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Crystal Heroes — What to do about end-game scoring?

I recently updated my prototype of "Crystal Heroes" (CH) and did a playtest. There was "more" Area Control and ties to the table. However, I have a question about the end-game scoring. Specifically, what to do when neither player collects more "Chaos Gems" than the other (tie) and the scoring of their Lord is also not an all-out victory. So, say a score of 7 versus 8 (Nine being the victory goal).

In my opinion it's too close to award a victory...!? What do you think?? Should this be a "stalemate"?

Crystal Heroes — New Preview of the Logo being worked on by my Artist

Here it is SO FAR... Almost completed too! The one on the LEFT is the NEW one and the one on the RIGHT was something that I made (yeah not as pretty for sure):

     

I just basically need a 5 x 5 inch @ 300 DPI hi-res version. One on a White Background and one on a Black Background...

But it looks WAY COOLER than the previous logo that I had made myself. If you've never worked with Artists, I'd really recommend it ...

One of those days...

So I figured I'd add a Blog entry ... about how LOST I am with "Monster Keep" (MK). Well in truth, several BGDF members helped me create some very interesting "monsters" ... my problem lies in how to prototype this game.

I'm looking at some OLDER "prototypes" and they are COOL (I must admit that I did design some "nice" concepts ... but they all failed).

I have a GOOD direction for MK now.

This means that I know exactly how the game is to be "played". My problem? It's figuring out how to DESIGN the next prototype for MK. Not sure as to the "graphic design" nature of the cards.

Monster Keep — Fourth Prototype

So I've reached out to the BGDF Design Community (all you great and innovative designers) to help out with some "Monster Cores". I currently have SEVEN (7) Monsters which is enough to work with ATM.

Since this is prototype #4, I figured I'd introduce RPG stats into the game!

That's right, the a modified version of the D&D stats are NOW part of this new version... I removed the dual RPS-3s because it was complicated to remember that a "+1,000 ATK" or "+1,000 DFS" was to occur.

Quest Adventure Cards(tm) — 2nd Edition : Updated some cards

Well I took some time off from Editing TW and just sat there and looked at the "Quest Adventure Cards(tm)" 2nd Edition alpha cards. These were just some SAMPLE cards while I work on the various concepts in the game. So now I have SIX (6) cards... I've only designed these cards...

Monster Keep — Third Prototype

Well the good news is that I'm working on a THIRD (3rd) Prototype for "Monster Keep" (MK). And while the game has "changed" A LOT (True...) I believe it is for the BETTER. I gave myself SIMPLE "rules" to follow and see what the result could be.

Some of those rules are:

A> I wanted a Battle/Duel/Take-That kind of game.

B> I wanted it to be SIMPLER than Pokemon.

C> I wanted the game to play between 10 and 15 minutes.

D> I wanted a format that could support Deck Construction.

E> I wanted to have a format that could sell from an online store.

Monster Keep — Re-think about the game

So I know one of the mechanical ideas behind the game was "keeping Monsters" and therefore the name "Monster Keep" (MK). I've also learnt from playing the prototype, that the number of cards is too high and that the method of play is... by far not FUN enough because of all the MATH.

I had hoped that I could BLEND Fantasy with something like War! and come out with a very "take-that" kind of card game. But with the card count and all of the MATH ... Quite honestly, it just wasn't working.

Monster Keep — First Prototype

Alright ... so I've been patiently waiting for "The Game Crafter" (TGC) prototype to arrive. And well it did this morning at 10:00 AM! I was super excited to see what the cards, stickers and dice looked like. Here are some of my observations:

1. Dice Stickers are TOO SMALL.

Indeed it seems like the indented die is LARGER than your standard d6s. And the stickers that go on the die are SMALLER than expected. What does this mean??? Well I might need to go with CUSTOM SVGs to have my stickers done professionally at TGC.

Monster Keep vs. Crystal Heroes

Okay so a new debate has surface concerning the game that I am working on. In a way, it's not really a complicated matter ... but there are reasons for making a decision either which way. Let me explain.

So in essence the change is pretty SIMPLE: Changing the name to "Crystal Heroes" instead of "Monster Keep".

Why this new name change? Well it's got to do with REASONING:

1> I don't feel like the game is about MONSTERS. It's more about HEROES even if there are Villainous ones.

Monster Keep — Draft/Preview of the Elvish Crusader

Here is a COOL "Preview" of the Elvish Crusader... She's just kicked a whole lot of Undead rubbish and lit the mess on ... FIRE!

The illustration was a combined effort... Madison drew the Crusader in this "Taking Care of Business" pose ... And then I suggested: "How about a pile of undead monsters she's just defeated?!"

Can't wait to see the COLORED rendition! Enjoy.

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by Dr. Radut