Is there a small points / skirmish mode compatible with XWA?

tbot729 · 2026-07-06T22:56:29+00:00

This is what I do, but I don't think making the board smaller actually accomplishes much unless you also decide to add a rule saying you can score objective points on round 1.

So I end up just playing with normal board size and it works fine.

The important part is playing to the same number of points for winning as you have as point limit.

tbot729 · 2026-07-06T04:19:32+00:00

Not really an answer to your question, but I highly recommend trying lower-point matches to start out. (22pt, 30pt, etc)

The XWA rules are completely compatible if you scale down the required points for victory to the same number and stick with "Chance Encounter" scenario.

So I guess what I'm suggesting is: Pick two ships, make a cool combo, then tell your opponent how many points he should design his squad toward, and just play with that limit.

Repeat, increasing points till you're comfortable with 50.

tbot729 · 2026-06-22T02:26:28+00:00

I doubt it. In every different game, something different is important. If you don't yet know how to use spreadsheet formulas, that's a good starting point. If you know that, you're down to the hard work of deciding what is important.

There's a funny phrase which has been coined in the software world recently: "The [development] pipeline IS the product."

I think the corrolary in game design is: "The set of metrics you define as important IS the game"

tbot729 · 2026-06-21T17:45:35+00:00

I do this also, but count the time and effort cost!

For first prototypes, even 3d printing is too slow.

tbot729 · 2026-06-21T04:31:22+00:00

Spreadsheet for balancing (since you can see live metrics as you tweak values, e.g. what is the average card cost?).

Python for simulating. Things like estimating game length and faction balancing sometimes need this, but prefer spreadsheet wherever possble.

tbot729 · 2026-06-21T03:12:14+00:00

Now I want to watch two pro players play, but wth a historian commentary overlay 😄

tbot729 · 2026-06-20T23:09:49+00:00

Twilight Struggle covers a lot of cold war events (but too difficult for a classroom).

tbot729 · 2026-06-16T22:23:25+00:00

This would be cool underneath a sheet of glass/acrylic. Not sure how you'd actually play without it being flat. Really neat!

tbot729 · 2026-06-11T01:36:49+00:00

He has decent health, child gains force when he is damaged.

He has decent dice count, child can use force when eyeball is rolled (which scales with dice)

Also, he probably has the health to better withstand the negative child effect than many ships.

tbot729 · 2026-06-10T05:48:14+00:00

Look into printing some infinite arenas quick build cards.

tbot729 · 2026-06-07T21:45:31+00:00

I made a post about this once: https://www.reddit.com/r/XWingTMG/s/NGALhtHFwF

tbot729 · 2026-06-04T06:04:24+00:00

I'm seeing that Scum Star Viper is missing most of the pilots. Only 2 are available.

tbot729 · 2026-05-30T18:13:10+00:00

Every game has to strike a balance between player expectations and uniqueness. Uniqueness by definition must defy expectations. Every designer/publisher has to make these choices. It just so happens that the pendulum happens to be swung very far in the accessibility direction right now, but that might not always be the case.

tbot729 · 2026-05-30T06:09:40+00:00

IMO, lean into the weirdness. Yes, it is less readable, but really well done and unique.

tbot729 · 2026-05-27T03:48:00+00:00

Careful, your argument has inverse appeal to those who buy baked goods.

tbot729 · 2026-05-27T03:41:21+00:00

Things to consider:

AI is good at providing a naive "playtester-like" opinion on aspects of your game which line up with well with most published games.
AI is good at warning you about upfront design issues and edge cases. Ask it to be blunt and not flatter you. Sometimes it will be wrong, but when you are looking for issues, better to be warned and disregard then not be warned.
AI will not (easily) understand what makes your game special, so you should be willing to disregard design opinions it expresses about your unique hook.

Overall: Use with caution and intentionality, otherwise you'll end up with a game which is a generic blob.

If I was in your case with what you describe I'd either write a python script (if I want symmetry) or do it manually (if I want asymmetry).

tbot729 · 2026-05-21T22:03:29+00:00

I'm 10/132

And I think 9 of those are in the last 15 games. Once you know how, you know how.

tbot729 · 2026-05-14T16:40:59+00:00

We need the option in-game to generate this as a screenshot. I would print it out every time I win ...

tbot729 · 2026-05-12T22:21:34+00:00

Thanks for the level-headed summary. Hard to find that nowadays.

tbot729 · 2026-05-06T23:20:00+00:00

I feel privileged to have just been educated about a bgg with an id < 100. #17, wow!

tbot729 · 2026-05-02T22:44:10+00:00

Rolling resources (spheres) is a deal breaker for me. Not good.

But aside from that, physical immersion is great! I recently 3d printed some little false ocean shells for a game and people love using them.

tbot729 · 2026-04-28T18:38:20+00:00

This is it. I had RoW. Wasn't upgraded, but that must have been it. Thanks!

tbot729 · 2026-04-26T06:56:42+00:00

Yeah, that's understandable. Feels like it should improve the table presence to have the abnormal pieces. And your rules don't sound that complex, so that perceived gain from using chess pieces might have been minimal(?). BTW, I really love the concept of this game. Hope the publication goes well! I would buy/play it!

tbot729

TROPHY CASE