Gears of Corruption: Expeditions Expansion Design Notes

[@selden2716]

Can't wait to add this expansion. Expeditions is such a good game! Good job, Jamey.

[@jameystegmaier]

Thank you! :)

[@chadstilson8804]

So interesting that you can Vanquish the Actual Corrupted Mech! Very cool

[@jeffreyross2585]

I feel like the Automa Factory could have a field day designing a whole new solo mode that revolves around the corrupted mech. Even if it ends up being after market, I would love to see what Morten and Co. could come up with.

[@DanielLopez-ep9ex]

Love all of the incorporated feedback!!!!

[@jameystegmaier]

Thanks! We're very fortunate to have so many people willing to publicly share their constructive feedback. :)

[@mikepratt9911]

Love it. Also I would totally buy a wooden map token upgrade pack

[@Gigantor18]

Looks like an awesome expansion that adds some interesting wrinkles and addresses a few sticking points for some players. Excited to pick this up, thanks Jamey

[@jameystegmaier]

Thanks! :)

[@MegaSNES64]

Impatiently looking forward to this..

[@jameystegmaier]

Just one more week! June 5 launch, shipping throughout June. :)

[@BelgianDaSeeD]

It seems great, i can’t wait to get my hands on it. 🤩

[@RoyceBrown-gl9fm]

That is very interesting. Love how the map tokens adds to it and makes things more interesting. Played a solo game not too long ago. And just wondered about the map tokens if more was gonna be added in expansions. But the corrupted mech is my favorite add already. Just love the fact of there's a corrupted mech out there and it's hostile. So cool.

[@jameystegmaier]

Thanks! I hope you enjoy contending with the corrupted mech. :)

[@RoyceBrown-gl9fm]

@@jameystegmaier i definitely will.

[@ChrisSmithSmooth]

I would definitely have been against negative map tokens, but making them trades would have been interesting, especially if you could hold onto them, lose something to gain something :-)

[@richarddubois3995]

I love the thoughtful elements of this expansion! Question-do you need to use the corrupted mech in order to use the new maps with secret bonuses? Will using these new bonuses without the corrupted mech make the game “too easy” relative to the base game? And along those lines-will the maps with bonuses make solo easier since the automa doesn’t get those bonuses? Can the “jump start” from the mech cards be used without the corrupted mech? Thank you for any clarity you can provide! I’m a huge fan of the quality, intention, and integrity behind how you do everything with your company!

[@jameystegmaier]

The corrupted mech module is optional--you can play with or without it (independently of the other elements in the expansion). If you have the expansion, I recommend always playing with the other new elements and sometimes playing with the corrupted mech. The maps may make solo slightly easier.

[@woundsdrone]

Can’t wait for this one ❤

[@briangonzalez6744]

I like the sense of danger, especially with the new map tokens potentially being non beneficial. But I think for new players I'll make a house rule that they can keep it a seceret and use it immediately or later on. That way they have some control over the benefits 👌 Also... the fact that YOU CAN VANQUISH A MECH!!!! 🤙 So cool dude!

[@jameystegmaier]

I think that's a fair house rule to try. :)

[@sirguy6678]

Love the series!

[@vincentgaliano]

Although I was hoping for a campaign, I have to say this look like an expansion should be : make the game better while not changing the core of it. I really like having some points (force, intelligence- don’t remember how they are called) and the hero, it will open up the beginning of the game and will let me do more things without having to gain some workers and cards first, which was a bit long. It’s a really clever design, but I wonder (as a humble beginner designer) why you didn’t think about it before… Having the corrupted mech is also a great addition, especially in solo, with the two other AI mechs. It will make the game a bit more thinky, similar to solo Viticulture, when the AI takes a place I really needed. Can’t wait for the French release !

[@jameystegmaier]

"It’s a really clever design, but I wonder (as a humble beginner designer) why you didn’t think about it before…" Because I'm human. :)

[@Multipotentialist]

Interesting expansion! Everything is great, and personally, I'm just not a very huge fan of the corrupted mech (essentially adding an automa), but I'm here with some constructive feedback (idea). Since Expeditions is essentially a very card-driven game, it seems like it would benefit the most with adding extra cards. I expected this expansion to offer that, but seems like there's just a couple of new extra cards. Can you share whether you guys plan to add plenty of new cards as expansions later down the road for Expditions? Thanks again, SM is my favorite publisher!

[@jameystegmaier]

This expansion adds 8 new starting cards and 5 new item cards. We felt that there were already enough meteorite cards, and it's either 0 or 20 cards for quests, as each is tied to a different location. There are currently no plans to make another expansion--we have ideas, but the future is entirely dependent on how the current expansion is received.

[@simongeni154]

I have the Ironclad Version of Expeditions, but unfortunately i was to slow to order an ironclad version of the expansion. In the latest Champions Update you mentioned that the metal mechs will eventually sold separately and we could buy the normal version in the meantime, but will the 2 expansion metal mechs sold alone and how many base snaps would be in this option. Some of my mechs didnt´t fit well in the original ones.

