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I.S.P. Survivor | by walla | 2007-04-30 00:14:38 |
| Play testing the game |
by kerinbot |
2007-05-03 02:32:31 |
I printed up the board, laminated the pieces, and we tried it last night.
Initial response: The people I play with are all strategy gamers. We expected it to be "light" but it actually has quite a lot of churn, and could easily go on forever, without ending. I expected it to be somewhat Munchkin like, but it actually has even less structure.
The problem is that it is too easy to mess with people. Actually completing a goal becomes nigh-impossible (possibly the point of the game?) and as there is no set ending time to the game, such as a number of turns, or number of attacks or something, the game can just go on and on and on.
A game of this type is usually best if it lasts at most 30 - 45 minutes. The basic theme and set up of the game are great, and it's fun to play Illiad's characters. But as an actual game, it needs some work. Also, there are balance issues - for instance, Sid's objects are needed by none, or one other person, while other player's objects are all needed by someone else. This makes for an unbalanced starting point for different players. From what we could tell, this is not balanced by other issues, such as where the player's starting position is, or where their items are placed.
Also, there is just lots and lots of luck.
For a more satisfying game (at least for us) a number of changes could be made.
We are working on a set of rules that 1) would make it a bit more strategic 2) play in a shorter period of time and 3) still keep the theme of the game and be true to the characters of the comic.
I'll post the results after they've been play-tested a bit, if anyone is interested. For instance - the Stef character is too powerful - losing two turns per "hit" and the ease with which he can be 'sicced' on anyone near completing a goal just got annoying. Our main proposal was that anyone within 3 squares of Stef doesn't lose a turn, but just loses 1 or 2 action points. Anyone in the same square with Stef would lose 4 action points or something like that. One gets slowed down, but still has something to do.
PS: a request from everyone that I've played with is this - coffee should be something that can be carried around, and by more than one person. We are considering adding new pieces - ie, "cups of coffee" which individuals can pick up, and add to their speed of movement. A limit of four cups per pot. (So only four people per pot could be used). Things like this. |
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