I have literally been working on my wizard dueling game Order of the wand for years now. The first version was both component and rules heavy. The game contained the following.
90 cards;6 Wands, 6 Wizards, 2 Starters, 40 Spells – 2 each of 20, 36 Ether
2 Wands (Used chop sticks in testing)
1 Mini wand
1 Time wheel
4 Wizard figures; 2 of each
1 double sided duel hex map
32 Spell tokens markers; 4 sets of (1-6)
6 Ether level markers
2d4
I worked on version 1.0 & 2.0 for a long time trying to make it work out but the game was fiddly, confusing and took two long. I finally broke down and took out the time wheel mechanic in version 3.0 as it was causing much of the havoc but the game still ran way too long. I almost gave up on it when I decided to strip the game down to bare bones as my playtesters told me the part they like was the core mechanic, the Wands! I ran 4 playtests of V 4.something at Protospiel last weekend and the game not only worked, played in an hour or less but also received many compliments even though the game needs a great deal of work before its ready to show to a publisher. Based on the feedback I received I am making version 5.0 this weekend and will start with what I hope will be the final leg of playtesting.