[@jameystegmaier]

When we offer metal mechs by themselves, we'll include the revised base snaps with them (all 6 of them).

[@ian_forbes]

Hi Jamie. I know there had been talk of possibly a component upgrade to the map tokens. I really like the bonuses for them now but will there be wooden/metal tokens for them down the line? No worries if not, I’ll wait for third party people to do it but always prefer official components when possible.

[@jameystegmaier]

Thanks for asking! Third parties can't make these tokens, as they're not ubiquitous. But we're happy to consider wooden versions.

[@Orochi_001]

Somehow missed out on this. Will there be more Ironclad produced? Thanks!

[@jameystegmaier]

Absolutely! Make sure to make a back-in-stock request on our webstore.

[@cpmriise1]

Hello Jamey. This may be a strange question, but what is the size of the new map tokens? I am hoping to secure them into coin cases if possible. Thankyou

[@jameystegmaier]

By my measurements, the new map tokens are 28mm wide.

[@cpmriise1]

@@jameystegmaier thankyou

[@kal033]

Looking forward to grabbing an Ironclad expansion to go with my Ironclad core game. The corrupted mech sounds like a great way to interact with the game. What kind of Ironclad stock will be available? Will the store site have any restrictions to limit bulk purchases to better ensure individual buyers the opportunity to buy the Ironclad edition?

[@jameystegmaier]

I'm certainly hoping we have enough Ironclad expansions--we based our first print run on a survey we ran last year. If we're short, we can make more. We do restrict people to at most a few copies of any product.

[@kal033]

Thanks for the reply. Lookimg forward to June 5th!

[@octavus4858]

It looks intriguing to try! I am curious if one player could do something intentional or accidental and causing shock wave causing negative effects to everyone including that player. Would it still affect balance of competitive game?

[@jameystegmaier]

That's an interesting hypothetical design question. Can you think of an example in a multiplayer competitive game where it's fun to do something that hurts all players? I can't think of such an example offhand (other than in Magic, but that's typically just 2 players, and such effects often work there because you play those universally bad cards at times when they hurt your opponents much more than you. This is fine in a dueling game, but at higher player counts I'm not so sure).

[@octavus4858]

@@jameystegmaier thank you for answering. seems to be that although some effect may look good in theory when it comes to play testing - impression may be very different

[@octavus4858]

@@jameystegmaier regarding examples -for some reason I only can think about time factor as detriment for everybody. For example, in Maracaibo one player may push game clock to shorter game and achieve not so much hoping that other players would score even worse.

[@boxofspoons312]

This looks so good! What are the odds the new components will fit in the base box?

[@jameystegmaier]

100% odds--I designed the expansion specifically to fit into the original insert.

[@boxofspoons312]

@@jameystegmaier fantastic. Thank you!

[@austinjones5592]

One of the big issues my friends and I had with the game (For context we love scythe) was information overload while playing the game. How frequently the cards change + how much we had to think about with what cards we wanted never lent itself to really understanding what other players were doing. In drafting/deckbuilders I feel like an essentially part of the player interaction is stealing stuff your opponent might want. Here I felt so lost in the level of complexity of my own engine and combos that I never really knew what to sweep to block my opponents without like slowing down the game super hard by reading 3 different people's cards. All of my board game group echoed these sentiments. Does this feeling go away with more plays, or does this expansion address that at all?

[@jameystegmaier]

That's a great question. I wouldn't say that a core part of Expeditions is intentionally blocking your opponents or taking things they might want; your choices impact opponents, but I recommend focusing on what's good for you rather than what's bad for others.

[@unclesamb]

I'm curious what impact the influx of smaller value corruption seems to have on the flow of the game in your playtesting. It seems like this would accelerate players ability to achieve the the 7 corruption goal, potentially further accelerating the end of the game?

[@jameystegmaier]

It has a minimal impact, really just leading to slightly more variance in the tokens drawn and some feel-good moments. It's one of several elements of the expansion that speed up the game, which was part of the intention of the design.

[@izlude9283]

We played a couple of Expeditions now with the max player capacity. I think its around 8 times now. And the same feedback always come up every game. "Scarcity in Corruption Tiles on higher player count. Power and Guile lost its value at the later stages of the game. Made the game lengthy that shouldn't supposed to be." So what we did on our last game, we implemented a "Conflict Mechanism" just like in Scythe. We used the Battle Wheels. Comparing and using upto 7 Power to push away or defend your location. Ties wins the attacker as always. Losing the battle will retreat the Mech upto the base or he can place it hexes near depending on the Guiles used upto 3. Winner will able to steal 1 unplayed card from the opponent(excluding the starting cards) or 1 worker as his reward. It really changed the game and made the game even more interactive but also made it more lengthy. This was just a fan-made rule from our group just spice things up a little and address our some concerns. Hope this expansion addresses our main concerns: - I think the starting Mech Mat would jump start the game and will make the first option of exploration be viable. - The Corrupted Mech would be an additional Corruption points and will be using the Power and Guile more. But based on this video it looks like it is easier to Vanquish than the Corruption Tiles.

