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Double Edge Sword Studios

Creator ConquestDESIGN DOCUMENT

Version 2.0

Eric Demarest, Sarah Holmes, James D’Addario, Steven Griffith, John Coleman

Game Design Document for Creator Conquest

Table of Contents

ContentsTable of Contents

Design History

Version 1.10

Version 2.00

Game Overview

Where does the game take place?

What is the story?

What is the main focus?

How many characters/units/pieces does the player control?

Game Theory

Mechanics

Feature Set

General Features

Game Components

Rules & Mechanics

Game Setup

Turn Sequence

General Rules

Detailed Rules for Specific Pieces

Flowcharts

End Game Conditions

Rules Questions & Strategies


Design History

Our design history is meant to give us a listing of design elements that we had altered or changed throughout the development of Creator Conquest. We want these changes listed out in order to let the team know what decisions we had ended up making in order to bring our game forward after taking second glances and playtesting.

Version 1.10

1. Altered the Convert action so that it now requires a dice roll instead of simply existing. This decision to use a randomized result now gives the defending player a chance to protect their worshipper, where before they could simply lose one worshipper as an opponent’s free action.

2. Made some slight changes to the gods’ abilities, specifically the defensive abilities, as they all simply protected a player from any attack abilities for one round. Born Again and Armor now prevent a player’s worshippers from being destroyed. Eye of the Storm, Death Cloak, and Deflection now prevent a player’s worshippers from Underworld and Death to Heathens.

Version 2.00

1. Changed the number of rounds to ten from the original twenty in order to lower the playtime to thirty minutes to one hour.

2. Changed the player’s turn from one action to two actions per turn to increase the pace of the game.

3. Changed Dazzling Light to give an opponent only one action on their turn rather than skipping it.

4. Confidence no longer protects a player from attack abilities. Instead, it allows a player to target up to three worshippers in a single conversion attempt while still only risking one of their own.

5. Underworld now only destroys one worshipper and can only target worshippers in the same region as one that the controlling player occupies.

6. Eye of the Storm no longer protects a player from attack abilities. Instead, it allows a player to move two different worshippers they control up to two spaces each.


7. Siege of Vines no longer creates a wall to prevent opponents from moving through. It now prevents one target player’s worshippers from being moved or moving normally or through god powers.

8. Death to Heathens now required the target worshippers to be adjacent to one of the controlling player’s worshippers.


Game Overview

Where does the game take place?

Civilizations have already been formed and people are traveling out further and further in order to reach other people and cities. People believe in their gods, thinking they control what will happen to them.

What is the story?

In the beginning, the world was run by the one true deity, Ohher. It was Ohher that created the entities that gracefully paced the planet. The inhabitants were happy. They loved their monotheistic beliefs After some time, an unknown being evolved within the world. This was no friend to Ohher’s creation. It was a parasyte. It began infecting all of Ohhers inhabitants. Out of disgust, Ohher scorched the earth. She pitied those left behind, and lost compassion for her creation. The world was dead.

Other Gods of the stars saw this as an opportunity to take the world from Ohher. They wanted a prospect for power, and therefore they pounced upon the world and spawned entities in various locations across the planet. Having been pushed into the shadows since the dawn of men, these divinities craved the attention of a new race.

Itix, Reylena and Afmir favored the Mountains. They felt as though their creation was close, and therefore protected. Nehtyx, Obtia and Rivses preferred the Plains where they could see their creation and protect them based on sight. Onera’s love for nature convinced her to place her entities in the forests. She could sense her creation here, and utilize the forest for protection.

All of these gods knew they could protect their entities better than Ohher ever could. Individually they found a male, and a female to multiply and spread the word of their beliefs. The entities, freewill inherited, will pick their own gods to worship. This will ultimately decide which gods or goddesses will rule the world after Ohher.

What is the main focus?

Taking over all of the regions is vital to competing in Creators Conquest. This is accomplished through gaining worshippers and converting non-believers.


How many characters/units/pieces does the player control?

Players will move worshipper tokens around the board to control regions. There can be as many worshippers on the board as there are spaces available. The player will also be interacting with cards that indicate the different gods within their pantheon and their powers.

