Under Pressure

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Overall, this is a really clever logic game, and the sequential illustrations on the card are kinda brilliant. I'd guess that this game had a budget of less than $50,000 and [b]it is definitely one of the best I've played in that budget level[/b]. The AI is genuinely pretty fierce, especially on kraken. If you like Clue at all, I think this uses similar deduction skills. NOTE: The game could probably be clearer on what happens when the kraken picks multiple numbers. While the kraken CAN select more than 1 number per turn, you will only receive positive information back if the enemy has played *all* of the numbers you've selected. As a result, when you're playing kraken, most turns you probably should be picking just one number. ... Notes for designers: in my own playthroughs with the AI, it feels like it's a lot easier to win with the kraken. If your own analytics bear that out, I have a few ideas... --Maybe the kraken only needs 1 card on the first turn. Or, if the kraken draws 2 cards on the first turn, maybe they shouldn't ever be connected like 6-7 for example. (I suspect that getting connected numbers on the first turn is a major RND win for kraken. It gives the kraken a ton of information on what opening number to select and creates 1-2 turns where the squid is more likely to hit a number than normal). --Over a few hours of gameplay, the AI diver seems to be very reluctant to play overcharges, and I'm guessing they mainly overcharge when a normal 2-3 advance is not available. And the AI diver seems to hardly ever mix in false overcharges, even in the super-late-game when the card cost on a false overcharge might not matter. The AI kraken has a very good grasp on how to shut down a diver who goes for +3 or +2 almost exclusively. (If you're playing kraken and don't have any information suggesting whether they have attempted a +1, +2 or +3 advance, blindly assuming it's +3 is probably safest because the diver is probably losing on plays where they only get +1 or +2. The diver's on a limited clock before the kraken has gathered so much information that they can reliably lock him out). The AI diver does not have a good grasp on how not to get shut down by the kraken usually assuming it was a +3. (If there is viable counterplay for the diver, it's probably some degree of overcharge bluffing or strategically mixing in slower moves, but the kraken seems to reach the lockdown point a bit quickly so strategically mixing in slower moves might not be viable). --It appears that the diver is guaranteed to have 1-2-3 in his opening hand. If so, perhaps some randomization so that a player only gets 2 of these at the start (and then some other other card instead of the third) might open up higher-reward lines of diver play. (I'd eliminate the third one from the deck because it's either a dead draw for the diver or a draw which gives the kraken too much information about the diver's starting hand). Alternately, allowing the diver to mulligan some of his opening numbers and draw some new ones might speed up the diver's early play a bit. --The kraken probably doesn't need the ability to pick three numbers in a turn. If the kraken can choose up to three numbers, that punishes the diver for +1 turns. If the diver has somehow lived long enough to sow so much confusion that the kraken needs to choose three numbers, the diver deserves to win. --Maybe the diver could be told what cards the kraken has drawn? This makes it a bit easier to avoid stumbling into game-ending traps. (For example, if the squid starts with 6-7 in his opening hand, the squid knows it is overwhelmingly likely that the diver will be playing 5-8 eventually. The diver can only realistically survive the first several turns by charging, but it'd be quite hard to guess that this is a necessary line of play without knowing what the squid has. Early charges are generally suboptimal UNLESS the squid has connected numbers early). --If the diver is able to play the final card, the squid should not get a guess-until-you-lose mechanic to save the game. Like 90% of divers die before playing the final card. If the diver plays the final card, the diver deserves to win. --In playthroughs against AI, it seems like the diver usually dies or is hopelessly crippled in the first 5-6 cards. As kraken, I guess 3 on my opening bid most of the time, and *either* I find one of the diver's first two cards (which is kind of crippling) or I find that he is slow-playing from the start of the game, which pretty much guarantees he'll die before I'm in any danger.