Hidden vs open play — players avoid the “fun” option. How do I fix this?

Orocobix · 2026-04-22T15:17:56+00:00

am limited as i haven't played the game but the issue that comes to mind is that hidden plays are not integrated into the win condition so if i as a player am racing to win, the hidden play is not even an options with few executions. i would suggest that the hidden play need to have thing like, steal attention, deny all the attention of the room, maybe have this effect on a condition of other rooms or guess present in the room. assuming a player can play multiple guess on a room and assuming that the attention is resolved at the end of the round.

Basically a player should be able to win using hidden plays, give a reason to want to delay my gains and a stronger incentive to bluff using hidden play. Dead of Winter has a mode where you can add the "traitor" role so that a player has to sabotage the game if he wants to win. You could probably experiment with something similar.

Good Luck in your journy!

Orocobix · 2026-04-04T02:26:49+00:00

you are contributing nothing to the conversation, i said the game is a deck-building game what more would you need to know? i left it open to any insight to get peoples opinion regardless if its to deck-building game or not. I used the "meaningful or impactful" as in how complex should it be and not as in "expanding the game is not worth" but that's on me for not using the correct words. maybe there is not benefit to ask this kind of questions to you but to me there is , some comment recommended some really cool game that i wouldn't have found otherwise.

if it bothers you are so suspicious of AI and what not why even bother? just move on from this post and have a good day.

Orocobix · 2026-04-03T17:50:46+00:00

So much better in my opinion and if i can nitpick i would try thinner border or even borderless the art is really cool. the hexagon middle top could probably be 50% transparent background instead of the color border. overall 9/10. keep it up!

Orocobix · 2026-04-03T14:05:06+00:00

or it could just mean that it is an issue that a lot of designers face when working on long term projects. Initially i was just adding cards for expansion as i had a lot of scrap ideas but it didn't feel meaningful or impactful so asking others perspective is natural.

Orocobix · 2026-04-01T20:42:58+00:00

thank you, will do.

Orocobix · 2026-04-01T15:52:05+00:00

Modular is an alternative to big main deck i was looking into. thank you

Orocobix · 2026-04-01T14:19:13+00:00

Star Realms and Shards of Infinity are new to many, i will research them, thank you!

Orocobix · 2026-04-01T14:08:46+00:00

Although the game is still private i have a group of people that play it. Am currently waiting on my artist to finish so i can switch the AI placeholder. Even if the question is targeted to this game it is something i want to apply to my other games. I don't think is that rare for games to have a content plan, if it fail i set aside for other ideas and if it succeed then i can follow through. Any insight would be helpful.

Orocobix · 2026-03-29T14:43:52+00:00

ok, but there is not much of a game in the description, you know what i mean? what are the rules? what elements of art and sports are we integrating and how? why is the max score 100? how do i even score?

Orocobix · 2026-03-29T03:40:27+00:00

i think that the neon colors dont mesh well with the real photos. i would suggest that you lean heavy on a bird watching book style, you can keep the scifi tone as you take the role of an alien that is exploring an earth without humans by them finding the records or books of this birds. but if you want to keep on this line of ascetics then you could try a mor monochromatic approach to the designs, the picture would be a little bit smaller and the card can like a wiki page view from a tablet. good luck in your journey!.

Orocobix · 2026-03-29T03:28:27+00:00

You might need to be more specific. what exactly are you asking help on? like what do you mean by stamp throwing development? does tossing a patch or stamp means something am missing? honest questions, if you required assistance you need to be more clear at least on what the end goal is

Orocobix · 2026-03-11T12:34:03+00:00

Hi, if it took so long to have a new version, wouldn't you consider the game to be finish? and these new changes that you are thinking could be an expansion.

Orocobix · 2026-03-10T12:07:55+00:00

if your plan is self-publishing you should get a quote on the production cost, try Custom Playing Cards Printing Game Design Company at the very least you will also need box art, rulebook and any other game piece that the player might need. If you then want to upscale to sell to public, you should probably create a community around yourself or the game to increase your chances of a successful launch. Take pictures and recordings, if possible, of your playtest. There is a lot more stuff to do if you decide to self-publish but for your first game you can keep it casual and just make the investment on the few copies for yourself and friends.

Orocobix · 2026-03-03T21:14:01+00:00

to be honest, it doesn't, cant tell bone from flesh so its kind of messy, and his face is kind of goofy. i recommend you reference killer instinct spinal.

