As I get closer to having Subtilla ready for the TGC shop, I’ve recently decided to put the game board onto one of their new 18-inch quad-fold boards. Originally, I designed the game to be played on a 10×10 mat … but having the larger board made it easier to provide some extra information as well as give it a nicer look and feel.
The main play area takes up the middle 10×10-inch space on the board, and now there is some extra subs-in-the-water artwork, an attack results table, a “power box” and a place to put your Sub when it’s “Hidden”.
In the middle of the main play area is a rocky island that serves as an obstacle for movement and Torpedo attacks. The four stylized stars mark the players’ Bases. And, you can see the indicators where all of the Boats and Subs are setup along the edges of the board at the start of the game.
I’m also writing up the formal rules document for the game, and find myself continuing to tweak the board as I find something else that would be helpful to keep in front of the players during the game, or as I change the specific term I use for things in the game. For example, originally Subs were said to be “on the surface” or “submerged” … but I’ve decided to use the terms “on the board” and “hidden” instead. Those types of changes mean tweaks to the board as well.
While I don’t enjoy the rules-writing so much, I do enjoy this final phase of tweaking things to make a game ready for production.
ADDED: A special thanks to Toren from IcePack Games, who helped me work through the idea of converting over to the 18×18 quad-fold board. He’s often on chat at TheGameCrafter.com and is always willing to talk shop on designs, mechanics, presentation, etc.
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