Hey friends, it’s time for another update on True Messiah!

First, exciting news: I’ll be in Seattle this weekend showing off True Messiah at PAX West with the Tabletop Co-op! If you’re coming to PAX West, make sure to stop by! (You’ll be able to find me in Room 208, on the second floor of the convention center.)

Meanwhile, development continues apace. As discussed in our last update, I’ve been testing changes to the low unit count. Thus far, it seems my suspicions were correct: the changes benefit the game mightily. True Messiah now plays faster, it’s easier to play aggressively on the board, and yet players remain constrained from expanding to maximum temples right out of the gate. It’s looking like this rules change is going to stick.

One notable side effect of the rules change has been that follower destruction cards are now weaker, as losing a slew of followers no longer means losing temples in the bargain. I’m okay with this, as follower-destroying cards were previously somewhat dominant in their power. There is one card that I’ve seen fit to strengthen in light of this shift, however: Doomsday. Doomsday costs an enormous sum to purchase and to play; it is intended as a means to immediately end the game if a player is permitted to acquire it and play it without interference.

With the rules change, however, a player who loses numerous followers to Doomsday won’t lose temples anymore–and thus, so long as they’re at maximum temples when the miracle goes off, they can bounce back from a Doomsday quite easily, recouping their losses in a matter of two turns. I’m mulling over the best way to adjust the card; I should have my answer soon.

In the meantime, I’m testing out the new coin-generating terrain tiles. I’ve gotten new art just for those from Rostislav Zagornov; check it out!

My initial plan was to have the prosperity tiles amass coins over time, allowing players that capture them to take in a large haul. However, I’ve come to suspect that this may be too powerful, making board control too dominant a factor. I’m instead going to start with a more conservative approach: prosperity tiles will behave like holy spaces at the close of the Market, generating 1 coin for the player that possesses them…but with a catch: they’ll generate coins only if the player has no nonbelievers present. This should provide additional utility for Fruit of Knowledge and other nonbeliever-generators throughout the game.

Until next time!