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Tradewars - Homeworld: Game rules

Hi all,

So a couple of you (game designers) have shown some interest in playtesting *Tradewars - Homeworld*. My response so far is that I am not ready for blind playtesting because I do NOT have a game manual. Right now I am explaining the game in my playtests and not using any game rules.

Having game rules could imply a PnP version (which I am not really interested in - but useful for blind playtesting). Currently I have PDFs with nine (9) cards per page. That is rather simple to print out, the cutting part is a little more challenging. In any case, the game could be PnP for blind playtesting.

I will continue to post entries and give feedback regarding progress in this endeavor.

Comments

Damn I hate writting a manual

The problem with sitting down and writing a manual is that I just can't sit there and write a few simple rules... No... I have to design a manual that will have all kinds of layouts and sample cards to explain every detail of every type of card in the game...

BUT that's my problem... I wish I had some example of game rules which would fit on 2 or maybe 3 pages... Enough to get the basics and forget all the layouts and images that a real manual would require.

Have a rough draft

A designer told me to video tape myself explaining the rules of the game to new players... This got me thinking, instead of video, to just write the rules as if I was explaining them. And so that's what I have done.

I have a draft of the game rules - but it is far from a nice, well ordered rulebook. I have asked for some help on the matter and await news on that front. Hopefully with another designer helping clarify the rules, we can get a rulebook that will be easily understood!

Note: I really hate writing *manuals*. I once had to write a 200 page *manual* for a customer. It took 6 months to write the thing... It was quite an ordeal! It was also a very tedious endeavour.

Oh yeah, for those of you who are curious, the current draft of the rules fits on 4 pages of normal paper (8.5" x 11").

questccg wrote:The problem

questccg wrote:
The problem with sitting down and writing a manual is that I just can't sit there and write a few simple rules... No... I have to design a manual that will have all kinds of layouts and sample cards to explain every detail of every type of card in the game...

BUT that's my problem... I wish I had some example of game rules which would fit on 2 or maybe 3 pages... Enough to get the basics and forget all the layouts and images that a real manual would require.

How many of the cards could have the specific card rules on them? ie. Magic: The Gathering.

Different kind of cards

Okay so the cards that need explaining are all the cards part of the Deck-Building aspect of the game. There are five (5) types of *Upgrade* cards. The cards are different and I think they should be explained (what is on the cards).

Next comes the reversed or opposite side of those Upgrade cards. Each one has a trade value and depicts a trade resource.

Lastly comes the Scenarios and their cards along with the Homeworld card (which is your base).

If I was designing a rulebook for this, I would include a sample card for each ones of these... Total amount of cards: 5 + 3 + 4 + (1 + 3) + 1 = 17 cards! Plus for explaining Space Skirmishes I would need to add 3 more cards and for Tradeships another 3 more. So the total at first glance would be 23 cards.

To answer your question, there are 15 *Instant* cards which are part of the *Upgrade* cards. Those 15 cards have specific rules on them. I would not explain each one - but I would present a *Sample* card of one of them.

90% Progress

Well Ecarots has been helping by providing a format he uses for his games. I found another *similar* format which was a little bit more *comprehensive*... And so I ran with that and produced over 20 pages of documentation. The nice thing about the format is that it address my concern that there is too much material to absorb. In reality it has more to do with familiarizing yourself with the terms in the game than complexity in playing the game. Because fundamentally the game is rather simple... But the depth of the strategy is rather deep (with all the terminology in the game).

So what's left? Well I have 1 section, all about combat, which remains unwritten and the Index must be completed. Not too bad.

I have sent Ecarots (Brian) an updated version via my Dropbox (thanks Ed). I am awaiting comments from Ecarots in addition to any questions he may have with regards to the content.

New rules for Combat...

So I have finally written down the NEW rules for Space Skirmishes (Combat). I am still using the concept of Resistance and Firepower, however I have changed the rules for attacking.

I was using a concept of *Initiative* which basically meant that a player need to out roll his opponent if he wanted to attack. Otherwise the attack would end unsuccessful.

Well playtesters were NOT happy with this... They felt that the player who had the HIGHEST roll should become the aggressor (so a counter-attack type of mechanic). Using this NEW approach to *initiative* means that players are no longer forced to do like in Magic: the Gathering where players must compare stats on both sides of the battle. This was TOO MUCH for our playtesters... Involved too much mathematics and was basically slowing down the overall combat mechanic.

I am pleased to report that with the NEW *initiative* rules, players can now counter-attack an opponent much like a pre-emptive strike (putting the defence on the offensive). In addition there will be times when players will not be able to attack because of insufficient stats (Firepower vs. Resistance)... So we have kept the DEPTH in the combat rules - but have simplified how they work!

On ties (initiative rolls), the attack ends for that starship (unsuccessful). However a player can proceed with other starships and continue his attack...

I cannot wait to playtest these new rules soon!

Rulebook completed

The rulebook is finally finished. I have proofed the document several times, built a Table Of Content and an Index to cross-reference the game related topics. I am actively working on the Black & White copies of the game... I plan to move over to the colour version once the B&W version is finished.

I wrapped up Starship *Special Abilities* last night and made the card corrections tonight. I am very excited about this latest release - because there are a lot of corrections in the game. There are also NEW roles that need to be playtested and I obviously need to retry the solo (1 Player) The Derelict scenario.

But overall, the game is moving forwards quite nicely. I hope to have the colour version ready by next week. This is a very aggressive deadline... Hopefully I can stick to it! :)

Good for You!

I'm excited for you. I hope that I'll be able to help playtest perhaps your game!

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