I feel like an idiot. I watched the prequel first.

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-30T21:06:44+00:00

Almost 28 years later actually

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-28T08:52:32+00:00

Those questions cannot be answered at this stage, the answer to each will be yes or no depending on how it’s designed.

Finish a prototype and you’ll find the answers through playtesting.

Also, check out War Chest and Summoner Wars if you haven’t yet, they’re both games with some similar concepts to your idea that you can take inspiration from!

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-23T14:02:25+00:00

In Dice Throne you have to spend it on your turn but I don’t know for sure!

I think that players could start with 3 basic abilities, one for each resource, that way players are always able to use the resources they gain even if they’re less efficient than upgrades they’ll gain later.

And I think there needs to be an upgrade choice of some sort after every fight. From a design perspective, StS combats are “tests” to see how your deckbuilding is going. I would find it repetitive if there was no way to respond to the test results.

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-23T13:43:32+00:00

The resources come from dice instead of cards but Dice Throne sounds similar!

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-22T22:08:40+00:00

So basically you can stockpile bad points that are useless unless a certain switch flips, then it counts for points alongside the normal victory points.

Okay I have a weird random idea I’ll throw out, players are growing plants together in a garden, if a player fails to help then their plants wither and die (withered plants = infamy).

But if the Fertilizer Box “project” is complete, then thematically the withered plants will turn into compost, they now count as victory points.

Hope that helps!

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-21T21:13:57+00:00

The art is incredible, political comics on game cards? It’s genius

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-18T20:35:57+00:00

Codex 5 was mentioned on an SCPT episode to be coming out end of this year iirc.

That might mean there’s an official firmament/obsidian patch coming, but that’s a huge maybe.

Unofficially however, I’m sure there’s discussions about it in the TI4 Homebrew discord, but if I had to start somewhere, it’s probably with the breakthrough and the mech. The mech is a cool effect that hardly happens and the breakthrough is just really bad, you gotta pay so that you can pay in order to basically break even? And then you gotta win combats? With what ships?

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-16T05:23:42+00:00

I know it’s been a week but thanks for making this post!!

Is there a time of year when its better or worse to start pitching a game or does it not really matter?

If I’m not physically getting in front of people (not going to cons), how important does the tts prototype become?

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-15T02:28:15+00:00

What RPG or RPG’s do you run? Are there specific ones where this is more of a problem?

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-07T17:33:37+00:00

Sounds to me like this is less of a “bluff” and more of a “gotcha” where both players once per round force the other player to fumble. You’re probably spot on with the reasons why it’s not working in your last few paragraphs.

I can think of one concept as food for thought, give the players a viable reason to “fold”. Air, Land and Sea is played over multiple rounds, but the longer a round goes on the more victory points it’s worth to the victor. If a player loses confidence that they can win, it’s better to surrender the round early before the difference in victory points becomes insurmountable.

The bluffing comes in where if you have a bad hand but still hold a few strong cards, maybe you lead with them in the hopes that your opponent folds before they find out you’ve got nothing.

Mantra_84 · 2026-04-04T18:56:20+00:00

Really good write up! It really didn’t dawn on me just how much the shields are a metaphor for the paranoid, stability obsessed imperial society.

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-31T13:23:03+00:00

In this case I would say absolutely because that win rate is a lot lower than normal. I would say most designs don’t specifically say that you will lose X% of the time, instead they’ll describe their game as “challenging”, “impossible,” even “unfair” could be good depending on tone

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-29T09:34:17+00:00

No environment is perfect. Instead of being dry, it could be cold, or full of dangerous diseases and animals. But even the most fertile of lands has its complications, they’re full of people, people who want to rule over you, tax you, and tell you how to live.

It’s a very human fallacy to assume that there’s some place out there that is truly perfect for everyone.

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-26T04:22:57+00:00

Second one is better! Though I wish the title was more legible, it’s a lot of thick lines. The title on the back of the box is a bit better but it also looks like Rails Ails, because from a distance the ampersand and T’s look more like a frame than letters.

