6/7/2013
This game started in my head about two weeks ago. I printed up the pieces and got the dice and started fiddling around with rules with my wife last Sunday. We played four games in one hour. We had tons of fun so this game seems like gold.
Since then I have been refining it and adding one mechanic which my wife devised and fine tuning other mechanics. It has surprising depth for a game that plays in 15 minutes for two people.
So far play testing has been restricted to three players: My wife, my son, and I. We ran out of pieces in the last game (we all ended up with four towns by finish.
The pieces will be kept. The core mechanics are solid. I just need to buy two more set of 6 die, print up some images on some sticker paper (the die should be custom) and tack the images onto the chip board and we will be good to go with public play testing.
Since then I have been refining it and adding one mechanic which my wife devised and fine tuning other mechanics. It has surprising depth for a game that plays in 15 minutes for two people.
So far play testing has been restricted to three players: My wife, my son, and I. We ran out of pieces in the last game (we all ended up with four towns by finish.
The pieces will be kept. The core mechanics are solid. I just need to buy two more set of 6 die, print up some images on some sticker paper (the die should be custom) and tack the images onto the chip board and we will be good to go with public play testing.
6/10/2013
I finally printed out some stickers for the dice. I have black, orange, white and green. The stickers look horrible on the dice, but they are playable and give a better sense of how the game will look. It also removes an added step of having to associate the number on the die with the number associated with the token.
6/15/2013
Prototypes are complete. Stickers are all pasted on. I colored the pieces (Bandit, Sheriff, Town) and limited the count to 4 bandits per player, 7 towns per player, and 5 sheriffs for player. The limits are there to force careful selection of resources and not to make the players over powerful (imagine owning 6 bandits on 6 towns). I have yet to play test the game with four players, but I imagine that will happen tonight as tonight is game night and it may take a bit for people to roll on in.
6/18/2013
Had a quick play test with Dad before Dominant Species. He said that for what it is, it's good. Short and tight. The rules are easy. What he didn't like was the penalty for open tracks and the fact that tracks could cut off other tracks. I need to remedy the rules to illustrate that tracks must be placed in such a way as not to block other tracks (No track will be placed adjacent to an open track without a direct connection).
I will have to word it better.
I will have to word it better.
7/1/ 2013
Completed another playtest with my nephews and son, all age 7. They grasped the concept of the game within 10 minutes and had a blast playing it. I was looking at their varying strategies and noticed slight differences in their play styles: My nephews both played cut-throat, grabing bandits and dynamite when they could. The did little to develope their tracks, but made sure that every city had a sherrif. My son on the other hand would focus more on track building and city laying, and did little in the way of stealing points through bandits (except once which ruined me). I tend to play for massive point scores later in the game, developing a huge track and then quickly laying towns at the end of the game for big points. The problem with my strategy is that I have little defense (no sheriff) once my towns are down and my opponents will quickly capitalize on that weakness.
My son won one game and my nephew the other.
So far I have yet to encounter any mechanical problems with the game. It is simple, quick, and fun. I'm very confident that this game will do well in the family market and as a quick filler for the hard core gamer.
My son won one game and my nephew the other.
So far I have yet to encounter any mechanical problems with the game. It is simple, quick, and fun. I'm very confident that this game will do well in the family market and as a quick filler for the hard core gamer.
7/5/2013
Blind Play Testing is officially under way!
Thanks to:
David, Pat, Bryan, and Brian.
I look forward to your feedback.
Thanks to:
David, Pat, Bryan, and Brian.
I look forward to your feedback.