itch.io

Highly recommend! Recently finished a play-by-post game, converted to Cairn 2e system.

As a GM, I found it a really interesting small dungeon setting with several equally interesting hooks – lots of flexibility to fit into our campaign and space for GM creativity

There's good texture to the dungeon: not every room poses a threat so players can rest and tension can build. It can be as deadly or as mysterious as you want to make it. Multiple pathways to explore the entire dungeon. The monsters are interesting and deadly. There are a few weird little NPCs for players to interact with. There are a few small riddle/puzzles (which the players solved way faster than I expected).

The artwork and zine design are top notch!

Hey Ben. Love Downtime in Zyan. Been looking for a print copy. Any plans to print more?

👍 I'll be buyer #1.

This adventure is very cool. I don't own or play His Majesty the Worm (yet) but should be easy enough to convert to another system. I really enjoy the vibe and aesthetics. The artwork is top notch. Some clever ideas in here. Very cool how the adventure is designed to slot into an existing campaign. Great work! Any plans for a print version?

This is great! Thanks for sharing – thrilled that you like the game. (Now I need to brush up on my Serbian...)

Hey David! Sorry for the delayed reply. I've been looking at the "José gets killed" rule and, yes, I may end up dropping it. I'm also thinking through what to do if the Jack as the initial deal. Thanks for this feedback! And yes, there's not a lot of deep strategy to the game. My real goal was to get this bit of history in front of more people who would be interested – and that seems to be working out pretty well!

Thanks! Always nice when the feedback you get matches your intentions for the game. :) Really appreciate your question -- I may need to revise the text for better clarity. How's the feedback been on your Invisible games?

Good question. Ultimately you will have seven piles of cards – one for each of the bombs. But you build the piles throughout the game by drawing one card from the main deck for each unexploded bomb each turn and place the card in its respective pile. Maybe it's better to say you deal out one card from the main deck to each bomb each turn? ("Turn" = the sequence of play: first draw/deal the bomb cards then move José.) By the end of the game, the seven piles will each have a different quantity of cards, depending on when each bomb was disarmed or exploded.

This is great feedback. Thank you for taking the time to write! And I'm glad you've been enjoying the game.

Yes, the uncertainty created by burning cards for both movement and combat is one of my favorite things about the game.

A 32-card deck... I designed the game based on a 52-card deck, not sure how 32 would change the dynamics of the game. I'll have to give it a try.

And, yes: if a unit-and-leader stack loses combat, both unit and leader are defeated.

Thanks! You're awesome for starting this jam.

You got it right: the blind discard for each Move is to maintain uncertainty about the remaining cards in hand. Because (as you pointed out) the outcomes of medieval battles (as best we understand them) were very often uncertain. Positioning and timing do become important.

Also, the shields on the reverse side do serve a function: to add to the over all aesthetics of the game. That's important, right? :-)

1. Yes, discard one card per Move.

2. When stacked, the leader is combined with the unit - they move as one so only discard one card.

3. Correct: Maldon space does not have a modifier.

Thanks for the questions. Enjoy playing Maldon! I haven't had a chance to play Hoplomachos yet -- but it's on my list!