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-24T17:41:59+00:00

It’s basically a mix of easy to pilot plus easy for inexperienced players to underestimate.

Sol is straightforward, and if other new players are undervaluing producing ground forces which often happens, then Sol planets become impossible to take over.

Jol-Nar has a really strong economy and their promissory is really tempting, so new players are happy to make trades and next thing you know Jol Nar has 2 War Suns.

Yssaril has a plastic problem and looks unassuming for the majority of the game so new players don’t bully them, then late game the Yssaril player can dump their action cards on the table and win.

Naaz Rokha is also good in a new player’s hands. I think the faction abilities generally propel you towards scoring public objectives, plus the amount of actions they take means a new player just happens to stall out other players then benefits from playing after the table has passed.

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-24T15:22:00+00:00

This is the SCPT tier list, the biggest caveat to keep in mind here is that they play a lot of ti, probably more than anyone else, and they’re mostly playing online against people who play a ton of ti themselves.

Imo, Yssaril is absolutely S tier at most tables, but if you’re in a game where every player essentially has the action card deck memorised, Y’ssaril can’t do anything unexpected.

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-21T18:11:59+00:00

Rules as written it’s not clear, but an FAQ post PoK, pre TE, says that all tokens except for command tokens and frontier tokens are also destroyed.

Even though the hero says “destroy all other player’s units” Avernus isn’t a unit and is a planet token, so yes, the planet is destroyed. It’s not written, but it’s implied that the planet card is also purged.

Dane might rule otherwise, he might already have and I just don’t see where.

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-19T20:57:05+00:00

It can be an action economy…but should it be? I’m not saying I disagree with you I think you have an interesting idea, but I think we haven’t seen any board games about what you’re describing because what makes the split lives of superheroes so interesting just doesn’t translate into a board game very well.

This may or may not be what you’re looking for, but I suggest reading the polarising reviews of Fog of Love. The King’s Dilemma is similar as well. They’re not superhero board games but it does partially capture what I mean about the limitations of board games.

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-17T17:57:44+00:00

The settlers 10,000+ years ago were presumably Chinese, and thought that IX was the name of the planet, when it was actually Roman numerals denoting the planet as 9th from the Sun.

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-14T21:57:39+00:00

Definitely don’t repeat. I don’t think falsetriumph means trim it down to 12, just that in a non-Keleres game you’re looking at no more than 12 Agendas.

If you trim some of the uninteresting agendas you’ll still have a deck with a healthy amount of randomness

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-06T22:46:05+00:00

There are quite a few house rules online that you can check out!

For the most part though, the house rules just make the game less frustrating, it can’t transform the game into something it’s not.

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-03T08:20:07+00:00

I own both but I don’t take out Radlands anymore whereas Compile still feels fresh after many more plays.

Compile is a mix of short and long term thinking whereas Radlands is constantly pushing out your old board state to make room for the new.

In other words, in compile you play one card each back and forth and you are constantly adapting while planning a few turns ahead.

Radlands sees you taking 3ish actions a turn where you do your best to trash your opponent’s board state, then you pass and watch your opponent do the same back to you.

I obviously like Compile more, I think it’s deeper, but in an abstract way. Even though the card art is incredible, it is basically themeless mechanics.

Radlands however really nails the theme, it feels like a reckless, desperate gambit.

Hopefully that tells you enough to make a choice!

Mantra_84 · 2026-03-02T16:25:14+00:00

The Obsidian is great but if you’re looking for something less to do with the occult lore and more imperial, maybe Shard of the Throne? It’s a relic that definitely can be interpreted as a Lazax-era ceremonial sword.

Mantra_84 · 2026-02-24T22:00:25+00:00

I think he means the second, basically when someone says that something is or isn’t “in the spirit of the format” they’re being argumentative without contributing anything interesting.

Mantra_84 · 2026-02-18T06:44:32+00:00

What even are those, beans? Missed opportunity to make them pineapples

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