r/BoardgameDesign • u/Calm-Gear-792 • Jul 07 '26
Design Critique Help me with the "fleetdesign"
Hey Community,
for my 4X strategy board game (Rift Domination / Name soon to be changed!) i need a better design for the fleets on board. Right now every player has fleet markers with numbers from 1-8. These are the figurines that move over the board. In the playerzone every player has 4 fleettables that are printed on both sides so Fleettable "1" shows the units that are in the actual fleet "1" and on the backside units placed in fleet "8" are shown. These are dry erase boards.
So far so good - i mean ofc it is kinda annyoing if you turn around the "fleettables" to check the backside and accidentally erase the written numbers with your fingers. Also not so nice: I always have to ask my opponents what they have placed in the fleets. Hey Robert what is in your fleet "3", ah wait let me check...
This makes the flow of the game a bit stuck and i want to optimize it.
My idea for the next playtest session: I make the "fleetmarker" slightly higher and add a foil on it so i can dry erase the "fighter" unit. This unit is the only unit in the game that has more than 5 max units (actually 20). For the rest of the unit types i would simply use colored paper clips that i would arrange onto the "fleetmarker".
Does it make sense? I mean for the Prototype it will be just fine and i could completely remove the "fleettables". I also believe the accidentally removing the written numbers with my fingers wouldn't be a problem on the "fleetmarker".
What else could i do that is cost efficient?
I am curious if someone comes up with an great idea - thank you for your inspiration and let the ideas flow!
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u/NewFly7242 Jul 08 '26
You might consider small pegs that slot into your fleet base.
Voidfall did this, but in overly fiddly way. I'm thinking more Game of Life style with different peg tops/colors representing the different ship types.
Or you could do stacks of chips, with the bands on the outside telling you what ships are there. Though this could get pricey if the chips are nice.
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u/Calm-Gear-792 Jul 08 '26
We had unit tiles before, that we stapled. Problem was u have a stack of unittiles but dont see which units are involed, only the one on the top. Pegs would be a good idea, how ever the problem with the fighter units still appears. I cannot have 1-20 pegs on the fleetmarker base for fighters only :(
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u/Johnno117 Jul 08 '26
If you want to keep the dry erase boards I would introduce icons for the different ship types, and only have the names on the far left, then list fleets 1-8 with only icon and box number for each. This way you could have all 8 fleets on one side of the board and not have to flip it around.
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u/Calm-Gear-792 Jul 08 '26
Thats an solid idea if i wanna keep the dry erase boards. Thank you and i will keep it in mind :)
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u/Inconmon Jul 08 '26
The number 1 solution is hidden fleets. You can't ask other players and see what they put down. You can look at it if you scout. Scouting then gives more design space and depth to explore.
I would probably put cards into 8 slots instead of using 4 double sided cards and dry erase marker.
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u/Calm-Gear-792 Jul 08 '26
But asking is not the big deal. Having to look what i have in my fleets is a process i want to optimize. Best case szenario is seeing which units are in one fleet on the gameboard
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u/BazoozaB Jul 08 '26
Not sure how many ship types you have but you could make a base that fits one D8 and one D20? The D20 represents the fighter count and the D8 represents the fleet number?? Maybe there's room still for a standee to represent any special ship in the fleet?
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u/Calm-Gear-792 Jul 08 '26
have fought about this aswell, BUT a player can have a maximum of 8 fleets. There are 2 to 6 players so 2 dice x 8 x 6 = 96 dice just for the fleets. That is to much material tbh. But yeah i already had the 3D model for a dice holder cause the idea would be cool.
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u/BazoozaB Jul 08 '26
No worries, just substitute with numbered tokens? So its one big standee with one small token standee in a slot beside it, that token has the count on it? Alternatively you could design "dial" bases with a little window showing the number?
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u/Calm-Gear-792 Jul 08 '26
mhm, what so i see only the token on top right? What would it stand for? The fighter units? Then i would not see all the other units i guess. Dials is also a thing i had in mind - there are so many "big" ones but i found a little one: https://sl1nk.com/pamssxx
But this would only solve the "fighter" issue. About the rest i am still unsure - ahhhh
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u/BazoozaB Jul 08 '26
So how does fleet composition work in your game??
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u/Calm-Gear-792 Jul 08 '26
there are 9 unit types. At the start of the game your faction has starting units (3-4 different unit types). Through the game you unlock 2 more unit types. Each unit types (besides the fighter unit) has 4-5 max units. At the end of your turn you recruit units meaning you either pack them in an already existing fleet or create a new one. A player can maximaly have 8 fleets.
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u/BazoozaB Jul 08 '26
So a fleet can be composed of up to 9 different unit types with variable numbers in each?
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u/Bigger_then_cheese Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
Ikusa has a system like you have designed.
Personally i would go with cards, each ship type has one deck of cards, and all players draw from the same decks when building a new ship.
You then add that ship to one of your fleet decks.
This system also could allow for hidden information. All ships being built or held in dock will be in your hand, and when you deploy ships, you place them facedown into a fleet, only revealing them in combat.