Playtest #1:
Liked
- Special achievements (gives bonus points if collect a special set of objects) → helped motivate players to choose unethical methods (no one could play “clean” game)
- Good mechanical incorporation of thematic ideas including creating a “cabinet of curiosities,” the notion of the “universal museum,” and most importantly why and how museums have stolen artifacts.
- Appeal of investigation action → mirrors how museums don’t always know method of collection and need to investigate
- Mechanics work!!!
- Coins were fun mechanism
Didn’t Like
- Too easy to do repatriation
- Need to increase $$ or something else
- If method of collection (i.e., war, black market, donation, commission) is attached to card, players who replay the game know which method used because the cards have pictures of the object
- Need to separate collection method from individual cards
- Players just chose cheapest objects and didn’t need to investigate to still unlock special achievement (which gives bonus points) → how prevent players from choosing cheapest?
- Last round was only repatriation ← avoid
- Need more clean cards
- Lot of legit cards (“clean” collection method) in round 1 because randomly assigned
- How obvious is learning?
- Need to add object facts + historical events (focused on mechanics working first, which themselves provide learning experience of being in position of a museum)
Edits/Ideas
- Score tracker
- Be first player to complete – collect special achievement card (so multiple people can’t unlock same achievement)
- Increase price $$ of investigate and repatriation
- Dice? Determines method of collection
- Example: generic Greek vases that were donated → rolling a die can determine if ethically or unethically collected
- Separate method from card
- Less legit/“clean” cards in beginning ← create history cards which add additional modifiers/rules to what players can/can’t or must/must not do
- Add history event cards (the modifier cards) that punish players with obviously stolen throughout eras ← that way, players who choose unethical methods might still be punished throughout the game, even if they repatriate all stolen objects by end (accountable for entire “purchasing” history)
- From certain regions, +/- to die roll (depending on history era card)
- ACHIEVEMENT CARD TRIGGERED AFTER final round: Player who stole least gets bonus
- EVENT CARD TRIGGERED AFTER final round: Card or roll die → result determines how many points (%) lost if you have most stolen in your cabinet of curiosities
