Time to call curtains on this contest.
The design rules we seem to have concluded here is: Acts should grant a weak but useful ability that has a light impact on the opening so it doesn't radically speed up the game and narrow the winning strategy possibilities down. They should bear a slight influence on which strategies in the kingdom are the better ones. grrgrrgrr questioned putting other types on them; it makes them much less simple to be sure, and all the entries avoided having any. Probably for the best.
Spineflu
| Payload is easy to add to decks this game, but at the cost of a smaller hand each time. It can be a kind of newbie trap, each 3-card hand turn leading to thinking, 'the best thing I can do with this turn is gain another Gold'. +: It can't simply be used each turn in a big money strategy as the odds of $8 hands are significantly reduced. -: opening with one or two alongside other buys (at least on turn 1's 5 card hand) could be potentially too big a speedup. Overview: Another way to open Golds would be a cool thing to add to a game, if it can possibly be balanced. I feel about middle ground here with the pros and cons. |
Timinou
| A useful engine ability, moving Treasures along to be drawn later. +: Great use of the Act mechanic, it's there for when the hand is right but the need for +Actions makes it not trivial to use. -: The way it will be played depends a lot on the presence of a Village in the game. Some players may feel including a Village with it is compulsory. True for most Acts, so this is minor and a sign that I can't really find any major bad point. Overview: Safe and simple, a pleasant ability to have around. |
emtzalex
| Players can get one free copy of an Action to their Exile each turn, or a Treasure at the cost of a spent Action. +: It can build, but not too fast. Also empty piles without getting unwanted gains or gainers in the deck; but because it's once per turn, not too quickly. With the Treasure playing in Action phase as well, that's 3 nifty functions. -: Nothing serious, only that you don't actually export your cards away like the name may suggest. Overview: I like this, its adding quite a lot to the game without being overpowering. |
Xen3k
| Like an Event in that you effectively pay $, but an Action is spent instead of a Buy, and use of Debt enables variable investment amount cleanly. +: Lots of options varies the opening possibilities, potentially getting players thinking deeply right from the start. -: The trash option feels pretty powerful; on a $4 opening turn going with trash and the Silver or Horse gain thins whilst helping economy at the same time. The $3 turn could correctly be trash as well. Overview: There's potential in the premise, but the options could be changed a little. Possibly just remove the trashing. |
mxdata
| I probably wouldn't have the move to play area rule be general to all Acts anymore, since it doesn't quite work cleanly with multiple use ones. On here though moving it makes sense to remind the user of the Clean-up effect. +: Some nice uses, like pivoting into different strategies or getting the balance of Villages just right. -: It feels a tad weak. It could possibly have +1 Action. Overview: It can be used fine, just maybe its glory moments are few and far between in all random games. |
Mahowrath
| A way to incorporate extra draw into the deck. +: Needing 2 Actions to get any draw is probably balanced, so Villages and Villagers aren't doing too much and so there's no effect on the opening. -: It depends heavily on the kingdom, and often it can do nothing. Not a big issue on a landscape card though. Overview: niche but occasionally powerful, sometimes tricky to use and sometimes easy. It's quite good. |
grrgrrgrr
| +1 Villager Act was an idea I thought of pretty quickly, exactly like naitchman's outtake Immigrant. I guess it makes things rather easy, so having the discard cost adds interest. +: If Copper junk needs to stay in the deck, Villagers are more desirable than Villages, so the cost is sensible. It gives an extra option to the opening. -: Perhaps a bit weak? Again nothing that negative here, an Act shouldn't be too strong. Overview: a useful little ability that gets more interesting when there are fewer Villages. |
naitchman
| An ability that can potentially get one out of a bad spot. +: Weak but not useless. -: How often will a hand of 1 be useful? 2 Cards from a hand of 3+ feels more viable while being weaker than Way of the Mole. Overview: a nice premise, just feels a bit too weak to be worth the punt. |
bootymancer
| Expedition and 2 Debt after 2 Actions are used on this. Or a Journey token flip for other cards using the token. +: The Journey token works well, with the interaction with other Journey token cards being safe. -: Does it need the debt? It does help mitigate the power in a big money deck but it feels too much with the Actions needed as well. Overview: some good ideas here, but not all together. Either the Journey token or some of the Debt could go. |
mathdude
| Actions on demand, but at the cost of free cards for the opponents. Another Act that could be moved into play for the end of turn reminder. +: Simple and effective. -: It could be swingy sometimes; if both players play the same deck, one could get more draw purely by the chance of terminal collisions. Overview: the premise is great, and sometimes the decision to use it is interesting. I sense a little room for improvement, but it's by no means bad. |
The Alchemist
| Either play your turn as normal, or at the start of the Action phase ditch your whole hand for a batch of resources. +: It's good that gained Horses will weaken using this. -: With the format of Acts being used at the start of the Action phase only, whilst they can be made more powerful, they need to be extra careful around big money strategies and the opening. Here, something close to overpay for Coffers can take place, leading to very fast games where the only things you need to buy are Provinces and maybe a Silver or two. Overview: A tempo setting card like Rebuild. I fear it's rather too fast and easy compared to it. |
fika monster
| Once per turn Throne and Exile. +: Once per turn limits this from breaking the game like Donald's Throne-then-trash Way outtake did. -: Strong, in that unlike Throne Room it's always lining up to its target and the target can be regained. Overview: exciting to be sure, but likely makes things too fast. |
Shortlist: Courier, Export, Arcane Conscription, Recruit, Lost Village, Game of Thrones.
All the cards in the shortlist could be played with, I think, but Export adds the most interest overall whilst not appearing imbalanced. So congrats emtzalex!