Post originally by Christopher Allen at 2004-06-18 12:10:53
Converted from Phorums BB System

Daniel Strain wrote:
<i>BALANCE:
We have played extensively and seen the game played extensively and there have been successful plays with all of the characters. Most of their abilities are designed as a "spice" to the game but even Xun, with his substantial ability to draw 2 cards and discard one, has a tough time winning because of his extremely high bounty.</i>

You say that Xun is balanced due to his extremely high bounty. We found this not to be true -- a high bounty or a low bounty has little difference in the game. Everyone soon has at least a low bounty (if they don't, someone will put it on them) but once they have the bounty the size of it doesn't make a difference.

Theoretically a high bounty makes Xun a target, but it is too difficult for players to bring his hull down to 0.

Worse, many bounty related events come from destiny cards, which Xun gets to avoid.

What we found was Xun advantage on destiny cards loaded him up early on with devices and friends such that he could avoid or win most bounty rolls.

Daniel Strain wrote:
<i>A game with set trade routes and no ability for other players to beat you to the punch would be a game that could only be played once.</i>

In general I agree, and is one of the more interesting elements of the game. But having them immediately disappear is too much. My personal recommendation is that there is a market on the card such that the availability and price go down one level each time the market is used.

Related, I think the fixed price cards, War, Plague, etc. in an odd way make trading less important. I think you could almost play the game just concentrating on those rather then doing normal trades. I'd consider making it such that no other trade is allowed at that planet until those items are found.

Daniel Strain wrote:
<i>I can safely say that there are many places in Smugglers where strategy is not only possible, but key.</i>

Maybe in the early game, but as you enter mid-game and definately by end-game, strategy is out the window as everyone has roughly the same topped out abilities, is concentrating only on the high-value "locked in" planets, etc.

Chris wrote:
<i>This game has short strategic elements to it. In other words, instead of having one strategy and spending two hours to find out if it works, you constantly are having to come up with new methods, new ideas to compensate.</i>

That is not strategy, that is tactics. Again, I feel the game feels like it might have some long-term strategy, but in fact it doesn't and is almost entirely tactical. The only strategy is common to everyone. Get cheap upgrades early on at military or large starports early on, and wait for high-value destiny card opportunites like the fixed trade War, Plague, etc. cards, Contract cards, and Crime Lords cards, etc. and consider not even bothering with most other trades. Max out your upgrades, get 5000, try the Braxian run.

In my ideal, there should be other viable strategies then that.

Darren Bright wrote:
<i>She appears to prefer "hardcore" strategy games that emphasize long-term strategy and player skill over randomized elements that make a game more approachable for casual players.</i>

This is somewhat true, but playing with Shannon a different board game for almost a year says that he likes tactical games as well. He likes Tigris and Euphrates, which I didn't like because it was too tactical when it gave an illusion of strategy.

Shannon can even enjoy the "family-style" more largely random games, however, the turns need to be fast and the length of game short, and the game not too expensive. None of these were met by Smugglers of the Galaxy.

As I said in the <a href="http://www.rpg.net/forums/phorum/rf08/read.php?f=2510&i=33&t=33">other thread I started</a> I believe that the flaws in Smugglers of the Galaxy are fixable, but I do believe that it has significant flaws.

-- Christopher Allen