Looney Labs Icehouse Mailing list Archive

[David Artman <david.artman@xxxxxxxxx>]

D'oh--I only thought of four-player. Yes, you'd need another Treehouse set to play with 10 veins (2-player). But not ten full sets, just a way to buy a gray stash. But that still likely limits players to the hard core--either completist collectors of folks who buy through LL.com and just wanted gray for some reason.

This is why the IGDC procedures warn about equipment requirements: if folks can't play, they can't rate. I usually find odd, specialty piece requirements to be worse (ex: special boards; Tarot cards--not everyone owns them, folks!--Piecepaks). But simply requiring a lot of sets can be a killer, too. I'll never submit Stacktors to any contest, that's for sure! (Uses all twelve colors, ideally full stashes of them).

But in the end, it's a learning process, being a designer. Trial and error, considerations of market and audience, presentation, balance and replayability (no obvious win strategies)--it's not easy forst few times around (nor first ten, nor 15).

Just plug away at it, Sam. Maybe there's something you can do with just 5HOUSE? Like, maybe, a reseeding process? What's lost if there's a surfeit of options--i.e. why not a race for five between two? Volcano board, 5 veins in a diagonal, start in opposite corners? Nah.... makes the opening move always 3, then 1 (and hope you didn't both zig rather than zag).

Anyhow, keep noodling.