Game Theory

Creator Conquest is a symmetric game. Each player has equal opportunity to gain access to gods, worshippers and territory. One turn allows each player to move, create a worshipper, convert a worshipper from another player's god, draw for a new god, and perform a miracle. Prior to each turn is an assessment of territory occupied by a player based upon gods in hand. Each player has equal opportunity to gain more territory based on god specialized territory. Miracle points are granted for this, and miracle points are symmetric because of this.

Play Style –

Creator Conquest is a non-cooperative game where a tie is a rare case. All players are against one another, however there may be alliances between players that may last a couple rounds or many but this cooperation is not forced by the game rules.

Summation –

Creator Conquest is primarily a non-zero-sum game. A player may gain and discard god cards, move their worshippers, or convert neutral worshippers independent from what the other players may do. There are some zero-sum elements, however, such as converting an opponent’s worshipper or using a god power that directly affects opponents’ worshippers or actions.

Perfect/Imperfect Information –

The game has perfect information. Because the god powers and the gaining of miracle tokens are activated on passive effects and have activated effects on the cards, it is important that other players are aware of what others can do. As a result, the god cards are played as an open hand, and all placed worshipper tokens are visible.


Mechanics

Moving – One action a player may take during a turn is to move a worshiper token. Each unit can move 4 spaces, in any valid direction on the board. This movement is obstructed by an opponent’s worshippers or water tiles. This is a meaningful action by the player because they pick exactly where to move the worshipper.

Create a Worshipper – A player may choose to create a new worshipper. When a player performs this action, they may add a new worshipper onto an empty space adjacent to one of their own worshipper’s spaces in the same tile. This is a meaningful action, as the player must pick which tile they currently occupy and which space in that tile they wish to add the new worshipper.

Convert a Worshipper - A player may choose to convert an opponent’s worshipper. When a player converts another worshipper, they choose another player’s worshipper adjacent to one of their own worshippers. Each player involved can then spend up to four of their miracle tokens and then roll a six-sided die, adding the points spent to the result. The player with the higher die result removes the other player’s worshipper from the game and places a worshipper of their own on that spot. On a tie, nothing happens. While the decision to begin this interaction is meaningful, and the players may influence the result by voluntarily spending points, the result is still random as it relies on the dice roll.

Discover a God - One of the actions a player may take on their turn is drawing a new god card. When they do this, they draw three cards off the top of the god deck and choose one, adding it to their hand and discarding the rest. The player may then choose to discard one of the god cards in their hand. While the player has no influence over the three cards drawn, this is a meaningful action as the player must choose which of the three gods cards drawn they want to keep and whether or not they want to discard one from their hand.

Performing a Miracle - A player can use one of the abilities listed on their god cards by spending three miracle points. This is a meaningful action, as the active abilities are completely voluntary and are often much more efficient than using the basic actions.


Feature Set

General Features

● Conquering - Players fight for control of a continent using religious zeal and the powers of their gods. Players move their worshippers along a map in order to take control of regions and expand their religion throughout the land.

● Multiplayer play- The game is meant to be played with at least 3 players with a max of 5.

● Converting worshippers - Players expand their religion through finding new people to worship their pantheon or by converting other players’ worshippers to follow theirs instead.

Game Components

● 1 Game Board with hexes denoting movement spaces● 20 red glass counters representing one players’ worshipers● 20 white glass counters representing a second players’ worshipers● 20 root beer glass counters representing a third players’ worshipers● 20 green glass counters representing a fourth players’ worshipers● 20 blue glass counters representing a fifth players’ worshipers● 75 Miracle Tokens representing the current divine powers and boons granted by the

players’ pantheons.● A deck of god cards, consisting of [To be adjusted: 7 god types * 4 copies of each = 28 total]● 1 Six-Sided Die● Rule Book


Rules & Mechanics

Game Setup

The Board

The board consists of individual spaces. Each space is a single hex. Seven hexes make up one tile. Each tile comprises of a single terrain type, mountain, forest, or plains. Some spaces are also water spaces, which is impassable terrain. A grouping of tiles is a region, as specified by the colors in the center of each tile. All of the tiles marked green is a single region, just as the tiles marked orange make up another region.


