eCribbage.com Releases "Lowball Cribbage"

From PRWEB:

eCribbage is adding yet another game to its line-up of premier online cribbage games. The new free cribbage game is titled Lowball Cribbage and is being released today.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) October 20, 2008 -- eCribbage is adding yet another game to its line-up of premier online cribbage games. The new free cribbage game is titled Lowball Cribbage and is being released today.

Also known as Losers Cribbage, Backwards Cribbage, and Reverse Cribbage, "Lowball Cribbage" is essentially the opposite of regular cribbage -- players now try to score the fewest points possible. The game-play is otherwise the same as traditional cribbage. Players win Lowball Cribbage by employing a variety of strategies: attempting to form the worst hands, loading up the opponent's crib with good cards, and trapping the opponent into points while pegging. In this game, the first player reaching 121 points is the loser.

"We've been playing Lowball Cribbage for over 10 years, it is a form of cribbage that makes you really think of what is in your hand what is going to come up. Since you're not trying to make points there is more strategy and thinking ahead. We love it!"
- Jnona from Oregon

To try out Lowball Cribbage and other entertaining cribbage games, visit http://ecribbage.com and click "Play Now".

about eCribbage:
eCribbage is the leader in online cribbage gaming and boasts the largest collection of unique cribbage games available online. These games consist of Traditional Cribbage, Manual Count Cribbage, Kings Cribbage, Cribbage with Jokers, Back up 10 Cribbage, Team Cribbage, Cribbage with Muggins, and now Lowball Cribbage. eCribbage prides itself in its friendly community and constant enhancements to the site, which makes it the perfect online cribbage experience. In order to promote friendly competition, eCribbage hosts monthly tournaments covering all of its cribbage games. eCribbage is completely free for anyone who wants to play.

For more information, contact:
Damien Blond
email: damien @ ecribbage.com

22 Cribbaholic Countries!

We just added India to our growing list of countries that have visited Cribbaholics Unanimous! Pretty exciting I think. If you want to help me get to every country in the world then just call up your friends in Cameroon, Congo and Chile... as well as countries that don't begin with the letter "c" and tell then to check out C.U. online. What is the great incentive you ask???

Hmmm, that's a good question. You can't play games here, you can't really buy anything (unless you want to click the link to buy my Crash Cribbage game) and you can't even chat with people here... So, what is it that people come to C.U. for?

The answer: to read stories about other cribbage players around the world, to participate in the "larger game" going on all around us, to find commonalities with a global community, to realize that we are NOT ALONE in a cribbageless world... or perhaps we are bored and just looking for a game of cribbage... which we inevitably DON'T find here, but maybe click on a link and go to Kings Cribbage Online where they now offer regular cribbage as well as King's Cribbage -- and both for FREE! That is truly a great site if you love cribbage.

Anyway, WELCOME INDIA!

Cheers, and Happy pegging,
Joe

P.s. While I was writing this post we added yet another country to the list - not sure if it was Japan or Greece... I can't keep up with it all!!!!

It's called begging (not pegging)

Okay, I'll be the first to admit it... this is a blatant beg for money. Why me, why now? Well, I need to raise some funds so that I can have my Crash Cribbage game transformed into an electronic version that can be played online!

Here's the deal... I have been seeking for someone able to design a good version of Crash Cribbage for several years now. I finally have found that person - Damien Blond of King's Cribbage online - but I don't have the required funds to be able to get this project running. I need about $4,000. Could probably get a good start with just 3K$, but 4 would really put me in there. I don't see that as an extraordinary amount by any means! Unfortunately, I have a problem.

My problem is that I have had, for the past 6 years, about 2,000 Crash Cribbage boards sitting in my garage. Yes, I do sell them so there are probably only 1500 at this point. It is slow steady sales. I don't really have a lot of time to proactively market them so they continue to sell slow and steady. I spent close to 10K$ on product development, etc and for the first run of 2100 boards. That is money that has NOT been recuped yet from my sales. So, to get back to "the problem," (remember i said there is a problem?)... the problem is that if I tell my wife that I'm going to spend an additional 3-4K$ on developing an electronic version of my garage-filler she may just sneak up behind me with a cast iron frying pan and help me to overcome my enthusiasm.

So, you see, if the money were to be donated at least I can avoid medical expenses of fixing my skull. Actually, my wife is the best! Her reservations are well founded -- especially with our children having a nasty habit of wanting to eat and wear clothes... how can I argue???

Please save my family! Donate now by sending $4,000 to my paypal account using my email of joe@ablekane.com... respond to this offer and you will enter the realm of immortality since I will name the annual Crash Cribbage Tournament Trophy after you and your name will forever be affiliated with Crash Cribbage. When people think of online Crash Cribbage they will think of you. Here's an example:

If your name is John Doe, the trophy will be: The "John Doe Crash Cribbage Cup"... Imagine your name there and log on to paypal now... You know you want to be immortal like Sir John Suckling himself!

