Parody |
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Set identifiers aren't used much during play, but they do help you know who owns a card after it gets stuck in a deck (Baited Jewel Box, anyone?) or given to another character. (Or, in certain scenarios, when everyone's deck gets mixed together. :(
After the game you use the set identifier to get everyone's cards back to the right owners. As a sorting tool, I'd rather have icons than only small text. (Both would be fine as well, though having an icon and text doesn't free up as much space compared to the current Class Deck icon and text.)
Placement isn't as much of an issue as the text wrapping, regardless of whatever design they eventually use.
Hawkmoon269 |
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I attended PAX this past weekend and got a chance to play with proof cards Mike had and was kind enough to loan out to the Paizo Organized Play room. So, what did I think?
Layout
I'll be honest, when I first saw the layout changes in the above images I wasn't thrilled. Maybe some of that was a love for the game as it currently exists. Part of me was worried the new layout would be a problem. But within 5 minutes I wasn't even thinking about the layout anymore. It was a non-factor in terms of play experience. Or maybe it actually helped because, not thinking about the layout is kind of what should happen.
Power of the Hour
I loved this. Not every blessing has one, so there are some "normal" turns. And not every power applies every turn. But the fact blessings were so much more important than they have been before.
Location Sizes
Again, I originally thought "That's nice, but I'll always use the medium sizes unless a scenario tells me to use a specific one." But then, a group of us had less than an hour to kill so we said "Hey, let's build the small locations and play a quick game." I did that 3 times total over the weekend, shrinking the locations and the hourglass (formerly known as the blessings deck). And you know what? I got 3 more games in then I would have otherwise.
Wildcards
We didn't really get into these. Each time there was a person or two who were playing Core for the first time, so I didn't want to throw them too many changes at once. I know I wouldn't want to learn to check the wildcard while also learning to check the hour. But I like the idea to give replay some optional variability.
Other stuff
Again, I was a bit hesitant to see the game I know and love tinkered with (though, I guess if the people who gave me that game are the ones doing the tinkering, I really shouldn't have been). But I ended up enjoying all the changes. I knew I'd enjoy the increased story, I wasn't so sure about the other stuff. But in the end, I'm more excited for Core now then I was before I sat down at a table this weekend.
So, yeah. I'm really looking forward to the final product and all the places it will take me.
Mike Selinker Lone Shark Games |
Mike Selinker Lone Shark Games |
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Wildcards
We didn't really get into these. Each time there was a person or two who were playing Core for the first time, so I didn't want to throw them too many changes at once. I know I wouldn't want to learn to check the wildcard while also learning to check the hour. But I like the idea to give replay some optional variability.
Interestingly, it took us a while to get into them as well. We had them designed for a while and yet folks didn't want to make their games harder and weirder. Then Chad designed a scenario that revolved around wildcards, and we loved it. Then he and Keith designed an entire adventure based around wildcards, and we found it one of the most challenging and fun adventures we've played—especially when we were able to remove them from the adventure one by one.
So go ahead and put them aside at first. We think you'll figure out what they're for and learn to love them as much as we do.
Mike
Frencois |
...So go ahead and put them aside at first. We think you'll figure out what they're for and learn to love them as much as we do.
Mike
Exactly that. Thanks a lot Mike. Seen from someone who not only played a lot but created a bunch of scenarios and full adventures, anything that offers you options at some point is a great idea.
I do not plan to play with them immediately but when we write a story, we may end up finding that using them at some point makes a lot of sense storywise.
So it's not at all only a question on making things harder or not.
Calthaer |
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I would echo most of what Hawkmoon said (we were playing this together at PAX most of the time), with the exception that I am not yet a fan of the layout.
But, to add to the positives he mentioned...something in one of Mike's earlier posts comes to mind about our PAX adventures:
For a cooperative card game, the game is often not interactive enough. When you want to help your friend, the game generally tells you that you can't unless you have a card that does so. It's a co-op game, so it should feel more cooperative.
Although I talk animatedly about the fun I have grabbing every single boon, my other favorite part of the game is helping other players do awesome things. With Core, I found it a lot easier to do this...it was easier to cooperate. This made the game a lot more fun for me; I can't wait.