4 March 2014
This was the first three-player game I orchestrated, and I'm glad I did. Movement and territory are much more intertwined when a third player is involved, and I had an interesting time trying to play as three different players. It's time to show this to a group.
SESSION NOTES
- Obvious in this session was the importance of different symbols on the chips. I want this game to be colorblind-accessible, so that means I will need to mark the Claim Tokens as well as the chips. Red and Orange seem too similar right now.
- A crucial adjustment was found to be needed. I had been thinking that allowing players to "leap-frog" across the board to different hexes would be something to try for future games. Well, this session made it clear to me that it should be the way to go. There was one situation where Blue was completely surrounded, but the game hadn't ended yet. The only thing left for Blue to do was to fill in and RESUPPLY the hexes under their control. Meanwhile, Orange and Red could still expand. Had the new rule been in effect, then Blue could have also still expanded into other hexes. Not only that, but by adding in this new movement, Walls become more valuable not just for an extra VP, but to prevent opponent expansion through hexes a player already controls. Opponents will have to move fast to ensure that they can build a Claimed hex on the other side of a contested hex before they're closed off.
- It's pretty clear that the special effect NUMBER 2 cards are quite valuable - particularly nearing the endgame condition - because they allow players to suck more VP from hexes they already control via the Green Bonus chips. I like this situation. Players who use a FORE! card have a choice to go for a high NUMBER card, or for hex investment with a special effect NUMBER 2 card in the hand they steal from.
- The game still holds up with three players, though it took me more time. I think the session was an hour long, but that also included me shifting hands of three different players: something that I KNOW sucked up time. I do not anticipate games lasting longer than an hour, should more human players be involved. I feel like I fiddled a lot because I was the only person shifting between three players.
NEW RULE
- MOVEMENT: players may now use their network of tunnels to move to other hexes on the board, even if those hexes are not adjacent to a claimed hex they control. As long as there is a contiguous path of hexes where the player has at least one Mole on each hex in the path, new moles may be placed. The mole must still be moved from a hex that has a Claim Token on it, but the Mole that is moved can move to any available hex that's adjacent to the contiguous mass or branch of hexes. I will be sure to add an illustration/photo of this in future journal entries, to make sure there's a clear example of how it works.
ENDGAME
The final score was Blue 30, Orange 28, Red 44. Please see the two photos for depictions of the start of the game as well as the end of the game. Note that the Green Bonus chips were a significant boon to each player, especially in the case of the clear victor. The special effect NUMBER 2 cards strike again...
The layout of the game at start. I forgot to put out the Green Bonus chips before snapping this photo.
Red wins, gaining a significant number of points from the Green Bonus chips.
NEXT SESSION
- Mark the claim tokens for each of the different players, particularly red and orange.
- Scale back to a two-player game and allow the "leap-frog" movement across the map. Also, clarify the verbiage used to explain the movement, and snap some step-by-step example photos for rule explanations.
- Keep up with the updates! The game has seen measurable progress in the past couple weeks, thanks to the pressure of documenting progress and session reports. It's been a cool experience so far.
Any feedback, comments, or questions? Please comment here or send a message to editor [at] let [dash] off [dot] com. Thanks for reading!
