We came, we saw, we played LINEAGE! Indy GEN CON 2013 was amazing. Not only did we get a chance to geek out over the latest and greatest games, we were able to hit the First Exposure Play Test Hall and to play LINEAGE for almost four hours every night! We had seven (count ’em 7) different groups of four-player games and we got a ton of feedback from our participants.
The response to the game was generally very positive. People were saying, “Original”, “When is the Kickstarter because you already have my money”, “Good mix of strategy and tactics”, “I loved the balance between the players. It seemed like everyone had a chance to win”. We also instituted a new rule thanks to suggestions from players called “Alchemy” where players can exchange two chi of one color for one chi of another color. It has given the game a great new dimension. We are really excited to keep moving forward on the game and inspired to make more!
Almost universally, people wanted the square tiles to look like Town, Temples, and Palaces rather than the simple shapes we have been using (circles, squares, and triangles). We will be looking into new graphics and manufacturing techniques for those pieces right away. Other comments included making the tiles easier to flip and adding simple cheat cards to remind players about the order of actions they need to take. These cards will definitely be included in the next set.
Walking around the convention, we noticed most of the larger publishers using table wraps and player mats made of a mousepad-like material. We will definitely be adopting a similar technique in the future. Now that we’re back in LA, we will be looking for further opportunities to run people through the game. Keep checking back for upcoming events!