Sincerely,
Joe

Q & A with COCOCO Games, Roy Cowley

The following is a Q & A with COCOCO Games owner Roy Cowley, maker of Kings Cribbage, a game that incorporates elements of Cribbage and Scrabble to form an exciting game that has continued to grow in popularity and has recently been made into an online game where it continues to draw players from all over the world. Thanks Roy!


Name: Roy Cowley
Age: 35
Born and raised: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Company: COCOCO Games, maker of “Kings Cribbage” – The King of all Cribbage Games
Web site: http://www.cococogames.com

[The following is all direct quotes from Roy Cowley]

“My father, a born entrepreneur, came up with the novel idea of combining two all-time family favorites, cribbage and crossword puzzles, to make a whole new game. He invited myself (in construction at the time) and my brother-in-law (a New Zealand Shepherd), to all forgo our salaries and join him on this adventure. How could we say no?

We started by making 1700 games in a small warehouse. Me and my brother-in-law slogged away on table saws all summer. Next we rented space in a local shopping mall for the Christmas season, and miraculously sold out on Christmas eve. Early in the new year, we started getting rave emails coming in from customers wanting more. The cribbage players were loving it! We were worried whether cribbage players would be open to this new concept, but they emailed in droves, wanting to buy more games.

Once the snowball started rolling, stores were contacting us. They had people coming in requesting the game all the time. Since then, we’ve had our ups and downs on the business side, but demand has always steadily increased. The wonderful thing about inventing something people truly use and recommend is that eventually, the stores come to you.

Last year, a cribbage player from California named Damien Blond decided to make an online version of Kings Cribbage. He wasn’t looking for anything from us, he just wanted to play Kings Cribbage with his friends and family who still lived in other parts of the world, including up here in Canada. He contacted me to show us what he’d created. I couldn’t believe that someone would take the time to create such a wonderful online version of Kings Cribbage, all in his spare time. He clearly loved the game, and he could destroy me in head-to-head matches. He asked if I would mind him putting it up for public use. Kings Cribbage online was born: http://www.kingscribbageonline.com

Kings Cribbage going online has it’s perks! The best one is that I can play Kings Cribbage with our customers. This allows me to have a candid chat with Joe and Jane Sixpack about the game, where they are from, where they heard about the game, etc, all while enjoying a spirited game. This helps me make proper decisions about where to market, what should be included in future editions of the game, etc.

COCOCO Games will continue to make Kings Cribbage for the long haul. We’ve continuously focused on our customer service, providing free replacement of lost tiles, daily responses to the public’s emails, and just helping out wherever we can. I want all of our customers to know that we are a family business, first and foremost.”

END

Interview w/ Damien Blond of King's Cribbage Online

I recently met with the creator of the online version of King’s Cribbage, Damien Blond. Over cheeseburgers and lots of talk about the possibilities of future online games, I was struck by DB’s energy and quick mind.

A few weeks later I sent him the following questions about how his experience creating a really great online version of a fun game. If you have never played King’s Cribbage you now can try it our for free at www.kingscribbageonline.com.

Enjoy the interview, and feel free to leave comments or email me if you have additional questions for myself or DB.


INTERVIEW – DAMIEN BLOND, KING’S CRIBBAGE ONLINE

Cribbaholics Unanimous: First, tell us a little bit about yourself, where are you from, how you became interested in cribbage and how the idea of an
electronic version of Kings Cribbage came about.

Damien Blond: My name is Damien Blond. I grew up in Canada and moved to the States with my family when I was 14. I returned to Canada to get my B.Sci in Computer Science at the University of Calgary. Following that, I came back to the States for work. I've been working as a Software Engineer in San Diego for 7 years.

I have always been extremely competitive and played cribbage with my family since I was very young. I remember playing my own versions of it in high school with buddies, like reverse cribbage and cribbage with jokers, etc. Also my dad and I were extremely competitive; we used to keep track of yearly long cribbage series.

I knew I wanted to program computer games since I was about 6 years old, which is when I started. So far, my career has let me get very close to accomplishing that dream--I'm just not quite there yet!

I got the idea to program an electronic version of Kings Cribbage because my family and I played constantly. As my sister and I got older and moved across Canada and the US, there was no way for us to play long distance as a family. I searched for online versions of Kings Cribbage, but none existed. I decided to create a simple online version just for my family and I to play and we had a great time! We had so much fun that I proposed formally launching a public online version to Roy Cowley of Cococo Games, which is the company that owns Kings Cribbage. Roy and I hit it off almost immediately; Cococo Games has been extremely helpful. The rest is history!

CU: Since you recently got married and also have a fulltime job, when
do you have time for programming, let alone playing the game?

