Playtest #2 comment thread

[garykac]

Comments here will be organized and folded into the playtest summary doc: https://github.com/garykac/blockchain/blob/master/playtests/2018-05-22-playtest-2.md

[garykac]

For next playtest:

• Have a simple set of ~12 cards, with separate rows for basic, medium, and advanced spells so that the set of available spells isn't clogged with spells that are too hard in the early game.
• Fix the spells so that there are more 3-square spell cards
• Ignore constraints on the matrix cards. Constraints can be added to advanced spell cards (if needed).

[blinks]

Writing up my general thoughts as a minimal rules outline.

Components

• A bunch of spell pattern cards, each with a name, a pattern, and an effect, divided by box count.
  • Patterns may require zero, one, or two mana symbol anchors.
  • Patterns check the value of exactly one die; higher dice are always better.
  • Patterns require from one to four dice.
  • A value check could be a constraint ("4" needs a 4 or higher on the spot)
  • ... or a single spell parameter ("X" or "*" used in the spell's text).
• 2x3 matrix cards, with 1, 2, or 3 symbols on them.
  • That is, I think you should drop 0-symbol cards.
• Strategic hex map, with roads, mountains, forests, cities, rivers, etc.
• Per player:
  • Pawn to represent their mage.
  • Player aid with the basic spells (1d spells with a symbol anchor, and 1d / 2d "colorless" spells)
  • 6 to 12 d6 for a maximum mana pool.
  • A targeting disk.
  • Control markers.
  • A minion pawn(?)

Setup

• Give everyone their per-player pieces, and make initial rolls.
• Deal a single matrix card to each player.
• Shuffle the spells and make a queue for each die count.
• Choose starting locations, place pawns.

Play

Recover a die from your matrix or a spell you've charged, then spend up to three action points.

AP Cost	Action
1	Gain an elemental power point.
1	Move one hex on a road.
2	Move one hex not on a road.
2	Draw a card and add it to your matrix.
3	Cast a chain of spells.

Elemental Power

You may only have one element at a time. If you gain power in an element, your other elements reset to zero.

Movement and Control

If you're the only pawn on a space, you may place your control marker there. Scenarios can care about control for victory conditions.

Matrix

When you add a card to your matrix, it must overlap at least one of the 2x3 boxes. If you place it where you have dice, reroll those dice to your pool.

Cast a Chain

Place dice from your pool on boxes. With each die, if you can include that die in a spell's pattern, you may cast that spell.

Some spells charge up a future effect; these will take a die from the pattern immediately to represent the charge, so you can't use them for future spells in the chain.

Basic Spells

The six basic spells:

• One die, colorless: target the astral plane.
• Two dice, colorless: move your target 1 space.
• One die, fire: turn at most 1 elemental power into damage for someone in your current hex.
• One die, water: turn at most 1 elemental power into dodge charges for someone in your current hex.
• One die, air: turn at most 1 elemental power into movement points for someone in your current hex.
• One die, earth: turn at most 1 elemental power into shield charges for someone in your current hex.

There are technically two 2d colorless spell patterns and two of each 1d colored spell patterns, not including constraints, but the basics allow either, for flexibility.

[garykac]

Suggestion from Sverre: Have the top 2 Matrix cards visible so that players can choose either one.

[blinks]

Charges: need a symbol for "spend a charge, get an effect", and then you open up space for charge manipulation, and you can get symmetry for elemental power (which are just four types of charges that you can increase each turn).

Then, "1d+W: pull an elemental charge. [spend a charge]: prevent 1 damage."

[blinks]

Also, then you can just have a pool of charge tokens, in four colors / symbols for the four elements. Only allowing one color is probably unnecessary, too.

(To avoid the token requirement, you could just use your matrix's symbols as those charge tokens, and you cover up the symbols when you use the "charge", and uncover them to recharge. That'd solve a lot of side problems here...)

[garykac]

Because of the amount of time it took to build up the ability to cast a spell from the shared queue, when someone sniped a spell that you were working on felt really bad because you usually needed to start over again.

Making spells cast faster (but have longer teardown) removes this.