An idea of a modular board crossed through my mind and I wanted to see if it will work for Super-Bee.
My thoughts were that this modular board will allow for a more complex version of the game.
Here are a few positive points I thought the modular board will bring to the game (before playtesting it):
+ it's modular so you can arange the board anyway you want, with suggested ideas in the rule book for levels of complexity, for each various setup; freedom for players to get creative and setup the board as they like it;
+ multiple copies of the game could be put together for a massive board with a dozen of players around the table;
+ the game box will shrink, meaning less cost for the box and shipping;
The bad (most of it after playtesting session):
- some of the setups are too restrictive; that's because the game rules say you can only move in straight line, having only one way you can go it's not fun; also, if you roll a 3 and the maximum you can do is 2 (also you are not allow to split the dice or perform half of it), then you are stuck and you lose your turn for nothing. That's frustrating and deffinately not fun!
- cost increases in the modular version; although the game box is smaller, in order for the manufacturer to produce the irregular shaped parts of the modular board will increase the production cost.
Multiple counters
The standard version of the game comes with the instruction that all the players have to play using the same counter. This helps the strategy and decision making throughout the game, but can also help players in stopping others to get the honey befor them.
I've tried the version where all the players have their own counter to play with. The result was a disaster: pairs of players finished the game in a tie:
P1 - 11
P2 - 10
P3 - 11
P4 - 15
P5 - 10
P6 - 15
Comments
Decisions
So, did you pretty much rule out both of those new features, or are you going to try to find some other ways to make them workable?
For a Modular board, you may want to consider several smaller hexes with various "empty" cells in them. This means that the cell has no honey in it at the outset of the game, but it doesn't block movement and prevent a player from taking their turn when someone guides them down a narrow pathway.
That's a disappointment to hear about the multiple counters not working well. But I thought the original idea of your game was to have all the players taking turns directing a single pawn anyway. Was there a specific reason you wanted to try this, or was it just because you hadn't done it yet?
Modular board still in the game
I haven't ruled out the modular board,I'm just trying to find a workable version, and it might be the opposite of what you are suggesting, meaning bigger hexes or blocks of hexes. My main concern is that with younger players (and older ones), having a board that moves when you play is not fun - meaning that the hexes are getting out of place, creating gaps or distorting the board.
I would love to keep a modular board for diversity and multiple ways of arranging the playing field. I might consider having units of 7 hexes and suggesting in the rules that at least two sides of one hex should be adjacent to another hex.
As for the multiple counters, yes, the initial idea was to use only one counter for all the players. The only reason I've tried multiple counters was to try to offer players individual playing characters. I was thinking of having a miniature for each character, and, to also use these as counters in the game. But obviously it's not working.
Thanks for your comment and suggestions.