Forest Space Mountain Space Plains Space Water Space Mountain Tile in the orange region

Before the game begins, each player chooses their team color. Then, each player rolls a six-sided die. The player who rolled the highest will be the starting player. In the case of a tie, the tying players will roll again to determine which will be the starting player. The god deck must then be shuffled.

Beginning with the starting player, the players will take turns going clockwise around the table drawing their starting gods. When a player draws their starting god, they draw the top three cards of the god deck, place one in their hand, and place the rest on the bottom of the deck.

Once all of the players have their starting god, the players must then choose a starting location. Beginning with the starting player, the player chooses a tile on the board, placing one worshipper in each of the seven spaces on the tile. Once again, the order these tiles are chosen is clockwise around the table. Once each player has chosen their starting location, the game may begin with the starting player taking the first turn in the first round.

Turn Sequence

On a player’s turn, they begin by checking their tiles controlled and which of these are the favored terrain of their gods. The player gains one miracle token for each tile of favored terrain for each god in that player’s pantheon. After the player has gained their miracle tokens, they may choose to perform two actions. A player may choose to do two of the same action, as well. These actions are:

● Move: Move one worshipper token up to four spaces in any direction. A worshipper can pass through other worshippers of the same team, but not those of another team or over water. A worshipper must end its movement on an empty space. This allows a player to strategically block other players’ movements, or move into desired areas for future expansion.


● Create a worshipper: Using this action allows a player to place one of their worshipper tokens from their reserve in an empty space adjacent to one of their worshipper tokens in play. This allows a player to expand their control and board presence.

● Convert a heretic: Using this action allows a player to have one of their worshippers engage in a religious discussion with another player’s worshipper in an attempt to convert him. To attempt a conversion, a player must choose one of their own worshipper tokens and an adjacent worshipper token controlled by another player. The two players may then choose up to four miracle tokens they wish to spend in the attempt, they announce the number spent, then each player rolls a six-sided die. The players add their miracle tokens spent to the result of the die. The player with the higher sum wins the discussion, removes the losing player’s worshipper from play, and places a worshipper from their reserve in the removed worshipper’s location. In the occasional case of a tie, nothing happens. This mechanic relies on a modified dice roll in order to add some risk and cost in attempting to use an ability that offsets control areas so easily. The players may spend their miracle tokens on this roll in order to have extra influence on the result of the roll, though this is limited to four to allow the possibility of a lucky win with a low probability. While a player may increase their odds, there is always a small chance of the underdog winning.

● Discover a god: A player can expand or change their pantheon by using this action. First, a player spends three miracle points. Then they draw the top three cards of the god deck, add one to their hand, and place the rest on the bottom of the deck. After this, the player places one god card in hand at the bottom of the deck if they currently have three or more, or if they simply choose to. This allows players to expand their available abilities and potential to grow as the game goes on.

● Perform a miracle: A player can use one of their gods’ miracles by spending the required miracle tokens as shown on that god’s card. When a player does this, they must pay three miracle tokens and simply follow the instructions of the chosen miracle from the card. This allows a player to make good use of their gods and alter the board in a wide variety of ways, allowing for each player to find their own unique strategy.

Once a player has used one of these actions, the turn ends and is passed to the next player to the left, or clockwise.

Once all players have completed their turns, and the starting player’s next turn begins, the next round begins and the round counter is moved forward one space. If the round counter reaches 10, the players have one remaining turn before the game ends.

General Rules

Controlling a tile - A player controls the tile if he or she has the most worshippers on that tile. A player loses control of a tile when they no longer have the most worshippers on that tile.

Conquering a region - A player has conquered a region if he or she has control of the most tiles in that region. A player loses a region when they no longer have the most tiles in that region.


Contested tile - A tile is contested when no single player has the most worshippers on that tile. While a tile is contested, no players with a worshipper in that tile can benefit from controlling it.

Contested region - A region is contested when no single player controls the most tiles in that region. While a region is contested, no players with a tile in that region can gain a point for it when scoring at the end of the game.

