The Evolution of “Expansion or Extinction” (EOE) is an article series periodically appearing in InsideGMT.  It features articles from the designer regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.  Parts 1, 2, and 3 of this series can be found here.

Today’s Topic: An AAR from Prezcon!

I was very excited to take Expansion or Extinction (EOE) on the road in order to show it off at Prezcon, a gaming convention in Charlottesville Virginia (held at the end of February every year). I have been going to Prezcon for over 15 years now, and have always enjoyed it. Quick shout out to Justin Thompson who has been running the convention for 25 years now! 

If you haven’t read the Inside GMT Games blog “Playtesting Imperial Struggle” by Ananda Gupta, I would highly encourage you to, his blog recounts my own early experiences with developing EOE, and he has written it far better than I could!

Ananda identifies three types of playtesting:

1. Repeated play with a trusted group
2. Showing your game at Conventions or Game Gatherings
3. Electronic Playtesting (via VASSEL for example)

Until recently I have relied almost exclusively on the first; repeated play with a trusted group. I wanted to make sure that everything worked before putting it out there. Furthermore I had the advantage of using an established system…I already knew that the base Triumph and Tragedy system not only worked, but worked well.

Personally I think it’s a natural evolution to move from testing EOE with a trusted group to showing it off to a wider audience. In expanding the number of people who played, not only would I see how easy it would be teach the game, but I would get feedback from a group of people who aren’t necessarily my friends, and with the added bonus of introducing EOE to a group people who might not otherwise learn about it! (Something which Gene suggests is very important now that EOE is on the P500 list! :))

Over the course of the week, I was able to teach and play many games of EOE. Prezcon has dedicated areas for open gaming and I was able to show, explain, and teach my game to many groups. I was able to play all 3 group sizes of the game (2, 3 and 4 player) and was happy that the game scales very well to all three groups. Also the “multiple paths to victory” held up…as games were won by all the various methods….DOOM Star victory, Sudden Death VP (30 VP), Control of 3 Green worlds and games which ran to the end of 12 turns .

Take-a-ways:

• The new map was a big hit, but a couple of suggests were made, including that having a sequence of play on the map would be helpful
• The map coordinates on the Action deck could be larger
• The color combinations on the face of the cards could be more distinct
• Some minor tweaking of the “Green World” forces
• Some minor artwork tweaks were suggested
• A spirited discussion about fire order…i.e. should defenders fire first in space?
• And finally, a suggestion that a battle board might be helpful

In conclusion, I felt that the game showed nicely and was well received. I am incorporating a number of the suggestions in my design and feel that EOE is moving forward nicely. Now if only work and family obligations would allow me to put the final polish on the game so that I can send it off to the playtesters!

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Articles in this Series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4