Excalibur's Zone

I have been playing various versions of solitaire card games for many years. I’ve played a large number of solitaire variants from Klondike and Hoyle versions of this classic card game to home-brew rules where I used the cards like chess pieces. My most-played variant has to be tri-peaks and I don’t know which rules were the least played.

I recently noticed a Twitter friend of mine playing a solitaire variant about dungeon crawling called CardCrawl (@cardcrawl, http://www.cardcrawl.com). The graphics seemed well done and humorous and apparently, the game allowed you to post your score to Twitter. That was something missing from a bunch of other games that I enjoy playing (well, the ones with high score tracking). The more I saw these posts, the more I wanted to try the game. There was only one problem: the game was only available for iOS…but after speaking with the devs, Tinytouchables (@tinytouchtales, http://www.tinytouchtales.com/) I found out that they had a beta test going for the game! But it was over. After a few months of trying to keep track of beta tester requests, the game finally released for Android. And so I finally got to play, and purchase, the game.

This is the type of solitaire game that I really enjoy! It’s laced with theme, uses the cards in a fashion that makes some choices pretty challenging, and you fight monsters! Basically, you’re going through a dungeon crawl, fighting monsters, finding coins, using weapons, and wearing armor. You also gain keys which you can use to unlock special abilities that interact with the cards in different ways. AND one of the game modes allows you to construct your own dungeon crawl deck.

The game is pretty simple in its layout: Seven spaces for cards which are all filled from the deck and one space for your adventurer. You start with 13 health and nothing on you. The dealer shuffles the deck and deals four cards in the top row. You can find potions, swords, shields, coins, monsters, and abilities in that row. Dropping coins or potions in an empty slot (left or right hand) uses them. Dropping coins on your inventory slot uses the card. Dropping a sword, shield, or ability on a hand or in your backpack allows you to carry the item.

Swords are dropped on monsters to deal damage. Monsters are dropped on shields to reduce incoming damage. Abilities are dropped on whatever cards it effects. Some abilities turn items into potions, others banish cards to the deck, while others allow you to attack or defend in different ways. There are many, many other abilities you can use and I haven’t uncovered them all.

Your goal is to keep your adventurer alive while you deal with the cards that are dealt to you. It might seem like an easy and straightforward task, but sometimes you have to choose which monster does damage first so that you can free up a hand for a potion. Sometimes you get hit with monsters and no sword, shield, or potion to save you. It can get pretty hairy. You can also sacrifice non-monster cards to the shop in an effort to discard them or turn them into gold.

There is another mode, the daily dungeon, which allows you to play a different deck each day; a refreshing feature for a solitaire game.

The graphics are pretty nice in a Tim Burton-esque sort of way. The colors are muted but fit the theme very well. I tend to play with sounds off but they also fit the theme very well, especially when the dealer gets angry that you’ve won or when he drinks his mug of ale between hands.

I haven’t played this game long, but I can tell you that it has quickly become one of my go-to games for when I want a quick game to play while doing other things. I highly suggest this game to anyone who enjoys solitaire and fantasy-themed games. I also hope that the developers turn this into a physical game. If they did, I’d be the first in line to buy it.

Expect to see me post my game score once every few days, perhaps alternating between the Normal and Daily Dungeon modes.

-Ex

Please visit the original article on subQuark’s blog here: http://blog.subquark.com/fostering-an-open-game-culture/ and visit him on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/subquark

In this article, game designer subQuark (David Miller) talks about expanding his upcoming game, Mint Tin Mini Apocalypse (MTMA), into a more open gaming framework in much the same way that a deck of cards can be used to create a multitude of different games. I believe this may have been sparked by some of the ideas I threw at him while we were chatting on twitter. David was displaying a map idea he had for using Google maps for the game’s deluxe playmat. I suggested he look at several spots around the world with run down and abandoned areas that look post-apocalyptic and make several mats. I then went on to suggest that these mats could have different missions tied to them, making them a new expansion where each mat has a different objective.

In this new blog article, David asks for opinions about how the components of MTMA could be used in an open framework for player-inspired scenarios. While the default game would be available, players could use the components to modify or create different ways to play the game or possibly new games altogether.

This is a slippery slope, to be sure, because you don’t want to make anything so abstract that players have a difficult time thinking of what to create. The goal is to provide a set of base rules that can be easily modified or substituted to provide a new game experience. Different playmats, layouts, missions, and other elements are a good way to go about this.

In his post, David suggests that you could play the game as is or you could use streets to split the map into zones where players’ meeples may start in different locations, provide alternate routes to the safe zone (through the sewers), or to rescue hostages. Different mats could provide different experiences or hazards to completing the set missions.

