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Help me rename my game please.

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Chordcommander
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Joined: 12/08/2015

Hello fellow designers,

I already posted some information about my game "MOBA" (and got a lot of great feedback and suggestions), but the thing that came up almost all the times was, that nobody even remotly liked the name.

The name originaly developed like this: Because I was in some aspects inspired by the famous MOBA-videogames, it had the working title “MOBA”. My gaming group and I got used to the name and I thought it could be fun to “rip off” the name MOBA (which originally stands for “multiplayer online battle arena”) and call my game MOBA as in “massive offline battle arena” and later “massive outplay battle arena” (as the combat system focuses on anticipation of enemy actions which generates possibilities to outplay/outwit the opponent).

It seems that I’m the only one who thinks this is funny, and I received “massive” criticism wherever I posted information about the game (like: 1. MOBA is a genre, not a game name / 2. the MOBA concept does not work for tabletop games / 3. it sounds bad / 4. this doesn’t work to present your game as something unique… )

These are all valid points in my opinion, except 2. as I think that it IS possible to bring the computer MOBA feel to the tabletop (of course a 1:1 emulation would not work) by taking the fun aspects of the computer MOBA that work in board games and leaving out the rest.

So now I’m thinking of renaming this game. For me it’s important that the name conveys the cartoony, not-too-serious, videogamey, heavy action feel of my game (here is a 2 minutes video that should give you a very good idea of the theme/style: https://youtu.be/hcgiBBozhew)

I had the following idea: As for now, the game doesn' have a lore. I thought of a "story" where old, decadent and bored magicians gather and organize Arena Battles where they "persuade" the heroes to fight each other and bet on their favorite champs. Every magician of a certain status has a seer goblin servant who will "broadcast" the battle in a crystal ball (and gets hit on the head by the angry magician if the broadcast is lagging ;))
This could be a nice cover art as well (Goblin holding crystal ball with some action going on in it).
Now, in my gaming group we played arround with some names and we liked SUPER FANTASY BRAWL best. I tried some cover drafts and it could make a nice logo as well:
https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic2850126_md.png
The name has a hint to classic video games, gives a good idea of what the game is about and is not too serious. Now I realized, that this name is somewhat close to SUPER BOWL which could be kind of funny (I thought the same about the MOBA-rip off :O - so feel free to persuade me that it's not) as I could try to stress some parallels to my Goblin-Seer-Broadcast-Fluff here.

Do you like it? Is it any better than MOBA? Or do you have any suggestions for names? The people on BGG brought up Prima Battle'rena, Brawl n Bleed, BAM (Battle Arena massive) and GG (like in Good Game), could one of these work for my game?

Thanks a lot for your time

Chordcommander

radioactivemouse
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Joined: 07/08/2013
MABA

MABA: Multiplayer Analog Battle Arena

Chordcommander
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Joined: 12/08/2015
Ha - nice, but there will be

Ha - nice, but there will be people arguing, that it is not "multiplayer" (is 2 players multiplayer?). I think if I get to change the name I'm going as far away of the MOBA-analogies as possible ;)

questccg
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Joined: 04/16/2011
Much better

"Super Fantasy Brawl" ... is pretty good. It has an Epic ring to it... And it's clearly "states" what the game is really about. Or more specifically what YOU would want your game to be "about" (or known for).

I'll think about it some more... I thought of "Outlast!" but that seems to be the name of your "game" company. But I prefer SFB IMHO.

andymakespasta
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Joined: 07/26/2015
SFB reminds me of ball sports

SFB reminds me of ball sports more than actual battle, since fantasy brings up the fantasy sports connection rather than the actual fantasy theme we're talking about. I don't know, seems okay I guess.
Just throwing it out: gratuitous assault of northrope keep-GANK?
Link to game rules/ synopsis?

questccg
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Huh?

andymakespasta wrote:
SFB reminds me of ball sports more than actual battle, since fantasy brings up the fantasy sports connection rather than the actual fantasy theme we're talking about.

He said it sounds very "Super Bowl"-like and that's why he liked it - because it sounded Epic in some way...

I came up with "Battle 2.0"! lol

I also had the idea of "Conquest"-something. That also sounded Epic.

"Battlefields" (this assuming your game is expandable and you want to sell several boards...)

"Colossal Battles" (again something Epic...)

Chordcommander
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Joined: 12/08/2015
@ andymakespasta: I like

@ andymakespasta:

I like GANK. Problem is I dont understand what it stands for but I could thin of something there. It still would link to the MOBA genre and I'm not sure if I want that (especialy as there is no real ganking in my game)

What do you mean with fantasy sports? I don't want to present the game as something like bloodbowl by gw, so I hope the sport-association is not too strong. I just thought I could make some funny parallels between mages watching the arena battles in a crystal ball and the super bowl broadcast (like mages with popcorn etc) .

A short intro pdf for the game is here: http://moba-boardgame.jimdo.com/app/download/12724137922/Pitchline.pdf?t...

