Protecting your critters
Strategies for holding on to the little guys
There’s no denying it, Volcanique can be quite the ruthless game. There are several ways a player can protect their critters through general strategy and by unlocking specific Volcanic Powers.
Continue reading...Through the cracks
How an overpowered power snuck on through
Volcanic Migration was removed from the basic gameplay abilities and turn structure in moderately early development of Volcanique. I readded it at some point as an unlockable power in the L3-4 range.
Turns out that I’d forgotten the fundamentals of why I removed this power in the first place - it’s far too powerful in its current state (migrate away from a Volcano for 1 x resource) and essentially just annoying to play against.
This was particularly evident when it was a middle row L3 power, which the last playtest encountered, meaning that everyone can escape every volcano for a very minimal fee. The game stalled and the tiles were all but exhausted. It’s not a meaningful decision, the player will almost always pay the resources to keep their critter.
Continue reading...Power prolificacy
How to assign vps to each caldera power
Here’s the thought. For the Caldera deck (hidden one-off powers and secret points for 1 x each resource).
They need to be worth slightly more than 2VP per card as sing the powers generally will gain you minimum +2 (or at least + 1 to you, -1 to the opposition). Multiplayer that is tricky, as -1 to one opposition is also seen as +1 to other unaffected players.
High-stakes bell curve
- 0 Points: 2 cards
- 1 Point: 4 cards
- 2 Points: 6 cards
- 3 Points: 4 cards
- 4 Points: 2 cards
= 36 total, 2vp average across 18 cards
Continue reading...Print ready rulebook
Directly from this website?
I defaulted to A4 pages, as at least here in Australia, it is by far the most common paper size.
The concept is pretty simple - hide all of the irrelevant things, make a few extra things show, then make it look good. In practice it’s…honestly not too bad.
Continue reading...Hidden power, crouching victory point
One off power mechanic
First draft
Take the remaining volcanic power cards and shuffle them, set aside as a facedown deck near the supply pile - this is known as the Caldera deck.
During your Buy and stack a tile step, you may additionally Appease the Spirits. To do this, spend 1 of each resource to purchase the top power from the Caldera deck to your hand, keep any gained power cards hidden.
Powers with a [Y] icon may be used at any time during your turn, powers with a [X] icon cannot be played and are only worth points at the end of the game.
Continue reading...In defense of Uno tile, two words - land bridge
I like that this is an option, coupled with herding critters did wonders for Blue in one game recently. So my current thoughts are yes, but make them super limited in terms of count (drop from 12 to 6). The rarity matches the rarity of their use, but also helps justify the cost.
Continue reading...Lore
A world for Volcanique
In Volcanique, you play as a clan of fervid critters who follow their ancient spirit’s dreams, desperately trying to outmanoeuvre the other critters that crawl across the limited lands in an attempt to be the first to resurrect your creator-spirit. Trigger volcanoes to gain passive powers, sacrifice critters to summon new islands and pay resource tributes to unlock secret points and powers.
Hundreds of millions of years ago, when the Australian continent pulsed with molten fire, the Earth gave birth to ancient spirits.
They sculpted life not with gentle hands, but with eruptions that split mountains into rivers of lava. Their creations were small, flame-tempered critters that thrived around the inferno. But when the seas rose to drown the land, the spirits spent their last embers shielding their favoured critters up onto tiny islands, before sinking into the asthenosphere to dream.
Now, their slumber is restless.
Continue reading...Silence
Then suddenly, finally a few big ideas
Some serious questions I’ve been putting off. 7 resource max from the get go. This speeds up the game to the ‘fun bit’ once players work out they can potentially activate a volcano in turn 2 with the correct moves. But can also save for an easier ‘double retaliation’ with volcanic soil planning.
Should I keep the uno tiles. Or just drop their total amount even further.
Is diversified biomes just a bonus to the player who is already almost certainly in front making the scores seem less realistic of the game that played out? Is rotating the tile under the volcano too complex - I am leaning towards yes and to turn it into a power only.
Continue reading...Making a bot
For full blown, playtesting analysis
Well. This has got out of hand. I’m having…fun? …maybe?
Continue reading...