Iron Helm - Dipping a toe into Print and Play

 

Just one more job

Iron Helm, a solo game by Grey Gnome games, has garnered a very good reputation among solo gamers as an enjoyable adventure. It has lovely retro art, a choice of older adventurers looking to pull off 'one more job' (as an older adventurer myself, there is obvious appeal!), and difficult choices to make at every junction...

...but new copies are basically only available from The Game Crafter, a print-on-demand website for games. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for me right now. I say this not because I have anything against that website or business choice. Put simply, with the current exchange rates and shipping (at of Nov. 2022), the base game (and add in an expansion or two) becomes a bit out of my reach. 

A core set of components (base game and 4 add ons) on the Game Crafter would cost $86.95 before shipping of $21.15, for a total of $108.10. (Ebay is similar, often with more expensive shipping). Just to be clear, for that price you are getting an excellent game, with good production values, a very sturdy box, and a huge amount of replayability. 

So, what to do?

Enter 'Print and play'. The idea is simple: pay a small amount, unlock and download a PDF file, and print locally, even on your home printer. Then cut out the components, and away you go - theoretically at a huge saving over the full game, while getting the same core experience (even if not professionally-made components.)

Fortunately Iron Helm is available in a pnp format. The creator, Jason Glover, has made the game available on the 'PnP Arcade' website: https://www.pnparcade.com/. There are 6 different PDF downloads available, each for a very reasonable price.

• Iron Helm (base game.) $5
• Loot & Lore Pack $2
• Adventure Pack 1: Warren of Despair $2
• Adventure Pack 2: Blackened Burrow $2
• Adventure Pack 3: Crystal Caverns $2
• Adventure Pack 4: Galnok's Labyrinth $2

Total: $15

Note that while this list does not equal the full amount of components on Gamecrafter (you'll find additional adventure packs there, although perhaps those will also be PnP in the future?). Mr. Glover has also posted some other free downloads on the Grey Gnome website (including the game mat files.)

Compare these two options (physical v. PnP), and that is a theoretical saving of about 93 USD, 'not including parts and labour'...read on to hear more about that.

Which door will you choose?

With this info in hand, I decided to take a first, hesitant step into the world of PnP. Was it really as easy as getting the files (saving a lot of money), busting out a pair of scissors, and enjoying a game?

Well...

...no!

However, that depends on how far you take the PnP experience. 

• Keep it really simple? Cut out the paper, stick front to back, and play?
• A middle-ground? Print in black/ white, cut out the paper, insert into sleeves, with a single loose playing card in the middle to stiffen?
• Bling it up a bit to get closer to the printed game experience?  Print in colour, cut out, glue onto stiffeners, insert into sleeves.

I decided on the final option, and that meant a weekend of gathering materials, (struggling with) printing, cutting, and sticking!

After watching some videos to get some info (absolutely essential research!), I decided to avoid playing with just bits of paper, and shoot more for an actual playing card experience, with sleeved cards that have a bit of heft.

This involved:

1. Printing:
• A4 label paper. (Purchased 2 packs, total = 2,240 Yen/ 16 USD today.)
• Home inkjet printer (owned)
2. Cutting:
• Craft knife, or roller-cutter (owned).
• Metal ruler - to guide cuts (owned).
• Cutting mat  - tape cardboard together if you don't have one (owned).
3. Sticking:
• 1~2 old decks of old playing cards - which your family won't miss! (owned). I stuck a single playing card to each PnP card, sandwiching that between the front and back. Steady hands and patience are a must here...(I have neither.)
• Optional: Spray glue (aerosol glue.) If not using label paper this is a great way to evenly stick paper together (Purchased x1 = 110 yen)
4. Sleeving:
• I use 'penny sleeves'. You can get packs of 100 of these in most dollar stores ('100 Yen shops') in Japan. Larger stores will often have a wide range of sizes and style: loose fit/ tight fit, soft/ hard, matte on one side, etc. (owned)

Cost: (approx.)

• PnP purchases: 980 JPY = 7 USD (Core game + Loot & Lore pack)
• Colour copying: 750 JPY = 5.36 USD (x15 @ 50 yen each) 
• Glue spray: 110 JPY = 0.78 USD (70 ml x1) 
• A4 label paper: 2,240 JPY = 16 USD (x2 packs of 20, approx) 

Total: 4,080 JPY (approx. 29.14 USD)

Not included:

• Printer ink: I didn't finish mine, but a new set for my printer is about 35.00 USD. I'll certainly means I'll have to buy more soon.
• My time: Researching, buying, printing (and experimenting), cutting, sticking, tidying up, collating etc. took multiple hours over a weekend.

