Today we have a little update on our progress - the game is almost done, we need to do detailed layouts for the printers and are waiting for the first samples of our minis! The rule book and scenario books also need to be completed and prettified. But at least we can see the finish line!
Speaking of rules: We worked a lot on the rebel rules in order to make them feel more valuable AND create a greater sense of danger from counter attacks. From now on, any dictator counter attack will take the whole map...so it becomes a veritable loss condition instead of a nuisance.
This also reduces a lot of dice rolling for each sector under attack into just one big roll that you need to make count. Defending against these attacks is done by fielding rebels. You either spend them from your "Rebel Base" or you can man certain sectors with rebels according to the slots each has. Manning a sector means you spend one command action in that sector in order to move your rebel there (and you need to have a rebel available in the first place). Some allies, missions or events may grant you extra defensive capabilities.
Let's split up!
Of course some events will take rebels off the map, meaning you need to go back to sectors to replace rebels there. This serves another purpose: Splitting up the team. In play testing the safest tactic often turned out to be moving into a sector at full force. That is fine, but it also slows down the game with tanking-one-sector-at-a-time tactics. Having to move away in order to replenish rebels is one way of countering that. Another are Mission Locations - Missions can now be found at opposite ends of most maps and as long as they are active can be quite annoying (some missions even feature well known JA NPCs), so you want to get them resolved quickly. Another good way to keep you moving has been General Grundmann, the dictator based on one of our backers. His artillery attack on any recently liberated sector forces teams to be very mobile or be rained with shells. All in all, the game has become more dynamic and mercs need to move around the map much more than in the demo version, forcing you to literally think on your feet.
Moonshiners of the Apocalypse
A friend of ours has just launched a kickstarter with a very unusual game setting and some great artwork. The game has been played and tested for over a year now and is looking really good with a fluent mix of city building, exploration and combat..err...drinking. Check it out at and back it NOW to get into some serious drinking...game. Need more reasons? Take a look at that beautiful game content!
It comes highly recommended from various sites and testers and if (or when?) the Kickstarter succeeds, the creator will join us in Essen for Spiel 2018 with a demo version! So, what are you waiting for? Get over there and back it now and get some free exclusive event cards!
