Notes from Playtest One Hundred and Six

Playtesters: Dan, Kris, Ryan, Lester

What we tried
It had been a while since we've played, so this is a reminder of the current rules, and new experiments:

• Movement reduced to 0, 1, 2, or 3 spaces
• Explore cube lets you move again
• 4 points starting equipment (should have been 5, I remembered wrong)
• 2 points of equipment when a character dies
• Simplified hunting: if you hit you can attack again, no limits (can kill a bear with a sling, but it requires 4 hits in a row)
• One Hunger/Explore cube is collected any turn that you don't claim a space. No limit on the number you collect or spend in a turn, but you can't spend one if you have collected something.
• Encounters
  • Draw a card, do what it says, and then keep the card. At the bottom there are 2 resources. The card can be spent to move the value of the resources up by one.
  • 12 encounter disks mixed in with a bag of 24 plants & animals (this was bad, with 1 in 3 odds, Ryan kept drawing them). Made the executive decision as a non-playing observer to correct this by adding 12 more plants & animals.

Notes

• Hunger/Explore cubes should be called "Retry" cubes.
• Need to clarify/simplify when you can collect and spend a Retry cube, simple hard & fast rule like "if you claimed a space you don't get one, otherwise you do. You can spend one unless you claimed a space or an event told you to end your turn."
• Encounter disks should be called "Event" disks for simplicity.
• There were too many events, instead there should be:
  • 12 events to 36 plants & animals, or
  • 8 events and 24 plants & animals as a shorter game option.
• There should be more simple events.
• Poaching is harder now that you can't move as far, which is an improvement because poaching has always been an over-powered strategy.
• With the reduced movement, goal with no spaces touching is much harder! But it does score a lot, so might not need an adjustment.

Event Notes
In general, each event needs to be clear whether your turn ends, or you explore again.

Lost should say your turn ends and the note about ties should go at bottom.

Wandering Trader should be clear it's optional.

Village on Fire: nearest space without a claim or explore disk. Village moves, character do not. Idea: Characters in village roll or die.

View from a bluff: hunter becomes active character.

Strange mushrooms: clarify what to do with events that you draw.

What's next?

Here's a prioritized list of rule ideas that came up:

1. Spend a retry cube to re-roll the dice, or re-roll one die (have to decide which rule to try).
2. Should be able to pay for equipment from both tracks, splitting the cost of even a single piece of equipment. This would be a change to a long existing rule, but one that doesn't need to exist.
3. A goal, or simply a rule: score for extra retry cubes. Either 1 point each max 4, or 1 point for every 2.
4. Clarify the rules about if missed what a deadly animal was when it was revealed, should be able to ask what it was until the next player starts their turn.
5. Consider if trade value should be at -1 cost. I'm not super keen on this, I think the game is more interesting when people can upgrade.

Event ideas:

• Force a trade with another player for a collected disk of same type (animal or plant) with one of your characters.
• Put retry cubes on the board people can pick up. 
• Reduce movement.
• Increase movement.
• Split the village, move half the village to your spot. 
• Name what another player collected, if correct they replace on of their claim markers with one of yours on the board.
• Reshuffle market.
• +1 hunt/gather points.
• Name a space of another player that you want them to lose claim of. Fail a roll and they get to unclaimed one of yours.
• Somehow return a scored disk to the board.
• Instead of using an event for market manipulation, use it as a one shot element
• Blood moon - until the start of your next turn, all animals are deadly, explore again.
• Plants become deadly until your next turn.
• Create a dead spot on the board.
• Everybody moves one space less until your next turn. (Snowstorm)
• Bees! Nobody can move to the village until your next turn.
• Everyone needs to do something or a penalty is imposed for everyone.