrey Watts
Artist: Rachael Lynn Wood
New Rules: Fire Dice
Jeffrey Watts proposed several variations of the Fire Die before he and James settled on the current rules. One of the restrictions that was proposed but was later determined to be moot was that the Fire Die was disallowed from participating in the attack it helped to enable. The two designers figured out that it was already impossible for the die to participate in a Power Attack being undertaken by another die, even ignoring the fact that Fire Dice are specifically prohibited from making Power Attacks. And, should the user wish to involve the Fire Die in a Skill Attack it had assisted, he could get the same result by simply including the die in the attack without using its special power!
More about PolyCon:
PolyCon is Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo's Gaming Convention - a student run non-profit convention that has taught students how to run game conventions since 1982. The PolyCon Committee runs weekly game nights, quarterly "Mini" Game-Conventions (one day events), many special interest focus events (including LARPS, Magic Tournaments, City-Wide Scavenger Hunts, Escape Rooms), and our big yearly convention in June. PolyCon staff also travels to many other conventions to help learn about the social gaming industry. PolyCon is known for it's great RPG's, Free Saturday Night BBQ, and for being a welcoming social alternative to the typical college lifestyle.
When asked about the production of the set, Jeffery Watts responded:
The inspiration was a couple of things rolled together. First, I simply loved the game Button Men. Secondly, I wanted to be something of a game designer and at the time had a couple games make it to prototype stage (though nothing ever went as far as the Button Men set). And then, third, when I had the idea to make my own Button Men, the characters I was going to create were obvious. Two characters who, at the time, were very famous (or infamous) in PolyCon lore.
Poly. She's the dragon mascot for PolyCon. She's also the reason I created the fire die mechanic. I was creating a dragon and dragons breathe fire. Thus, the Fire Die!
Adam Spam was a character that came from a LARP (Live Action Role Play) that was run at PolyCon XII. Due to some bad business decisions made around and at PolyCon X, the organization was in no financial condition to hold another convention, so when time rolled around for PolyCon XI... there wasn't one. A core group of friends were at a pub in San Luis Obispo at this time, commiserating over the loss of PolyCon and so they decided to re-start it. The next year, those friends held PolyCon XII, having made the choice to skip eleven in the numbering. At PolyCon XII, one of them ran a LARP which was titled "What Happened to PolyCon XI?" as a way to have a little fun at the skipped convention. I wasn't involved with that game, but from what I've been told, the one sentence explanation is: Adam Spam, an intergalactic alien, ate it using a Brazilian brain spork. For years, that was the 'official' explanation... so when it came time to determine the second character, it was an easy choice.
I came up with the mechanic and the button's stats. I do wish that I had playtested the designs just a bit more as now, in retrospect, I'm not happy with the way fire dice work. I would have removed the restriction that they can't make power attacks as that makes it really hard to re-roll them after use and also makes them easy to capture.
The buttons themselves were actually made and sold just like all the other Button Men from the time. A small baggie, two buttons, an insert (printed black and white) that closely matched the layout and design of the other sets. And sold at the same price as all other Button Men ($4.50 I think? Memory is fuzzy). I assembled every single pack by hand. I went out to the hobby shop to buy the baggies, I made every button, I photocopied and folded every insert. Really, it was a labor of love and I had hoped that more would have gotten out there. Unfortunately, I just never got the orders. I don't think I sold more than 20. My best guess at the time is that I made 50 sets and was ready to make more if there was demand. But... there wasn't demand.
