TacTile Rule Changes

[TacTileKing]

Hey Everyone,

A few changes are coming to TacTile with a goal of making the game more intuitive and helping players unlock the deeper strategy of TacTile.

Small Changes
1. Overdrive Action has been renamed 'CONVERT' to more closely align with its purpose
2. You can no longer overdrive basic actions - too few people were aware this was possible so it has been removed to improve balance

Larger Changes
1. The game is being split into two game modes OVERDRIVE & CLASSIC MODE.
2. OVERDRIVE uses the current rules of the game (randomized market & CONVERT action is enabled)
3. Classic Mode will have a fixed market (there will always be 2 Moves, 2 Gains, 2 Pushes available). You will also not be able to CONVERT in this mode.

The idea is that classic mode should be more straightforward and better for new players to grasp, however initial testing has showed that it still has significant depth of play. I am constantly reminded that TacTile seems to scale to the complexity of the players.

Classic Mode Tips
1. Buy a GAIN card first - TacTile is a game about balancing economic strength and positional strength, its balanced around the idea that there is no position where buying a gain first would make you lose (however you may have to play some defense if your opponent is really rushing)
2. Don't buy more push cards than move cards - a push is sacrificing tempo to potentially force your opponent to lose even more tempo - so you want to spend as little as possible on pushes to get the best bang for your buck

[thegenie333]

First off, doing a rule change mid-season is impudent to the game and players. This should have been announced and done at the season change.

Second, the simple fix to players not knowing how to utilize overdrive with a main action is to show the function in the tutorial.

Last, imho, switching from overdrive to convert will just widen the gap between the strong and weak players, since it is much easier to trap opponents' checkers now that you can't use a single card with a main action to get out of a tight spot.

[TacTileKing]

Hey great comments,

I apologize about the timing of the rule change but we have limited resources to work with so had to strike while the iron is hot so to speak from a development side.

In terms of widening the gap - I’m more worried about people not even knowing the rule exists which has been prevalent from my conversations with players. Getting outplayed is part of the game, surprise rules only a few know about is unfair.

Side note - let me know what you think about the new mode classic mode! Should be a very different experience

[Kuijpie]

First off, doing a rule change mid-season is impudent to the game and players. This should have been announced and done at the season change.

Second, the simple fix to players not knowing how to utilize overdrive with a main action is to show the function in the tutorial.

Last, imho, switching from overdrive to convert will just widen the gap between the strong and weak players, since it is much easier to trap opponents' checkers now that you can't use a single card with a main action to get out of a tight spot.

I agree on the overdrive with main action, people not knowing the rule does not mean it should change. IMO adding it to tutorial is good but people can still forget, a UI change to show this would help here

[FiftyShadesOfPlay]

First off, doing a rule change mid-season is impudent to the game and players. This should have been announced and done at the season change.

Second, the simple fix to players not knowing how to utilize overdrive with a main action is to show the function in the tutorial.

Last, imho, switching from overdrive to convert will just widen the gap between the strong and weak players, since it is much easier to trap opponents' checkers now that you can't use a single card with a main action to get out of a tight spot.

I agree on the overdrive with main action, people not knowing the rule does not mean it should change. IMO adding it to tutorial is good but people can still forget, a UI change to show this would help here

I also agree with the previous comments and liked the game better with the possibility to use a main action with overdrive. Currently I see a disadvantage for the player with less cards, especially in the early game. I would appreciate at least a settings option to change this back.

[Kuijpie]

I can see games becoming more exciting with the new rules, my current game with thegenie333 I would have lost about 6 turns ago with the old rules as the conversion with a basic action could have given him an extra move a couple of times. And now I'm suddenly back in the game because his cards are focused on 2 colours (1 yellow card, rest is green and red, no blues) and I can keep him off the green and red

[TacTileKing]

I hear the people commenting about liking the old version I also liked the flexibility. But my goal here is learning curve. There were simply too many people who didn’t know they could overdrive basic actions. It’s in the rules it’s in the walkthrough and still it was very hard for players to understand. I teach boatloads of people the game and that one rule was very difficult to get people to learn. (Overdrive itself is tricky to figure out). To me it’s only slightly more difficult this way which I’m ok with, it forces people to plan ahead more.

I expect more competitive games from this change which is the intention. Secret rules won’t give people the top spot, you must plan ahead and outplay your opponents.