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Broke Again – The Arachnid saga continues…

2022-05-15 / / 0 Comments
Arachnid version 20 by RogerDogerGames

The Arachnid game was coming along quite nicely. The cooperation between players works quite well. Each player tends to have their own speciality, but they also have to depend on each other to get things done. The mechanics are smooth and intuitive and the game length seems just about right. In spite of all this, I still went and broke the game.

Working out the earlier kinks made the game run smoother. Unfortunately, it started to make the game a bit boring and predictable. There was no compelling reason to come back and play the game again. The players had experienced most of what the game offered. I needed to inject some replayability into the game or it would just end up on the shelf after one play, never to be taken out again.

I started with the current main objective. Players have to acquire 4 or 5 keys to enable the launch button before “Hoover” ends the game by finally reaching the web. This worked fine, but would just be a boring repeat if the game were played again, in spite of the different ways the spider characters evolve during the game. I decided to mix it up a bit. Players can play their introduction game with the keys displayed on the corners of the hex shaped player board as before, but they can choose to randomize the positions in subsequent games and hide the keys under rocks. This way, a player never knows when lifting a rock, whether it will reveal a new ability, be one of the sought after keys, or reveal a dangerous critter. This will create some variability to the game.

I also decided to start working on the action cards, increasing the count, so that only a small subset of the total cards would be in play in any given game. This should greatly help with the replayability of the game. It’s a real challenge coming up with new and interesting spider behaviors and ways to implement them, but I’m slowly picking away at solving this puzzle.

The third way I plan on dealing with the replayability problem is by introducing different scenarios with unique objectives. I will address this after I work out the latest kinks in the game and expand the deck. Some of the new cards can even be specific to certain scenarios. I will get to all of this after I fix what I just broke in the latest version of the game.

One of the complaints from the paytesters was the excessive administration of the “Critters” during their activation phase. This caused a break in the rhythm of the game which broke the players immersion of the game. This needed to be dealt with, so I decided to simplify the critters to eliminate redundant behaviors and reduce the administration of these A.I driven beings. This is how I actually broke the game……BOOGERS…..!

Originally, as you tried to acquire the keys, you activated Critters from the same location which could start chasing you around the web or wreak havoc in other ways. There were some logistical problems with the new, hidden, critters which were revealed as you turned over the rocks so I had to change this. In an effort to simplify the rules, I decided that the critters would enter the web at one of the six points of the board. This would be decided by rolling the A.I. die, the same way as they entered when drawn from the event bag. This simplified the rules, but turned out to be a very bad decision.

The result was a reduced risk of exploring and acquiring things because the critters would enter the web in places that didn’t immediately affect the spiders. This removed almost all of the tension from the game and made it very easy to win. It sucked the life out of the game, just like a spider drinking a “Critter Shake”. I now have to backtrack a little and find another way to deal with the introduction of the critters as they are revealed. They absolutely must start out from the rock under which they are revealed. This will create a tense moment whenever a rock is flipped over. I don’t know what I was thinking when I eliminated this in favor of a simpler rule-set. I just have to find an elegant and intuitive way to do this. I’m always amazed at how easy it is to derail a game with a simple rule change. It’s time to put my thinking cap back on and fix this game, then start making it better. Piece of cake…..LOL!

More Bugs – Less Filling

2022-04-20 / / 0 Comments
Arachnid 19d
Arachnid 19 on Tabletop Playground

Arachnid has gone through some major changes to reduce the number of components, simplify set-up and streamline game-play. I was worried for a moment after I finally worked out most of the problems with the action deck and action board. Once the game flowed smoothly, I realized that there weren’t enough interesting decisions throughout the game. I thought this game might just end up on top of the ever growing scrap-pile of dysfunctional games.

I took a short break from the game before deciding it’s fate. After taking a fresh look, and getting some good input from my #1 playtester (my wife) I was able to narrow down the problems. To start with, the game was too easy to win and the path to victory was too obvious. The “Critters” attacking the web weren’t really much of a threat and the end-game countdown (Hoover) wasn’t very dramatic. This all made for a boring and predictable game. With just a few tweaks, I was able to turn all this around.

