You'll understand the pitfalls of "exactly", of course, especially if you're suffering through the current bout of US campaigning. Handwave a bit, and you're being soft on the details; spell it out specifically, and you're starring in an attack ad by the other side the next day. That said, here's some basics.

- We're still looking at a base game and an advanced game. The base game is designed to be more forgiving and quicker than existing versions; the advanced game will ramp things back up. Both will feel closer to earlier AoS editions than, say, Railroad Tycoon.

I'll talk specifically about the base game from here, as we're still working on the advanced game. That shouldn't shock anyone; working on an advanced game based on the base game means that one has to be ready before the other. The base game (barring one small tweak being discussed) will be in Martin's hands in Essen, along with the very pretty Ruhr map I have open in the other window on my computer...

- You will have two tracks: VP and income. Points earned by deliveries must be assigned to one or the other.
- No more goods table: at the beginning of the game, groups of goods are placed on the board, with Urbanization and City Growth allowing selection from any of the remaining groups of goods.
- Other than an optional auction for first turn order, turn order for the next turn is assigned by the action you take this turn. (I've seen some discussion about this here in the abstract; suffice it to say that a lot of work has gone into managing the game-long values of actions and constructing a hierarchy that works from turn 1 to the end. I'm very happy with the mechanic.)
- Income will work similarly to shares, but players reduce income and take cash (think "issue shares") as money is needed.

Those are the major differences. They trim about an hour off the game, tightening turns and allowing more predictability within turns for long-term planning (as you're able to see somewhat where in the selection order you'll lie for the next turn.) The advanced game will be designed to raise the stakes both in fixed costs and long-term planning (remember that "as money is needed" stuff above? Yeah, not so much here.).

Compatibility: Our goal from day one has been to keep the tile size the same as previous editions, and have maps be compatible with our components and rules. Obviously, there are a lot of third-party expansions with different rules, and some maps will not benefit from having those rules stripped out wholesale. But, there is nothing preventing using a map from an earlier edition with this new ruleset. Using our maps backwards will be a bit trickier (note no goods table, so no labeling of cities, and the number of cities on a map are no longer tied to the table, so our New York map has 10 cities on it, and the Ruhr map has 13), but not insurmountable with some creativity by the good folks here. I can assure you that our playtesting has used a wide variety of maps beyond the two that we're planning to include in our game.

Working with Martin, we are developing an edition that is going to bring more players to the game, because we believe that Martin has a game that a lot more players should have access to. Many of us (myself included) can now think back fondly to our first game or two where we went bankrupt. Simply put, there's another level of players that will not play this game again based on that experience alone, and that group is much larger than the existing base of players. But, if we can give them a game that brings them to the system, gives them experience to successfully play an "easier" version, then give them an option to step up to a harder experience, we think we can give the current players many more folks to play against. And, if players choose to simply play the new base game exclusively, hardcore players will not find it offensive to sit at a table with them and play the base game.

We'll have these components with us in Essen next week, along with the new box (and name...)! Note that I leave for Essen very shortly, so I may not react to this thread again (at least until I get back). Hopefully, there will be some more news from Essen from Martin and Mayfair!

Alex Yeager
Mayfair Games