[@jameystegmaier]

I'm curious to hear your thoughts after you play the expansion! :)

[@nerdyjawsh]

Wow I'm certainly impressed. Looks like it adds alot of things that I was hoping for.

[@jameystegmaier]

Thank you!

[@brian.montero]

Probably too late for release, but can we get a purple base to denote the "corrupted mech" ?

[@jameystegmaier]

Definitely too late for the release. :) The corrupted mech is the only mech that won't have a base--that's how you'll know which one it is. Perhaps some people will create some fun 3D printed base options for it. :)

[@brian.montero]

@@jameystegmaier Thanks for the reply! Etsy will have to do. :)

[@PeterMetzger]

oh man, a 3D printed base with something like shards emerging out of a purple cloud would look so cool!

[@TheSatanTV]

Are there any plans to add some interactions between players?

[@jameystegmaier]

Tension via player interaction in Expeditions arises from getting to the location you want when you want to gather or complete a quest there (only 1 mech can be on a location at any time), from getting the face-up card you want, being the first to get map tokens, clearing corruption-particularly the 3-value corruption tokens and the lone 20-value corruption token (also, clearing the final corruption on a location is an example of positive player interaction in that it unlocks a new benefit on the tile), and optimizing your strategy so you place 4 glory to trigger the end of game before other players (glory is a significant portion of scoring). The Gears of Corruption adds more tension and interaction in the form of the corrupted mech module. If you're actually asking, "Are there plans to add combat to Expeditions?", the answer is that I tried putting PvP combat in the game, and it significantly detracted from the experience. As a result, the central conflict is against the corruption resulting from the mysterious meteorites.

[@TheSatanTV]

@@jameystegmaier I wasn't thinking about combat but some ways to interact with other players. For example block other player from entering the location (other than just going there with your mech) you want to enter/force him out of there to prevent him from clearing availible cards, maybe some ways to benefit from cards played by others, etc.

[@jameystegmaier]

@@TheSatanTV If you feel like that would make the game more fun, give it a try and let me know how it goes!

[@godzil42]

I love Scythe, but have to say Expedition is my new favourite, and I can't wait to get that expansion, I'm really interested into seing the new characters and the corrupted mechs. I like the gold worker being a wild worker, but I wonder if it should not count toward the star goal as you normally start with no workers meaning it is one less worker to gather, speeding up the game, though I suppose as all player get one, it is not that critical, and player can always agree that this worker do not count toward the goal.

[@jameystegmaier]

I'm glad you're enjoying Expeditions! The starting worker does indeed count towards the 7-worker goal. We found that fewer people go after that goal than the other goals, so having a head start on it doesn't change much.

[@godzil42]

@@jameystegmaier fair enough, haven’t experienced that here yet, but understand your point there

[@tomlikeabomb6706]

Do you need to be on the space with the corrupted mech to vanquish it?

[@rodneydunn9611]

That is my question. Also, will the corrupted Mech occupy the same space as another player when dealing its penalty?

[@jameystegmaier]

You can't ever share a location with another mech, so vanquishing a corrupted mech happens from an adjacent location instead.

[@rodneydunn9611]

Thank you! I am so excited for this expansion. The additions seem terrific.

[@amchasteenable]

The corrupted mech sounds awesome. I was hoping, similar to Lowlands, that all players would lose if it wasn’t defeated? If it was defeated, then the winner would be determined the normal way.

[@jameystegmaier]

That's an interesting twist! Maybe fun to try as a house rule. I didn't want to force players to eliminating the corrupted mech, though--I wanted it to be a choice.

[@StevenStJohn-kj9eb]

I wonder if you experimented with a special benefit for the player that removes the corrupted mech? Maybe that wouldn't be fair, since many players might contribute and then the player delivering the knockout blow gets the big prize, but I predict people will wonder about it. I can think of 2 ideas. One, the player who delivers the final blow gets not only the cards but also the mech, and the mech also counts 2 points at the end of the game. More interesting might be: the player who delivers the knockout blow gets to keep control of that mech. This mech wouldn't have any special power (and wouldn't share the power of the player's own mech), but it would give that player more reach - either mech could be used for a Move or Gather. (I see already the problem: that mech could camp out on a space and never be moved, hogging it for one player. So maybe it would be too complicated to add rules to avoid that problem.)

[@jameystegmaier]

Thanks for your question! Each corruption card you remove is treated as a corruption token for end-game scoring ($2 each), so that's the reward.

[@stingray1666]

Does the map get bigger at all with the expansion? I disliked how the base map didn’t scale with player count. And now the expansion brings another player and NPC?? The map will be super crowded.

[@jameystegmaier]

Expeditions has 40 quests that pair with specific locations, so you always play with exactly 20 locations.

[@PurpleSmurfProds]

5 players and an optional NPC leaves 14 empty spaces. I don't think that's super crowded.

[@tosteson1]

My wife just stomped me 78 to 35. I had a great time. Normally we're within 6 points.

[@jameystegmaier]

That's a big win!