The main objective in the game is to acquire the four keys in order to unlock the “Launch Button”. I made this task more complicated so players had to work together or find different ways to get them. I added more Critters and gave them more interesting and dangerous behaviors. This really ramped up the tension in the game and forced some tough decisions between defending the web and acquiring the keys. Having so many things to do and limited time to do it, automatically, made the end-game count-down much more dramatic.

It looks like the game is back on track and it’s time to write a final set of rules. Writing the rules is an important part of the design process. It reveals logic errors and provides a completely different perspective on the game. I’m really looking forward to ironing out the final glitches. I just hope there aren’t any really big issues I’ve missed. The “Kinda” “Sorta”, simultaneous turn-order (but only if you need to…) is going to be tough to explain. This should be fun!

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Arachnid Version 19

Chaos Reigns in Arachnid Land

2022-04-04 / / 0 Comments
Arachnid Board Game v18 by RogerDogerGames

I’ve always enjoyed a little chaos in my games, and I also like simultaneous play. These two things are tricky to pull off in a board game, but I think I’ve done it. The new action selection board for Arachnid is shown above, and it seems to work well in initial testing. I guess I should start at the beginning.

The earlier designs of Arachnid (Versions 16 and 17) had been switched to cooperative mode which eliminated many of the problems of politics and the boring “tit for tat” play of the competitive mode. This, however, introduced a whole set of new problems specific to co-op games. Certain bits of the game were fun but the game lacked an overall purpose and cohesive theme. I was at a loss for words when a game developer asked what the hook was. Just being a spider wasn’t enough and the game was going nowhere fast unless I could pull it all together. I finally came up with a juicy theme and a “Raison D’Etre” for the game, with a little help from my wife who likes to vacuum up spiders and bugs.

Arachnid is about a group of spiders living in a nuclear missile silo. Through being exposed to radiation, they have gained intelligence and are working together to expand their web and gather the keys to the “Red Beacon” (Launch Button). This will bring on Armageddon and the new age of Arachnid. Meanwhile, there are a number of “Critters” constantly invading the web in ever increasing numbers. An ominous whirring is getting louder and louder as well, which is Molly the cleaning lady vacuuming up the dust and cob-webs in the silo. Will the spiders gather the keys and hit the launch button before molly sucks up the spiders in a in a horrible “Hoover-geddon”? You’ll have to try the game and see for yourself.

The spiders must perform various spider actions like building the web, reinforcing it to capture food, gathering the food and fending off the “Critters”. This was originally done with cards placed on an action conveyor, which is explained in an earlier post. This puzzle didn’t mesh well with the action on the main board and severely detracted from the theme. It also failed miserably with 4 players. It had to be discarded from this game and replaced with something more streamlined so players can concentrate on the gameplay on the main board. There were a few conditions that had to be satisfied with this new mechanism:

  • It had to be streamlined and simple
  • It had to be expandable and flexible
  • Players had to have well defined roles
  • Player roles needed to be customizable
  • Players needed a clear direction to avoid confusion
  • It would be great if simultaneous play were possible.

I decided on a shared action pool. Players each have their own colored actions which are played on their own cards. There were also some shared tokens and shared actions which provided some flexibility. Players can also purchase more action tokens or action cards which enhance their abilities. The pool has a default order of actions which can be overridden when necessary by the players when certain actions have to be played in a specific order. This may sound a little wishy washy but it actually worked. In fact, the last playtest resulted in the players playing simultaneously in the second half of the game. It happened naturally and it appears that the game may even go faster with more players that with just two. I have no idea how to write rules for this player behavior which seemed to organically come about during gameplay. I hope it wasn’t just a fluke, and that this chaotic behavior will remain a big part of my game. Only time and more playtesting will tell.

