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Robert Seater
United States
Ashland
Massachusetts
Director of Game Development at Cambridge Games Factory
Feed me...games...
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I just posted a file containing an XLS spreadsheet with a complete revision of the decks. It also lists the rule changes I have been using (on the final sheet of the file). It should get through admin modding soon. A few notes (in no particular order):
- Currently, the game last 4 years, before you are forced into the showdown battle. It makes the game last a little longer, but is seems about fair (and gives you more time with the higher level monsters). The lower cash influx makes the late game quite tense, so I decided not to rush it. That was a recent change, so I'm not quite sure it's right -- it might make the game too easy for some characters or if you get a good start. But so far, I still lose most of the time, so things are looking good.
- I've been playing games in about 30-45 minutes. I lose a lot, but I usually feel like I could have won if things had gone a little better or if I'd made better choices. The end of each year tends to be a bit easy, but then the new year brings new forced battles that are trouble.
- Much testing is needed, especially on the relative value of the different heroes. It's hard to get a lot of data on those, and some heroes are better late game, but have a rough time getting started. Their powers are also weird enough that it's hard to assess them in the abstract.
- In the published game, I think 7 of the 14 heroes will be flagged with an icon meaning "not a good idea to use as your starting hero if you are new to the game". The ones I have flagged right now are
(a) all the ones with an attack of -4,
(b) the assassin, and
(c)the shapeshifter.
Those guys are trickier to play in the early game, and can be a bit tedious and random if you don't equip them properly. As such, they aren't a good play experience for new player but they're good for some variety.
- I'm also curious about win percentages, what monster tends to do player in (when they lose), and how players tend to win (when they do)?
(a) the player kills grimlock before year 4
(b) the player kills grimlock in year 4
(c) the player kills grimlock alone in the showdown
(d) the player kills grimlock with some buddies in the final showdown
- I recast all events (except the Curse) as locations and/or terrains, to simplify things. I was worried at first, but I find that I don't miss them -- and there's no memory at all. Curse might be better named as "winter" or "snowfall" to go with the 'time passing' theme.
- I also added some more ways to get treasures (including buying them from the Hermit). I raised the number of distinct treasures at each level to 8, and I made the cursed items a mix of good and bad effects -- they often mess you up, but they don't completely hose you. I also added a super-treasure, the "weapon of legend" which can be bought for 500 from the witch. The intent was for it to offer a way to win the game with just 1 or 2 heroes, rather than the 3-4 that I normally see. It also shouldn't come out every game, so it's exciting when it does.
- I trimmed down the number of terrains (to 6). This way, the terrain stick around for longer each, and it feels like you're slogging through the landscape.
- On my prototype, I've been using a graphic layout where there is an icon for each LP and an icon for each DEF, which I cover up as damage is dealt and wounds received. That reduces the math that I have to do, which I find helps further de-fiddle the game.
- This is still just a revision of the solo rules. Now that the basic game is harder, I feel like I'm ready to catch up on the multi-play discussions that have been going on.
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Director of Game Development at Cambridge Games Factory
