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Need Opinions, Impressions and Reviews of Strategic Divide!

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Maj3RDdegree
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Joined: 10/22/2015

Hi everyone!

So I realized I should've described the game more in depth on here, so I created a new and better post :D

I'm currently nearing the end of my card game's mechanics and bug testing phase and I would greatly appreciate your feedback on my game and how it plays if you should decide to download the print and play version!

The name of the game is Strategic Divide, it is a two player game inspired by 18th century warfare and the style of that era in how units and armies were deployed and pitted against one another. Strategic Divide puts you and your opponent into the positions of a general in the midst of battle. Each general (player) is given a deck of 32 maneuver cards (16 different variants). There is also a deck of 26 Tactical Cards which act like chance cards, but their effectiveness depends on how and when the general decides to play this kind of card.

The objective of the game is to either capture all of your opponent's maneuver cards OR be the first to win 10 rounds (also known as battles). A battle consists of 1 or more duels of 3 cards vs 3 cards with each side having a chance card also on the field.

Here is a step by step list of a basic battle (round):

Both Players - Draw 5 Maneuver Cards and 3 Tactical cards
Both Players - Lay 3 Maneuvers and 1 Tactical card facedown onto the field
Both Players - Flip all Maneuver cards
Both Players - Determine winning and and losing Maneuvers
(Losing Player of Duel) - Chooses whether or not to play their Tactical card
(Wining Player of Duel) - Chooses whether or not to play their Tactical card
Both Players - Collect opponents losing Maneuver cards (Each loses 1, Ties 1, Wins 1)
Both Players - Players line up their winning cards, 2nd Engagement Begins
Both Players - Players lay facedown Two Maneuver cards on top of their Tie and Win
Both Players - Each flips their cards; Red loses
(Winner) Blue Player - Collect Red's cards and place them in Blue's stockade
(Winner) Blue Player - Place remaining Blue cards in Used Deck (Blue's Camp)
Both Players - Next Battle

Duels are known as Engagements, where players will draw 5 Maneuver cards, choose and lay face down three of these cards into three separate spaces or "columns". Then their opponent does the same, laying their 3 cards face down and across from the first players cards. Next each player chooses one of 3 Tactical (chance) cards that they had drawn with their 5 Maneuver cards and lays that Tactical card face down and behind their maneuvers.

Next each player flips over their 3 Maneuver cards and then they determine which cards win or lose in this first engagement, with the possibilities of ties ever present too. Once this is done, the player with the most losing cards on the battle field gets to play their Tactical Card first. Once activated, these cards can easily turn the tide of war in favor of the losing player, from effects that allow switching of Maneuver cards, to exchanging captured cards (Prisoners), to even taking heavy losses to win a critically needed Battle (Round) victory!

Now after the Tactical cards have been played, any losing cards are collected (captured) by the opposing player and placed in his stockade. If there is a tie on the battlefield, players then place another facedown Maneuver Card on top of the tied card; this is known as the 2nd Engagement (Duel) of a Battle (Round). A round does not end until either a player has no Maneuvers on the field left OR a player retreats after 4 engagements. So if say Red lost two cards but won one card, his winning card is then moved so it is across from another one of Blue's remaining cards; this also sets up the next engagement and the same process for a tie is in effect. Finally if a player's card wins one of these later kinds of engagements, ALL of the cards underneath the losing card are captured; this raises the stakes considerably as a battle lasts longer and longer...

If you would like a copy of the Rules, A Play by Play guide AND a Print & Play version of the cards, then comment below or message me so I can send you the files!

All reviews and questions are welcomed and highly encouraged, my eventual goal is to release a fully designed, finished game through a Kickstarter campaign, but I need your help to get my game tested properly and get the word out!

Midnight_Carnival
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Joined: 06/17/2015
I'm interested

I'm particularly interested in the historical context and the strategic possibilities.

Before you show me the game there is little I can say, however I've played card games before in which players could draw "maneuver cards" (not sure they worked the same as yours do) and I found this caused problems. Players could only hold so many in their hand at any 1 time and since in this game such cards were delt along with hero/monster and economy-related cards, it was easy to overlook the importance of holding on to them. In the game I played there were ranged as well as melee attacks, but I often found myself frustrated by the fact that I'd have for example a strong melee fighter on the battlefield and he'd be engaged by a ranged fighter, yet I only had "disengage" and "flee" type maneuvers left, no "press in" - perhaps this is a feature of my tactics and not of the card game itself, but it frustrated the hell out of me. I hope your maneuver cards work differently.

Maj3RDdegree
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Joined: 10/22/2015
Hi Midnight!

First of all thank you for your interest!

In regards to your question/concern, my game features only two types of cards, the Maneuver Card and the Tactical Card.

There are 16 types of Maneuver cards, and they all represent some form of defensive or offensive movement such Attack Right Flank or Defend Rear Flanks. In this game, both players lay down their maneuver cards in an effort to have a Maneuver that outflanks/overwhelms the opponents Manuever card, so if you had an Assault Center card and I played a Defend Center, my card would win because I was able to successfully counter your card.

Tactical card are like Chance/Effect cards and can affect the battle in a number of ways such as the Artillery Support card which turns any losing card (say your Assault Center) into a Tie rather than a loss, allowing you to keep your card on the field rather than losing it to your opponent.

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