A cool Mechanism in Search for a Game

2022-03-30 / / 1 Comment
Arachnid version 17 Cooperative

This is a super cool card based, action selection mechanism. Cards are selected by players (or drawn from a deck) and placed on a conveyor. They each represent a action that a player can perform by placing their pawn on them. Each card represents an action with three different variations which increase in strength from left to right. The position on the conveyor will determine which specific action variant can be activated, as indicated by the arrows above the card. After an action is performed by a player, the card is removed from the conveyor, the remaining cards slide down to fill the empty spots, and new cards are added to the conveyor.

In the version shown above, there is an alternate action indicated by the circle in the centre of the card, which can be chosen instead of the main card action. The topmost positions can be activated but they will require two player tokens as well as additional resources in the top-most space.

In a Cooperative game, this makes for an interesting puzzle where the cards get cheaper to use and gain in power as they stay on the conveyor. Players can plan ahead by placing cards they might need on a later turn, but may have to pay a high price or perform a weaker action if they have to use the cards earlier than expected. I’ve also tried a simpler version of this in a competitive game which worked but didn’t quite fit with the game. Below is an image of the single player board.

Arachnid version 12 Player Board

Unfortunately, this mechanism just didn’t work with the Arachnid game. The main game is a tile laying and tactical skirmish game but the card conveyor impedes the game play more than it challenges the players. The two different puzzles just don’t seem to mesh. I had to remove this mechanism and replace it with an action point system with upgradable and expandable action spaces. This simple action efficiency system should help the game flow much smoother.

The mechanism isn’t lost forever because it is way too cool to throw away. I’m sure I can use this in a future game where it might fit just right. If you know of a game where a system like this is used, or you would like to use this in your own game, I would love to hear more about it. Comments are welcome.

Can spiders get along

2022-02-07 / / 2 Comments
Arachnid v16 – Cooperative Mode

Arachnid has received a major overhaul in this latest version, #16. It is now a cooperative game and the shifting action track is back, better and stronger than it ever was. The first public play-test went fairly well and all the pieces seem to have come together. It’s been a long road so far, and there is definitely a lot of testing and refining to be done, but it looks like the game is now on the right track. The following is a brief description of the game in it’s current state.

Arachnid v16 Cooperative

Theme

You are part of a colony of spiders, struggling to survive in a harsh “Bug eat Bug” world. Build your web, grow your colony and enhance your skills as you fight the elements and fend off attackers. The battles with invaders culminate with you eating your attackers after they are vanquished. Can you and your fellow spiders survive long enough to claim victory over several waves of invading insects?

Game Description

Arachnid is a cooperative game for 2-4 players. Each player is a spider, and starts out with a hand of action cards. This hand of cards will evolve over time as the player’s unique roll in the colony becomes more clear.

The play area is a hex grid, where  players place tiles to show the web as it is spun. This shared web is the spider’s home, which they expand and reinforce to catch their prey. Bugs occasionally fly by, becoming trapped, and eventually, food. These Bugs are also used to acquire new skills, and breed more spiders to enhance the colony.

Players plan their strategy by laying out cards, face up, on an action track. This represents the possible actions the players might take. Players then choose which actions to take on a given turn by placing a token on the card of their choice, activating it. The chosen actions are resolved and the activated cards are removed from the track. The remaining cards are shifted downward and new cards are added to the beginning of the track. This action track is constantly shifting and the cards can gain more power or become less costly to use as they advance down the track. Players must anticipate events like bug attacks and storms, while deciding between leaving cards on the track to gain strength or using them to perform actions.

Each turn, a new event token is drawn from a bag. Events can range from bugs flying into the web, a storm, or an attack from a dangerous invader. Storms wipe out webs that aren’t properly reinforced, and clear off consumed bugs, so more can be captured. Storms also trigger replenishing of the event bag, which adds more powerful invaders to threaten the web.

How to win.

The life of a spider’s web is limited. The source of food is constantly diminishing, until it is no longer possible for the colony to thrive. The spider colony must build the web quickly and efficiently, to better cope with the ever increasing threat of weather and invading bugs. If the colony survives with no injured members as the last bugs are caught, then they are victorious. The spiders are now ready to start all over, with a new web in a new location.