Board Game Arena

mithaler wrote: ↑10 June 2025, 18:24 (BGA dev here.) A big question I have is, how do you balance it? I don't really know how to decide how many or which modules to make available in a given game. The game rules are also vague about it. Do you have suggestions? I get the sense you're meant to open a new random one each game, but it'd be hard to get the same sense of mystery here.

I have played this game quite a bit at the table (queueing for my first BGA game, now).

I personally suggest that there be an option for "standard game" (as opposed to "base game") which should include all permanent content from the SHIFT system. IMHO, this is the _actual_ game. Playing the base game without the permanent unlocks is like playing a basic version of the game, and a lot of the strategy is hidden within these unlocks.

The SHIFT system does two things as a design: 1) it eeks out complexity over time to players who invest in many plays, and 2) it acts as a self-balancing mechanic against players who play together.

IMHO 1) should 100% be in the BGA implementation, but 2) is FAR less necessary as BGA has an ELO system itself, so there is less a need for a in-game balancing mechanism.

This "standard game" (with the permanent unlocks from the SHIFT system) should almost certainly be the competitive version of the game and also might should include some of the secret cards which are unlocked as well.

mithaler wrote: ↑10 June 2025, 18:24 (BGA dev here.) A big question I have is, how do you balance it? I don't really know how to decide how many or which modules to make available in a given game. The game rules are also vague about it. Do you have suggestions? I get the sense you're meant to open a new random one each game, but it'd be hard to get the same sense of mystery here.

There actually *are* rules for using the Shift system that (IMHO at least) aren't that vague. Here's what the rulebook says about it:

Once you have opened multiple SHIFT Modules, you’ll need to decide which Modules you want to use at the start of
each game. Before setting up the game, lay out all the Modules you have opened, and then choose them as follows:
1. First, the side that lost the previous game chooses any number of Modules to use (this could be zero, some, or all
of the Modules previously opened).
2. Next, the side that won the previous game gets to choose which Modules they want to use. The number
they may choose is limited by how many Modules their opponents chose, and how many games they have won in
a row:
• If they won the previous game only, they choose 1 fewer SHIFT Modules than their opponents.
• If they won the last 2 games, they choose 2 fewer SHIFT Modules than their opponents.
• If they won the last 3 or more games, they choose 3 fewer SHIFT Modules than their opponents.
Again, this side may choose to use no Modules at all and cannot choose unopened Modules. They may not be able to
choose the number of Modules allowed because they have not opened that many Modules. This is fine - it means they
have not lost much!

Now, how this could be implemented in BGA is a different story. I'd assume it's *possible* to implement a system that checks previous plays of the game with the same players in the same positions (i.e. "all games where I am the Recruiter and Alice, Steve, and Tom are the Rogue Agents" or what have you) but that'd probably be quite a headache unless such a system has already been designed for another game and could be easily ported over.

Probably the easiest (and, I'd argue, best) way to implement it would be to simply allow the person setting up the game to choose which modules are included (and ideally add an option to decide these by drafting as the rulebook describes, allowing the player setting up the game to include how far up the SHIFT modules go for each side - so maybe selecting that the Recruiter has access to up to module 4 and the Rogue Agents have access up to module 5 with the Rogue Agents having won the last game so that the system knows they should get one fewer module choice). So instead of manually tracking the wins and losses just allow the host/players to decide, maybe requiring modules to be manually "unlocked" in the game setup menu to avoid spoilers (so if module 2 was "Security Cameras" it would only show "Module 2" until it was unlocked, at which point it would show "Security Cameras" and their related rules, or maybe a quick description of them if that'd be too much text)