Inspired by Unmatched: Bruce Lee, I made a “Bruce Lee” fighter and uploaded it to BGG last September.
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/208726/bruce-lee-cage-match
I was thinking Sniper Shot could be comboed with the “upgraded” flamethrower though I don’t know if it would always work that way in a game. But that was the idea.
Flamethrower at 3 spaces would be hard to play if you didn’t combo it with another card. Because the melee opponent (I guess its different if you play it against another shooter, but oh well) can usually just close the distance and hit Jango twice (4 times in 2 v 2). I was thinking the 6 spaces would allow the card to be a viable hit and run card in its own right, and also could be comboed with Sniper Shot for a big attack.
3 copies of that SNIPER SHOT to go with 1 copy of the FLAMETHROWER will result in a pretty weak Zam most of the time. Then you go Separatist’s route of 2 FLAMETHROWERS and 2 FUTJ and drop the WRIST CABLES, and I would go 4 damage and 6 movement on the FTs. Your opponents will have more cards than you much of the time, because you’re spending no action cards, or doing direct damage without forcing them to discard. Could still be fun though and at least a little dangerous.
[…] the decks from the original game tie into the system (IMO). I’d also strongly suggest reading Geektopia page on power level, which has a lot of really good stuff on power levels in Epic […]
Just a conceptual thought since I haven’t had a chance to play this in a really long time, but I’m curious if it would be possible to make Jango’s hit and run game actually work, as opposed to your tweak which makes him a lot like Boba.
I’m just curious conceptually how you think the following tweak might work, compared to yours.
x3 Rocket Retreat- A4 After attacking, move Jango to any open space.
X2 Fire Up the Jet Pack- Move Jango Fett to any open space. Playing this card does not count as an action.
X2 Flamethrower- Move all enemy characters adjacent to Jango Fett up to 6 spaces each. Each affected character receives 3 damage.
x1 Missile Launch- A7 Draw 3 Cards.
Zam Talent Cards
x3 Sniper Shot- A1* Add 1 to the attack value of this card for each open space separating Zam from the target.
X1 Assassination- A7 After attacking, move Zam to any open space.
So I guess the one thing that really stretches the definition of “tweak” is Sniper Shot since that card does something completely different than in the Hasbro version, which combos with Flamethrower or Assassination. I upped flamethrower to 3 damage to keep the DD the same as the Hasbro version despite getting rid of Wrist Cable entirely (a card which is already identical to a Boba Fett card and let’s face it, Hasbro Boba is at least much closer to working than Hasbro Jango.)
Jango still doesn’t have a lot of kill power, but his number of keep away cards is almost doubled to 7. I’m curious if you think that would help him to win enough more games, or if you still think he’d be too weak.
Interesting and I like seeing FUTJ in it twice. If you make FLAMETHROWER really nasty like 3 damage to all adjacent enemies (with less movement like 3) then that might be just enough offense if you also up Zam’s offense. We used to have that effect for Zam’s SNIPER SHOT but it’s not really that good. You’re right ours is a lot like Boba, maybe we should give him a FLAMETHROWER card but then again, he’s the one that we actually see using a dart!
Awesome insightful post. How far are you along with the project of your very own space pirate game? To finally have a game in that genre which eliminates all the flaws you mentioned would be great.
Thanks so much for your interest. If I can pull this off, this will be the greatest thing I’ve ever created with the possible exception of my daughters.
On the one hand, I’m far along. I’ve got a pretty nifty digital prototype at screentop.gg. On the other, there’s still a long way to go. It’s not quite playable just yet beyond the combat system (which I think is quite good).
Here’s the big question I’m currently wrestling with: Do you want to explore the 90-200 stars closest to Sol, basically explore our little tendril of the Milky Way Galaxy? Truth be told there probably isn’t much there in terms of life or technology or it would have found us by now, but it would be steeped in the latest science.
Or, do you want to go through wormholes (possibly natural, possibly alien-made) that will transport you to a far away star system, but one that could potentially hold technologically advanced alien life? This is less science and more science fiction, but if you can accept the wormholes, it opens up all the possibilities of space in a believable way.
I like the concept in general but INSTILL COURAGE is something I would avoid playing as it reduces the number of PERSITANCE attacks you could play. I also don’t get why a 2nd one is considered better by you?
Maybe a big card (maybe an attack) that allows/forces you to reshuffle the discard pile into the draw pile would help? This way you could load up PERSISTANCE for a big attack and than shuffle those attacks back into your draw pile maybe for more smaller attacks…?
Yeah I’d like for INSTILL COURAGE to interact with PERSISTENCE but the current effect probably isn’t the right one. Maybe look at your top 3 cards and if there’s a PERSISTENCE then put it in your hand? Still probably only one of these IC cards, and then he could have another version of NAUTOLEAN INSIGHT or something else entirely. It should probably be pretty weak though, because he’s a sturdy duelist right now, can dish it out and take it.
