The Last Resource

I am very happy to say that I have finished the final art for all Cargo Cards.  The Silk turned out great but I am not as happy with the Medical Crate.  But really what can you do with a box.  Maybe I can try making it look like a Red Urn or one of the those cool chinese pots with the decorative feet.

Silk and Medical Crate Artwork

I am also working on creating a new card type I want to play with after the next play test.  The Captain Cards!  Players will choose one of these cards at the start of the game.  Each one gives some minor ability that is useful at deferent times during the game.  Here are some examples:

• Navigator: Moving into or out of Port can be ignored once per Sailing Phase.
• Noble: Starts the game with 12 Coin.
• Raider: In combat, Sail Damage counts as “Destroyed” when attacking pirates.
• Merchant: Gain +1 Coin on every sale.
• Shipwritght: May repair up to 1 Damage Card in between each port visit.

I plan to have about 10 Captains for the final list, but might go as high as 12 or 14 depending on printing limits.  The print sheets may have enough room that it will cost me nothing to print more cards.


On a different topic.  I make a comment on another game design blog about changing the theme of my game and how hard it would be, then I did my post about Mechanics verses Theme.  I was toying with the idea of changing my game to be set in a Steampunk setting.  Then I found this game, Kings of Air and Steam, funded though Kickstarter.  Its a Steampunk, merchant trading game!  There goes that idea.  I guess Ill stick with my historical 1800's Far East Merchant Trading game.

Then I found this image by the artists Raybender, and swung back the other way all over again.

This image has so much cool, I want to play that game.  In reality, I think this is a totally different game, and I will not try to make my game into this one.  This game could be cool though.  Maybe one where the Imperium has hired the players to hunt the metal horrors of the recent tech war that just ended.   The aquatatons, mindless machines set to task by the defeated Empire, sink any ships in the channels.  Players hunt them down using various weapons, but they can salvage parts from the machines to improve their weapons, upgrade their ship, and to make repairs.  The players are granted Status (the victory points) for each machine destroyed.

OK, thats enough"stream of consciousness" designing...I just thought the image was so cool that I had to share.