High School Drama

Release Date: 2007
Set Size: 8 Buttons
Publisher: Shifting Skies
Designers: James Ernest, Boyan Radakovich
Artist: Chris Kennedy
New Rules: Sideboard Dice

A set of eight buttons with a new die type, the Sideboard die, released at Kublacon 2007 by Shifting Skies.

Sideboard Dice could replace an active die between rounds on a one-for-one basis, similar to Select Dice from Fightball.^[1] In Button Men Online, they are considered Reserve Select Dice.

According to Boyan Radakovich in an interview conducted via Facebook Messenger:

James and I designed the HSD Button Men set as a promotional for a game designed a while back. I held a tournament at Gen Con that year and gave away buttons through promotions with my publisher friends: fans could get Goth Chick by going to White Wolf, The Elite Hacker by going to Catalyst, Tennis Star at Asmodee, Meathead at AEG, and so on. The final button in the set was won by beating me specifically anytime players found me in the hall with my button bandoleer. There were 8 total. 6 were cross promotions at other people’s booths, and 2 with me. I gave away Emo Boy to anyone that saw me with the bandoleer, but you could only get Cheerleader by beating me. She was the most sought after character in the set.
The HSD button ability is a simple sideboard power. The die, [set in a purple circle opposite the starting dice], can be subbed in for any of the starting set after the first match. Basically: if six, pick five, but the sideboard starts on the side. It makes the characters flexible and good at countering others. It also meant that players could carry exactly the correct set of dice to play and not worry about having more dice than they need to play.
Think of the HSD Button set as a casual-friendly set. The rule book was on a single business card. It was supposed to be a small easy set to get new players. At the time, it was the first expansion in quite a while. So, I wanted to help draw in new fans.