Summon the Swarm
As pesticides and a changing climate devastate bee populations around the world, evolution seizes on a powerful new mutation - intelligence! You lead a colony of bees making the most of their newfound strategic abilities. Still unable to overcome the fatal nature of your stings, you start to capture and co-opt the abilities of other insects instead. But it seems you're not the only leader vying for an evolutionary niche. Can your swarm grow in size and power fast enough to defeat the others?
Summon the Swarm is an homage to a favourite game of mine - Time Barons. It's under development but is feeling pretty fun already. The files below are a print-and-play for version 0.4.2, 08-May-2020. Although it's helpful, you don't need the backs of the cards if paper or cutting is an issue.
Summon the Swarm is an homage to a favourite game of mine - Time Barons. It's under development but is feeling pretty fun already. The files below are a print-and-play for version 0.4.2, 08-May-2020. Although it's helpful, you don't need the backs of the cards if paper or cutting is an issue.
| summon_the_swarm.pdf |
| 1588947343_cards_a4.pdf |
| 1588947318_cards_usletter.pdf |
Changelog:
v0.4.2, 08-May-2020 - Adjusted some cards, and collapsed the four levels down to three, plus a 16 card starter deck (4 dealt to each player, and the remainder put away). Likely still has balance issues in the end-game, but the game is flowing as intended now.
v0.4, 04-May-2020 - Any newly played structure receives one free unit from the supply. This prevents final action card plays from being penalised due to taking immediate damage.
- Penalty for landing in enemy territory reduced to one unit.
- The Hive cannot be repaired. This makes those early sneak attacks worth the over-reach in units that's needed to do so. It also cannot be damaged twice in one turn, meaning one super powerful turn is still not game-over. You generally need two.
v0.3, 28-Apr-2020 - Changed the Antechambers to both offer 'play a card' actions. Corrected many cards' text. Fine-tuned the costs of many actions/cards.
v0.2, 26-Apr-2020 - Added the Antechambers; cards that provide various player actions and protect the Hive. Removed all other player actions, making the only move be to Summon the Swarm. However, the Antechambers and Hive provide the equivalent actions anyway. Action space is simpler, but there's not enough ability to play cards.
v0.1, 25-Apr-2020 - First playtest. Gameplay works, but the action space is complex and the game isn't terribly fun.
v0.4.2, 08-May-2020 - Adjusted some cards, and collapsed the four levels down to three, plus a 16 card starter deck (4 dealt to each player, and the remainder put away). Likely still has balance issues in the end-game, but the game is flowing as intended now.
v0.4, 04-May-2020 - Any newly played structure receives one free unit from the supply. This prevents final action card plays from being penalised due to taking immediate damage.
- Penalty for landing in enemy territory reduced to one unit.
- The Hive cannot be repaired. This makes those early sneak attacks worth the over-reach in units that's needed to do so. It also cannot be damaged twice in one turn, meaning one super powerful turn is still not game-over. You generally need two.
v0.3, 28-Apr-2020 - Changed the Antechambers to both offer 'play a card' actions. Corrected many cards' text. Fine-tuned the costs of many actions/cards.
v0.2, 26-Apr-2020 - Added the Antechambers; cards that provide various player actions and protect the Hive. Removed all other player actions, making the only move be to Summon the Swarm. However, the Antechambers and Hive provide the equivalent actions anyway. Action space is simpler, but there's not enough ability to play cards.
v0.1, 25-Apr-2020 - First playtest. Gameplay works, but the action space is complex and the game isn't terribly fun.