https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2484637697 Click on the link to try it out on TTS

Nova Raiders (AKA Pirates of the black hole) has gotten a complete redesign, both inside and out:

  • I discarded about half of the movement rules to streamline the game
  • Introduced the “Telleport” spaces
  • Re-structured the turn order so players wouldn’t fall asleep in between turns
  • Made the dice more prominent to encourage tactical play
  • Gave it a complete graphical face-lift
  • modified the end-game to increase the tension
  • opened up the movement rules to give players more flexibility
  • and gave it a snazzy new name.

I was a bit worried that I may have broken the game with so many changes, but it played fairly well in the last play-test. I would like to thank the game designers for the time they spent testing the game and for the frank and honest feedback. I managed somehow to maintain the fun parts of the game while fixing the bugs.

Of, course there were a few new issues as expected with such a drastic overhaul. It appears that I might have opened up the movement possibilities a bit too much, making the game a bit less challenging. I also had too many restrictions on bringing new player pieces into play. My next challenge will be to increase the opportunities to bring in more components, while at the same time, restricting movement just the right amount to make things more challenging. I’m gonna have to put on my thinking cap for this one.

The next issue is the counter-intuitive scoring system. There is some type of thematic or behavioral dis-connect that I have to iron out. The system works, but seems weird. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to sort this one out. There has got to be a simple solution, I just have to find it.

All in all, it was a great test. Only about a thousand or so more to go…LOL