David then goes on to ask for opinions and ideas about this idea, if we have ideas, or questions about it. To me, this sounds like a fantastic idea! I have already suggested the multiple mat idea. These can be made into missions, for flavor, change of scenery, or a host of other game elements. What I’m going to do now is make a few (or more) suggestions that David can possibly use to benefit his game. Now I am an amateur game designer. I’ve only self-published print-n-play games on Board Game Geek through design challenges. But I do have a few decades worth of gaming experience under my belt…

Modular rules:

I think that if the rules for MTMA are modular, it will become much easier for players to add, substitute, modify, or ignore what they want to create the gaming experience they want. This might not be an easy task to accomplish, but I think that this would make things easier in the long run. The ability to take a specific element of the game and mutate it can change gameplay dramatically. Think of chess vs hnefatafl. Both are grid-based capture/control games. Except hnefatafl changes the number of pieces per side, the types of pieces, the starting location of the pieces, and the win conditions for each side. Those are a lot of changes, but fundamentally, the games are very similar.

For example: imagine MTMA that you could change those elements as well. You’re on an arena mat. The blue payer has 4 pieces and the green monster. The yellow player has all five pieces. The blue player must get the monster to one of the exits while the yellow must stop them. The pieces move like pawns in chess, moving one grid spot at a time and one piece per move. We’ve not only changed the mat, but we’ve changed the win conditions, we’ve changed the piece distribution, and we’ve changed how the pieces work. Instead of having to rewrite the game from scratch, we simply substitute the mechanical aspects (pieces, movement) and then we allow the mat to provide the setup and theme.

Mission cards:

An open game system might benefit from a deck of mission cards that can be hidden or visible to all players. A secret mission that will allow you to win the game (capture or eliminate 3 of the opponent’s meeples, unleash the monster from the cage, be the first/last to the fallout shelter) can provide a very exciting atmosphere for the players. The cool thing about this is that you do not need to have custom cards printed for this. A standard deck of cards (or a custom one that mimics it) with a chart can provide everything you need. The ability to change the chart is also a wonderful bonus! This way, you only have to print the chart for default missions! But why stop there?

Instead of providing just a mission deck, why not make the chart about equipment? Or items essential to survival? Or events? Or giving the monster different abilities? Or giving the meeples different abilities? Or all of these?

Cards, in general, would expand this game to explosive levels and make it even more expandable! A custom set of cards with stats, numbers, and pictures of weapons or equipment could easily provide most (if not all) of the suggestions in the previous paragraph. Even a plain deck of cards with charts that provide meaning to the cards could be done. And the awesome thing is that these charts could be online! A deluxe option with them printed in a booklet could be available, but not entirely necessary.

Meeple decals:

It is of my opinion that the meeples need to be numbered or uniquely identifiable in some manner that makes it easy to distinguish one meeple from another. This would make a lot of things easier. Players could refer to a specific meeple for effects, missions, or any other number of things. Labeling each meeple this way becomes tedious, yes, but if there is a sticker sheet that’s supplied with the game, put the option to uniquely identify the meeples in the players’ hands (saving a lot of work).

Summary

These are all the things I can think of right now. I do not have a copy of the game’s rules to make any further suggestions, and I haven’t played the game so I don’t know how it feels or what would need to be done to make it a more open system. Though, it’s not like I don’t already use game bits for other things in other games! But building a system from the components in MTMA is a bit trickier without added “stuff”.

Good luck with getting the game funded, David! I know that I will be backing it!

Here I am, sitting down to work on Tuesday and I read something online that sparks something in my foggy brain. It’s TUESDAY! Yesterday was Monday and it never entered my mind that I was late. Sunday night, before I go to bed, is when I get the schedules of my FLGSes together and report them via podcast. I’ve been missing the past few weeks (getting them in late Monday) and this week was the last time. Additionally, the view counts for the podcasts also tells me that not many people listened to them.

I’m going to have to discontinue my FLGS News & Events podcast. At least in its current form. Once or twice, I can forgive myself. But three times and two days late? That’s inexcusable. For those that listen, it is a disservice for me to miss my deadlines. True, they’re self-imposed deadlines, but deadlines none-the-less.

I have been thinking that it might be best to collate all the schedules in a text-based format for easier reference. You can see what’s happening at what store on a given day and time much quicker with text than having to skip through someone reporting the schedule verbally.

The problem with this is that most of the FLGSes in my area have online gaming calendars. Those that don’t have printed copies of their schedule available.

So, after 19 podcasts, I’m going to shutter this project and move on to others.

To those that did listen, thank you! I apologize that I’ve come to this decision, but with my current schedule and inability to keep the deadline for these broadcasts, I have to let it go.

For those who are interested, here are the calendars for the stores that post them:

• Bardic Tales
• Battlegrounds
• Collector’s Heaven
• Dragon’s Den
• Hobbytown USA (No website or calendar)
• One-Eyed Jacques
• Richmond Comix
• The Time Capsule
• Warhorn Schedule for Pathfinder Society

What to report on Die Civilization…Well, there were more playtests and to tell you the truth, some of the changes I made that sounded right in my head were confusing to players at the playtest. There were issues with understanding how things worked (I’d used ranges for purchases rather than straight results…which was a suggestion by one of the testers!) when you rolled a die, what could it be used for? What could be done with it? And so on.

