So our game is fairly advanced, and we're looking for the best way to represent our skill tree. We have four skills, each with a base level, which everyone starts with, an upgraded level, and a Master level, for which players choose two options. In other words, it's Y-shaped.
When making the player mats, we moved away from the Y-shape tree because of how much room it took. We instead went with a simple A -> B -> C line, and a double-sided tile for the last level. We use a cube to track where the player is on the first two levels, and then the tile does the trick when you reach that level. It just feels clunky to have that cube, then throw it away when you reach the last level. We thought of having two double-sided tiles, one with level 1 on a side and level 2 on the other, and the second with the two options for level 3, but that would make it hard to see what the upgrades bring.
Is there an option we don't see? How would you present that part of the game?