Maximum hand size - A player cannot have more than three gods in their pantheon at any time. If a player has three god cards and they choose to draw another one, they must discard one god card after taking a new one.

Detailed Rules for Specific Pieces

Worshipper tokens - These are what the player will be moving throughout the game. There may be up to 20 worshiper tokens on the board per player all of them may move 4 tiles in any direction.

Armor tokens - Shows that a player is currently under the effects of Born Again or Armor. This token is removed at the start of that player’s turn.

Barrier tokens - Shows that a player is currently under the effects of Death Shroud or Deflection. This token is removed at the start of that player’s turn.

Stunned token - Shows that a player is currently under the effects of Dazzling Light. This token is removed at the end of the player’s next turn.

Snared token - Shows that a player is currently under the effects of Siege of Vines. This token is removed at the end of that player’s next turn.

God Cards - These indicate the specific gods that the player has in their pantheon. A player may have a maximum of 3 god cards at any given time. During a player's turn they may choose to draw another god card but must discard one of their 3 to do so. Each god card will have active abilities printed on them and will indicate how many miracle points are required to use those active abilities, they will also indicate favored terrain that will passively generate miracle points at the start of each turn for controlling a tile of that terrain.


God Name

Domain Ability 1 - Name

Ability 1 - Description

Ability 2 - Name

Ability 2 - Description

Favored Terrain

Itix Life Spawn Place two worshippers in empty spaces adjacent to one of your worshippers.

Born Again Take an Armor token. Your worshippers cannot be destroyed until the start of your next turn.

Mountains

Nehtyx Light Dazzling Light

Target player gains a Stun token. That player may only perform one action on their next turn. The stun token is removed at the end of their next turn.

Deflection Take a Barrier token. You cannot be the target of non-destruction miracles until the start of your next turn.

Plains

Reylena Knowledge Mind Games

Choose one of your own worshippers and one of your opponents’ worshippers. Those tokens swap locations.

Confidence Choose up to three of one of your opponents’ worshippers adjacent to one of your own. Make a conversion attempt. If your opponent loses, you gain all of the target worshippers. If you lose, you lose your worshipper

Mountains


as normal.

Afmir Death Underworld

Destroy one of your opponents’ worshippers in the same region that you have a worshipper.

Death Cloak

Take a Barrier token. You cannot be the target of non-destruction miracles until the start of your next turn.

Mountains

Obtia Wind Twister Move one of your opponents’ worshippers up to five spaces.

Eye of the Storm

Move two of your worshippers up to two spaces each

Plains

Onera Nature Siege of Vines

Target player gains a Snared token. That player’s worshippers cannot move or be moved until the end of their next turn.

Flight Move one of your own worshippers up to ten spaces ignoring any of your opponents’ worshippers or water.

Forest

Rivses War Death to Heathens

Destroy two of your opponents’ worshippers that are adjacent to one of your own.

Armor Take an Armor token. Your worshippers cannot be destroyed until the start of your next turn.

Plains


Flowcharts


End Game Conditions

Creator Conquest ends after ten rounds. After ten rounds, the player who has conquered the most regions wins the game. In case of a tie, the tying player that controls more tiles wins the game. If there is still a tie, the tying player with the most worshippers on the board wins the game. If there is still a tie at this point, the tying players simply share the win.

Also, if a player loses all of their worshippers on the board, they are eliminated. An eliminated player is removed from the game. If there is only one player remaining, they are the winner.

Rules Questions & Strategies

Converting does not destroy worshippers. Worshippers that are protected from being destroyed by a god ability may still be converted.


A player may use Siege of Vines on themselves to prevent the movement effects of Mind Games or Twister.

Deflection and Death Cloak do not protect a player from the effects of Confidence. These players’ worshippers may still be converted with Confidence.

Mind Games can only target one single opponent for the conversion attempt.

Flight and Mind Games can be used as a first action to quickly move into strategic positions to use Confidence or Death to Heathens.

Despite being unable to move while under the effects of Siege of Vines, a player can still cover more ground by creating more worshippers or using Spawn.


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