Hello Mapemounde Community! Here’s to success on all your game projects. :)

I’m currently creating a game that features a competitive set-collection mechanic to drive the game forward. As players make choices about what they want to add to their own collections, the segment of the map they selected disappears, and they need to move to a different area of the map. The player can invest their collected elements to score points in “developments” that can be claimed only by one player per game.

In terms of theme and story, imagine a small planet somewhere in the universe that has become infested with a malefic, cosmos-spanning spore colony. This colony has somehow arrived, and creeps across the planetary surface, consuming everything in its path. The players represent rescue forces that are gathering planetary elements (such as water, plantlife, minerals, etc.), facing the realization that they can’t save it all. Players are forced to select one of two elements present on each card, then flip the card over to its blank side as the spores infest the region.

So how will the player re-create this planet on their mothership? Which of the planetary elements will become their focus, earning them more Merit? Which of the rescuers will be judged as the most effective by the Universal Preservation Council? This is the crux of the game.

Some progress has been made so far today, and motivation is high to begin playtesting with the components I have so far (one position token and 12 small cubes per player, two score tracking sheets, and a deck of 54 cards).

As progress continues, I hope to keep posting here (I admit that this will be primarily so I can stay motivated to finish this game before the deadline…!)

Take care everyone, and best of success to you. :)

Had a few playtests yesterday, and after reflection I’m going back at it.

Scoring is based on synergy of an element with two of the other elements, and at this point scores run rather high and there’s a lot of mathematics involved. I hope to dial this back today with a few adjustments, related to another scoring aspect of the game.

There are certain “perks” or bonuses a player can collect once they’ve reached a certain quantity of elements of the different types. I’m in the midst of developing a “tech tree” that the player can use to individualize their game, and compete with the other players. Right now this is separated based on the elements - as in, there are six separate skill/tech trees the player can develop - but that seems a bit fiddly and I think I need to develop a single tech tree with broad branching.

Coming up with a separate, but thematically-linked, tech tree for each different Element was frustrating and time-consuming, and still isn’t done. I think a single tech tree can be just as impactful, easier for players to understand, and easier for me to develop.

This tech tree is an essential component of the game. It will allow for a sense of progression and “gaining powers” over time. It also incentivizes players to pursue several different elements instead of focusing on a smaller number: it’s easier to gather more tech tree points by going after all the elements.

If anyone is curious here are the elements, and the other elements with which they synergize:

• Water (Animals + Plantlife)
• Minerals (Technology + Plantlife)
• Plantlife (Water + Animals)
• Technology (Animals + Minerals)
• Animals (Water + Plantlife)
• Culture (Animals + Total Bonuses Earned)

Did a fair amount of work today on balancing, score tracking, playtesting, and finally graphic design. Attached are a few photos.

This is an image of the play surface: a model of one hemisphere of the afflicted planet, assembled with cards. Players move their piece to the intersection points between cards, flipping the cards over as they harvest the planet Elements. There are six icons scattered across all the cards in an equal distribution, representing the six different Elements the players can collect.

This is an image of an early version (that is, you can see my scratches and changes written in pen!) of the Elements Tracker. I apologize for covering up the icons in each of the sections… The little red and green cubes are used to track player collections in a two-player game I was playtesting. I think the game will be able to support 2 to 4 players (though only 2-player games have been playtested so far).

This final image is a rough version of the bonus chart. Each of the stars noted on the Elements Tracker provides the player with an opportunity to gain a bonus. Some are simply extra Elements to add to their collection, while there are also some which provide significant advantages the players can use to collect more resources, move across the map faster than their opponent, or both. The top row provides bonuses to scoring at the end of the game.

Tomorrow I intend to create typed-up versions of the revisions I’ve added to the Elements Tracker and Bonus Chart. Draft of the rulesheet will likely happen Tuesday evening.

This prototype is progressing and I am pleased with the results so far…! :)

Version 1 of Cosmic Spores is now available for download as a ZIP file. Please have a look and let me know what you think: https://let-off.neocities.org/bgdesign/mapemounde2021/cs.zip

I strongly suggest you have a look at the included readme file for details on how to set up everything before play.

Thanks!

Here’s a how-to-play video on YouTube.