First, let me say that this is probably my favorite version of any of the Kit Fisto decks you’ve done. I was thinking the same as you about having a second IC, but I think Umondy’s right here. I also like the idea of IC interacting with PERSISTENCE, but I can’t think of anything other than making it a WOOKIEE INSTINCTS (NAUTOLEAN INSTINCTS?), but that sounds redundant when you already have 4 copies of it.
Also, I think another Kit Fisto deck does this, but what do you think of changing CLONE CHARGE to ATTACK OF THE CLONES? (Unless you think that’s too cheesy. :p)
Ha! Well, in deference to the old deck by PD Magnus I’d like to leave it as CLONE CHARGE, a good name itself.
We just need to figure out something for those last 2 card slots. At least one movement card, possibly 2. Like I said, he’s already pretty strong so if the secondary effect is weak it’s fine, I just don’t want “draw a card”.
Looks cool, my concern though would be that as an opponent I would never attack his weak minors, keeping him weak as well. Do I miss something or is this really the big weak spot of the deck?
Just found this page. I’ve been working on a game that looks almost the exact same! I have my prototype of 91 hexes, and a separate mini hex map (although I use mine for a different purpose that you do). I’ll give your game a whirl. If it scratches the itch that made me start designing mine, I’ll just stick with yours 🙂
Hey Phil! Thanks for your interest. Yes, I am working on it. You can see the prototype on screentop.gg. Still has a long way to go, so if you’ve got the ideas, go for it and maybe we’ll publish yours! Or, maybe we can collaborate because there’s so much that needs to be done. The map wasn’t that hard and the ships are looking interesting. Now it’s about giving the different sectors of the galaxy their own unique feel, and about adding some mysteries to be solved as you explore deep space.
Hello. Loved this post. Did you go forward with working on this game? I just found this blog post after having the exact same thoughts, and started working on my own game which is very similar to what you describe here.
But if you’re already in middle of the process, I’ll probably just stop working on mine!
I think Mind Probe and Focused Rage are a bit overpowered.
I will probably change Focused Rage to a Direct Damage card of say 3 from range like a blaster. As for Mind Probe, go from 2 cards to 1 and Force Restrain from 2 to 3.
You know I think it’s probably a good idea to change it to 18 so she matches the other major characters from the original set. With such a fragile minor it’s not like she’ll be too tough to bring down.
This will be a bit of a read, so apologies ahead of time, but this comes from a first-time Kickstarter that (is likely to have) failed to succeed.
TL:DR; Kickstarter is fickle, and marketing, visibility and reach is more important than you might think.
Our first efforts on Kickstarter have resulted in what looks to be a failure to meet the campaign goal. Some of this is undoubtedly down to the nuances of being new to the production of commercial boardgames, but a lot of it is down to visibility. I have spoken to many people (of both successful and unsuccessful Kickstarter campaigns) who have provided an overwhelmingly aligned opinion – going onto Kickstarter without a prebaked audience is almost guaranteed to result in a failure.
That’s not to say this is the case with everyone. Those with the ‘killer product’ are just as much likely to have runaway success as those that are just ‘in the right place at the right time’ (another form of ‘secret sauce’ that eludes many of us).
Marketing is expensive. I ran a multi-week Facebook campaign that yielded a decent ROI on money spent vs. new backers. If all of my backers came from that avenue, I calculated that I would’ve spent about 30% of my budget on marketing to assist in reaching my goal. That’s a decent chunk of your operating profit right there.
My naivete in launching a campaign without much market reach was a mistake. I felt that we had a strong campaign pitch and pretty good graphic design / assets. We were a couple of days late with a playthrough video, but based on the analytics from Kickstarter, only about 46% were willing to watch a 2 minute promo video right to the end. I’m not sure how this compares with other campaigns.
I was happy with the conversion rate of visitors vs. converted backers – this tells me that the campaign does have enough meat on the bones to be viable. But again, the numbers do show that there weren’t enough people from non-KS origins hitting the page. The often given values of ‘50% from Kickstarter’ are pretty accurate, in my opinion, so that effectively validates the proposition that you need to generate 50% of the campaign’s funding from other sources.
These are hard, but valuable lessons to learn by being burned on the first try.
Part of the problem is that if you’re an independent developer, there is no capital to start producing great prototypes for sending out to reviewers and other such mechanisms that seem to be part and parcel of many successful Kickstarters. That’s not to say you can’t start basic and ‘work with what you’ve got’, but in reality – the best campaigns, and those that seem to succeed, seem to have all of these pieces in concert.
This won’t be the first and last time I’ll try. It’s hard to watch something you’ve laboured over for years get lost in the dust of bigger and better things going on, but this industry seems less about being ‘the next big thing’ and more about being visible, even at a low level. Building an audience and cultivating awareness about-a-thing is just as , if not more important than the quality of the actual campaign that promotes it.
