Monkeyunit wrote: ↑09 March 2026, 22:10
As a person who also dislikes attack mechanics in game I feel strongly in favour of them in AN and here is why:
The attack cards are a way to balance the game. You aren't free to attack whomever you like but its always limited to the player who is in the lead on certain points. If that player is actually in the lead in the game itself can be a discussion, but playing around those cards it's part of the skillset required.
Furthermore, the peacefull abilities aren't exactly balanced either.
I agree that playing around attack cards is an important skill; however, you can’t always afford to do so. In a close game, you often don’t have the option to delay or change a move just to avoid an attack, because doing that might simply cause you to lose anyway so you will play than opponent doesn't have those cards
Attack cards are meant to be a catch-up mechanism, but they’re implemented in a rather clumsy way, since there’s no guarantee that the relevant cards will even appear.
I would say that attacks in Ark Nova are somewhat easier to predict, because many of those cards require specific conditions to be played (for example, having a partner zoo), and they are often taken from the open display.
But the main reason for the dislike of these cards is aesthetic. When you think about Ark Nova, you think about hand , money and action order management as well as competing for rewards and cards and not about dodging monkey attacks. I believe that heavy (random discard instead of selected) interacting with another player’s hand is unacceptable unless it is a core mechanic of the game.
