Skip to Content
 

Info sheet or cards?

7 replies [Last post]
Mon, 08/14/2017 - 11:48
Lovac
Offline
Joined: 03/02/2017

Hey guys,

So far I created cards to showcase units/buildings in game but their purpose is strictly information for new players (image/stats/revenue/cost and some flavour text.

I put that information in cards format so that at any given time a player can just pick one and consult it without having large info sheets or similar to go through. (there are 32 cards in total).

My questions are: do you consider that solution practical for players and how much should I invest in the design of the cards themselves if I should keep them?
I am not sure about those things since they are not really used in play but I want to make everything the best possible.

For design, I feel it's much easier to simply put it on 2 foldable sheets, one representing buildings and the other units.

Would you prefer getting a rather large amount of information or 1 piece of paper or just have cards representing individual units/buildings?

Jasen

Top
Mon, 08/14/2017 - 14:48
#1
FrankM
Offline
Joined: 01/27/2017
Maybe a poster?

If there are any important relationships between these units and buildings, it might help to put them onto a large poster. One example would be the tech tree posters you'd see in the Civilization series. Fold it enough times and it will fit in any size box :-)

If the units and buildings are relatively independent, then I'd be fine with cards or an information sheet. An information sheet would probably be cheaper to produce, though.

Top
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 07:47
#2
Lovac
Offline
Joined: 03/02/2017
cheaper definitely

thanks for feedback Frank,

Yeah, i realized it would be cheaper to produce. Not really, no real relation between the buildings and units, not enough to highlight anyway.

Playtested yesterday and people told me they preferred the cards actually, the downside was that one player could follow other player's interest to see in which direction he wants to develop :). Since the game is played with hidden armies etc...similar to stratego.

In any case, players use that extensively only first 2 games, after that they simply know all the information on cards. That's why i wasn't sure how much should i invest in them (regarding the design quality etc)

Top
Thu, 08/24/2017 - 23:18
#3
Desprez
Offline
Joined: 12/01/2008
Am I reading it correctly

Am I reading it correctly that you have 32 informational cards?

That seems like a lot.

Top
Fri, 08/25/2017 - 04:55
#4
X3M
X3M's picture
Offline
Joined: 10/28/2013
Desprez wrote:Am I reading it

Desprez wrote:
Am I reading it correctly that you have 32 informational cards?

That seems like a lot.

It is a normal figure for a "first" attempt. I "had" 36.
Not going into details as of how he got to 32. But I understand.

***

Lovac,

Are you planning to stick with 32? Or are expansions planned?
Perhaps you could consider making A5 papers for an small ring folder. Besides of information and flavor text. You can perhaps add some strategy suggestions.

Don't be so sure about them knowing all the information after 2 games. Some take 10 games to get even a couple of units memorized. But then again, I don't know what stats you use.

Top
Wed, 09/20/2017 - 09:56
#5
joebergmann
joebergmann's picture
Offline
Joined: 12/29/2016
Just my preference

I prefer cards. The information can be split up and shared among the players. People might be less likely to throw away a card than a piece of paper (my opinion) so the rules won't get lost as easy. Cards fit better on the table during a game most of the time (my opinion). I like cards.

Top
Wed, 09/20/2017 - 12:47
#6
Ark1t3kt
Ark1t3kt's picture
Offline
Joined: 09/12/2017
In My Opinion...

In my opinion, sheets are better in this case. (Especially since your game involves hidden information, and you may be able to judge your opponent's moves based on which cards they are looking at.) Usually, I prefer cards because they are less awkward to fit on the table, however, I think that 32 cards is too many. If your game has this much information to reference, I would prefer sheets.

Top
Thu, 09/21/2017 - 12:50
#7
Corsaire
Corsaire's picture
Offline
Joined: 06/27/2013
Informational cards as clues

Informational cards as clues to an opponent's thinking could be a rich get richer effect and over-penalize new players when playing against experienced players. But I also find it frustrating when a game hits a patch of molasses as people slowly pass around the back of the rulebook to review cards/effects.

In general my gut take is use cards in this way only if compactness of the game is a design consideration.

Maybe there is a middle ground using larger cards with multiple related units on each?

Top
Syndicate content


forum | by Dr. Radut