Hopefully I can look back on this post one day and see that the application of these lessons allowed me to navigate the murky waters of Kickstarter successfully, so that we can at least have the first title under the belt.
Our key marketing was word of mouth to get to half of our stated goal. The additional marketing that most aided us was MyMiniFactory, Facebook and Board Game Geek, all paid (MMF gets a cut of our KS). The reviews and such, and working with Fen the blogger, helped a little but I think we reach our $10K goal without any of that. They probably helped push us to the 12-13 range, then Kickstarter basically matched our effort.
An important detail I left out of the article was the funding goal. We intentionally set it low enough at $10K to make success more likely. Had we only raised $10K, however, that wouldn’t have funded the entire manufacturing process and we were prepared to spend some from our own pockets.
Our family & friends came through with 5K and that was 50% of our goal, which I think created enough momentum for Kickstarters to jump on board. I don’t think it works if our goal is $25K (the amount we eventually raised) and your friends and family are only getting you 20% of the way there instead of 50%. So one final tip is to set your goal low enough to give you a good chance to succeed. If you have to, get your friends & family to commit so you have a good idea of where you might get on Day 1, set your goal somewhere around double that, then marketing is just gravy that brings in more Kickstarters.
I agree with this. Part of the problem for my campaign, at least, is making the mistake of trying to create the game in its ‘ideal format’. That is, with the component types, cards, spit and polish that you want it to be. I suspect that for many projects that’s just not feasible (who wouldn’t want to upcycle cardboard components for plastic or metal ones?). This is especially true for a first-time campaign, I’ve learned.
Lowering the campaign goal is definitely an essential first step for the next campaign. Simply getting manufacturing and shipping quotes, working out storage and transit costs etc. and then adding contingency on top isn’t really a viable option for reducing costs. Actually trimming back on the scope of production is.
To that end, it makes sense to scale the campaign goal way back, and as you say – looking (where feasible) to contribute non-campaign funds to the actual budget of the project. These are all important lessons in successfully crowdfunding, it seems.
To set that goal, we figured out the minimum viable product we would be ok launching, and I think it’s an important step any Kickstarter, new or otherwise, needs to take. Because we reached $25K we can do everything we really wanted to do, but were prepared to manufacture a more scaled down version with $10K funding. Shoot for the moon but you need your backup plan.
Like I already said. Love the deck. Curious how it plays. The pdf is missing the health chart though and here DROID ARMY is no power combat and has no value I believe that is wrong?
The PDF isn’t ready but should be coming soon. In the meantime I’ve corrected the text on DROID ARMY — thanks. Something that’s bothering me is, Wat is completely reliant on the Super Battle Droids. Without them, he’s got 2 useless cards and no real threat. I like the little direct damage game he has going, but maybe instead of DROID ARMY it needs to be DROID SACRIFICE, A4 + 2 for each Super Battle Droid that has been destroyed.
We’ve run three FlickFleet projects on Kickstarter and they’ve all had a lot of backers come from Kickstarter. Though I wonder at the accuracy of that – it’s in Kickstarter’s interest to show how much they bring to the party, so backers who followed a link in an ad and then clicked the remind me link and back after the reminder email – do they count against the ad or Kickstarter: Reminder email?
I think if your project is successful, you tend to get featured more by KS too, our projects:
1) Funded with 4 hours to spare, 101% funded, KS brought 46%
2) Funded in 3 days, 188% funded, KS brought 56%
3) Funded in 15 mins, 3744% funded, KS brought 67%
So funding early means you get more KS support. We’re going back to Kickstarter again in 3 weeks, so I’ll have more data soon!
Its been awhile since I’ve played/haven’t seen Mandalorian but check the site now and again.
32 hit points does seem ludicrously high. Most sets in SWED don’t have more than 28, and we’re talking all the points being “major characters”, *and* there’s the potential for “wasted damage” (if your killing blow on one of the troopers does more damage than the health a trooper has remaining, it doesn’t transfer to another trooper.)
Even if the deck itself somehow played moderate or weak, it still seems like a heck of a lot of hit points to carve through for no reason, given you said even all four of these guys are no match for a jedi.
I’d probably do 5 or 6 hit points each (6 would best fit the normal distribution of “total hit points” for a deck, while 5 would be accommodating the fact that these guys are all major characters. I could see a case for 7 if you only had to kill 3 of the 4 to win, even then 8 would kinda seem like a lot.
I was actually thinking that I’ll probably go 7, which is still a pretty robust 28 hit points. Unlikely I want to go less than that but we’ll see how 7 plays. I think they should be pretty tough.
I know, the Boost 4 for those cards may be very strong. It is the tweak I’m monitoring the most.
Alternatively I also considered to remove it and add the “DRAW 1 CARD.” text as the last sentence in Arthur’s ability (so he can draw when feinted).
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