Emperor Mode - Expansion For Skilled Gamers

Hello Gamers,

Its been a while since our last update. After releasing the beginner mode of the game that targeted casual gamers, we are now working on a new expansion that will cater for skilled hardcore strategy gamers. Our working title for this expansion is “Conqueror: Emperor Mode” Here is a sneak peak:

Emperor Mode will introduce a number of new game mechanics that will increase the strategic complexity of play while adhering to the historical accuracy of that era. There are over 30 additions to the game that can be categorized into 5 main themes

1. Making factions more distinct: Currently, a faction’s uniqueness is tied to their starting position, their specific bonus missions, and the heroes they have at their disposal. We have made 2 main additions to make factions more distinct while also enhancing the overall gameplay:

a. Every faction will now have a specific ability. This will provide factions with unique strategies that complement their strengths

b. Each faction can recruit a unique ELITE unit that is specific to its faction. These Elite units will have higher battle strengths than their traditional counterparts. In addition, some will have special abilities that will give their armies an advantage during specific battles.

2. Upgrading Battle Mechanics: As Emperor Mode is targeting skilled gamers, we believe its important to add more complexity to battle mechanics so they may better resemble the wars of that era. The most prominent changes are:

a. First, players can now attack a territory using 2 adjacent armies. Similarly, defenders of an attack can reinforce the attacked territory with one of their adjacent armies. This is one of the rules we are most excited about because it has completely changed how Conqueror is played

b. Second, players can now place a large fort under siege rather than attacking the enemy’s fortified army directly. This mechanic will make it even more difficult for players to concentrate their forces in any one territory and will provide attackers with more tools to breakdown a stubborn defense.

c. Third, victorious armies are more likely to suffer casualties. This will make Emperor Mode more realistic and will raise interesting options for attackers rampaging through enemy territories.

3. Building on Table-talk. One of Conqueror’s strongest features is the “table-talk” aspect of the game. Much of the fun derived from the game is the interactions between the players. We think this is the perfect opportunity to build on this strength by introducing a number of new player interaction mechanics:

a. First, players can now intervene in a battle between 2 other players. This can be done when a third player either reinforces the attacker or the defender in a battle with one of his/her adjacent armies. This allows for better collaboration between players, and off course, better betrayals!

b. Second, players can now transfer currency to another player, either to support them or in return for a promise or a commitment (that can be kept if a player chooses).

c. Third, during specific rounds of the game, players can officially form an alliance with another with a maximum of one alliance per player. Alliances provide many benefits but incur heavy penalties if they are broken.

4. Beefing up Catchup Mechanics: Though Conqueror: Final Conquest has catchup mechanics built in within the game, we thought we could beef this up further:

a. First, we are introducing a “Rally” mechanism. This will allow in-trouble players to establish a temporary capital that provides them with resources and recruitment capabilities

b. Second, there are a number of cards that can help distressed players during the game

5. Cleaning up the game: We have received valuable feedback on how to improve the overall aesthetics and gameplay. A couple of important updates to highlight:

a. Though the bribing mechanism is unique to Conqueror and helps players complete any game in 1-2 hours, we know skilled gamers like to ponder and analyze before making a move. We are removing this mechanism from the Emperor mode and replacing it with a 10 round game limit. This means the game will end at the end of the 10th round.

b. Adding a round-limit to the game will necessitate the introduction of additional victory conditions. This will be based on a bonus point system that provides players with bonus points for each capital and fort they control at the end of the game.

c. We are introducing new player mats that will help players track their resources and units in a more efficient way. The player mats will also include faction and elite unit descriptions (these will be printed in the expansion rather than posted online).

d. We also hope to add more examples in our rule book to ensure the clarity of the manual.

4 Ways to Simplify The Game

Hello Everyone,

Its been a week since my last update; I’ve been using this time to simplify my game in order to create a “beginner game mode” version of Conqueror that can target casual gamers. Simplifying your game is often the most difficult task for a game designer. Here are a few tips that I hope you find helpful!

1. Don’t add any rules or exceptions to the rules. There are no exceptions to this rule

2. Find out what confuses people about your current game and strip it out. If you have played or playtested your game enough, you probably know the common mistakes or things that take people more time to learn. In Conqueror Final Conquest, these were:

a. Defensive bonuses

b. Independent armies

c. Food supply

d. Ability to attack twice in one round if your first attack was successful

e. Chronicle cards

3. Maintain what is unique about the game. In my case, the bribery mechanism is unique and shouldn’t be stripped away even if it adds some complexity to the game

4. Reduce setup time: The less components to place on a board, the better. In my case, removing independent armies reduces set up time by a goo 30sec to 1min.

My next task is to playtest these new rules and figure out if the game would still work and would still be enjoyable. Do you think I missed something? Would you be willing to playtest the game (keeping in mind it targets casual gamers)

M.Q

What Conqueror's Expansion Is About

In this edition, I wanted to highlight what makes the planned expansion of Conqueror Final Conquest so unique. In a nutshell, the expansion aims to embed 6 different games within the same game. Thus, when someone purchases the game, they will be purchasing 6 awesome strategy games all at once for the price of one game. The 6 games are:

1. Multiplayer game that can be played with 3 difficulties: Beginner, Default, and Advanced Mode

2. 2 player “scenario” games. Players can re-enact 5 or more historic wars between nations such including the Punic wars, Gallic wars, and Alexander’s conquest of Persia.

3. Cooperative 2 player game (more on that in later blogs)

4. Single player game

This is obviously going to be difficult to create. What makes it even more challenging is this isn’t a brand-new game that I am starting from scratch; the expansion must build on the existing board/map, cards and meeples that exist in the base game so I will be limited with what I can do.

I am starting off by creating the beginner version of Conqueror. This will require simplifying the exiting game so that ANYONE aged 8 or more can learn how to play it in under 5 min. This is perhaps the most important version of the game as it will help target the mass market and perhaps the most difficult.

Has anyone worked on an expansion that significantly simplified a previously published game? What do you think is the best way to approach this? Would love to hear your thoughts