Hey there! I've been bouncing around ideas and mechanics for a game that I've been designing for over a year now. I just wanted to hear some insight from the community and hope to get some constructive brainstorming going.
So before I started writing anything, I sat down and wrote down things that I've liked and not liked from games I've played over the years. I wanted to create something that was easy to learn/play, something that keeps players interest and offer a tabletop experience unlike anything they've played before.
Here are some of the things that I wanted to avoid
- Units that you just painted being the first thing to be removed when you get them on the tabletop
- Too much bookkeeping
- Games that feel very unbalanced or one that if you make a small mistake it could cost you the game.
- Convoluted rule sets
- Units/armies not being supported
With that being said here are some of the ideas I've been working with and the play testing thus far has been very rewarding.
Scale is 28-32
mm and it uses a
D12 system.
I am using a 1.25" hex grid. I decided to go this route so there was no bickering about range, pre-measuring and players don't have to worry about carrying around measuring accessories. Hex grids also offer cohesive weapon/ability ranges and is excellent for determining the facing of the model.
I'm currently designing four unique factions, each with certain specialties and quirks.
The overall feel has a classic
RTS feel. Both players start within 8 spaces of the board edge and two resource mines are placed in the middle of the battlefield with "event tokens" being placed by each player.
Event tokens will activate if a model move within 3 spaces, in which players will draw an "event deck" that triggers anything from explosions to neutral monsters being spawned.
There is a Fog of War mechanic that adds a different aspect to the game. Armies have a universal "sight" characteristic for organic and mechanical units. Enemy units that are out of a friendly models sight can't be targeted. If a friendly model reveals an enemy unit, all friendly units within range can target that enemy unit. There are scout-like units that are lightly armored but move quickly to uncover areas of the battlefield, with certain factions being better with sight than others.
Players use gatherer units to collect resources from the resource mines to construct structures and spawn new units. (This gets around the painted models being removed, as you can just respawn them). Models are activated using action points that they can spend to do various abilities like move, attack etc.
Structures are also a key part of the game. Players can build structures that allow them to spawn units. Unless stated otherwise, only three of the same unit can be on the battlefield at any given time. Units are usually capped at 3 models per unit to keep the model count reasonably low.
Players also start with a "Commander" unit which is a powerful champion that leads their force into battle. If this champion is slain during the course of the battle, players can respawn them at their "Command Structure". This process is very costly in resources and the spawned commander can't activate the turn they're respawned, so players will have to play somewhat smart as they navigate the battlefield.
Unit's take turns activating, so you activate a unit/structure then the opposing player activates a unit/structure until all models on the board are activated and then the turn ends and all actions are reset. (So far this has allowed players to make minor mistake without it costing the them the game).
While the rules section of the core rules I've written clocks in at 21 pages, the rules are pretty streamlined and are reasonably easy to learn. I've worked up the lore and model designs to eventually get a 3D printed prototype. My late term goals would be to release rules in pdf format that is free to download and will be updated to make sure rules are cohesive and updated in real time. I'm also leaning towards offering 3D STL files so players can just print their own models from home, or I can print them for them for a fee. I'd like to keep costs down for players while eventually getting somewhat of a return in my investment for things like artwork, 3D renders and formatting. Overall I just want to create something that is enjoyable to play and helps bring more folks into the mini wargaming community.
I look forward to your responses and I'm completely open to new ideas as I've been primarily designing this solo.
Thanks