One thing that kept confusing me in my solo games was the meaning of "a round" and "a turn". In the rules, those two are introduced in a section 'round structure' and it starts with:
"On their turn, the player chooses a card..."
I had to reread this few times and keep reading about the subsequent usages of 'a round' (a card can be used only once per a turn and per a round, nukes are claimed at the end of a round, not a turn).
Part of it is my own grasp of language: I always thought that 'a turn' is a longer unit than 'a round' - that players take rounds in a single turn of the game.
The designers managed to create a game where a lot of depends on decisions of players - which unit to send, when and which way. I'd like assymetrical sides with different ratings/ special abilities but this design works. It is simple - it certainly serves as a teaser for the "bigger game" that is in the works :)
Viewing post in SplinterCard jam comments
Ah, you may be correct about rounds vs turns. I am by no means a seasoned wargamer - I may be getting the convention wrong! I've jumped in the deep end despite minimal recent experience.
I was thinking of boxing - you take turns hitting each other (effectively) for a while, then the "round" ends, and then you start over.
Yes, I agree about symmetry. I did it this way to save myself having to playtest as much :p - the next/bigger version is very asymmetrical, a kind of clifftop scifi Dday landing scenario.