I'm designing a game featuring point-to-point movement. During the movement phase of a turn, a player uses a collection of "tool" counters to move across multiple spaces.
There are 3 types of borders between spaces, and 3 types of tools. To move from one space to another, a player selects the tool that will allow him to cross the border, and places its counter in the next desired space along the path. This way, the possible paths a player can take are limited by his collection of tools (which grows throughout the game).
Given my description, does this movement mechanic seem viable? I'm concerned about Analysis Paralysis, as the possible paths will be difficult to visualize at first (which is intended to be part of the challenge.) I'm also concerned that players will see this as "work" and not "fun," or that it will just drag out what some might see as a relatively mundane part of any game (moving your guy around).
I'm hoping to create those "aha!" moments when a player happens to spot just the right path, perhaps while it's someone else's turn.
Thanks for the replies so far. I thought I'd add a little more information about the game in case it might encourage more discussion.
The greater part of the game is an economic system. Each player controls one pawn (your "entrepreneur"), which moves around using the mechanic in the original post. The purpose of moving around the game board is to collect materials, which sets the stage for scarcity and valuation of those materials in a market. This is somewhat like the resource market in Power Grid, only in reverse. Instead of the market determining the cost to acquire a resource (which in my design come freely as a result of movement), the market determines the value of the materials at a point in time.
These resources are then sold to "factories" (for market value) that use them to produce "tools" - the very same tools that each player must purchase in order to increase his movement capabilities, which is directly related to his ability to acquire materials and affect the market.
I'd like to clarify how I see the movement phase working. Starting with the space his entrepreneur currently occupies, he begins laying down his tool counters along his desired path of movement. Each counter must match the border it is designed to cross. When all counters are placed, or the desired destination is reached, the player moves his entrepreneur, collects materials from the market that match the spaces along his path, and finally retrieves his tools from the board.
The placement of the tool counters before moving the entrepreneur accomplishes several things. It establishes the route, ensures that the entrepreneur does not travel to an inaccessible location, indicates which materials will be collected and prevents the entrepreneur from re-entering the same space along the path.
So, you can see how the movement mechanic is tightly integrated with the economic system. I don't feel that I can easily yank it out without destroying the whole concept (or at least turning it into something terribly mundane) - but I'm wondering how it can be streamlined. I just don't want it to interfere or detract too much from the greater part of the game.