Bringing the joy of Tablero to the world.
Greetings to Tablero aficionados and neophytes alike.
For forty years, this legendary drinking game has remained known mainly to a zany bunch of medievalists (of which I am one – my friends, my family, are more of the same.)
Our aim is to share Tablero with the masses.
To those who are new to the game, welcome. Tablero is a strategic drinking game where the object is to drink your opponent's beverages - usually beer, but it could be any low alcohol or non-alcoholic drink (playing with hard liquor is called Tablotto, is an excellent way to get alcohol poisoning, and is not recommended). Head over to the Rules page for more information on how the game is played and take a look at the page Tablero; A Brief History for some info on how this amazing game came into being.
To the faithful, a special welcome . Most of you will be members of the Society for Creative Anachronism and will already be well aware of the history of this fabulous game. Never has a game been play-tested so extensively! It has been played and crowd-sourced by hundreds if not thousands of people for over 40 years. (Gad, has it really been that long!?). Even if you are in the SCA but haven't played the game, you have no doubt heard the cries of Set 'em Up and Knock 'em Down from the noisy camping section. Sometimes referred to as getting seuaked (pronounced swacked or soaked) which is not to be confused with getting schwacked (pronounced shwacked) a common term for being extremely enibriated - although they refer to a similar state of being.
We have been asked if the SCA folks won’t be miffed that we are outing what is a sort of open secret byt bringing this game into the light. That's understanadable, but they just don't know the people in the SCA; the kindest, most generous people you could hope to meet. A major hallmark of the group has always been sharing. Sharing knowledge, skills, resources, and good times.
Why Now?
Over the years, every time we pulled the game out in public, say, camping or at a bar, people are always fascinated. "This game is amazing!" and inevitably, "Where can we buy this?" To which we would always reply, "Well you can't… you have to make your own."
Well no longer. Or almost. We are just a bit more R&D and a Kickstarter away from producing Tablero for the masses.
R&D
After a solid year (!) of product development we finally have a product we feel we can stand behind. It was a real challenge finding just the right fabric for the game board, as well as the perfect printing process. I won't kvetch about the amount of work this project has been other than to say I had no idea it would take us this long.
A bunch of folks helped us investigate what the game set should be, further playtesting stuff like boards printed on vinyl, and a cadre of artists created designs out of which we ultimately chose two. The Art Deco Tablero Board – A clean and elegant design by Roger Handling (our team has hailed this as having a dwarven lite vibe) and the Knotwork Tablero Board – A modern fusion of Celtic and Norse styles by illustrator Shannon Keegan, featuring fighting cats and dogs.
A few of the test boards we have had made over the years.
We chose cloth for the game board because of its portability and washability but mainly because it was deemed optimal to have an absorbent board so the liquid does not pool and run into your lap.
Due to the many hands that had a part in creating Tablero, there are many versions and 'house rules'. Our version is based on the way we have played Tablero over the decades and how it morphed as our kids got their hands on it. Yes, we taught it to our children and their friends (now 20 somethings). It is essentially the same game as codified by Baron Steffano da Gucci in his handbook.
Show Us Your Boards!
Over the years we have all been making our own boards out of various materials; cloth, leather, wood, stone, and I am sure this will continue. Head on over to our Facebook or Instagram accounts and share pictures of your boards. We wanna see them!
What Next?
In the coming weeks we will be investigating things like stretch goals and add-ons for the Kickstarter. Visit our home page and subscribe to our mailouts and help us shape the final outcome. Also getting on our mailout list will get you early warning to the Kickstarter and early adopters will be first in line for our Limited-Edition Numbered Prints of the game board.
Tell your friends to get on the mailing list too. We need to gather some interested contacts so we can move ahead with our Kickstarter. Spread the word!