Ted Torgerson
United States
Chicago
Illinois
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Hi guys,
Just thought I'd give you an update on the re-design of Free at Last. A lot of the original game (leaders, units, map, and CRT) will remain the same. I'm going to highlight some of the changes we are making to give an old school cdg a fresh coat of paint.
1. The Deck: We are moving to a single deck for the strategy cards. The cards will be split into a 1950s deck and a 1960s deck. The game will have a 1950s scenario, a 1960s scenario, and a campaign game which will use both decks (the 1960s cards all shuffled into the remaining draw pile after the 1959 turn). Each player draws 8 cards per turn, and there are 6 Action Rounds per turn. There is also an election every even numbered year, so we are talking a minimum of 42 cards played the first 3 years. The deck has some strong event/low Ops Response cards, so we are at 44 cards in the 1950s deck right now with a reshuffle during 1957 and 1959 (all cards dealt at least twice).
2. The Cards: Our focus is trying to balance the replayability with plausible history.
a. We are dropping the Leader placement cards and replacing them with events for the various organizations (NAACP, SCLC and SNCC) that will permit a leader draw. These cards remain in the deck, and there will be a random draw of 1 leader from all remaining leaders at the start of each year so gradually the Civil Rights Movement will get all its leaders on the Map. We are adding some unnamed "minor leaders" which can be placed in any state to give the Civil Rights player some more options. The segregationist leaders all begin on the map except Wallace and Barnett who have their own events.
b. We are borrowing Mandatory Events from Here I Stand for certain events that we want to trigger the first time they are dealt. King Takes Command, Wallace, and a few others. These cards cannot be held and are worth 2 Ops with the event occuring automatically.
c. We are using a new type of Event card, I think, which we are calling an Expiring Event. An Expiring Event has two asterisks (**) and is removed from the deck when played by the player that could have used the Event, even when it is played for Ops. In other words "use it or lose it." This gives Free at Last a little different feel than fast cycling cdgs where players try to cull the deck of opponent events or play their own events for Ops. It moves to focus from deck management more to hand management. The players need to decide how they can play their cards to maximize the benefit of their Expiring Events. It also keeps the historical narrative moving, so the Civil Rights player is not pushing his Freedom Track Events into the late game when he has the political climate on his side.
(Prototype graphics only.)
Expiring Events, unlike Mandatory Events, can be held from turn to turn if there is another card to play. This allows the Civil Rights player to get a shot at the event in case it is dealt repeatedly to the other player, instead of making the events unplayable after a certain year. It seems to strike a nice balance between replayability and plausibility.
d. The Events on the cards will lead to somewhat asymetrical styles of play. The Segregationist has more events that frustrate the Civil Rights player's actions. For instance, Leader Arrested, Church Bombed, Leader Assaulted all cancel or limit activation of a Civil Rights Leader. Filibuster prevents a Civil Rights player Event for an Action Round, perhaps allowing the Segregationist to reinforce his defenses in a City.
(Prototype graphics only.)
3. The Political Climate: We've broadened the possible political climate modifier so that it can be anywhere between -3 and +3. Certain events affect the Political Climate (Brown v. Board, All Deliberate Speed). The players can also affect the poltical climate through the elections mechanic, which we are making every 2 years to cover off year elections and because the poltical climate also reflects more than presidential campaigns. The Segregationist has an advantage in the early elections which changes to favor the Civil Rights player later in the game. The players have some election specific events (The Southern Manifesto, Harry Byrd) and can also move up an election by event (Six Seconds in Dallas). The modifier for Voting Rights and Accomodations will be -3 during the 1950s, which makes the 1950s scenario focus mostly on school desegregation, as it did historically, with a few challenges to segregated city buses including the Montgomery Improvement Association Event.
4. Artwork: We are excited to be working with Josh Cappell to redesign the graphics for Free at Last. Apparently my renditions of Gomer Pyle, Goober Pyle and Barney Fife for the PnP counters can, somehow, be improved upon.
5. We are still looking for a VASSAL module designer to update the Free at Last VASSAL module.
6. We need playtesters. Please consider joining us. I am in the VASSAL Free at Last room nightly.
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wendigo song
United States
Delaware
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Ted, the only thing I would ask is that for President we be provided with some alternate history presidential candidates like Nelson Rockefeller, Bobby Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and the like each of wihich would have a different effect on gameplay. That way it wouldn't be so tempting for a player playing a segregationist to just abandon an area to keep the other player from scoring points.
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Ted Torgerson
United States
Chicago
Illinois
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Quote: Ted, the only thing I would ask is that for President we be provided with some alternate history presidential candidates like Nelson Rockefeller, Bobby Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and the like each of wihich would have a different effect on gameplay. That way it wouldn't be so tempting for a player playing a segregationist to just abandon an area to keep the other player from scoring points.
Well the political climate is going to start at a -3 modifier for all three types of protests. The first Event of the game Brown v. Board of Education moves the political climate for School integration protests from -3 to 0. Then each player has an event (Thurgood Marshall* and All Deliberate Speed*) to move it 1 space in either direction. The elections work the same as in the original game except there are no candidates, only a modifier based on the year. In 1956 the S player gets a +3, in 1958 a +1 in 1960 a 0, in 1962 a -1 and 1964 a -3. This is added to the Ops value of the card played and the die roll to determine the winner. The early elections only permit the election winner to move the political climate for School integration protests. The 1960s elections give the election winner the ability to adjust the political climate for all three types of protest. For the 1964 election the markers move 2 spaces, so the election becomes more powerful later.
As far as the S player abandoning Cities, I believe I misunderstood a rules question and gave the wrong answer. If there are no units defending in a City the CR player can still make a protest and place a Freedom Marker, so there should not really be a disincentive to defend. There may be a strategic advantage to consolidating a weak position, but just abandoning a City does not prevent the Civil Rights player from scoring points.
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Posted Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:14 pm
