Preliminary tests of the new competitive version of Arachnid show much promise. I was never able to implement the Chit-Pull system (Inspired by Wonderland’s War), but the unique Action Track system works well.
The game is mainly a challenge of area control between the players. This is where players score the most endgame points. This seems to work well because players enjoy laying down webs even more than hunting down invading Critters and eating them.
The energy economy is very tight. Players swing between feast and famine as I had always wanted. This switch between a Scarcity mindset and an Abundance mindset adds some richness to the game. The food based economy allows for some strong incentives for the players to take risks.
The battles between players are more of a shoving match whenever two spiders meet. The loser has to retreat, but also loses some food, which can be a very scarce resource. Battles are more about attrition and tactical maneuvering than player elimination.
The dual roles of Commander spider and Soldier spider, as well as a unique special ability for each Soldier spider adds a nice variety to the game. I have to work on making these rolls more unique, because the Commander is currently under-utilized. The next iteration, hopefully, will solve this issue.
There has been some confusion with the unique action track system because players haven’t seen anything like this before. I believe that; with some streamlining, a better explanation, and a clear user interface, this won’t be a problem. This is the only truly unique mechanism in this game, so it shouldn’t be an issue.
The latest iteration is ready to test digitally on TTS and in physical form. I am currently refining the core mechanics of the game before adding some cool additional features I have in mind. I can’t wait to see the results of the upcoming play tests.
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