Notes from Eighteenth Playtest

Played with Brandon, who has only played once before, and that was before we removed the score track. Educational to play with a newer player again. It's still baffling to me that a game I designed actually has layers of strategy.

Your first several games are figuring out how the equipment works, and starting to get a feel for the way values move on the Village Needs track. Then you start getting a feel for the ebb and flow of equipment, tiles, and really understanding the Needs track. Finally you start playing the other players. When the right time to sell is a nice little game of chicken. I'm still getting a feel for the rhythm of game as a whole, when to buy which equipment, when to hunt and when to gather.

Notes from Today's Play

• Hide started out at 5, Meat at 1. Even with this extreme split Hunt and Gather score tracks were similar.
• Now that a player's characters can pick up stuff for each other you should be able to draw blind from the top of the deck.
• Question: should a Gatherer be able to keep exploring after fending off a deadly animal with a Torch (or equivalent equipment). I'm thinking yes. It's so lame to have your turn ended early.
• We played with purchasing of equipment for 3 points. I like the balance and challenge it provides, but I definitely want to try giving re-spawned "cousins" 2 equipment.