Prototype 4.3 was a quick iteration to further simplify the rules of 4.2. While these changes improved upon the gameplay of Biomes, they served to underscore a fundamental weakness that must be addressed.
Changes
The changes for 4.3 were essentially a continuation of the changes in 4.2 revolving around simplifying the rules while making discovery and exploration more attractive.
1. Carry capacity simplified – Players can carry 4 secrets, secrets no longer have individual weights.
2. Secret collection removed from discovery – Players still look at the secrets when discovering a tile but may not collect them. You can only collect secrets from a tile by searching it.
3. Buffs apply on the next turn
4. Rearranged rule-book
5. Player battle bonus reduced to +1 – In 4.2 players got +2 to their battle roll for each player involved. This was too strong and thus was reduced to +1 in 4.3.
These changes generally identified pain points from the 4.2 playtest and addressed them with an appropriate change. In 4.2 players were confused by the carry capacity rules and ended up ignoring the rules altogether. For 4.3 the carry capacity rules were simplified to be a hand limit. Secret collection during discovery (tile reveal) was confusing and thus removed. Players encountered complex corner cases with adding/removing buffs on the same turn which were addressed by making buffs activate on the next turn. Finally, the rule book was difficult to navigate so I rearranged the ordering to reflect what players looked for and how other board games arranged their rules.
Results
3 players
1 hour and 30 minutes of gameplay
11 rounds
27 of 35 tiles discovered
3 of 3 minor quests won, won game
Prototype 4.3 improved upon the experience of 4.2 by further simplifying the gameplay incrementally. In particular, players had several fewer pain points in 4.3 than 4.2 with more left to be resolved. These incremental changes have helped to improve the experience of Biomes but also served to underscore that there is a more fundamental weakness that needs to be resolved.
Fundamental Weakness
The truth is, Biomes is no longer about discovery. Instead, the current version of Biomes is about questing. Questing is a fine core mechanic for a game but it is not the core mechanic of the game I am trying to make. If we revisit the essential experience we see discovery and exploration listed first with no mention of questing at all. Discovery is to be the core mechanic of Biomes, not questing. Therefore, Biomes is not providing the essential experience it is intended to provide and the time has come for some radical changes to reorient to that essential experience.
Conclusion
Biomes 4.3 was an incremental improvement over 4.2 which served to underscore a fundamental weakness. That weakness is that Biomes is currently about questing and not about discovery as the prime importance in the essential experience. As a result, Biomes has strayed too far and must be reoriented at a deeper level to deliver upon that essential experience.