Endurance. Why I believe in this idea so much that I return to redesign after many months and years. This idea initially started in 2008 and has undergone 3 redesigns.
What I have learned: A fast paced game cannot be achieved by focusing game play on the individual actions of players (passing, dribble-drive, pass again, set a pick, switch defenders, shoot, defend shot, block out, rebound, transition) during a single possession. Too much time is spent on one possession in a game with as many as 130 possessions.
I became aware of this in version 2. So in version 3, I focused on 1 round = 3 minutes of basketball game time. This design became just a card game, and did not feel like a basketball game at all.
In version 4, I have returned to the "1 turn = 1 possession" format - focusing not on individual player actions, but more on players shooting from zones. So I introduced a basketball court "shooting zone" graphic in order to base decisions in the game around player shooting abilities and player locations in those "shooting zones".
Also added was the new card class called "Offensive Plays" which I think of as "Scenarios" to be used during a team's offensive possession. Each scenario card contains 1-3 options for scoring. The player considered "in possession" must choose one option during his turn. Each option states which player cards need to be played in order to score the points for that "OP". His opponent can play cards in defense as stated on the scenario card as well.
The "OP" card has a second, unpredicted use: Points place holder. The backs of the OP cards show points (1-4) on each card edge. when the OP is successfully scored, the card goes to a "Score area" on the table. The card is positioned with points at the top. Points are tallied at the end of each quarter.
I have finished the version 4 base ruleset for playtesting; and have begun creating the playtest cards, and collecting theme related data.
More to follow after some testing.
