Along these lines, I like that I don’t need the rule book to play. In fact, I keep forgetting to include the nemeses rules exactly because I have the habit, I think, of assuming that all of the rules are in front of me as I play.
I prefer text-based cards, however some icons to identify START and END turn action will be useful.
I’ve translated the game in italian, and put the card with it’s translation inside card sleeves.
In the translated text, I’ve used a different color marker to identify some keywords like POWER (violet), START of the turn (green), END of the turn (red).
It’s useful mainly for villain and environment cards.
red/green is a tough combo for folks who are color blind.
Uhm… you’re right.
Maybe a icons/color combination?
Like a “green play” icon for “start of the turn” and a “red stop” icon for “end of the turn”…
This is my first post, and I’m making it from my phone. That’s dedication!
I first played SOTM at PAX. Me and my mate (both from .au) played a game with Alex leading, with Ra, Legacy, Wraith, and Tachyon vs Voss. Super game, would have been an instant buy, but i hadnt seen the rest of the show, and needed to know what else to spend money on. So it was the next day. Shelled out for some nice dice to use as markers, too.
I agree with others that it’s nice to have the full text, so newbies can know the rules more easily. For managing start vs end of turn actions, I’ve been placing the villain cards in 3 distinct vertical positions depending on their actions. Top row for start of turn, bottom row for end of turn, and in between for both. they still run left to right in order of their play, with no two cards over lapping vertically. I try to do the same for hero cards. This solution does tend to take up a bit more table space, but it’s effective.
The part where I have trouble keeping track is with damage modifiers, and I think an icon system could work well here. I’m thinking along the right hand edge of the card (below the hp for cards that have hp) an icon of a shield for cards that reduce incoming damage to themselves or their allies, and a comic explosion or impact icon (something like the shape that minions cards hp value is inside, though obviously different enough to not be confused) for cards that increase damage done by itself or allies.
This would enable quicker reading of the board when calculating damage - an easy way to make sure that you dont miss any cards. Even when playing a game by myself, I find myself constantly forgetting to include bunker’s armor plating, or legacy’s inspiring presence.
These icons wouldn’t be placed instead of text, but would merely be a quick visual indicator of cards that you need to remember to read. As it is, I’m considering appropriating markers from some other game to help jog my memory.
On a slightly different note - I’d highly suggest considering changing the packaging for the next edition or reprint. The box is fine as it ships, but once open, its a bit ungainly. I was excited when i bought it, and unwrapped all the cards in my hotel room. After the plane trip home, all the decks were understandably jumbled. Keeping the decks in order is simple with rubber bands, but that extra thickness means they dont fit in the box very well. In my mind, the ideal solution, without going to the expense of getting plastic inserts molded, would be to have the box a suitable shape in which the cards could stand up ( like the trivial pursuit question boxes). Make this box slightly too big, and include slightly larger than standard size cards to use to seperate the decks. Optionally, this larger card could actually be the hero and villain cards. There wouldnt be extraneous packaging, so you could still fit just as many in your shipping containers or whatever.
The option exists for your first expansion to come in a box like this, big enough to fit the original game (and possibly any and all future expansions)
Speaking of, and way off topic - is there a roadmap plan for expansions? The game is superb, but I find myself wishing for at least some more environments, plus an extra villain or two. more heroes is an obvious path, though i expect much harder to design and balance.
Incidentally, the auto-correction that I’ve had to fix had been hilarious. Apparently the game I played at pax was 4 stalwart heroes battling the nefarious Visa. Whether that was over a debt dispute or an issue bringing their family into the country, I can’t say.
ax0r, we do have definite plans for expansions, the first coming out ideally in the spring of next year. Poke around on the forums a bit more and you’ll find a lot regarding the first, but we do have the first four expansions already written, with bits of possible others as well. It’s hard to contain the excitement I have for all of it and not just tell everyone everything about it… In addition to expansion, we plan on making a storage solution available as soon as possible. We wanted to debut with a nice big box and a plastic insert to keep it all straight, but that would have upped the retail price considerably, and in the interest of making the game affordable, you have the box you see before you now.
As for damage modifiers, I’ve had a few things in mind, so keep an eye out for that also.
I use colored glass beads for markers. If a card increases damage, it gets a red bead. If it reduces damage it gets a green one, etc. If Wraith has built up her Stealth to 4 points, she gets four beads on top of her card. That way when you’re scanning the table to see how much damage you do, you can take your base damage, see the red bead that Legacy gives you, the red bead that the Obsidian Field gives you, and the green bead that reduces damage to the villain, and arrive at a total.
I’d like the text to remain with the addition of a few icons that others have mentioned - specifically this is what I’d like to see:
A damage type icon that could include the amount of damage or a question mark if it were variable and you needed to refer to the text.
An immunity or resistance to damage type icon (it could be the previous icon with a shield around it). Use the infinity symbol for full immunity.
A start/end of turn icon.
On the one hand that sounds awesome, but on the other hand it would fundamentally change how I play the game. When Legacy Bolsters Allies, I want to be reminded by ‘Legacy’ (or as ‘Legacy’ remind) of the Bolstering properties of the character… like in a tabletop RPG when a character has a similar spell going on that person provides verbal cues (outside of ‘role-playing’) to ensure that everyone knows about her buff. I really like that sort of social/table-talk aspect of the game.
I think avoid any colour-based differentiation to avoid making things difficult for those who are colour blind.
OK, so everyone hated these ideas when I first raised them, and I admit that I may have gone a little overboard in suggesting that nearly everything on the card be converted into an icon. But the one thing that I have consistently wished were on the cards, to the point that I’ve almost considered taking a sharpie and adding it myself, is some indicator showing me what I need to pay attention to at the beginning and/or end of a given phase. Even if there were just a colored dot in front of a sentence I need to read at the beginning of a phase and a differently colored dot for sentences that take place at the end of a phase, that kind of visual clue just seems so helpful when you’re scanning across a table full of cards. The number of villains, environments, and heroes is just going to grow, with increasingly complex rules on each card, and if you’ve got to re-read each one to see what you need to pay attention to as you slog through a gazillion fowl cards (or whatever), having visual sign posts like this seems like an easy improvement.
Personally, I still think that substituting the a compact “SV” in place of the verbose “at the start of the villain turn” is an improvement and will not only improve readability but also save space on the cards, but maybe (probably) that’s just me.
Does everyone else still hate the idea of these start/end indicators on cards, if you forget the rest of my initial ideas about icons for every fool thing in the game? If something like this were to be instituted, now would be the time.
Actually, I would almost like something akin to how the new villains are done with separate sections for start of game, villain game play, and villain advanced mode.
This.
With some way for color-blind people to know which phase is which.
There’s a reason why icons are popular in games (when they are done well): They make the game easier to play and understand.
I think it’s a good idea, Spiff. Arenson9 is also correct that the solution needs to be more than color-based, though, as there are a not-insignificant number of people who are color blind.
I agree with arenson9 too. Symbols based will be great. I’m thinking of some mathy symbols like V^, Vv, H^, Hv, E^, Ev, just to replace the verbose, and maybe free up space to make the font larger.