Tactical Layer = The Reboot

For the 5th Action, I have:

5. Level up and use an EX-P Gem (1 AP per gem used)

But in truth, the opponent can use EX-P Gems to "weaken" an opposing player's Units/Game Tiles... Obviously one-at-a-time ... But nevertheless it is possible.

So I NEED a better term than "Level up" because in some case you are inflicting penalties... This has all to do with my Alignment Chart and general approach to Bonuses and Penalties for the various Races in the game.

Suggestions are welcome and if you have other "Action" ideas, those too are welcome! I'm just trying to broaden the type of Actions that a player may play on his/her turn.

If you have others and feel like you want to SHARE... Please feel free to do so!

Okay:

1. Market: The game uses a 12 Deck of Game Tiles per player. I don't want to further complicate it with additional cards which are hard to make relevant. There are other consideration with Different kinds of cards too. In addition to more artwork, there is more Card Template Design... It's more complication and for some games it could work... But not in CH.

2. Side Quest: The game plays like a sophisticate game of Chess. It uses a STRONG Area Control Mechanic and features a Tactical Layer for collecting Loot. When you play, it really feels like Chess where you are CONTROLLING the Game Tiles in play. The game is 100% Deterministic also.

Much like Chess, CH will eventually lead to one player capitulating on the area control and makes an attack (Conquest). This of course could lead to cascading conquests by the players... Like Chess you take my piece, I take yours and so forth. The conquests could last for several rounds too.

So "Quest-ing" is not part of the game and it's harder than the Market concept which in some way (the idea) has merit.

Loot in CH comes in the form of Gems. Your goal is to either be the first player to collect 3 Chaos Gems or complete a 9 Resource Gems custom sequence. There are no other "items", "spells", etc.

Anyhow I am still OPEN to additional concepts/ideas. I'm not at all trashing them... I'm just explaining the challenges with each one, some stick better than the rest! Cheers.

Interesting that you mention that... Because last night I came up with a "Merchant" Skill which is: "trade any crystal (Gem) in play for the one of your choosing." This is also like the Green Gems which allow you to SELECT the color of your choice.

Getting back to your version of "Trading" ... Maybe something to do with how the "Sequence" gets handled. I'm thinking something more complicated than my "Merchant" Skill, now that you've suggested the concept of having some kind of "exchanging".

I was thinking only Nine (9) Resources to collect and they must be gathered "sequentially". BUT thinking with your concept you could Spend "X" Action Points to collect a gem in the future of your sequence... I know it may be harder to follow ... which may be good because it makes the game LESS linear.

And it maybe improves the way players gather resources from the Area of Play.

You may be on to something with this "Action" too... You called it "Trade", I'm thinking more about "Foretell" (like a Prediction) and it would cost "2" to "3" APs depending on the distance you want to plan ahead.

And you can ONLY do it IF you have completed ALL the Sequence up until that point. So if it the sequence is: 1-1-2-2-1-3-3-1-1. And you have only the First "1", you can collect for the next "2s". But once done either way, you MUST gather the NEXT "1" before being able to move on to the 2nd "2"... Is this understandable???

This is pretty NEAT. It opens up the game to more decision making and smarter strategy in performing "optimal moves". I really LIKE it... Although you are not "trading" you are trying to predict future resources which may cost you some Action Points but maybe accelerate your gathering potential.

Definitely COOL! Let me know if you understood.

7. Fortell by collecting a resource "2" or "3" positions in the future (2 or 3 APs depending on the distance of the resource)

I really like this... Hope it works in PLAY (Playtesting). For now I think maybe at most one (1) more Action and that should be enough. This one was a collaboration (we both had input on the concept), your "trading" let me to think of planning "in-the-future".

Again let me know your thoughts on this particular "Action".

Note #1: It's a chance you take to try to move forwards QUICKER and collect more gems than you would normally be allowed to do. And this can sometimes BLOCK an opponent too... So it's a very offensive Action that changes a bit of how the game (sequence) will play out. Really cool.

Note #2: And BTW the "Trade" Skill is a one-time skill that is UNIQUE to a Lord/Lady. In this case it is Lord Asinius, a Bald Merchant that operates under the Dwarves realm. This is the LAST dude in the game ... Like 2 to 3 Expansions "down-the-line"... In any case these types of skills are ONE (1) Time only. So you can use them once in a match and then the skill is spent.

"Actions" are on-going and occur each and every turn. They need to be a little bit more "generic" if they are going to balance well with the game and the remaining mechanics. So just an explanation between Skills and Actions.