VII. Broken Contract - Discussing the Mechanics and More Play Testing

Boylan's Ginger Ale and board games. This is from the first play testing session with Monkey (pictured) and Chuck (capturing the moment). Also pictured: Lisa, Ian Mackaynine, and Jean Harlow (making out in the far background).

I've talked about the background to the game and I've rambled on about theory, but I haven't really discussed the mechanics to the game outside of a tight circle of people, so I'll talk about that a little now.

Broken Contract uses an Action system, similar to Zombicide, Wreck-Age, and even Infinity (though they call them Orders). Each Turn begins with the players drawing a numbered card for each Character on the board. The deck contains a card for each Character, so if the game has 8 Characters on the board, you would have cards numbered 1-8. This is how you establish Initiative Order in the game.

Starting with the Character who drew #1, you would work along completing each Character's Turn until you get to Character #8. Each Character has 3 Action Points with which they can perform either Actions or Interruptions (an Action performed out of Turn). You don't have to use all of a Character's Action Points when your Initiative comes up because you just might want to have Action Points remaining to perform those all important Interruptions.

The list of Actions includes the usual suspects, Walk, Shoot, and Attack, but it also includes a host of uncommon ones like Running Jump, Dive Roll, Apply Restraints, and Carry a Comrade. The Action system is geared for cinematic play and big drama. The list of Interruptions includes Defend, Parry, Dodge, Flee, Beg For Mercy and a bunch of other exciting options. Now you might ask yourself, "why would I ever Beg for Mercy?" Begging for Mercy allows you to make a Dealing Check to halt an Attack with desperate groveling or pathetic charm. Done at the right time it could spare your life for the moment while your opponent is out of Actions, the hope being that you can flip the situation to your advantage on the next Initiative draw. This makes for great "action movie moments".

Almost all of the Checks in the game require a simple roll of a D6 to keep the game play easy to process, and thus, fast and furious. The principle exception to this are Combat Actions as they require a roll to hit, and a roll to wound. The Checks all play off a list of 16 Stats from the obvious Move, Melee, Shoot and Strength; to less obvious ones like Dealing, Perception, Recovery, and Psyche.  The robust list of Stats allows the Characters to be more varied with subtle distinctions of how they are specialized.

The list of possible Actions and Interruptions is extensive which does require some contemplation, but they all involve very simple mechanics so that once you get familiar with the list it becomes fairly intuitive how to carry them out. Of course, with so many options available you may find yourself making hard decisions as there will likely be multiple right and wrong answers for any given situation. This makes for a fun, exciting, and sometimes challenging time.

The Weapon list features a lot of non-lethal options as Security Officers and Enforcers are hoping to bring back escaping Breakers alive. So Arc Pistols and Shock Batons can Shock opponents leaving them Prone and twitching, while Neuro Grenades use gas to Drug the victims leaving them Stumbling around. Of course, you have to have big guns, so a Repeater Rifle with Rubber Bullets can easily Stun a Character (remove an Action Point for the remainder of the Turn) but it has a harder time Wounding. Meanwhile, the Breakers use a lot of improvised weapons like Shovels, Pick Axes, Pneumatic Drills, and "home brewed" Molotovs.

Like some of my favorite old games like Bloodbowl, Necromunda, and Gorkamorka, there are plenty of opportunities for Characters to trip and fall, break weapons in half, run out of ammo, or accidentally drop a Molotov at your own feet. All of these unfortunate events come from rolling natural "1"'s during some of the more dramatic Checks that take place during the game.

At the end of a normal Turn, you will likely have Characters defined as being Shocked, Down, Out of Action, or Seriously Injured. For all but the Seriously Injured there is a Recovery phase where Recovery Checks are made to see if their condition improves or worsens before going into the next Turn.

Play continues until the scenario has been successfully completed, or all of the Characters on one side are unable to act or off the board.

As one might expect, the board game will come packed with scenarios, and more will be planned for Expansions as well as downloadable content to keep game play varied and interesting.

That should give you a rough overview. The last play testing session on Monday yielded some tweaks but overall it plays pretty well, so I'm focusing on editing and writing more scenarios. That's it for now. Thanks for reading.

