Behemoth update - Dec 2023

Another year draws to an end, and I'm very happy with the progress on Behemoth.

The game is punchier, more streamlined, and more fun.

Playtesters said they felt a great sense of immersion, that cooperation was exciting, and that they had very interesting individual decisions to make.

Each round has fun moments in the dice challenges players face during encounters.

This is great of course, and it has been humbling to hear people enjoying something I created 😊

But there is still a lot to do before launching the campaign: design wise, the game currently lacks long term strategies and a strong sense of character progression. Both aspects are not strictly needed, but it's something I'm aiming for.

I also need to put in more work on the publishing side (community building, art, manufacturing, pricing and logistics).

Looking at timelines, I'm hopeful for a release in the second half of 2024. As I am giving myself a 6-month time horizon, I will share new updates in next few months.

Some of you have signed up to be digital playtesters: I'm extremely grateful, thank you! Please bear with me, I'm planning to work on a digital version soon but I need to nail down the physical aspects of the game first.

Read on for more in-depth updates 👇🏽

All in all, the game is just so much better!

I have made the rules simpler (explanation time is down to 18' from previous 42'), while making the game deeper and more engaging.

Players feedback is that there are some delicious decisions around how much to focus on different activities (rescuing animals VS removing shadow VS solving events), each causing the game to evolve in different ways.

You also face some interesting ongoing choices on how to play your multi-use cards, how much to push your luck with dice rolls, and on how to spread your focus between different terrains skills.

Changes and playtesting

I have done about 60 hours of playtesting with 37 different people (up from 33h and 8 different players in 2022). I have also demoed the game at 4 events in the UK this year (AireCon, UKGE, Handycon and London Playfest).

These are some major recent changes, for those of you who have kindly tested it:

• there are no more black dice and "used" dice.
• movement on the map is finally fluid, and gone are the ton of shadow tokens
• the AI turn is now blazing fast

I have tested a number of different mechanics throughout the year, having recorded 21 different iterations of the game. Among other things, this included action points, hand management, miniatures, tactical map movements and having multiple meeples.

Part of the year has also been spent on world building. I feel there is now a much richer and more interesting world, which opens up a number of interesting stories. Here’s a run-down of the story:

Some time between the year 2020 and 2040, a deep excavation project dug through some thick layers of silicon stones, releasing big quantities of silicon dust into the atmosphere.

The silicon dust fostered the growth of silicon-carbon hybrid organisms: it started with some Icelandic microbes, and slowly a shadow biosphere started to appear... shadow mushrooms in particular proliferated, with some interesting side effects:

• Shadow mushrooms regularly release silicon dust in the atmosphere, which causes more mushrooms to appear. The dust itself is dangerous for humans: if breathed it can kill living beings and it causes the demise of modern human technology.

• Shadow mushrooms proved to be unique in being able to teach living beings how to create stable carbon-silicon bonds, essentially allowing living beings to improve themselves. When eating shadow mushrooms, humans becomes stronger and faster, animals become intelligent

A couple of hundred years have passed since the silicon dust first appeared, and we are now in the year 2265. Humans live together with other intelligent animals on top of Behemoth - a majestically evolved rhino, carrying a castle on its top where humans and intelligent animals thrive together.

Behemoth wanders from one safe place to another, carrying the faith of the world on its back. Human rangers together with their animal companions are tasked with ensuring the Behemoth continues safely in its journey, while rescuing wild animals and restoring lost parts of the world. The goal is to produce enough oxygen to ensure some future for carbon-based life.

Design wise, the game could have been ready to go a few months ago - it is a solid, fun game with some innovative AI mechanics. However, it’s currently missing two aspects I’d really like to see included:

1. Variety of long-term strategies
2. Sense of getting stronger

This is what I'm currently working on.

I might have had a breakthrough in that I have a created a different aspect in which characters can get stronger, beyond removing shadow and facing challenges: movement. This has been very tricky to get right: for multiple strategies to be available, the game needs to be perfectly viable and fun even if you don't level up your movement.

If this new iteration goes well, I could then implement a digital version of the game and open it up to digital playtesting by February. Provided then there are no big surprises in feedback, this should then have me working on the publishing side of things, and open the door for a release in the second half of 2024. Let's see! 😃

If you want to help, I would just ask if you could help spread the word about the game - have friends follow the Gamefound page (moved there from Kickstarter), and help get more people signed up for playtesting.

Thank you so much for your support in the journey, and I wish you a smashing 2024! 🍾🍾

Andrea

Join the FB Group

Sign up for playtesting

Follow the BGG Page

Follow our Gamefound Campaign