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Introduction

5 replies [Last post]
Fri, 08/21/2015 - 17:56
TartarSauce
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Joined: 08/20/2015

Hello, designers!

I am new to the forum, and to the game-design hobby. I have designed a card game, called "Rogue State", in which players compete to become the first Rogue Nation to enrich enough uranium to construct a nuclear weapon. My friends and I have playtested it dozens of times and we have the ruleset pretty solid. Everyone seems to think it's quite fun, with lots of backstabbing and player interaction.

Recently I've written up the game rules, and realized just how difficult a process that is. I was wondering if I might be able to find some people to read through my rules and let me know if it's understandable. Is this the right place to ask for that kind of help?

Anyway, I appreciate any help you all might be willing to provide, and I'm excited to be a part of the community.

Thanks!
-Rob

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Sat, 08/22/2015 - 18:57
#1
Dralius
Dralius's picture
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Joined: 07/26/2008
Do the rules have a

Do the rules have a components listing and visual examples of play?

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Sat, 08/22/2015 - 20:52
#2
TartarSauce
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Joined: 08/20/2015
As a matter of fact, they

As a matter of fact, they do.

Why don't I just post them here:
http://s7.postimg.org/g1lsp4lcr/Rules1.png
http://s7.postimg.org/6kvzii1i3/Rules2.png
http://s7.postimg.org/fnkgpj197/Rules3.png
http://s7.postimg.org/su9wp1wyj/Rules4.png
http://s7.postimg.org/y1uztidjv/Rules5.png
http://s7.postimg.org/v047jk0ez/Rules6.png
http://s7.postimg.org/44u64njff/Rules7.png
http://s7.postimg.org/q5aila23f/Rules8.png
http://s7.postimg.org/yotwj1afv/Rules9.png
http://s7.postimg.org/8uk3t9afv/Rules10.png

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Sat, 08/22/2015 - 23:47
#3
andymakespasta
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Joined: 07/26/2015
Rules for ants

these are tiny.
Make sure you're uploading the images, not the thumbnails

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Sun, 08/23/2015 - 06:13
#4
adversitygames
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Joined: 09/02/2014
The image size seems fine to

The image size seems fine to me.

Rules clarity crits:

Players take their centrifuge and storage cask cards (on page 3) AFTER you shuffle the deck (on page 2). Players literally following the instructions will have shuffled those cards into the deck because until that point nothing sets them apart from the rest of the deck cards.

Page 5:
A player should indicate when they've used their centrifuge (the obvious suggestion to me is: tap the card (ie rotate sideways) when used)

Page 9
I suggest clarifying that the scheduled inspection applies to *all* players. When I first read it I kept the context of the first half of the page (talking about the player who is responsible for the inspector) when I read the second half of the page so my first impression was that only the player responsible for the inspector has to deal with that.

Gameplay crits:

You've got a few "unlimited" things (hand size, number of storage casks and centrifuges), maybe it works fine in play but it sounds like it could get out of hand.

Potentially, combining a thief and inspector is devastating! You could use the thief to scout out a storage cask, then the inspector to find the uranium there. This seems a bit too powerful, since getting this combination cards is a matter of luck.

It seems like there's going to be a lot of inspections late on and level 5 uranium is going to be found pretty quickly. This could turn into luck being a deciding factor in the endgame and whichever player doesn't get unlucky with the inspector wins.

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Sun, 08/23/2015 - 13:04
#5
TartarSauce
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Joined: 08/20/2015
Thanks so much for giving

Thanks so much for giving this a look! I really appreciate your read through and feedback. Let me respond a bit to your comments.

iamseph wrote:
Players take their centrifuge and storage cask cards (on page 3) AFTER you shuffle the deck (on page 2). Players literally following the instructions will have shuffled those cards into the deck because until that point nothing sets them apart from the rest of the deck cards.

Good catch. That would be annoying.

iamseph wrote:
A player should indicate when they've used their centrifuge (the obvious suggestion to me is: tap the card (ie rotate sideways) when used)

It doesn't really seem to be a problem in play. Players will say, for example, "I'm enriching three ones into three twos" and everyone can see that they've used all three of their centrifuges.

iamseph wrote:
I suggest clarifying that the scheduled inspection applies to *all* players. When I first read it I kept the context of the first half of the page (talking about the player who is responsible for the inspector) when I read the second half of the page so my first impression was that only the player responsible for the inspector has to deal with that.

Good point. This was the most difficult section of the rules to write, and I need to go back through it a few times, I think.

iamseph wrote:
You've got a few "unlimited" things (hand size, number of storage casks and centrifuges), maybe it works fine in play but it sounds like it could get out of hand.

The game is pretty short. We've never seen anyone build more than 4 centrifuges (most players only get to 2, and we've seen players win with only 1), or 3 storage casks; and hands don't seem to go much past 8 or 9 cards. The game seems to wrap up after about 15-20 times around the table, so there just isn't enough time for things to build up past a manageable level.

iamseph wrote:
Potentially, combining a thief and inspector is devastating! You could use the thief to scout out a storage cask, then the inspector to find the uranium there. This seems a bit too powerful, since getting this combination cards is a matter of luck.

I see this as a potentially viable strategy, but probably not as devastating as you imagine. Since inspections are always random draws, it makes sense to stuff your storage casks with legal and readily-available level 1 uranium ores, to reduce your chances of failing an inspection. So the Thief might find three 1s, a 4, and a 5. The thief is almost certainly going to take the 5, leaving the follow-up inspector with only a 1-in-4 chance of finding anything illegal.

As a matter of fact, pretty much any attack is grievous. My wife seems to always win by using a Thief to steal a level 5 in her last turn. Suicide bombing a full storage cask is a major setback, and sending multiple inspectors in a single turn can result in a total dismantling of a player's nuclear program. It's a very difficult game to win from ahead; in our playtests, the Snipers are the most valued cards in the deck, as they allow you to survive a single attack, which might buy you just enough time to win.

iamseph wrote:
It seems like there's going to be a lot of inspections late on and level 5 uranium is going to be found pretty quickly. This could turn into luck being a deciding factor in the endgame and whichever player doesn't get unlucky with the inspector wins.

With scheduled inspections coming every three turns, there's enough time to go from having nothing that would incur a penalty to having the required three weapons-grade uranium cards in the space between inspections. In play, the strategy seems to be based around waiting for the right moment to make your move. Go too early, and you'll draw attacks from your rivals. Wait too long, and you'll risk getting caught by the inspector.

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