DGE - specializations update

In the last post I discussed an idea for a new feature, specializations.  It's taken me some time to come up with enough options that I was happy with, and that felt at least sorta-kinda balanced in terms of how many Base and Mod cards would fit with them (without me creating more specifically for that purpose, which is on the agenda for later).  Today I did a rough test, just going through a few rounds on my own with four different "players" to see how often the specializations would be relevant and how they might affect gameplay strategy.

In terms of frequency, each of the four "players" got to use their specialization at least once - that is, they had the right card available and I could think of a way to make it fit with the Patron card for that round.  The ones that had slightly fewer relevant cards in the deck actually got to use their specializations a little bit more often during this test run, which tells me that even if the numbers aren't perfectly even they're close enough for it to be fair, based on numbers alone.

In terms of strategy, it had a similar impact to materials - if I saw that a hand did have a card that fit with their specialization, I would really try to find a way to use it, but if I couldn't then I would just use a different card and it would be okay.  If I saw a much better invention in my hand without leaning on my specialization then I wouldn't worry about it.  But focusing on the specialization sometimes pushed me to come up with entertainingly bizarre ideas that I probably wouldn't have done otherwise, and which would have potentially earned my vote if they had come up in a real game.

There was one thing I didn't enjoy so much though, which was that any time I didn't have a card that would fit with the specialization it felt disappointing, more so than not having a card with the right material.  I think it's because materials are random and change every round, but specialization is constant (you draw a card at the beginning of the game and keep it the whole time), so every time you draw new cards you're thinking about whether or not they fit with the specialization.  And each time they don't, it's a little annoying.  Granted, this was just me doing a solo test, so maybe other players wouldn't feel the same way about it.  Maybe even I wouldn't when I'm actually playing with other human beings.  In any case, I started thinking about a potential solution for this.  I've toyed with the idea of a drafting mechanic in the past, and this seems like a good argument to come back to that.  But then that's even more new mechanics that I'm adding to the game, and I'm not sure if I want to do that.  At least not right now.  Maybe in an expansion.  So now I'm thinking that specializations might be reserved for an expansion as well.  But then it also feels like maybe it's a little too presumptuous for me to be saying "these features will go in an expansion" when I'm still trying to get any publisher interested in the base game.

Ugh.  Dunno right now.  We'll see if I can make a real decision one way or another anytime in the near future.

Dwarven Guild of Engineers - a new feature

In the previous post I mentioned some comments that I got in the DGE live stream.  I've been pondering how to add more meat to the game, and while I haven't yet come up with anything new for "opportunities to mess with other players," I did think of a new feature that I want to test out - specializations.  Each player gets a card at the beginning of the game that says what they are especially good at, such as weapons or automated movement or small items, and they get a bonus point any time their invention fits that criterion, independent of how well it fits with the Patron's request that round (and stackable with the bonus for matching materials).  This gives players another way to strategize if they don't like their chances with the Patron, or just want a leg up on the competition.

I like the idea, but the challenge now is coming up with enough specializations for interesting variety and making sure that they are all relatively balanced with each other.  I'm spending some time on that this weekend, and we'll see how long it takes me to get a real answer that I'm satisfied with.  This might also give me some direction in coming up with new Base and Mod cards, so I can try to boost specializations that don't fit with as many of the current cards.