Hints for success

Here are some lessons from my first foray into PnP - learned the hard way:

1. Planning and gathering materials: 

• Buy more paper than you think you need. You'll want to print a test page or two for a dry run, and if you are like me, you'll print on the wrong side of the label paper at least once. Also, working out printer settings can be a chore (resulting in more lost paper as you try to get the size right.)
• Use a 'dry run' to work out your process. With a bit of thought you can streamline the process to do multiple cards at once, or learn the best order in which to make you cuts etc.
• Don't buy pre-formatted sticky label paper. This has different sizes/ cuts (e.g. for business cards, labels etc.). Just get the full A4 size sheets without perforations etc.
• Cutting mats can be home-made. If you don't have one you can tape layers of cardboard together to make a thick cutting surface. This should survive making one PnP game, and can then be recycled. Make sure you make it really flat though...
• Playing card colours. If you are going to sandwich these into your home-made cards, think about the colours and design of the playing cards. Will they show through? Think about what you are comfortable with and plan accordingly. Your grimdark card game doesn't feel quite so serious with the Little Mermaid peeking through at you...
• Spray glue is your friend. Depending on where you live, this can be expensive and you need to plan for using it in a well-ventilated space. You don't want to get this stuff in your kitchen or office.
• Compromise for peace of mind. In some games, tokens are an essential part of gameplay for tracking various statuses. Iron Helm has lots of them. For a print and play they can be really fiddly - small, time-consuming to cut and glue. Do you need them? Can alternatives be used? A trip to the dollar store can provide beads, dice or other items that can be used to track health, gold, encumbrance etc. 

For 3 USD, these beads can be used for health, energy,
or anything where a cube is needed (use the letter cubes. e.g. 'G' for gold)

2. Printing:

• Do a 'dry run' to check how things work before committing to a particular method.
• Always print test pages and check the sizes. e.g. Many US PDFs are in 'Letter' size, and you may not have this kind of paper where you are. Don't print everything at once until you have this sorted out!
• A home inkjet printer is fine but... don't expect perfectly deep blacks. Be realistic about the results. If you have a cheap inkjet printer, you might get 'banding' and not entirely uniform blacks. Are you OK with that? 
• Do expect to use a lot of ink. Depending on the amount of content in the PnP (in Iron helm, this is at least 30 sheets of cards and tokens.) you could really burn through your ink cartridges. This is one of the main 'hidden' costs of PnP, depending on what level of professionalism you are looking for. 
• Don't forget the convenience store. If you want a more professional look consider the excellent quality that industrial copy machines have. In Japan, almost every convenience store has one of these. The cost can be worth it for a more professional look, however x1 A4 colour page is 50 JPY. Not cheap! A compromise is to use this for some components or sheets only (e.g. that are mainly black, or that you will use a lot). 

3. Cutting:

• A paper cutter with guide rails is ideal for doing high-quality cuts for large numbers of cards. However, if you aren't going to do a lot of PnP it can be a comparatively large additional investment (12 ~30 USD) for one game. But, it is much faster, more convenient, and accurate than a craft knife. (Especially if cutting multiple sheets at once.) You can get really cheap ones, but they often don't have large guide rails to ensure accurate cuts, or lack some other useful feature.

4. Sticking:

• Playing cards really up the game. I stuck a single playing card to each PnP card, sandwiching that between the front and back. This acts as a stiffener and makes the cards feel much better in the hand and easy to use and play with. Watch out though - steady hands and patience are a must here...(I have neither!) As above, do a 'dry run' to check how things work before committing to a particular method.

The adventure begins...

After a weekend cutting and sticking, I ended up with a final result that I am really happy with and excited to use. The cards are more than good enough to play with, and with the playing cards as a stiffener and the penny sleeves these should last me a good long time. 

I hope you enjoy the photos below! Thanks for reading.

Tracking cards, mini, and components

Dungeon card pile and door options. Which to choose?

Character with trappings (equipment) and skills

Skills, trappings, and potions cards. Also card dividers (R)

Four characters, three of which (from left) from Loot & Lore pack

More characters, archer, wizard, fighter etc.

Lots of components

Tracking cards, maps, and morale.
The 'Comprehensive Resource tracking cards are from Boardgame Geek'

These lovely 'Comprehensive Resource Tracking Cards' are from 
Boardgame Geek, created by Karsha