Rules are here: http://moba-boardgame.jimdo.com/app/download/12689681822/MobaRulesv2.0.p...

kevnburg
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Just an idea; if you want to

Just an idea; if you want to keep the cheeky MOBA theme, you could always include it as a subtitle in a smaller font. For example, "Super Fantasy Brawl: Offline Battle Arena"

Personally, I think "Super Brawl" sounds less clunky than Super Fantasy Brawl, so you could maybe go for just "Super Brawl" and then include the Fantasy aspect in a subtitle (e.g. "Super Brawl: Fantasy Battle Arena").

ElKobold
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Insider names:) "Good

Insider names:)
"Good game"
"EZ Katka"
"Skillshot"

Generic names:
"Arena tactics"
"Battle league"
"Quick Fantasy Battles"
"Hero Blitz"
"Hero Clash"

Stormyknight1976
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Joined: 04/08/2012
How about these titles

Goblin Ball
Goblin Bowl
Wizards Arena Bowl

Tedthebug
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I was going to suggest a

I was going to suggest a subtitle as a play on all the criticism of the original name & a reference to a classic novel

Super Fantasy Brawl - don't be a MOBA Dick

Super fantasy brawl sounds fine to me, though the clip looked like an outdoor area whereas to me a brawl is in a small space like a city street, a football oval, an arena.

Chordcommander
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Joined: 12/08/2015
@ kevnburg: I'll think of a

@ kevnburg: I'll think of a subtitle (still not sure if I want to keep the MOBA hint). There is already a game (some beat em up I think) that is called super brawl so I cannot use that.

@ Stormyknight: It's no sports/bloodbowleque game so Goblin Ball won't work. To call it Goblin Brawl - well there are not enough Goblins involved I'm afraid (just 2 out of 8 Charakters). Something with wizard arena could actually work.

@ Tedthebug: That actually made my day. This is so cool I was tempted to choose it but this could "reduce the size of target group" ;). If this game will ever see any kind of "production" (I doubt it but who knows?) you get a free copy with a custom subtitle :)

killerkilroy
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Joined: 10/04/2012
Tabletopia

I have no suggestions about the name, but I have to say thanks for mentioning tabletopia in your video. I had no idea about this project (how I missed it is beyond me). Now I have to pre-order it!

JohnPace
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Joined: 09/20/2015
A few names

I came up with a few names that could work, or hopefully be able to help you get your wheels turning.

Heroes Brawl
Heroes Arena
Arena of Champions
Hero Battles

veyDer
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Joined: 01/19/2016
Malapropisms perhaps?

How about some twists on the phrases associated with organized fights?

Some examples:

Fight Club -> Plight Club, Smite Club, Mite Club, Might Club
MMA - Mixed Martial Arts -> Missed Martial Arts, Minced Martial Arts
WWF - World Wrestling Federation -> World Pestling Federation

Chordcommander
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Joined: 12/08/2015
@killerkilroy: yeah,

@killerkilroy: yeah, Tabletopia is awesome (allthough I couldn't get any one to blind playtest my prototype yet on TT - people even prefered to print the PnP version) but for playtesting/playing with friends or trying out other people's stuff it's great. If you have any questions feel free to ask me, it is quite intutitive, but you have to get the hang of it at the beginning.

Thanks for the suggestions for the name! I'm still thinking but I like Super Fantasy Brawl best at the moment, as it conveys the style of the game quite well. And I won't have problems explaining over and over what a MOBA is, which is the best part ;)

Chordcommander
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Joined: 12/08/2015
@killerkilroy: yeah,

@killerkilroy: yeah, Tabletopia is awesome (allthough I couldn't get any one to blind playtest my prototype yet on TT - people even prefered to print the PnP version) but for playtesting/playing with friends or trying out other people's stuff it's great. If you have any questions feel free to ask me, it is quite intutitive, but you have to get the hang of it at the beginning.

Thanks for the suggestions for the name! I'm still thinking but I like Super Fantasy Brawl best at the moment, as it conveys the style of the game quite well. And I won't have problems explaining over and over what a MOBA is, which is the best part ;)

jbship628
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Joined: 08/29/2014
A crack at some names

I don't really like "Super Fantasy Brawl" because taken on its own, it implies that there was an original "Fantasy Brawl" that this game was a sequel to. (Like how Super Tecmo Bowl is the sequel to Tecmo Bowl)

I also think using the word "Fantasy" in a title should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

At this point, I would say go with either a completely random made up name that represents the world this game is taking place in, or you incorporate the game into the title somehow. Since this game mimics the drafting process before a fight, you could try the word "Draft" or "Pick(s)" in it.

Quick Ideas:

Dungeon Draft
Doom Draft
Super Fantasy Draft Brawl-GO!
Draft of Fire
Doom Picks
Pick-A-Brawl
Brawl Yard Draft - Fantasy
Brawl Yard Picks - Fantasy (If the game works, instant expansion opportunities ala Munchkin)

I kind of like the idea of a "Brawl Yard" being like the school yard since you are picking your creatures just like you picked classmates to be on your kickball team all those years ago. (Well, less years for some of you)

Heck, just the name "Brawl Yard" isn't half bad. Some box art with a monster's lined up and two big uglies pointing fingers at them choosing would give a pretty quick idea about what the game is about.

Then, when you've made tens of dozens of dollars on this game, you can produce the sequel product in 2 years: SUPER Brawl Yard ;)

Hope you find the help you need!

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