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Gizmo (Version 3) - A Robot Team Deathmatch

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seanrwise
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Joined: 10/16/2014

Ok, so I have I've tested with my friends, and they've given me a lot of feedback. Now I'm hoping for some strangers who will be more honest about the game.

Premise: Basically, it's a team strategy game for 2-6 players. There are two teams of robots, which are racing to build a Super-Gizmo, while sabotaging the other team in every way possible. You have to collect resources to buy and equip your robots with parts, and those parts are used for all sorts of fun stuff (building, sabotage, de/buffs, etc).

I'm terrible at art, so the game is all black and white text at the moment, with clipart icons where absolutely necessary. If people like it, I'll pay for an artist to make it look professional.

For those who like Sci-fi/Action,I've added a lot of puns and word-play from movies and games into Gizmo, as a nod of appreciation to them, and also to inject some extra humour into what can be a quite competitive game.

Lastly, this is my first time posting here, so please tell me if I used the wrong template or left something out.

Thanks everyone.

EDIT: I've gone through and added a lot of colour and visuals to enhance the purpose of each card, and cut down on text in the card. I have also added a glossary of card functions in case ppl get confused by the clipart/diagrams. If you read and get confused, tell me, and I can try and make the next version even clearer.

I have also gone through and trimmed a lot of fat, removed machine shops and other boring downtime that felt boring or felt like filler. So the game plays smoother, and has less steps, but the rules have changed quite a bit because of this, so make sure you peruse them again.

The instruction manual, board, cutouts and cards are all in the pdf file which can be found here.
https://www.dropbox.com/home/hobbies%20%26%20projects/board%20and%20card...

seanrwise
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Joined: 10/16/2014
Just wondering if anyone has

Just wondering if anyone has had time to look at this yet?

Any feedback, good or bad, will be appreciated

Cheers

kos
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Joined: 01/17/2011
I had a read through the

I had a read through the rules a few times. I found it a bit hard to get a feel for the game just from the rules. However, after reading through a few times I think I got the gist of it.

General comments:
- The negative feedback loop of building construction modules is good, so players have the choice of attacking their opponents or boosting themselves or working towards the win condition, but not all three at the same time. It would require plenty of playtesting to get the balance right, but I think you are on the right track by limiting the storage pool and control ports so that the players cannot do everything at the same time. It is this choice that makes the game.
- Maybe I missed something, but I couldn't see any way to attack opponent robots other than the Ion Cannon. The Ion Cannon removes shields, but does not describe what happens if the opponent has no shields. The shields says it protects against "most" attacks, but the only other Parts which mentions shields are the Ion Cannon and the Hacker (which says it can't be blocked). So it's a bit unclear exactly what the shield protects against.

Specific comments:
- Hacker: The ability to use the Hacker to discard equipped parts seems very powerful.
- Thermal: The ability to destroy construction Phases seems very powerful, especially for an ability that could be used every round. Consider also that this Part has the potential to turn into a zero-sum game -- one team keeps building and the other team keeps destroying, so the game will never reach a conclusion. Consider if it would be better to focus on Parts that keep the game moving forward to the ending condition, rather than creating a stalemate situation.
- EMP Beam: This seems like a pointless Part because it costs me 1 action to make you lose 1 action, but it also cost me resources and CP to equip it. However, it you made it more powerful (e.g. I spend 1 action to make you lose 2 actions) then it might be overpowered and lead to a stalemate situation. Similar to Thermal, consider focusing on parts that move the game towards the end condition rather than stalemating or slowing down the game.
- Engineering: The description could be interpreted multiple ways. Does it mean that I can use 1 Construction card to place 2 construction markers on the board? Or does it mean I can use 2 construction cards to place 2 construction markers for the cost of 1 action?
- Particle: This seems significatly better than the Parts which give +1 dice to only 1 type of mining. Is the cost/CP a little too low for this Part compared to the others?
- Mean Green Mining and Power Overwhelming: These say "roll an extra die", but the normal mining for these does not roll a die. So to go from mining 1 to mining 1 + (1d6/2) is a very big increase. Maybe the cost of these compared to the other mining Parts should be reviewed. Compare also with the cost of PI.
- Double and Deja Vu: Can either of these be used to double a Construction Module?
- Reprogramming is Easy: The way I read this, the ability is pointless. Why sacrifice all my actions to get 2 resources, when I could get more than that with just 1 normal action? I suspect I'm not reading it right.

Overall, I think you're on the right track with this game. Having the winning condition of using construction modules separate from the take-that mechanic of attacking opponents is a good thing, because it means it is not a zero-sum game. It also avoids the positive feedback trap which strictly attacking games tend to fall into.

Hope that helps,
kos

seanrwise
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Joined: 10/16/2014
Thanks for the advice

Cheers Kos

Glad you think it has potential. And yes, your post helped a lot.

I was trying to make the cards less wordy, and so the meanings on some of them may have become a bit garbled. For example, Thermal Detonator should be a "discard after 1 use" card and thus should only appear once or twice in a game.

I'll go through and clarify/change/correct and repost a new set of rules after I've playtested the redone version a bit.

Thanks a lot
SeanrWise

seanrwise
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Joined: 10/16/2014
New version found here

I have shared a new version of Gizmo (Version 3) which is available here:
https://www.dropbox.com/home/hobbies%20%26%20projects/board%20and%20card...

As I mentioned above in the first post, I have streamlined play, improved the cards, and fixed some glaring bugs and problems.

Any feedback is welcome, and I hope you enjoy playing.

Thank you!

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