UnPub 2026 was a blast!
- Annapurna Boardgame
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
It's been one week since UnPub 2026 and I am happy to report that it was not only super fun, but the Herding Cats came quite a long way! For those who don't know what UnPub is, it's a once a year convention where designers go to test their unpublished games. It's a lot of fun and even if you're not a designer you should check it out a be a playtester!
Speaking of, thank you to all the playtesters who played with me last weekend! You're receiving this one blog post so you can read about the results you helped bring about. If you want to get more updates, please subscribe!
THE RESULTS
Rule Changes
A new phase of the game has fixed quite a few problems regarding catch up mechanics, running out of goals, ties, and more. Round 4 of the game starts the CATNIP BONANZA!
It's a sudden death round where players try to fulfill as many goals as possible in 20 seconds. It's quite a bit of fun, and very chaotic.
Physical Changes
We've determined that the character pieces with magnets will need to be a bit bigger, so pretty much everything else will also get bigger. This will hopefully resolve a few of the difficulties we've seen with people identifying the various mice. White and gray are a bit too close in color and the shapes of the bottom two might be too similar.
We've also decided that the cat pieces will have some part of the base transparent colored plastic and the tops will have cute cat ears. This will help people find the cats more easily. To test this, I will be using the most essential tool in the game designer's arsenal. Sharpies.
WHAT'S NEXT?
More testing! Unless a game is out on shelves, more testing will usually be the answer. Thank for sticking with me during this crazy journey!
MANDATORY CAT UPDATE
Athena and Artemis showed how much they missed me while I was gone. Here they are helping me work.
It also finally feels like Spring, which means I get to play a real life version of herding cats.
They were very true to themselves as the inspiration behind the game.
How did she get up there!? The fence is taller than me!
Seriously though, I hope everyone is getting to enjoy the spring weather.
Once again that you to all the playtesters. The testing at UnPub really did push the game the final few steps it needed.
See you all around!
-Becca H
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