Cactus Game Design Message Boards

RTS thats the exact opposite of California style lol... Its supposed to be.... This is my bad visual text representation of California Style

(Left Side)   (Middle)   (Right Side)   (Set Aside)
Evil              Deck        Good             Redeemed Souls
LoB             Discard                          Arts
                                                        Forts

Just think of it this way: California is evil, Arizona's where we get stuff and send stuff to Ken, Minnesota's good, and the East coast is set-aside. That work? 

Until we get an official way of formatting the territory (like, not just in the rulebook, but actually an enforced way), I really don't like the idea of placing identifications on where each pile goes. Everybody plays differently and it would hurt sales to make it only one way.

That said, I'm not that interested in a playmat anyway.

Until we get an official way of formatting the territory (like, not just in the rulebook, but actually an enforced way), I really don't like the idea of placing identifications on where each pile goes.

This is why we adjusted the transparency levels on our mat to very high. For one, most people are either already experienced enough to know where the zones are and don't need to be babysat, or prefer to setup their card zones the way they choose. Two, it allows more of the awesome artwork to show through.

Quote from: Master KChief on August 22, 2013, 08:39:22 PM

Nationals 2014 Top Cut playmats? Yes please.

The AoC artwork has a nostalgiac touch...pretty awesome artwork, and what more of a fitting way to make the first Top Cut mat feature the same artwork of the very first Nationals promo.

That's a gorgeous looking mat. I wonder if the Top 8 from this years Nats would have liked that as a prize for topping?

Not a big deal, but it seems like that says "Top Nationals" and "Cut Aug 2014".  I think it would be more clear to have "Nationals" be in big letters on the bottom left, and then "Top Cut" over "T1-2p 2014" on the other side of the Redemption logo.

As for having a standardized layout, my guess is that if you did these for a few years, you would end up having a standardized layout without having to make any rules about it.  The top players would start to play using the layout on their mat, and then all the other players would start to play the same way because they would be copying the best players.

My personal layout is:

Rescued Souls        Artifact Pile       Good Fortress        Good Characters
(sideways)

Discard     Deck      Evil Fortress     Evil Characters                                              Set Aside Cards
Pile
                Sites      Lost Souls

However, if I was to design a layout that made the most sense, it would be closer to Cali style:

Good Characters       Artifacts         Evil Characters

Rescued     Good         Deck        Evil                               Set
Souls       Fortress                    Fortress                          Aside

               unused       Discard          Lost Souls
                 sites           Pile

I like this because my heroes line up directly across from my opponent's ECs (which are blocking their LSs).  I also like it because the Artifacts are directly in front where I won't miss them.  The only problem is that in a balanced deck with a lot of heroes and ECs that you'd have a hard time fitting them all on the top line of a playmat.

So taking into account having to fit all the characters on the playmat, I would suggest:
                                                                                                
R   l      Good        Artifacts      E V I L    C H A R A C T E R S         l    S
E   l     Fortress                                                                           l    E
S   l                                                                                           l    T
C   l    G O O D     C H A R A C T E R S        Discard        Evil         l
U   l                                                             Pile         Fortress     l    A
E   l                                                                                            l   S
D   l     Unused       Deck       L O S T          S O U L S                    l     I
     l       Sites                                                                             l     D
     l                                                                                          l   E

It's interesting that people assume there will be a top cut at the next Nationals.

If you can direct me to where anyone has claimed this...

Several of the sample mats say Top Cut Nationals 2014. Is there some other way that should be interpreted?

Quote from: Master KChief on August 25, 2013, 03:02:20 PM

If you can direct me to where anyone has claimed this...

Several of the sample mats say Top Cut Nationals 2014. Is there some other way that should be interpreted?

You ask this in a thread based purely upon speculation and creative ideas?

Prof U if you dont mind me asking... are you left handed? Because the way you set up your cards is totally biased towards being left handed

But the nationals was so long that it threw off the balance of the entire design.

NATIONALS           -TOP CUT-
         T1-2p           2014

That seems to balance well.  I really don't think anyone cares that Nats is in August, so I don't think that needs to be there.

It's interesting that people assume there will be a top cut at the next Nationals.

That's a good point.  I guess I do kinda assume it will happen next year.  Top Cut caters to the top (read competitive players), and if rumors are right, then next year's host is one of the toppest, competitivest players that I know.  However, I would be very happy for the Top Cut experiment to NOT be repeated next year.

Prof U if you dont mind me asking... are you left handed?

Interesting question.  I am completely right-handed actually.  My left hand is pretty useless unfortunately.  As for the design, my thinking is that in English we read from left to right, so I put the heroes first (on the left).  However, I could also see someone saying that we should go by the parable of the sheep and the goats.  In that case the heroes would be on the right, and the ECs on the left.  I'd be good either way really.  A mirror image of my design would be equally logical.

a set aside zone is completely unnecessary since it can simply go off the mat, 'out of play(mat)'.

This is a brilliant idea.  By putting the set-aside zone and the Land of Redemption "off the mat" it would clearly indicate what cards are "in play".  I modified my suggestion to utilize this.

                                                                                                        
R   l      Good        Artifacts      E V I L    C H A R A C T E R S     l    S
E   l     Fortress                                                                              l    E
S   l                                                                                                  l    T
C   l    G O O D     C H A R A C T E R S        Discard        Evil     l
U   l                                                                    Pile         Fortressl    A
E   l                                                                                                  l   S
D   l     Unused       Deck       L O S T          S O U L S                  l     I
     l       Sites                                                                                  l     D
     l                                                                                                  l    E

Quote from: Gabe on August 25, 2013, 02:56:14 PM

It's interesting that people assume there will be a top cut at the next Nationals.

That's a good point.  I guess I do kinda assume it will happen next year.  Top Cut caters to the top (read competitive players), and if rumors are right, then next year's host is one of the toppest, competitivest players that I know.

The comment definitely struck me as odd, especially considering the points you've already outlined. It would be a shame for Top Cut to be discontinued next year where turnout will be not only high allowing Top Cut to have greater meaning and effect, but also with a higher volume of the better players. But as Chris said, it's completely off topic, so the input is better reserved for a new thread or the already existent Top Cut thread.

Can I get some feed back on my top cut playmat? I promise I take critisism well. Anything is better than nothing right now.

I like:
     - the silver Redemption logo at the top
     - the "Nationals" standing out more than the "Top Cut"
     - that the rights to the card art are in the hands of someone we know supports the project

I'm not a fan of:
     - the "tile" effect causing the pictures to duplicate
     - the pictures are a bit "busier" and therefore distracting than the AoC alternative
     - the card locations aren't labeled, and don't fit with the "ideal design" that I thought of in this thread