Final Sprint

During the last week we have worked heavily on getting the game presentable. Fortunately for us, the remake of the system has worked well when testing. We have gotten much feedback that the game itself is slow though, so I have been thinking about what can be done to fix that. Listed below are the ideas I come up whit that I feel would have a positive impact on the game experience and pace:

• Have the players draw an event card at the start of each round instead of at the end. (This makes it less likely that a player can be certain to win even before their final turn.)
• Make blowing breaches and building monuments instant; similar to trading. (This increases the pace of the game slightly and makes collapses less annoying.)
• Remove ability to blow blockades. (This removes the option for players to sabotage heavily and basically bringing the game down to snail speed.)
• Add Sabotage event: “Your dwarf subjects have tunneled into position and are ready to collapse a passage – move one dwarf (of any clan) through any passage of the room they are currently in and place a blockade tile over that passage.” (This would effectively replace the blowing of blockades. It has the advantage of not costing the players dynamite, and also allowing players to target any room to focus on bringing the leading players down. With a sabotage event we as designers can also decide the frequency at which sabotages can occur which I believe is a good thing.)
• Add ability to scare of a thief by discarding one stick of dynamite. (This makes the gem stolen event less fatal for players and makes an event that can actually be prepared for.)
• Give two dynamite inventory slots. (Together with the other changes this would make it easier for players to deal with thieves and blockades, it may also encourage dynamite trading.)
• Make mushroom event give the character the ability to make two moves during their turn. (Way to many of the events in the game does nothing, making the mushrooms give players a slight boost would both increase the pace and make it so the game feels more eventful.)
• Remove Gem Find event; add Magic Gem Finds event instead. (Sometimes magic gem finds completely swings the game by giving an almost instant monument. This would decrease the impact gem finds can have, and also encourage player interaction and trading.)
• Add Gem Transform event that turns one of your gems into any other. (This would be another positive event that is not over powered but still makes flipping event cards more fun.)
• Add Event Room Tiles. Once one of these rooms is explored, the player who stepped into it immediately draws an extra event card. (If most events are positive this will give a slight incentive to explore new tiles instead of only exploring when a passage between two points is needed. It also increases the pace of the game and makes it feel more eventful.)

I would definitely like to test all of these changes. Together I think they can have a huge impact on the pace of the game, the dramatic curve and the fairness players perceive; which all are issues that our players have brought up.