Gene Dreams - 18 Card Programming and Area Control

Hey there, Ched80! Took a look at your rules and cards, and I have a bit of feedback.

First off, I appreciate a small-footprint game like this. Seems very easy to set up, and players can jump into it immediately.

I wish there were patterns along with the colours. I wanted to print-and-play this, but my printer is only black n' white. I'm not certain what the typical conventions are for PnP versions of games, but since there's a lot of matching involved in your game, I suggest you add distinctive shapes or patterns for those dealing without colour print capability.

Regarding scoring: in your examples, the second of the three cards indicates the Red Player earns 4 points, but the card lists 3 Points in its points medallion. Can you explain how 4 Points is earned in this case?

Best of success with your design...! :)

Actually the rules say BOTH:

1> It says "8 CUBES" in the SET-UP.

2> It says "6 red cubes" in the COMPONENTS.

On page #2, it says: "SEQENCE ORDER" instead of "SEQUENCE ORDER".

Also [3B] has a TYPO: "When this skill is used, fliip the card over."

In the "End Game scoring" section, I believe the 2nd card score is INCORRECT. Shouldn't it be "RED GETS 3 POINTS" and not "2"??? The card says "3" points not "2"...!

I'll re-read it to make sure I haven't MISSED anything else!

Question: What do the NUMBERS on the "Location Card" represent (or used for)? Like in the rulebook, the "Location Card" has a Blue square with a "3" and a Cyan square with a "4". What do those values symbolize. There is no mention of them elsewhere in the rulebook (I don't think ... I don't remember reading anything about it...)

Not because it's a copy but I am doing something SIMILAR with "Quest AC v2". Where my game is different is that it's mainly an "Engine Building" mechanic where your game is "Area Control". Indeed the small footprint of your game is "biased". What I mean is that it's simple to play... But there may be a lack of complexity.

With "Quest AC v2", I would want to make a REAL CCG sold in "boosters" and "booster boxes". Because play is SO DIFFERENT from traditional CCGs/TCGs ... I think my "Engine Building" mechanic can lend well to "stories" being told from the cards. I'm probably a bit further into the process... The design has been re-worked several time already. But there are still issues to be worked out (the "core" design is about 75% to 80% done).

Because in your case you are using genetic sequencing... Does that mean that the COLORS MUST be IN-ORDER on the "Location" cards??? Like if it's Orange-Purple... On the "Location" card do you REQUIRE that the sequence must be followed too... OR can you just choose whatever Orange and whatever Purple spaces on the "Location" card?

If you are following the sequences, I would change this and just make it "color" matching.

Here have a LOOK at one of my "Legendary" cards:

Like I said, I'm "further along" in the design but not YET complete. This just shows you what an "Engine Building" version looks like. This card was a "prototype" (alpha stage)...

It's a "6" out of nine (9) card, I personally have made this card very RARE... But it performs as a pretty decent card too in that it should help a player "increase" his resources for the next quest. Players compete to COMPLETE "Quests" rather than DUEL. The GOAL is to be able to have two (2) "core" cards: Heroisms and Terrors. So you can directly mess with a player's "timeline".

But yeah... When I saw your design, it "sorta" reminded me of "Quest AC v2". I also got the impression that you are "trying" to mesh a THEME with the game. I don't use "programming" nor "area control" but you are trying to match colors and you have "Card Actions" that affect the game (like your Gene cards).

I too think my design is "clever"... But the COST to MAKE this game a reality is somewhere around $30,000. That covers artwork alone (300 cards) and for now it's just a dream... Hahaha ... Your game is called "Gene Dreams"! Just a bit of humor.

What I really find funny is that your design is very SIMPLE and mine is very COMPLEX. Or more accurately mine LOOKS "complex"! But at the "core" both games are accomplishing very "similar" task.

Tell me what you think???

Cheers!

Work on what you feel is the best for the game. I'm just suggesting things to look at. And YES, I agree three (3) color matches per card would be a simpler way of sticking to 3 cards and still offer the additional scoring.

And that makes sense for nine (9) cubes too. I just felt like nine (9) was an uneven amount ... So ten (10) would be to allow for an "extra" cube in the event that you would lose a cube. But nine is perfectly good...

Ahh I see... So what you are effectively saying is that you match colors in ANY of the three (3) locations. Yes that would make the game more fluid... For certain less "blockage" (as you indicated).

If that's your personal goal... Well then it stands with your modification ideas, you'll still have a format that is compatible with a PNP...

Cheers!