Help Us Shape the Future of Project EOS Rise: Revised Rule Book Testing 🚀🎲
Hey there, fellow spacefarers! 
As you know, I’ve been deep in the trenches revising the Project EOS Rise rule book. Between work, designing The Drift, and family time, I’m finding every spare moment I can to improve the game and make it even more accessible, intuitive, and immersive. It’s amazing what a little hindsight and experience can do! Since launching Project EOS Rise, I’ve learned so much about game design (and I’m thrilled to unveil The Drift soon!). I believe there are some areas where we could streamline the turn sequence a bit, making gameplay smoother and even more enjoyable.
But here’s the thing: I need your input! Your insights are invaluable to me, and I’d love to know if you think these new directions are worth exploring further.
Oh, and don't worry! The core gameplay loop remains intact, and no new components are needed to try out these revisions. This rule book update is all about refining what’s already there—no upgrade kits required!
Here’s what I’m exploring:
1. New Turn Sequence
The updated turn sequence I’m considering looks like this:
Event Phase
Crew Actions
EOS Move
Aliens Move
Redeploy Aliens
Income & Extinction Refresh
Let me walk you through each phase, what I’m thinking, and why I believe it could improve the game.
Phase 1: Event
Starting the round with the Event phase just feels right. It doesn’t change much in terms of gameplay mechanics, but it flows better. Events often tweak the rules for the round, so it makes sense to have them set the tone from the very beginning.
Phase 2: Crew Actions
Here’s where we’re streamlining things. By removing the Planning Phase, we jump right into the action! Let's be honest—80% of the time, players are already planning during Crew Actions anyway. My proposal? Just make a simple rule that power cubes must be paid for before taking an action. But here’s a thought experiment: what if power cubes could be bought at any point during the Crew Actions phase? I’d love to know if you think that’d impact gameplay significantly.
Phase 3: EOS Move
This is probably the biggest potential change. What if the EOS’s movement and attack were combined? Imagine players stopping to attack alien ships as they travel through galaxies. Could this make gameplay smoother? Easier? Harder? I’ve seen some blind playtests where players naturally stopped to engage with alien ships, and it worked well. I’m curious if this would make the game more intuitive overall, especially for new players.
I'm also testing tweaks to the EOS attack phase to make it faster and add a twist to focused attacks. I came across a house rule for focused attacks that I absolutely love, and I think it could make these attacks more dynamic.
Phase 4: Alien Move
This phase would mostly play out as usual, but I’m considering adding the kamikaze attack (Aliens attack phase) here to simplify things. It’s one of my favorite moments when you roll for a single massive alien fleet attack. Combining the alien movement and kamikaze attacks could add clarity and improve the thematic feel since players often find the difference between EOS and alien attacks a bit confusing. Plus, it helps keep that delicious tension as you wait to see if your ship survives!
Phase 5: Redeploy Aliens
This is the easiest phase and will largely stay the same. However, I might consider changing the redeployment so it’s not random—maybe placing alien ships at each space station. I know rolling for redeployment spots multiple times can feel a bit like “busy work,” so simplifying this could improve pacing. But I’ll keep the FRBs as a random element to keep things fresh. What do you all think?
Phase 6: Income & Extinction Refresh
This one’s a keeper. It’s simple, effective, and doesn’t need any adjustments.
Your Thoughts?
I’m super excited to hear what you think! Please drop your feedback in the comments. Let me know if you like these changes, if you see any potential pitfalls, or if you have new ideas to suggest. This game is as much yours as it is mine, and your insights are what keep it evolving. Let's make Project EOS Rise even better, together!
Happy exploring,
James
As you know, I’ve been deep in the trenches revising the Project EOS Rise rule book. Between work, designing The Drift, and family time, I’m finding every spare moment I can to improve the game and make it even more accessible, intuitive, and immersive. It’s amazing what a little hindsight and experience can do! Since launching Project EOS Rise, I’ve learned so much about game design (and I’m thrilled to unveil The Drift soon!). I believe there are some areas where we could streamline the turn sequence a bit, making gameplay smoother and even more enjoyable.
But here’s the thing: I need your input! Your insights are invaluable to me, and I’d love to know if you think these new directions are worth exploring further.
Oh, and don't worry! The core gameplay loop remains intact, and no new components are needed to try out these revisions. This rule book update is all about refining what’s already there—no upgrade kits required!
Here’s what I’m exploring:
1. New Turn Sequence
The updated turn sequence I’m considering looks like this:
Event Phase
Crew Actions
EOS Move
Aliens Move
Redeploy Aliens
Income & Extinction Refresh
Let me walk you through each phase, what I’m thinking, and why I believe it could improve the game.
Phase 1: Event
Starting the round with the Event phase just feels right. It doesn’t change much in terms of gameplay mechanics, but it flows better. Events often tweak the rules for the round, so it makes sense to have them set the tone from the very beginning.
Phase 2: Crew Actions
Here’s where we’re streamlining things. By removing the Planning Phase, we jump right into the action! Let's be honest—80% of the time, players are already planning during Crew Actions anyway. My proposal? Just make a simple rule that power cubes must be paid for before taking an action. But here’s a thought experiment: what if power cubes could be bought at any point during the Crew Actions phase? I’d love to know if you think that’d impact gameplay significantly.
Phase 3: EOS Move
This is probably the biggest potential change. What if the EOS’s movement and attack were combined? Imagine players stopping to attack alien ships as they travel through galaxies. Could this make gameplay smoother? Easier? Harder? I’ve seen some blind playtests where players naturally stopped to engage with alien ships, and it worked well. I’m curious if this would make the game more intuitive overall, especially for new players.
I'm also testing tweaks to the EOS attack phase to make it faster and add a twist to focused attacks. I came across a house rule for focused attacks that I absolutely love, and I think it could make these attacks more dynamic.
Phase 4: Alien Move
This phase would mostly play out as usual, but I’m considering adding the kamikaze attack (Aliens attack phase) here to simplify things. It’s one of my favorite moments when you roll for a single massive alien fleet attack. Combining the alien movement and kamikaze attacks could add clarity and improve the thematic feel since players often find the difference between EOS and alien attacks a bit confusing. Plus, it helps keep that delicious tension as you wait to see if your ship survives!
Phase 5: Redeploy Aliens
This is the easiest phase and will largely stay the same. However, I might consider changing the redeployment so it’s not random—maybe placing alien ships at each space station. I know rolling for redeployment spots multiple times can feel a bit like “busy work,” so simplifying this could improve pacing. But I’ll keep the FRBs as a random element to keep things fresh. What do you all think?
Phase 6: Income & Extinction Refresh
This one’s a keeper. It’s simple, effective, and doesn’t need any adjustments.
Your Thoughts?
I’m super excited to hear what you think! Please drop your feedback in the comments. Let me know if you like these changes, if you see any potential pitfalls, or if you have new ideas to suggest. This game is as much yours as it is mine, and your insights are what keep it evolving. Let's make Project EOS Rise even better, together!
Happy exploring,
James