Deeper card game strategy

+ (6 - 2) = +4 = +4
- (2 - 2) = 0 = -0
x (1 - 5) = -4 = x -4

-16 Tribute Points

This is a concrete example which involves 2 cards. It's the same if computed the other way too.

As I have explained... Both these cards are dangerous. Why? Because of a player puts down the Wizard, his opponent can play a Fighter resulting in a loss of 16 points. The same goes for the Fighter too: the opponent can play a Wizard and also results in a loss of 16 points.

Now while the bi-directional nature of the cards is a bit circumstantial... It introduces a difficult challenge in figuring out how to play the game...

I am reflecting about let-off's suggestion of hidden information and a unified scoring system. Need some time to review and consider. I will get back to these 2 ideas... Because they have some merit no doubt. Feel free to respond now that I have an example to explain the system...

Will review...

Right now... prior to playtesting, I have defined ten (10) different "Attacks", one for each of the ten basic roles.

The question I have: Is this enough or is this not enough variety???

Chess has 6 pieces and moves. In Monster Keep (MK) there are 10 roles. It makes it a bit harder than attacking ANY opposing card in play.

It adds depth to the game's strategy, in that you have RULES to dictate how each role can attack.

What do you guys think???

Just a quick follow-up... I've been on the road this last month ... And it's taken me away from my home-based setup/office. As such I have been following the various topics on my Mobile device (Cellular). I recently had to update my cell plan from 1GB Data to 10GB data. So I've had almost no more bandwidth this month and with the update... I have enough to read e-mails, follow BGDF topics and do things like read/download updates to things like our Rulebooks (For TradeWorlds) and such.

I will be trying these UPDATED cards this week... I've got a busy schedule in front of me... But hopefully I can find the time to CUT and TRY out the latest modifications. The "Attacks" have been added to the cards and all that remains is to create the latest (and greatest) prototype... And give it a try (Soon).

I'll update this thread once I get some experimentation done and have experience with the new attacks. This direction beats BY FAR the older one which was to have abilities on each card (Unique). But I found that the attacking was too EASY (target any adjacent card)... With the Attacks it makes it much more strategic and more of a challenge too.

Keep you all posted, I'll have a look on the other thread topics soon too.

Cheers.

So from 3 playtests, I have learned that there needs to be some minor adjustments to the rules.

Things like lowering the starting hands to 3 cards and Player #1 draws a +1 additional card for his hand (so 4 cards for his starting deck).

General Housekeeping which is draw +1 card after playing a card into the Keep. This is to maintain hands to the right counts (until nearing the end of a game).

Other items are like EITHER play +1 card into the Keep or ATTACK 1 opposing card. Obviously this is constrained by each card's Attack positions.

I'm still playtesting today... To get the best possible feel for the game.

Cheers!

More playtesting has revealed a "small" flaw in the design. Specifically it means that one player may run out of cards and his opponent may have 1 or 2 cards depending on the outcome of the game...

Now while this isn't too "bad" of an issue, it ruins a bit of the building component of the game. Namely you may land up with the Keep missing 1 or 2 spots in the play area.

But overall, the game is DEFINITELY "FUN". It's taken some time to get the design to this LEVEL and like I said earlier, I OFTEN shelve my designs because they don't achieve the level of play I am looking for.

Bottom line: this will be my 2nd design that will be "cool". Can't wait to move on with the artwork (which has been delayed a couple months already).

Keep you all informed...

The extra steps that I have taken seem to do the trick... No more asynchronous card counts. Everything is symmetrical. Which is fantastic and makes the game smoother.

I will do some more playtesting in the eve just to wrap things up... And be certain that the game is SOLID.

Cheers everyone...

Well this thread is ONLY about the combat mechanic and not the whole game. We as designers need to hone our skills in the design world by grasping PIECES of a game because usually designers don't want to re-evaluate the ENTIRE design, only one aspect.

I'm still working on the design. And I use The Game Crafter's (TGC) Sanity Tests to PROOF my rulebooks. So most likely my rulebook will be at earliest available on BGG or KS... I usually don't share full rules until they are over 90% done.

It's one thing to design a game, it's another thing to write the rules. And TBH the game isn't too complex either. As usual: easy to play, hard to master.

Thanks for taking a read... Cheers!

This design FEELS so simple... But sitting down with someone with a different perspective would be great. The game is a CCG (Customizable Card Game) and I would like some professional opinion and thoughts.

Hopefully I can sit down with one of my contacts some time soon.