These questions and the fact that suggested changes are making the game more confusing and less fun have me rethinking what I’m doing and forcing me to ask more questions. Let’s stick with the basics:

• What mechanics do I want?
  • Push your luck?
  • Worker placement?
• How do I handle Wonder building?
• How does the game end?
• What is the trigger for game end?
• What amount of time is reasonable for a game like this?

The original version of the game had 10 special dice with different arrangements of colors on each face. Each die represented a different tech level and you rolled more dice as you went up in level. The colors granted you a matching cube and you could spend the cubes for effects. The game was tedious and took quite a while to play. Not to mention you were buying cubes to get more cubes and points. Not a super fun game at all. The dice rolling was the fun part.

Since then, I’ve been playing a lot of dice games when I can get them in. Dungeon Roll, Roll Through the Ages, Marvel Dice Masters, Quarriors!, Catan Dice, Zombie Dice, Farkle, Alien Frontiers, Kingsburg and others. Each game helped me to look at Die Civilization in a different light.

Currently, when you want to buy a tech, you have to purchase a die from the tech, roll it, and then hope to get a die face that you need (2-5 on the face, different based on number of same-color squares). Then you spend 8 × Tech Level (TL) in production points to purchase the tech once you occupy all the research squares on the technology. Whenever you roll a die, you get one reroll. It has to be taken immediately after the first roll (you can’t perform any other action that round) so you have to choose what you want to do. But I’ve found that this current method is limiting.

Dice Masters was the key to unlocking the current version of Die Civ but while playing Dice Masters recently I had another idea that shook the foundations of what I was trying to accomplish with Die Civ. What if you simply select a die from a tech and roll it instead of having to buy it first? So if you’re trying for that tech that has a gray die on it, you simply take a gray die and roll it with everything else. Then, instead of trying to match die faces directly, you instead look at a difficulty number and try to beat it with your roll? One of the dice has to be the research color you’re aiming for, but you could use any other dice to boost the value!

Now we’re getting somewhere. This allows the player to do what they want with the dice, they can roll more per turn, and feel like they’re accomplishing something! In addition to the purchase of a research square, effects would also be powered by combinations of particular dice. For example: If you have a gray die and a yellow die (plus any other dice) and you beat a target number you could buy a defense for your civilization. If you roll doubles, you can roll them again, so long as one of the dice matches the colors on the tech you’re attempting to purchase!

Purchasing a tech becomes easier. How? You get to roll your dice to beat the overall tech score after you’ve researched all the squares on the tech. What would be the purchase cost? That’s something I have to figure out. But using exploding doubles may make it easier for players to acquire. And you will still be able to stockpile production points, dice, and failures in order to help you purchase your techs.

Another thing I’ve figured out is the tech tree. Why not treat it like a tech tree? Shuffle cards from each tech level and lay them down on the table in a grid. Each tech points up, down, or straight ahead (to the next tech level in all cases). The player may choose to follow a path to the next tech level. They can go straight down the tree to the end for a deep, narrow tree. Or they can research more than one level one techs to create a broad, shallow tree.

This gives us an end game condition as well: When a player owns 5 techs, they trigger the end game condition. Everyone will get an additional turn after this trigger (finish out the turn, then one final turn) and the game ends. VPs will be the deciding factor with Wonders acting as tie breakers.

How do we handle VPs? Well, in the same way we did before, for now: 2 × TL for the first person and (2 × TL) – 1 for everyone else. The trick is that you have to follow a tech tree path and can’t just jump to the next TL.

Also, about dice: Each tech that you own will grant you an additional die. The die is of a type that matches a research on a tech plus any other dice based on Wonder completion or special powers from techs. So the player has some extra choice and gains extra dice as they complete techs rather than magically when they go up in tech level.

Dice powers will either change or go away with the new system, or perhaps Wonders will dictate dice powers. This is still up in the air. For now, however, dice will have their own powers based on what face is showing (usually a 6).

But with the new system, what happens to the white production dice and the pink worker dice? Well, here’s the trick with that. White dice will represent general goods or “colorless” points. Everyone will always be able to roll one of these. They will probably become a limiter in some fashion, perhaps the number of dice you can use toward a purchase of something that requires production points. Pink dice will still limit the number of actions you can take per turn (that aren’t production warehousing, die stockpiling, or failure stockpiling). But the pink die’s current power will probably change to something more meaningful with the new system.

A lot more change is in store! Seldom does a game start and finish looking and acting identical. I think I’ll see more change as the development of this game continues. And ideas are always popping into my head or being suggested by others all the time. We’ll see what the new changes bring and hopefully we’ll see this thing finished sometime during the new year!