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(+2)

Loved how well this game tied into the theme of the contest. Really well done! Also it added a fun and smart idea to the genre of tile placing that had not been done yet. I loved building paths for my ants, collecting stuff.

Feedback:

  • Paying an ant every time I draw a tile did felt like a good basic rule to put some pressure on me when placing my tiles. But what the game lacked to me was a clear core mechanic that “granted you new ants”. Putting you in the loop where you pay more ants than you loose in general, but try to conserve them as much as possible, trying to reach one end of the board, before you run out.
  • This might be a limitation of the jam, but currently you can realistically only built in a single directly. I wish this game would be more expansive like Carcassonne, where you start building a whole pick-nick blanket.
  • Right now the game felt quite punishing and luck based to me. Especially with the cards that just randomly cost you -3 ants if you draw them (and double punish you by locking off that route).
  • To me it felt very random and nearly impossible to complete a peanut butter or jelly set. You run out of ants fast. I was really looking forward to this “built fruits” or “sandwiches” mechanic to regain ants (or points) but it never delivered for me.

Nit-Picking:

  • The rules read as if you would shuffle the finish line tile into the deck. But looking at the TTS mod that's probably not true. It would be helpful if the rules say to put it aside.
(+1)

Thank you so much for sharing your insights and experience with the game!  I had a lot of fun putting it together in such a short span of time, and it’s always wonderful to learn that someone got something out of it.


The finish tile addition was a late playtesting improvement to help reinforce the idea of needing one last ant to actually cross the finish line. It was added to the rulebook, but I got my versions crossed somewhere, and by the time I realized it… the Jam was locked.


I had envisioned expanding the card pool to open up more give and take in the ant-economy.  However, give the limited time frame of the Jam, combined with my personal schedule, I chose to deliver on the concept first and leave the tuning for later.  

I ended up making just enough to show variety and the possibility of success … with the push-your-luck element being very risky.  In a final project, the probabilities can be adjusted in any number of directions. I did, however, focus on trying to keep the delivery of the game within a small footprint… like a pocket game, with a sample play area printed on the rule sheet that would not be required, but could be unfolded and used.


Truthfully, I was surprised myself at how fun my playtesting of the submitted tile set turned out. I likewise wanted to expand on the give-and-take of ants. I even wanted to try out little 🐜 tokens or images to represent the “parade” of ants on the board. In the end I ran out of time to make major modifications so I just stuck with the prototypical design and delivered everything barely in time.


Keeping the project alive, I am tinkering with rules for a multiplayer version, in addition to an expanded solo version without the limitations of the Jam.  If it lands well, it may end up as one of my future pitches for publication.