Part of the game:
For my game, I like to use reference cards. Or more or less pages that players can gather. They choose some pages with info. And then they attach a piece to it. The other pieces are simply standing on a hexagon board. All sharing the same reference card. Health is tracked on the board as well. But the reference card will be telling the total health. That is how it works in general.
Sure, I got it all on paper. With a pencil! But to move on to something more official. Or in other words, more uniform design.
I started to try things in word/excel/paint etc. But I am troubled with this. I guess it is my inexperience biting me.
I have 2.5 options open right now.
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Option 1:
The statistic card will be completely correct, all numbers are as they are.
However, some units have 1 weapon. Others have 2 or 3 weapons. This will take in space. And this space would reduce for example, the fluff text. I have trouble designing such cards. Not by numbers, but actually by fitting in the space.
Empty space is a waste! That is how I feel.
So my latest solution (still to test) is to reserve the space on all cards. Even if there is only 1 weapon that the unit will carry.
If there is only 1 weapon, the second and third space will be filled with extra pictures. And the fluff text regarding this will be expanded.
If all spaces for weapons are used as intended. The fluff text will still be there. But perhaps in paragraph form to accommodate the weapon statistics?
I might use a double standard. Where each extra weapon gets it's own picture in close up, and a weapon statistics. With the fluff text in the middle. In that case. The complete unit statistic cards would look like this:
Completed:
Big picture
Body stats - fluff - Weapon 1 stats
Weapon 2 pic - fluff - Weapon 2 stats
Weapon 3 pic - fluff - Weapon 3 stats
Basic:
Big picture
Body stats - fluff - Weapon 1 stats
Another picture - fluff - Another picture
Another picture - fluff - Another picture
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Option 2:
My friends are all about designing their own units. But they can't do !@#. That said. I still respect the fact that they keep trying. And it does bring out some interesting humoristic concepts: "Cutting Board Tank", "Attack Dog Launcher" and my favourite, the "Literal Glass Cannon".
Instead of telling them how to design "lego blocks" for a complete "lego structure". What if I provide the "lego blocks"?
My solution to this would be:
Having "body" cards and "weapon" cards. For the players to combine themselves. This removes the empty space problem.
But adds the problem of special rules.
Some special rules require the player to re-calculate the "weapon" costs. I think this is a big problem.
To retain balance, there are rules like having no more than X units with cost Y1=Body+W1 or Y2=Body+W1+W2. Where some games have X*Y1=3600.
But if you have 2 weapons attached, you may build twice as much units of these. X*Y2=2*3600 Another unit would be discarded actually. Those are special rules to retain the balance, but I doubt players can follow through. It is one of those balance rules that is normally oblivious to players.
Other units like barbed wire will hardly be possible.
Big pictures are not possible either. The theme would be less?
The whole would start feeling more chaotic too for new players. There is no: "This is it!" Unless I tell them to use a specific infantry card and add a specific weapon card.
Not to mention. "Body cards" ??? How to name these cards in the manual, if they are to accommodate: infantry, walls, structures, tanks, air, boats etc.??
Thank god: "Weapon card" is easy.
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Option 3:
Is a combination of the other 2. I love barbed wire. So, why not have normal unit statistic cards. With 1 body and 1 weapon on them. And provide extra weapon cards for players to add?
A size of 2 (or more) cards:
Big picture
Body stats - fluff - Weapon 1 stats
A size of 1 card:
Weapon 2/3 pic - fluff - Weapon 2/3 stats
The idea here is that special rules can be explained with an example weapon.
Further, I can place the text in the additional slots: "When an extra weapon is added, discard one other unit of the same armor class that is using the same weapon class that you just added"
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Thank you for reading.
