PLAYTEST 4
Play test 4 went really well, and we even got to see what a speed-learning play through of the game would look like since Anne Marie had to leave for a meeting. Even though she was asking a bunch of questions, it was easy to answer them as they came up, so the game is quite teachable but does require some extra assistance from the rules so the player can see the rules about spawn distances, arrest distances, and moving distances.
Some of the notes taken from this playthrough
- Setup went well, clear instructions there.
- Add note into rules: vegetation tiles can be placed in the animal spawn
Then we had some issues with an end of game stalemate that needed to be fixed, so we implemented a “toss” mechanic that could be used to break the stalemate created by both teams using all of their abilities. The tossing mechanic allows for a player to toss their opponent away when the attacking player has both of their team tiles within a 1-tile radius of their opponent. The attacker can then toss their opponent 5 tiles in any direction, either up, down, left, or right.
PLAYTEST 5
Play test 5 occurred outside of class. This was the best play test to date with the addition of the new tossing mechanic. Tossing an opponent really makes things fun and actually has you looking forward to the end-game where players are fighting over the last animal. It’s also really fun to see how the game changes based on each player’s choice of where to put their vegetation tiles. I think someone smarter than me should play the game and tell me how to place my tiles so I can win every time, lol.
Summary – Playtest 5 is where I will leave the game for the final. I’ll update some rules, reprint and go from there. Also the experience of the new rule design matching the board and other pieces makes getting into the game way batter. Much more immersion.