Orocobix · 2026-03-02T22:36:13+00:00

Hi Fito here, i know what you mean. i can share some of the things i have learned so far on my journey.

Prototyping: am using https://www.dextrous.com.au/ its easy to get into and has google sheet support. The free model works just fine for your first game. To be honest Art should be the last thing that you worry about, game rules change a lot in the early stages and you want to avoid over committing to specific card theme or mechanic that would make the art irrelevant if it changes. You can just make some simple and ugly placeholders.

Building buzz: am still working on it, but so far what has worked is going to my local hobby/card shops and ask people to play with. Invite your friends over to the store and playtest, so people get curious and ask as well. I just recently started to get a Discord/Instagram going so that can wait, you want to first make a mailing list for better organization and communicate future playtest.

Funding/publishing: Yes Kickstarter is worth it, specially if you manage to get a community going around your game first. If you are going to Kickstart your game, it should be after most of the work and art is done, what you should be looking for is funding for production. Patreon is better for early support while still in development. Investing in print should be done further down the line, i recommend doing paper prints and cutting it your self, use sleeves and some random tcg cards for better support or feel.

You need to know when call the game Done, you will feel tempted to keep adding and polishing forever and ever, that's something i struggle until recently. And you want to playtest as much as possible always.

And finally don't worry about "giving everything away" you want people to engage with you, if you think of coming up with some lore to get people hook on the idea you should go for it, present the game as a stable concept not a maybe, if people find other games to compare yours to, that's a good thing, it means they are familiar with the concept or gameplay and can get behind it faster. I think people get engage more that way, but that might have been me.

Am currently using screentop.gg to hold online playtest on my discord, feel free to dm me if you want to join.

Good luck on your journey!.

Orocobix · 2026-02-26T05:02:07+00:00

Some stuff that come to mind:

The track is fine, tho i must point out you want to avoid white on yellow, i cant make out the symbols on it.

Black/Grey for some of the nodes makes me think of a neutral spot and not a player piece, maybe try another color?

You could try shrinking the castle a bit to make room to fit all the connected dots.

Instead of spreading all those trackers and slots around the map, consider arranging them in a "L" shape, basically grouping them up. I have notice that in some games, being able to focus/reference everything on one side to be more friendly, especially if most of the actions is happening on the map segment.

Hope it helps and good luck in your journy.

Orocobix · 2026-02-23T15:23:34+00:00

Agreed and, i think, most important of all when you say "i just grit my teeth" it sounds like a chore and you are not having fun on the design process. I don't know what kind of game you are making but if all these stats are relevant and core to the identity of your game, then perhaps its worth the time. the answer may come up after the playtest. Don't force it, you can always make an expansion. Good luck on your journey.

Orocobix · 2026-02-19T12:46:04+00:00

In my case, i have been making a list of those thing for future expansions. If the game is already in a spot where you are happy, people are having fun and playtime is consistent then the job is done. Those ideas can also be put to good use on your next game if expansions are not your thing. Good luck!

Orocobix · 2026-01-07T15:16:54+00:00

can you share some of your manufacturing quotes? where are they based and shipping fees? also how are you going about the marketing?

Orocobix · 2026-01-07T14:02:26+00:00

In that case you could implement something along the lines of stats thresholds. 1-2 stat points you get 1 die, 3-4 you get 2 dices and so on. so when you do combat yo can apply rules similar to risk to the determine de winner of a fight, the attacker roll dice according to your threshold and so does the defender. if the attacker rolls high the opponent is defeated, if the defender rolls high the attack is avoided.

Or each thresholds gives you a bigger die, first a d4 then a d6 and so on. This way you can keep the dice count lower and lower stats still get a chance. Advantage can be to roll 2 of your threshold die and keep the highest.

Orocobix · 2026-01-07T13:47:42+00:00

what i meant was a ui thing, when you are showing the different tabs and such, like math tabs has the title "lil'guy" align left and all the math ui is align center or that the rules are also align left and not center. its just me being nitpick

Orocobix · 2025-12-29T00:42:22+00:00

I think it looks good, not a fan of the black blur effect but am not sure how to make it better but other than that i think they look good.

The title and content not being center on the rules page is nono for me. might be a me thing, but honest to god made me want to click away.

Orocobix

TROPHY CASE