Hey BGDFers!
So we're closing in on release for Halfling Heist now, and it's time to review the rulebook. I have an early version of the rulebook available, and would appreciate some early proofreaders!
Please note that this is sans layout - we'll be adding all of the pretty columns and diagrams soon, for now this is just text.
The rulebook .pdf can be found at the bottom of the HH page - http://www.handwrittengames.com/games/halfling-heist - or directly from http://www.handwrittengames.com/index.php/download_file/view/56/
As always, all feedback welcome.
Great comprehensive feedback, thanks Orangebeard.
I'm surprised how often this has come up! I'm not certain where I picked up scarper, but I was certain it was a mainstream term. Especially given that I haven't seen that many indie heist movies.
I might have to use "scram" instead.
Agreed, that reads more plainly.
Strangely there is a slight advantage in going first, but not because of this. You can see the board layout here:
http://www.handwrittengames.com/files/cache/2a0cc3f4b936d517951f287f9a5b...
The eight starting squares are the two lots of 2x2 without the Brawl cloud towards the bottom of the picture. As movement is free between all of those squares, the only advantage to gain is whether you choose the left or right hand side (and with the new board layout, the disadvantage of that right-hand side is counterbalanced by a newly placed exit along the right wall).
I am doing some speed testing right this very moment, and am considering awarding player 3 and 4 a starting Luck card to make up for the going order advantage - but given the way the game plays, I'm not yet convinced going first is a game-breaker.
Two circumstances, but they're pretty rare. The first is where a Halfling would stop halfway along a table to block another Halfling's free movement, forcing them to navigate around and into the Brawl. The second is when the Brawl deck is low, a Halfling may decide to not risk the Brawl for some displaced Food and stick with Food that is on free spaces only.
It seemed prudent to mention that you can voluntarily stop and Bag before collecting all the Food, so that players would know it's legit if one of these circumstances - as rare as they are - comes up.
I've tried three methods for Dropping Food: on the same square as you've suggested, on an adjacent square of the player's choosing, and a die-roll displacement of the right-opponent's choosing.
The same square option is a lot easier for players to understand, but it had the side effect of holding up a Halfling's movement. Some player's essentially felt cheated out of their turn: instead of moving, they just got to pick up a piece of Food that was "already theirs", and then passed play on to the next player.
Dropping food to an adjacent square gives the player an option of choice, and potentially a chance to strategise. "I can Drop this Food next to this full Table and start a collection run," kind of thing.
I think what's missing from the rules at the moment is clarification of whether adjacent means cardinal directions only (like movement), or including diagonals as well (which is contrary to the universal movement rules).
Ah!, looks like I got ahead of myself here. =)
I'm actually undecided on this, mainly since as stated above allowing a diagonal Drop is contradictory to the universal movement laws.
Most players haven't had an issue with Dropping in four directions, so I think I'm going to keep it at that, but please let me know if you have any thoughts!
To clarify, you mean to say that a Halfling that was thrown 3 squares cannot run back to the point from which they were thrown over the same 3 squares?
No: this was my clumsy way of saying "You can't jump back and forth between two squares if you roll a six." I couldn't find any standardised way of saying "no backtracking" in any game grammar threads, so this is what I have so far.
Again, any thoughts are more than welcome. =)
Ideally all Halflings will escape the tavern before the Brawl deck is depleted, but it's surprising how quickly the end of the game can sneak up on you when you think you have just enough time to get one more chicken drumstick.
On top of that, there are cards in the Luck deck that allow you to "Ignore the next Brawl square", which are handy for maneuvering the Brawl when there are no cards left in the deck.
I guess there should also be a statement that says to some extent "the game also ends if all Halflings have successfully escaped the Brawl" to remove any ambiguity.
Thanks very much for the feedback Orangebeard. It's incredibly helpful having people cold read your rules to see if everything comes across clear enough.
For anyone else playing at home, the newest edition with plenty of BGG grammar goblinery (sans the updates from this discussion thus far) is here: http://www.handwrittengames.com/index.php/download_file/view/57/