Space Harvester introduction / call for playtesters

Watched your video. I'd be glad to try it out. Have you had the opportunity to have anybody else local playtest?

Sending you the email as requested.

I think you should watch the Settlers Of Catan video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTV03kCoDIw

This will give you MORE ideas you can maybe incorporate into your game. The hex tiles immediately made me think of Catan and then moving along the edges of the tiles made me think about Roads in Catan...

I don't know if this was intentional - to create a Sci-Fi (Space) version of a Catan game - but it has a Catan feel to it.

Some things I would suggest (off the top of my head - I'll explain them):

• Don't have players start from the same location.
• Have three (3) types of spaceships: scout, transports and fighters
• Have planets on some of the tiles, asteroids and maybe wormholes

Why start from different locations? Well it would avoid direct confrontation from the beginning of the game... More on that later.

Why three (3) spaceships? Well scouts can be sent out to planets or asteroids to LEARN what kind of resources are there. Instead of like in Catan the tile is the resource, you could have like X Planets on the board and each Planet has Y resources. This makes for an exciting EXPLORATION phase to the game... Instead of knowing what is available...

Transports are used to ferry resources between the planet or asteroid belt and your base - this could be optional. It may slow down the game if you need to ferry too much... BUT you can use the Catan concept for space have Starports where you can bring your mined resources. I think this could add some more dynamics to collecting of resources.

Fighters would be used to attack/defend a starport, base or to attack a scout, transport, and other Fighters. It would make it more of a tactical game - again just some ideas off the top of my head - after watching the video.

About the tiles - I would have like A Planets (produce the most high-end resources), B Asteroids (produce some minerals) and empty space. It doesn't need to be like Catan where everywhere there are resources. Lastly I would add Wormholes to travel around the board.

I said I would talk more about why different starting locations. What I like about your crystals is that they could allow a player to amass an army and go out a battle his opponent. I think this might be more interesting than simple trading... Like I said Catan is the Uber trading game. And I think it is more dynamic than "Space Harvester".

Let's face it people like games where there is confrontation. But you also want to be able to build up your forces before engaging the enemy.

Again just some quick ideas - if you want to chat more about the game just PM me!

Best of Luck with your game!

Update: There is a Star Trek version of Catan = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7_Yd3_M8iQ

I would stay away from anything similar to Catan...

Actually what made me think about Catan is how you MOVE your spaceship: along the edges of the hexes. This is how you build ROADS in Catan. It a very unique concept that was first created in Catan... I have not seen, aside from your game and Catan, this in any other game.

Well in your demo you attack your opponent on the first turn and force him to give you the resources he gathered?! Moreover Travis is at a disadvantage and returns to the base square...

Starting on different hexes would probably rectify this behavior.

Well actually you need to be prepared to modify your game - if you intend to get published. Most publishers will want to reserve the right to playtest your game and then make modifications as they see fit. Otherwise your only recourse is Kickstarting your game and self-publication...

That's why publishers have developers: they take the game and try to break it, playtest with all kinds of groups and collect feedback about HOW the game can be improved upon... I was just thinking to myself: "How the hell do you gather resources from Space???" Sounds a bit illogical. Now if you had a certain amount of Planets, maybe some asteroid belts and blank space - that might seen to be more logical...

I'm not a good playtester - I am usually very unhappy/critical with designs - because usually they are NOT perfect... Even more so with my own designs... :)

Update: You're probably wondering why do you need "blank space"? Well it could be reserved for producing "Starports" and then your transports can ferry the ore to the neared Starport instead of their own planet...

Believe me - I'm just preparing you for the publishing stage. I am getting the strangest questions.

And typically I guess a publisher could ask: "Why should I buy your game over Catan's Star Trek version?"

That's why I included that link! :)

Publishers have proved to be a very independent bunch... I am also having my own game blind playtested by a lab near the Boston area. We'll see what they have to say.

I spend 1 year with one publisher who loved the concept at first and then it was like pulling-teeth: I never got any playtesting feedback from them. One year into the process and they finally said - "No thanks."

I would never self-publish a game like I did with Quest AC. I was a novice at game design since it was my first game. I'm happy with the end result - even though it is a rather simple game for nine year olds! :) However it was impossible to get distribution especially with no brand recognition or publisher to back me up...

So I won't go down that route again (self-publishing) unless it's for a *special* project (that I am currently working on).

Best of luck finding more playtesters... You could try local game stores (the ones that sell Magic: the Gathering cards). Usually they might be willing to playtest a game. In my area there are also Table-top Game Bars where people go to have a beer and play their favorite table-top game...

You might also want to check with any board game clubs in your area. Okay they may not be the "best" playtesters but it can give you some more feedback. Some of those groups are on Yahoo Groups... I'd google a bit to see if you have anything nearby. The other option is going to a local or nearby Con... I've done that and you can always find playtesters at those Cons...! One good one is Protospiel... I went to Protospiel North in Hamilton, Ontario. There were a lot of people demo-ing their games!!!

Note: Let me see how the lab goes with my game "Tradewars - Homeworld" and I'll see if I recommend them to other designers... They are on holidays until the next week in January and the playtesting may only occur in the middle of January. But you will need to PROVIDE prototypes not PNP content... They don't have the time to print and cut the game - they playtest it. You will need to ship a product to them...

But in the meantime - look for Protospiel (http://www.protospiel.org/) there are different branches like North, South, etc... People bring prototypes - your product will look nicer than most of the other games! ;)

Send a PM to "Dralius" if you are interested in Protospiel. David will be able to tell you more details about the event since he is the "Host" of the event... Dralius (David) is a frequent poster on BGDF and has published several games.

If you are looking for an event to playtest your game - I'm sure he would be able to schedule such events at Protospiel.