low level shot of Torque Arena Away Crew components v0.17

Development and testing progress, and here are the latest news :-)

Summary

• new printable materials!
  • nicer arena
  • cleaner seeker cards
  • more functional role/status/drag tokens
  • nicer turn summary sheet
• Activations become Turns and get a clearer definition
• clearer Extra and Edge functionality and timing
• improved Effort & Break effects
• clearer Test logic and mechanics
• polished and updated Actions

New Materials

The arena has now a desert texture, hopefully nicer to look at that its previous "grey prototype" iteration. All the info inserts around it have been updated to the current rules, and reorganized for improved visibility and functionality. I'm also experimenting with color-blind friendly color schemes.

Paper miniatures are now more printer friendly and easier to cut and build. And slightly bigger too, for extra visibility and durability.

Seeker cards are also redesigned to be more printer friendly, and to accommodate the new Role/Drag tokens.

The new Role/Drag tokens have been designed to remove the need for paper-clips. This reduces the amount of components needed to play, and also the wear and tear on the cards. The clips system was effective, but quickly deformed the cards. Hopefully the new tokens work as intended. They are also prettier to look at, and should help to make the needed info POP more to the eye, especially the Ready/Active state.

low level shot of Torque Arena Home Crew components v0.17

Turns & Extras

The change from "Activation" to "Turn" is just nomenclature, but it seems to be a helpful conceptual shift for many people playing the game.

Along with it I've addressed some logical problems within the rule's wording. It should now be clearer how Extras work, and when can players spend Edge to get Momentum.

Effort & Break

While the Effort mechanic was functional, it obviously appeared unappealing in comparison to Momentum. Thus,it's value is now doubled, granting +2 Skill at the cost of just 1 Edge.

Similarly, the value imbalance inherent in a Break effect was worrying.
You are about to take your turn, but your opponent spends Edge to extend their turn with Momentum, and now you get the option to spend 2 Edge for the privilege of taking the turn you were originally meant to take anyway, and the opponent even gets their spent Edge back.

It felt punishing. Maybe a necessary counter at times, but excessively taxing. So now Break works the same, but in addition it includes the Effort effect too. It makes thematic sense, getting an advantage as you break your rival's momentum and throw them off balance. And it offers good value to a package that, costing 2 Edge, is still "worse" than having the freedom to spend 1 Edge at a time on exactly what you want when you want it. Testing will tell if this is ok, too good, or not good enough.

Test Logic

Another rules clarity issue that emerged was that, reading the rules verbatim without external guidance, some problematic interpretations could emerge, leading to dysfunctional logical loops. Just a matter of wording and clarity, but in a very critical section of the rules, so it had to be fixed. Hopefully the text is now better :-)

Action Updates

Testing also led to some updates in how a few Actions work.

Rush allows to move and then do extra, but now this is limited to an extra Push, Steal or Throw. Rush+Rush was never allowed, but now it is also clearly not possible to Rush+Mend, an interaction I did not think about, and that did not result in the intended experience I have in mind. It is also clearly stated how the listed interaction between a moving Seeker and other game elements do not interrupt the movement.

Push now allows a choice between the Shove and Tire effect, making its use more tactical and in line with the area-control elements of the game. Shove allows a bit more freedom in where to move the target Seeker, and how the attacker can then press forward. And it clears how a pushing torque behaves in these circumstances too.

Throw has a much clearer and more defined procedure and list of interactions. You can target a Mate, to pass the torque. You can target a Rival, to Push them at a distance. You can target the Totem, to fell it. You can target a specific location or terrain element, to place or bounce the torque where you want. And there is a clear option for when a Seeker, be they Mate or Rival, crosses the torque's path without being the designated target,

- - -

And that's it for this update. Playtesting is ongoing and keeps highlighting new details than need refining, clarification or fixing, but all in all the gameplay is coming along nicely. Play time is consistently under 60 minutes, often just 30 to 45. Each bout feels dynamic, seekers feel like a team, swingy dice rolls feel impactful but not game-breaking for either player, and a few bout moments always feel spectacular and memorable.

The work continues.

One Tribe!

high level shot of Torque Arena Home and Away Crew components v0.17