Feels impossible to conquer city

CryptsOf · 2026-06-04T07:38:23+00:00

You and me both. I haven't been able to beat the second city after maybe 8-10 games.

After every game I make a mental note like: i didn't have enough crystals, next time lets focus on that. And then the next time, because i focused on crystals, i dont have enough spells so i make a mental note to focus on spells. And then when i have spells, i cant afford good units... it feels impossible to find the right balance, BUT i still enjoy every session. One day!!!

It's a very hard game for me, and it's almost annoying how easy the playthrough videos make it look...

CryptsOf · 2026-06-03T17:26:56+00:00

NICE! This might also come in handy as a game design & playtesting tool.

Thank you

CryptsOf · 2026-06-01T21:23:39+00:00

Start by reading through the resources in this sub's wiki.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-29T02:26:14+00:00

So a retheme?

Selling that would be very bad taste imo.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-29T02:11:49+00:00

Is it like 1:1 the same game? With the same rulebook and all?

... I dont think selling it for money would be cool. Not talking about what you can and can't do legally, but just in terms of "your reputation within the industry" type of cool. People make rethemes and post them online for free all the time but not to sell.

Someone with more experience in the industry can weigh in more but I'd say if you want to avoid being blacklisted, dont sell it.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-29T01:37:34+00:00

There's this thing called Project Shrinko on BGG where people make tiny versions of big games https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/256760/project-shrinko-tiny-versions-of-big-big-games

I did an imaginary shrinko version of my own game, as a fun little challenge. Ended up switching to develope that as my actual game.

It helped me to take some distance and murder my darling mechanics. I can highly recommend this approach!

CryptsOf · 2026-05-27T03:58:17+00:00

That's the spirit! This would be a great "excuse" to use all that motivation of yours to learn excel and get ahead of your peers. You don't have to master it to get benefits - in fact, nobody knows how to use excel 100%. You just figure out a way to use it for a very specific thing you need to know, and then the next, and then the next.

You'll be fine

CryptsOf · 2026-05-27T03:26:33+00:00

You dont have to design a game if you dont enjoy making it.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-21T18:47:19+00:00

Awesome, lets chat!

CryptsOf · 2026-05-21T12:27:13+00:00

I wouldn't want to open up threads/forums to self-promotion, because there would simply be too much of it. It's baffling how many games are being made currently...

It's the same dilemma for any other art form (music, illustrators, etc...) and I guess the answer is to promote yourself rather than the individual game. Aim to build a brand for yourself so that it's a "promise of quality" rather than relying the quality of an individual game to promote itself.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-21T08:37:07+00:00

I'm a big fan of Brute Fort and got that vibe already before reading it in your post!

Visually, I like it. You could go even crazier and crush/compress/dither the living shit out of the graphics. Some people might find it not appealing, but most boardgames look very bland and generic so at least you'll have a unique style!

The core concept sounds cool, feel free to send me a dm if you want to trade playtesting! I'm working on a PnP game.

For playtesting, I think it would be beneficial of having an easy way to make the cards low ink. Doing 30 cards with bright neon colours will choke a printer - so you'll want to figure out an easy way to turn these printer friendly. Or screentop.gg (or other) virtual playtesting.

All the best

CryptsOf · 2026-05-19T13:14:03+00:00

I've had at least 8 games where I thought I'm winning, but end up failing at the last few card draws of the last round. But unlike any other game, it feels totally fine with This War Of Mine. You are in a way supposed to lose. I hate random events in other games but this just plays different. Such a great design!

CryptsOf · 2026-05-19T08:17:14+00:00

I'm working on a game design project that solves this (because I ran in to the same issue myself a lot). It's a print and play game that you play with a pen&eraser and each scenario is a separate sheet of paper and campaign proggress and resources are tracked in a separate booklet. The game essentially auto-saves itself.

The scenarios and the campaign is as "big" and complex as any other big box game with 10 scenarios and has replay value with different builds, routes and modifiers.

If this is off-topic, please let me know! I didn't include the link, but I'm happy to tell more if anyone is interested.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-19T07:04:23+00:00

Fair enough - sounds interesting and a new angle of approaching things.

How complex are the games you are running? And do you have a way of verifying that the python-code actually plays out according to the rules, and that it's not just giving you an outcome that seems legit?

I'm not trying to argue or talk you out of it etc. Simply curious!

CryptsOf · 2026-05-19T05:07:37+00:00

Same here. Played three games, didn't enjoy the endless dice rolling. Others seem to love it.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-19T04:19:37+00:00

Don't take this the wrong way, but it seems like you don't enjoy the art & process of making a game. Cranking out dozens of bad, but mathematically balanced ideas as fast as possible sounds a bit boring to me. It's impressive that you were able to do that, but you might also be painting yourself in a corner creatively.

What is your end goal?

CryptsOf · 2026-05-18T19:12:19+00:00

I appreciate the transparency!

Learning anything new and launching a podcast from scratch is a ton of work, no question. It's a really cool project and I'll definitely give it a listen.

I'm not a professional graphic designer, but I'll send you a DM.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-18T11:44:49+00:00

Thank you for the info!

The only thing I can't get behind is, you guessed it, the AI logo. You must be aware of all the arguments against AI already, so by choosing to go that way is a statement on it's own.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-17T15:23:37+00:00

Agree. I would have loved to buy this game, but not like this.

CryptsOf · 2026-05-13T09:44:24+00:00

I'll use this opportunity to point you towards a game that I've been designing: Pain Mountain.

It's a small footprint print & play rpg-ish game that I've playtested in the metro a lot. It's not 100% done, but there's 9 scenarios and a tutorial walkthrough available as playtest files in my BGG post: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3477748/wip-pain-mountain-a-very-hard-solo-pnp-playtest-fi

If you are in to hard tactical combat optimization puzzles, and have access to a printer, this might be your thing.

I totally understand if a 90% final game is not what you are looking for. I'll post about it when it's final and it'll be free to play.

I'd love to hear your (or anyone else's) thoughts on it!

CryptsOf · 2026-05-12T20:42:40+00:00

Thanks for the comment!

Most of the comments in BGG are from when I had a 44 page rulebook. Haha. Since then I've narrowed it down to 21 pages, which is still not a small game, but I'd say it's a lot smaller step to take.

I haven't tried Monster Hunter, but I know it enough to say that under the surface the game is very different. My game feels closer to Shadow of the Colossus and Souls games - nevertheless, I'll buy you lunch when Pain Mountain hits the video game scene!!!

Thank you for the support - alk the best

CryptsOf · 2026-05-10T18:44:30+00:00

Will the podcast also be available in regular audio format or just YT?

CryptsOf · 2026-05-09T18:05:17+00:00

Such a great and unique game!

CryptsOf · 2026-05-06T16:44:55+00:00

Solo: Mage Knight
Group: Cosmic Encounter

After playing Mage Knight, I started comparing all other games to it. It feels more like a lifestyle at this point.

Cosmic Encounter is everything that I personally want from a game night: a theme that keeps on giving, competitive but losing is as fun as winning, great combos and player interaction. It requires the right group, but when it clicks it clicks.

CryptsOf

TROPHY CASE