Overall Goal With This Revision of Hamster Valley
Lets skip the Hamster special abilities for this playtest.
-Myself, realizing it will take too long time to explain all the rules for this late night play test
I arranged a new play test a few days ago. I learned a lot! My most important realization? It’s time to simplify!
My iterative design processes often cycles through two main phases. First a phase where the focus is to increase the strategic depth of the game and to come up with new interesting decisions for the players. After a while there is a turning point. The added layers of the mechanisms, components and rules add too much confusion. There is also more and more time required to explain the rules for new players. This is peak complexity. Ironically this is often when I myself feel the game is the best. This feeling lasts until I play test the game with new players. I now realize that there is a more elegant and even more enjoyable game hidden beneath all layers of added rules. I just need to carve it out and remove the non-essential parts. The focus now shifts to reducing complexity and simplify the game.
The challenge is to simplify without losing the strategic depth and flexibility that the previous iterations have added. If I succeed there will be fewer rules and exceptions to learn. Players can focus more on making interesting and impactful decision in the game. Simply put – a more enjoyable game!
After the most recent play test I identified three areas that were most crucial to simplify:
- The Stances
- The Temple and the Cat mechanics
- The Protein tiles (again!)
Here’s a walk through of the latest batch of changes with some relevant quotes from the play testers.
Change #1 – Limit of One Lotus Seed For Each Player
Lotus Seed is too good!
Background and problem
Yes, they were too good. The main idea with them were to make it easier to get Items. This worked quite well and they were regularly used to get Items since they could be used as any Food type. This in itself made the Lotus Seed very powerful. In addition to this they also increased the Protein you could gain (through Protein Combination tiles). They also made several end game scoring Items too powerful.
This also made the Grasslands dice very good, since you had a 1/6 chance to get a Lotus Seed for free.
The Lotus Seeds solved the problem they were supposed to solve, but they also added new problems. How could I reimplement the Lotus Seeds in a way that keeps the flexibility they gave while removing the negative effects?
Solution
I found a new solution that also help with another issue that I have been struggling with – to make it visually clear that the fourth Pouch slot is locked initially.
With the new Lotus Seeds there is only one Lotus Seed for each player. During setup the card is placed face down at the fourth Pouch slot, indicating with a lock symbol that this slot is not available. The player may at any time pay a cost to unlock the slot and turn the Lotus Seed face up. This means the player has one special Food that can be used as any Food type. It can be used to get an Item, to place in the Burrow for extra end game scoring or just as a regular Food (albeit with quite weak stats). I hope it still give flexibility with choosing Items while also being more balanced.
Change #2 – Limit Cat Fighting to the Temple and Remove Temple Actions
The fleeing Cat pushed me out of the Territory and completely screwed up my strategy.
Background and problem
The rules for the Temple and the Temple cat is often the most confusing for new players.
I like the idea that the Cat flees the Temple when it is defeated and starts to roam around in the other Territories. However, this makes the rules more complex for the Rise stance. It needs to accommodate for two different states – when the Cat is in the Temple and when it’s in another Territory.
I feel the same with the Temple actions. They work quite well with experienced players. For new players, it instead means one more rule to explain and more symbols on the board to process. Also, I’ve always been annoyed that I need to have a specific action for moving out of the Temple. This action is almost never used but it still needs to be there so you can’t be trapped in the Temple.
Solution
The Cat now stays in the Temple. When defeated it goes into hiding mode and can not fight. Later, if the Temple is empty the Cat will appear again to defend the Temple. No more unpleasant surprises where the Cat pushed you out of a territory and forces you to rethink what to do your next turn. This also makes it possible to streamline the Rise stance so it is all about the Temple. And it allows me to make the rules for dice fighting more consistent. See more below.
I realized that I have added to the Temple actions to the point that they almost replicate all the type of actions that are already on the Stance cards. Gain Food, Gain Item and Place Food in Burrow are all available as Temple actions. Why not just let the player do whatever Stance action they want in the Temple? This is what I decided to try out.
It requires some minor clarifications of some rules regarding the Stance actions. But I think they are quite intuitive. I have added a “not in Temple” symbol on two actions: Gain Material and Fight for Dice. I also need to clarify in the rulebook that you can gain any Food while in the Temple. I think it is worth it since this allows me to completely get rid of the Temple actions. Fewer symbols and rules to explain for new players. Yay!
Change #3 – Consistent Dice Fighting Mechanics (Always Fight in the Territory Where the Dice Owner Is)
Oh, so I need to attack the Cat to get red dice that you own?
Background and problem
Some confusion about where you need to fight to gain a specific dice has come up regularly during all the recent iterations of the game. Do you fight in the territory that matches the dice type? Yes, except for the red Cat dice you fight the owner of that dice, which initially is the Cat but later it will be one of the hamsters. This is a bit confusing for new players.
Solution
Now, when the Cat stays in the Temple, I saw the chance to also make the Dice fighting more consistent. Now you always fight the dice owner to gain a specific dice. This is true for both the regular Territory dice and for the red Cat dice. As an added bonus, this change also eliminate the need to have the “rush rule” for rushing into fight when you are in an adjacent territory. One less rule and one less choice to make = quicker game play.
Of course, in the beginning of the game the Territory dice have no owner so then you get them in their respective territory. But I think this is obvious even to new players because the dice are placed in their respective territory, clearly visible on the game board. Lets try it and find out!
Change #4 – Bye Bye Reroll Tokens, Welcome Swords (and Reroll Tiles)
Background and problem
The reroll tokens work okay. They let players reduce the amount of randomness by gathering more tokens. It’s also a way to improve your energy engine. But they don’t really connect with the theme. What does the reroll token represent for the hamsters? Also, the tokens are small and a bit fiddly. They act as a kind of implicit third resource (in addition to energy and protein) but there is no clearly designated place to store them.