-Nick

PS. If you're curious about the previous articles:

I. Broken Contract
II Broken Contract - Breakers
III. Broken Contract - Enforcers
IV. Broken Contract - Security Officers and What is Broken Contract?
V. Broken Contract - Board Design and Scenario Development
VI. Broken Contract - Play Testing and Revisions

V. Broken Contract - Board Design and Scenario Development

Four new prototype board sections that I'm using to play test Scenario #2.

I finished the rough draft of the rules to Broken Contract back in November. I've made tweaks here and there since then as I've gotten feedback from friends, but most of the tweaks I've discovered in the heat of battle when I hit a situation, read what I wrote, and say, "Hmmm. That doesn't make much sense." That's what alpha testing is for: tightening up the rule set before it gets exposed to a larger group of play testers so that the obvious errors don't ever muddle their play testing. In order to expose myself to a variety of circumstances, I needed some boards and missions to play on, so I set myself to crafting some.

An early play test game for 'Its Time!' the introductory scenario and initial Break attempt. The white counters represent ore carts meant to be barricades/obstacles to hide behind or get in your way.

Originally I designed two 12"x12" board sections, drew them out on some heavy card stock, and started playing. I wanted to the Introductory scenario to be the initial Break attempt, dubbed 'Its Time!' Five laborers rise up to over take their masters. It was based on a tiny piece of fluff I had written to open up the "Actions and Interruptions" chapter of the rules. 

“Open revolt. One of the miners in your crew, Trest, has overtaken one of the guards. You had discussed this. You planned for this. The moment is upon you and all those plans are blurred by fear and adrenaline. It’s time to act. A Security Officer moves past you with his shock baton charging towards Trest, demanding that Trest stand down. You step forward and swing your shovel, connecting with the Security Officer’s head. You instinctively anticipate gunfire from the Overseer’s position and drop to the ground to take protection behind a bin and plan your next move.” 

Overall, I was happy with how the rules were playing out but the scenario ran a little long for an introduction (Note: It took an hour and I was hoping for 30 minutes.) Also, as I mentioned in an earlier blog post, the large board sections made it more difficult for the Breakers to flee off the board and escape into the mines. Additionally, 12"x12" board sections would be difficult for me to turn into PDFs for my play testers. Over time, the board evolved into a more compact 8"x10" and the mission objectives and victory conditions evolved too.

I played out the opening scenario a dozen times using the various skills, special rules, and equipment to see how they interacted with scenario special rules and board. I think it came out fun, and as I hoped there were lots of options to choose from. It isn't a finished product, but its something I was happy enough to share with my friends who were interested in play testing.

Once I had 'Its Time!' up for them to download with the board sections I had to ask myself, "Wow. What happens next?" "What do I want the Breakers and Security Officers to do?" "What do mines really look like?" "How do I want the expanding board to be as a result?" Then came a mix of brainstorming and research. I needed to come up with a series of challenges, from people the Breakers might want to go back for due to friendships or to expand their available skill set. I needed to think about the role I wanted the Security Officers to take and how tooled up I would expect them to be. And I needed the board to be interesting, and a straight line mine shaft didn't seem to meet that criteria even if I added debris, chasms, and check points. Then I discovered room and pillar mining and I knew this would make for a cool section of the board. Room and pillar mining is where they weave a grid leaving of massive columns behind to support the roof of the mine. For a game board, it felt more interesting than a horizontal drift mine, though I'll likely combine elements of various sorts of mining. The internet is fantastic at times because it even gives approximate sizing of the rooms and pillars and I was actually able to design the board sections to the smaller end of the actual scale.

Out came the card stock and pencil. I drew out 4 board sections to try out the rooms and pillars. I played out a game on it based on the assumption that the alarm had been raised and the Breakers would need to weave through the rooms and pillars to get to their next destination as Security Officers come running. I was happy with the results so the craft paints came out and I detailed my prototype sections.

Heavy card stock, you've been a valuable friend. These board sections also line up with the board sections from the introductory scenario so that you can combine them.

Here are the room and pillar board sections with the photo taken halfway through Turn 1. The Breakers are on the bottom 2 sections and they need to exit through the Security Officers in the upper right quarter as they head to a variety of stops along their way out of the mine. What happens next? Well, I have a lot of ideas jotted down. I want to have at least 5 or 6 scenarios take place in the mines and an equal number take place after the initial escape out in the desert wilderness, so I have a long way to go. Thankfully, I have a lot of ideas.

-Nick