It looks like most of the core mechanics worked. However, the Loss Aversion monster reared its ugly head. The players were punished severely when the storm hit and further hammered when an unusual number of bugs escaped from the web. This caused some bad feelings for the players because they felt that they lost everything they gained in a quick one-two punch. There are a few reasons for this.
Removing the limits on the actions resulted in the two new players quickly slipping into a decline position which was hard to climb out of. This might have been caused by my game teach being sub par. I may not have made the magnitude of the consequences clear enough as well as the importance of not over-extending yourself. The economy is very tight in this game and un-forgiving.
The lack of readiness for the upcoming storm resulted in an overly severe result when it did happen. The bugs escaping was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was an overly harsh penalty when both players were financially strapped. I definitely need to “Nerf” the “Wiggle” mechanism which allows bugs to escape from the web, this is just cruel and unusual punishment. The storm, however, needs to stay in the game because it is a critical timing mechanism, as well as providing a great deal tension.
Once the players have survived their first game, they will get a good feel for these events and learn how to deal with them. The “Wiggle” tiles discourage players from storing too much food and add a moderate level of risk, but they can be toned down a bit to lessen the punch without affecting the timing of the game. The “Storm” tile enhances the energy swings from feast to famine and cannot be removed. It can, however, be tamed a little for the first time play of the game, until players get a good feel for the rhythm of the game.
This is where the training wheels come in. The idea of no limits in the game simplifies the play, but it can be very un-forgiving if players make one or two errors in judgement. The first experience should be fun so I am introducing a beginning mode to the game. In this mode, all multiple actions will be capped at two and the storm will be capped at a maximum of two destroyed web spaces. This should help prevent the rapid slip into a “Decline” state for beginning players.
During the last test, I changed the direction of the “Robo-Spider” token, not realizing that this would reduce the rate of energy introduced to the game. This created an energy crisis and we had to give everyone bonus energy, just to get through the play-test. I will try it again on the next test with the right energy balance in mind.
I will also modify the Home action so it triggers the feeding/maintenance cycle as soon as it is played. Delaying it only causes confusion and disrupts the rhythm of the game. I can’t remember why I chose to delay this action, but whatever the reason, it was a bad one. The actions should be simple, you play a card and perform the action.
One more problem with the last playtest was that the players felt the movement was too restrictive or costly. This hampered the expansion of the webs and slowed down the game. I will address this problem after I get a good test with the previous revisions I have planned. It’s too early to address this one at the moment.
Once players get a game or two under their belt, they can remove the training wheels (action and storm limits) and take on the full risks of their actions. The players can also flip the game board over to the advanced side where they create their own map boundaries and choose where to place the “Bait” markers. If that’s not enough, they can head to the local game store and buy “The Hunters” expansion which adds non-web spinners like the Wolf Spider, Jumping Spider and the deadly Wandering Spider. This, of course, will be long in the future. I need to get this game going first.
Feel free to comment and let me know you want to try the game out on TTS.
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