Solution
Lets try to scrap the reroll tokens. Welcome Swords! This is a new resource that has one purpose – to increase your Strength dice rolls. You may use Swords during a Fight, before you roll the dice. One Sword will add one Strength to your dice value. If you lose a Fight when trying to conquer the Temple you will get one Sword to increase your odds the next time. I have added a third resource tracker for the Swords.
But how can I improve my Energy dice rolls? I figured I should add some kind of new incentive to get the Items, now that the first Item does not give you an additional Food slot in the Pouch anymore. Welcome Reroll tiles! Each Item will now unlock one permanent reroll. The tiles have a specific space at the player mat. A tile can be used once each turn to reroll an energy dice.
These are some of the smaller changes this time. It is also the ones that I have put the least thought into. I might very well tweak this further later on. But lets try it out first!
Change #5 – Bye Bye Protein Tiles (Or “I Killed My Darling”)
It’s still challenging to get Protein.
Background and problem
I really like the idea with the Protein tiles. I think it’s because I see them as a sort of contracts-mechanic. I love games where I get to fulfill contracts to gain some reward. Unfortunately I can’t get it to work in this game. I’ve really tried. So now it’s time to kill my darling.
Solution
The solution is to revert back to a version of the previous protein mechanic. The core idea is that combinations of Food cards of different types should give you more protein. The most basic implementation of that idea is to just gain one protein for each Food type in your Pouch. So that is what the new Protein action does. I have put a cap on max 3 Protein. It will still give you a bit more Protein than before, which I think is good for the game pace and balance in the game. I can just tweak it later if it is too much.
This change means one fewer component (11 protein tiles) and I can also remove one of the bonus actions of the stance cards (important to allow me to implement change #6).
Change #6 – Limit to One Stance Card Each Turn (And Remake of the Stances)
You always play two Stance cards, except when playing Rise which is always played by itself. Also, in the Temple you are only allowed to play Rise, and it will cost you a Protein if you have to recall your Stance cards because Rise were already played in a previous turn. But the only thing that really happens is that you Ascend, so you don’t really need to look at the Rise card itself. Instead, look at the separate Temple action guide to see the actions available. There are five Temple actions: Food to Burrow; Gain 1 Heat; Move out of Temple; Look at three top Items and gain one for free; Gain any Food costing up to three energy.
-Myself, struggling to explain the rules for Stances and the Temple before the changes
Background and problem
Every time I explain the rules for Stances I get annoyed because the number of Stance cards to play each turn is not consistent. Several times I have tried to modify the Stances so you always play only one Stance card each turn. I have always failed to implement it in a way that still keeps the flexibility that the new system with Stance cards allowed.
During the play test the bonus actions worked quite well when they were used. But several of the bonus actions were barely used at all and they were often forgotten.
The Rise card also cause some confusion because it can both be used to move into the Temple and to another Territory, but only if the Cat is there.
Solution
Now I saw an opportunity to finally implement a “one stance”-rule. Three of the four bonus actions were already unnecessary since I had removed three components: the reroll tokens, the Lotus seeds (still there but they can’t be bought from the Supply) and the Protein tiles.
The main challenge I had to solve had to do with the Move action. Before the changes you could move every third turn, without spending extra Protein to recall your Stance cards. This is already barely enough. I figured I could remove one Stance card and go from five stances to four. But this would still mean you could only Move for free once every fourth turn, if you play only one Stance card each turn. Not flexible enough.
I have tried before to have a separate Move phase so you could move every turn. But this caused problems with ordering. Players often want to choose if they should move first or do some other action first and then move. I also like the clarity that comes from all actions being visible on the Stance cards. The move action would not be visible if I had a separate Move phase.
The solution is the new Boots. This is a new type of action card. It is similar to the Stance cards but its an object to separate it from the stances. The Boots can be activated once each turn. The Boots allow you to move one space for free and two spaces for 1 Protein. This is a feature I have considered for a long time to give more flexibility to players, but there have not been enough space on the Stance cards to implement it in an obvious way. You can use the Boots to gain 1 Energy instead, if you don’t want to move. This allowed me to remove the Action that gives you 2 energy.
Another challenge is to have a distribution of the actions on the Stance cards so that you can always choose an Action that lets you spend your energy. With just one action per turn this would be problematic without any additional mechanics. For example, if I choose to get Protein, what would I use my energy for? The new solution to this have two parts: 1) allow the player to do both actions on the Stance card by paying 2 energy, and 2) Add a free action (printed on the player mat) that converts 2 energy into 1 sword.
All in all, I now have the same number of cards (4 stances and the Boots) but fewer symbols and rules. Yet there is more flexibility for the player (the ability to do both actions for 2 energy and the Boots which allow you to move more freely or choose to gain extra energy).
The other changes to the Temple and Cat mechanics also allowed me to simplify the Rise stance. It is now solely about conquering the Temple. Much cleaner and aligns better thematically.
Lets end with a new quote that covers everything I tried to cover in the quote above, but now with fewer words thanks to the updated rules:
You always play one Stance card. You may also activate your Boots once each turn. In the Temple you don’t play any Stance, instead you may Ascend once for 1 Protein to gain the rewards. This symbol means you may choose any of the Stance actions, that are valid in the Temple.
-My future self, happily explaining the simplified rules
Bonus – New Hamster Concept Art!!
I’ve also been busy working on some new concept art for the hamsters and the player mats. I’m quite happy with how this turned out. I’m thinking about making a post to describe some workflows I use to create the artwork. Let me know if that’s something you would like to see more about!
I’ve also asked my 3d-modeller friend to update the hamster miniatures and to create a new Temple cat miniature. My next physical prototype is going to look awesome!
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