I'm not sure if this belongs more in prototyping, but I"m putting it here because it's non-specific.
In the game I'm designing, there is a board to represent "the world."
Armies move around this world, and when they step into each other's territories, a battle commences. Armies are identical. There is no differentiation of troops or forces. Each army "pawn" represents a predetermined number of dice rolled, and a predetermined amount of health. When they clash, dice are rolled, and successes from either side inflict casualties.
Some of the uniqueness and excitement from combat comes from the other component. There is also a deck of champions that players purchase and add to their forces. Champions can swing battles, and add combat strength and health to the fight. Players know which champions are in play by each player, and where those champions are.
Here's the dilemma: How to mix these types of forces elegantly.
The current playtests, we note armies by pawns. Each player also has a small set of "super pawns", labeled 1, 2, and 3. On the player board (tactical board with faction specific details) are three sections, each corresponding to a different "super pawn". Players place the champion card at the section to note which pawn it is associated with, and then that pawn travels on the board with army pawns.
That sounds a lot more confusing when I write it, so if people read this and say, "huh?!" please don't hesitate to let me know here or via PM and I'll throw together a diagram.
Thanks!
-Jon
Thanks for the responses!
@Joe - Not quite the way Thrones does it. In thrones, the cards are essentially combat cards that swing the battle. In our game, the Champions are units on the board as well... Thereby making location matter.
@kevnburg - Yes. We tried placing the cards on the board, but they ended up taking up too much room. The cards a little too large to sit comfortably, and there are other things on each territory adding congestion.
We also considered removing the "super pawns" and replacing them with colored stands that the card could be inserted into so that it stood up rather than laid flat. The problem with this became the "I need to see that card real quick" phenomenon, and we have a worry that card integrity will break down over time as the cards get more and more used. This might cause our champions to "flop" over and that wouldn't really be heroic, would it? (;
The champions are somewhat awkward because of how many different niches they serve, but that's part of the strategy of the game. They actually can serve several uses in the game, depending on which is chosen. Some are more combat oriented, some provide new actions players can do, and some provide passive abilities to facilitate "builder" strategies.
Players can go for standard territory collection towards victory, or can make decisive plays against other player's champions to cut their legs out from under them.
Quick note as well in case it is relevant and helps people with ideas: The board is dynamically built with other territory tiles.
Thanks again for the ideas!
-Jon