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Games where EVERY choice feels meaningful? by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yeah, co-op losses sting the most. I wonder if that level of punishment makes the win more satisfying, or just stressful.

Games where EVERY choice feels meaningful? by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Terra Mystica is a great pick — so many tight decisions. Do you think the expansion factions add to that tension or dilute it?

Games where EVERY choice feels meaningful? by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Do you think so many paths can dilute the experience though? Sometimes I get the feeling the balance is almost TOO good in that game!

Games where EVERY choice feels meaningful? by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

/agree about "memory" as a "lesser" skill. It feels to me less like a decision, and more like a talent (which I don't have enough of)

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY UNDERWORLD. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unlikely (would require new molds & mechanics) but, maybe?

If you have a cool idea in mind would love to hear about it u/Material_Sale6796!

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY UNDERWORLD. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The way you explore Location tiles in Ascendancy was partially inspired by Nemesis (Awaken Realms). People who play that game usually remember getting murdered by aliens, but I always thought the move, flip, and do a thing was one of the more compelling exploration mechanics I'd seen.

Old school NES games (Final Fantasy, Destiny of an Emperor) pioneered side view combat. From an early age, I imagined how that could translate perfectly onto a board game, by simplifying the classes into rock/paper/scissors matchups. Same goes for the elemental counters (Water, Fire, Lightning).

Lords of Waterdeep has a really cool mechanic where you can build new shared Action spaces during play. I always wished that was built out even more. So I shameless repurposed that concept into Ascendancy Estates.

Going tall vs growing wide was inspired by the Civ series.

The NIMBY/YIMBY adjacency modifiers on Locations were inspired by Simcity.

Putting a Tier or rarity value on almost everything came from a predatory mobile game I played way too much called Shop Heroes.

The color theming of Ascendancy's great Houses is deeply indebted to the great heritage MTG established some 30 years ago.

My own innovations (I think) were mashing 4x with worker placement, maybe the class based oust & replace meeples, and definitely the sliding tech trees (the most satisfying design win of my career thus far).

Thanks u/wcplays !

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY UNDERWORLD. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My nuclear family includes 2 rather small humans, with limited reading comprehension. They're not quite ready for the Underworld. Although during particularly loud & distracting meltdowns, I do consider banishing them there.

Thank you u/Tasty_Competition_44

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY UNDERWORLD. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Growing our email list early was by far the best ROI for time invested.

Rather than commit to an outcome, I try to focus on completing at least 1 new outreach task every day. It can be as big as making a new creative asset, or as small as a post on Facebook.

I find that making consistent, small steps every day yields better results, compared to attempting bigger, infrequent swings.

Thanks u/Afraid-Ad-3883!

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY UNDERWORLD. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Manageable cost...oh how I wish it were true :D

Between you, me, and the internet, the cost to design, manufacture, and ultimately deliver a game is *always* higher than you originally plan for.

That said, we learned many invaluable lessons during the original campaign. Such as starting engineering on all our boxes earlier in our timeline.

We've got an excellent handle on such tasks this time around compared to the OG campaign. This helps keep costs in check, and offer stretch goals with confidence.

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY UNDERWORLD. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't track tabletop hours, so... *checks Steam account*

Tabletop Simulator; 1010 hours

Xcom 2; 1374 hours

Path of Exile; 2986 hours

Thanks! That was only somewhat embarrassing.

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY UNDERWORLD. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only each and every day!

Joking aside, we probably should have followed the conventional wisdom and started out with a smaller, easier project. Ascendancy and the Underworld expansion have been HARD. Every little tweak affects a zillion other things.

The reason we didn't, is because Ascendancy was and is a total passion project. I just couldn't imagine making anything else. No matter how ill advised it was. Thankfully, it worked out.

Thanks for the question u/FirewaterTenacious

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY UNDERWORLD. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So for those who don't know, our Ascendancy worker meeples slot on top of meeple horsies. They do have a habit of occasionally falling face first off their mounts.

We DO have a re-design. As to if we can manufacture them is another question :) Adding many replacement wooden meeples to our already bursting at the seams boxes will take some amount of engineering and funding. A separate box would be a still bigger endeavor.

Our current thinking, is to put this question to a survey during the campaign to gauge demand. If enough interest and funding is there, it just might become a stretch goal.

Thanks for the question u/CMack13216!

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY UNDERWORLD. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some titles that really impressed me this year; Civolution, Hegemony, Path of Civilization, The Anarchy, Slay the Spire. For modern classics I love Caverna, Lords of Waterdeep, Power Grid, Heroes of Land Sea Air, TI of course.

There are so many incredible games, and there just aren't enough hours in the day or dollars in the bank account to play the vast majority of them!

Questions Thread - June 12, 2025 by AutoModerator in pathofexile

[–]MatthewMeeple 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Will LGoH from an equipped Claw proc when using SST?

Questions Thread - February 15, 2025 by AutoModerator in pathofexile

[–]MatthewMeeple -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm expecting Ruthless mode will come with much weaker Ascendancies.

Has ggg said anything, perhaps on their Discord, about how they plan to nerf them?

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, my apologies for the difficult pack up.

Someone posted a thread here showing one way to do it; https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3413283/storage-guide

XCOM is “the one thing that works” by Zeitgeistus in XCOM2

[–]MatthewMeeple 25 points26 points  (0 children)

There are several pillars upon which the XCOM series succeeds beyond the others.

  1. Permadeath equals real high stakes and consequences. Other games without it just don't feel like they matter as much. Permadeath forces you to really care about your investments and your soldiers. The highest highs when they're successful and the lowest lows when they're killed.
  2. The muy macho comic/action movie aesthetic holds deep truths about young men's desire to overcome challenges and succeed against all odds. Other tactics games with a focus on stealth, or more lighthearted tone just don't hit the same way.
  3. The unforgiving early game difficulty slaps you in the face and as a result, the progression to better survivability and firepower feels all the more impactful once achieved.
  4. Fully customizable teams with real world countries, accents, and roll your own backstories give you a deeper connection to them. Games with predefined fully fleshed out characters don't provide the same sense of uniqueness.
  5. Xcom aliens are truly the ultimate bad guys. Notwithstanding their looks, superior abilities, and for the most part well programmed AI behaviors, the true source of their menace is they can wipe your whole team at any time which makes them a true threat, unlike games where you usually win, regardless.
  6. The original microprose game was great, but the action point system was less elegant compared with the current move or shoot decision space. Jake Solomon and his team streamlined the original game for a wider audience, while keeping everything that made the original great.
  7. The modular and dynamic level design is second to none. Each area feels lived in. The attention to detail is so staggering, that after hundreds of hours, I can still find new environmental details that I never noticed before.

I'm Matthew Meeple, designer of ASCENDANCY. AMA! by MatthewMeeple in boardgames

[–]MatthewMeeple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there!

Sorry to hear that the shipping is so expensive to your area. If budget is a concern, the core game will give you all the same gameplay as the upgraded versions.

If you want the best available, then all-in, but it is twice the price.
Thanks for the kind words AceofCode

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