DB: Yeah, that's a tough one! Let's just say my new wife, although extremely supportive, grows a little tired of my non-stop programming and discussion of Kings Cribbage throughout our evenings and weekends. I have learned how to balance and budget my time a little better so that I don't get stretched too thin. Of course, I still find the time to play the occasional online game because I love the game so much!

CU: Talk a little about the process of creating the KCO and of its
ongoing evolution.

DB: Original versions of this game were very plain: no features, no users, only 2 player games, no watching games allowed, no lounge, no chat, few sound effects and so on. In fact, if you submitted a move in the original version of the game and it did not add up correctly, the game would make a loud beeping noise, and a small pop-up would tell you "your move is invalid" which was very annoying to everyone. Thus automatic score-keeping and the notepad were born.

Obviously these were not the only features I added. The game has dramatically improved over the past year, based on the on-going feedback from the game's users. Some of these features include: user login and personalized settings, user statistics and ratings, skunks, online tutorials for new players, tile racks, a featured "Player of the Month," and so much more. There are also many new features I have planned! I get very excited every time I add a new feature to the game and appreciate any ideas my users have for new features.

CU: What were some of the challenges involved in building the online community?

DB: Building a regular user-base from scratch is always a challenge. Roy Cowley was a tremendous help; he emailed everyone that had ever purchased the board game online to alert them of the new online version. This brought us in nearly 100 consistent users, 20 of which are the game's current "core" users who play multiple times a day. Since then, the community is growing via web searches, word of mouth, and networking with other cribbage communities online.

CU: How many members of KCO are there currently and how many do you
foresee joining in the future?

DB: The site officially launched March 3rd , and we currently have 600 users in the community. There are about 60 avid users who play games at least every other day.

At the current rate of growth, I expect over a thousand users by the end of the year, and at least 100 players that play daily.

When we start adding more games beyond just Kings Cribbage to the online community, I expect this number will jump dramatically.

CU: What aspect of KCO are you most proud of?

DB: Bringing a new game to life from scratch, and having users really appreciate my efforts. I have gotten a lot of feedback from families stating that KC Online brings them together and gives them an outlet to hang out and chat, despite being far away from each other. Since that is the original reason I designed this game--to allow me and my family to play despite the hundreds of miles between us--hearing that other families come together to play excites me the most.

CU: I've seen a lot of online games where anyone can log on and play
against a computer. So far KCO is still a game where you are playing
an actual person, or not at all. Was this intentional and will that
change in the future?

DB: Hopefully! The only reason I haven't added a computer opponent into KC Online is that I haven't had enough free time to do so. Developing a computer opponent entails developing Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is a serious undertaking. It's easy to make a dummy AI player making random low-scoring moves, and never actually being a viable threat--where's the intelligence in that?

Designing an intermediate skilled AI computer player would take almost a month of full-time dedicated work, while an advanced almost unbeatable opponent would take closer to 2-3 months. I hope to do this one day, but it's just not realistic for the immediate future until I can totally focus on it.

CU: What is the average number of games played by KCO members and how often do most players log on?

DB: "Golfgal" is our player with the most games ever played, having played nearly one thousand games since March. Our most frequent users log on every day, averaging over 7 games daily. The average user has played about 1 game per day since they found the site. Approximately 7,000 total games have been played since our March debut. A typical game takes between 20-40 minutes to play, depending on the timer setting the players select for that game. Currently the peak hours of KC Online are between 8pm EST and 11pm EST; there are usually about 10-20 users logged in at that time, which is a figure that is growing weekly.

CU: What are some future changes you'd like to see for KCO?

DB: The next major feature I am going to add is a "speed game," which is a game in which turns will only last 30 seconds. So far, our players are excited about that. Also, we are going to be starting up a 64 player tournament soon, complete with prizes for the top-scorers. I have received a lot of positive feedback about tournaments, and it looks like we finally have the user base to support it.

Other features coming are:
An ability to pause the game.
A message forum will be added.
Sortable statistics will be added to the website instead of just available in the game.
And eventually computer opponents!

CU: Talk about other plans for the future; other games you might be working on?

DB: My long term dream/vision is to be able to work on expanding this gaming community as my full-time job. I am very excited to bring other addictive games to my current gaming community to support. My plan is to start with other cribbage variants since our current core user base consists of cribbage addicts.

Examples of these upcoming games could include:
Crash Cribbage
CribbGolf
Crib Wars
CrossCrib
and more!

Following that, I hope to add other strategy and board games outside of the cribbage genre.

END

CU: Comments and questions are welcome! Would you like to see other cribbage notable personalities interviewed on this site? Make a suggestion!

To skunk or be skunked…

Well, a few days ago I was skunked by Damien Blond on King’s Cribbage Online. But today I was able to skunk someone else so I feel a bit redeemed. It’s a fun game, but I’m still getting used to it.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.