{"id":11463,"date":"2026-07-09T18:46:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wildscape\/designer-diary\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T18:47:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:47:48","slug":"designer-diary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wildscape\/designer-diary\/","title":{"rendered":"Designer Diary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"nav-wrapper\"><ul class=\"nav nav-uppercase nav-horizontal nav-line text-center nav-center\"><p class=\"lead shortcode-error text-center\">Sorry, no pages was found<\/p><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wildscape\/\">Wildscape<\/a><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Designer Diary von Sebastian Bleasdale<\/p>\n<h5 class=\"uppercase\">Teil 1: Der Mancala-Mechanismus<\/h5>\n<p>Die Entwicklung von <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgame\/462932\/wildscape\" target=\"_self\">\u201eWildscape\u201c<\/a> begann vor vielen Jahren an einem kalten Abend in Essen. Ich hatte mich nach einem Tag auf der Spielemesse \u201eSPIEL 2014\u201c mit meinem Kollegen <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgamedesigner\/6291\/seth-jaffee\" target=\"_self\">Seth Jaffee<\/a> zum Abendessen verabredet, und wir unterhielten uns \u00fcber den Mechanismus zur Aktionsauswahl in <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgame\/102680\/trajan\" target=\"_self\">\u201eTrajan\u201c.<\/a> \u201eTrajan\u201c verf\u00fcgte \u00fcber ein Mancala-System, bei dem jeder Spieler Spielsteine in mehreren Schalen hatte, die er nacheinander im Uhrzeigersinn aufnahm und verteilte, wobei er eine Aktion aus der letzten Schale ausf\u00fchrte. Seth und ich waren uns einig, dass es verschiedene M\u00f6glichkeiten gab, Mancala-Systeme einzusetzen, und dass dieser Bereich viel ungenutztes Potenzial barg. Seths Vision konzentrierte sich auf die Entwicklung der Anpassbarkeit von Aktionen und m\u00fcndete in <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgame\/170624\/crusaders-thy-will-be-done\" target=\"_self\">\u201eCrusaders: Thy Will Be Done\u201c<\/a>, das 2018 ver\u00f6ffentlicht wurde. Meine Vision konzentrierte sich darauf, ein einziges Mancala zwischen den Spielern zu teilen. Die Entwicklung dauerte deutlich l\u00e4nger.      <\/p>\n<p>Meine Vision war, dass jeder Bereich eine bestimmte Art von Aktion erm\u00f6glichte und die Anzahl der Spielsteine an einem bestimmten Ort anzeigte, wie stark diese Aktion werden w\u00fcrde. Wenn Spieler eine Aktion ausf\u00fchrten, erhielten sie entsprechend der Anzahl der Spielsteine eine F\u00e4higkeit; anschlie\u00dfend wurden die Spielsteine im Uhrzeigersinn verteilt, wodurch die Aktion an St\u00e4rke verlor und andere Aktionen nach und nach an St\u00e4rke gewannen. Ungeliebte Aktionen gewannen nach und nach an St\u00e4rke, bis sie ausgef\u00fchrt wurden, wodurch sich ein dynamisches Spektrum an M\u00f6glichkeiten ergab.  <\/p>\n<p>Ich hatte vor kurzem begonnen, gemeinsam mit einem Freund von mir, <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgamedesigner\/5860\/ian-vincent\" target=\"_self\">Ian Vincent<\/a>, an einem Eisenbahnbau-Spiel zu arbeiten, dessen Mechanismus zur Aktionsauswahl Probleme bereitete. Ich schlug vor, es einmal auszuprobieren, und der Mancala-Mechanismus passte perfekt hinein und funktionierte so reibungslos, wie ich es mir vorgestellt hatte. Wir \u00fcberarbeiteten das Design immer wieder, und das Spiel entwickelte sich wunderbar und war etwa 2018 bereit, auf den Markt gebracht zu werden. Nur \u2026 irgendetwas stimmte nicht.   <\/p>\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_1318808274\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" style=\"margin:20px 0px 0px 0px;\">\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"844\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mancala-system-by-rail-844x800.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"The mancala mechanism in an early railroad game prototype.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mancala-system-by-rail-844x800.png 844w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mancala-system-by-rail-422x400.png 422w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mancala-system-by-rail-768x728.png 768w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mancala-system-by-rail-1536x1456.png 1536w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mancala-system-by-rail.png 1918w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 844px) 100vw, 844px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_1318808274 {\n  width: 71%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Den Mancala-Mechanismus auf Schienen erkunden<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Der Mancala-Mechanismus schien den Spielern viele interessante Entscheidungsm\u00f6glichkeiten zu bieten \u2013 doch je mehr Erfahrung Ian und ich mit dem Spiel sammelten, desto mehr wurde uns klar, dass es fast immer die richtige Entscheidung war, den Ort zu w\u00e4hlen, der die meisten Baupl\u00e4tze bot (und das Spiel so zu optimieren, dass man sie alle nutzen konnte). Wir haben den Mancala-Mechanismus gestrichen und durch ein besseres System ersetzt. <\/p>\n<p>Auch wenn sich die Mancala-Mechanik nicht f\u00fcr das Eisenbahnbau-Spiel eignete, war ich dennoch davon \u00fcberzeugt, dass das Konzept gut war. Es brauchte lediglich eine bessere Umsetzung. Es brauchte ein Spiel, das darauf zugeschnitten war, um zu zeigen, was damit m\u00f6glich war. Und dank des Eisenbahnbau-Spiels hatte ich eine gute Vorstellung davon, was daf\u00fcr n\u00f6tig war.   <\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\" ><\/div>\n\n<h5>PART 2: IDEEN VON WERT<\/h5>\n<p>In <a class=\"ng-star-inserted\" tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3717704\/wildscape-designer-diary-1-the-mancala-mechanism\" target=\"_self\">Teil 1<\/a> dieses Tagebuchs habe ich dar\u00fcber berichtet, wie ich einen Mancala-Mechanismus entwickelt hatte, der vielversprechend war \u2013 aber einer besseren Umsetzung bedurfte. Im echten Leben lassen sich die meisten Dinge zu einem allgemein anerkannten Wert erwerben, doch in zentralen Spielmechaniken ist dies fatal. Wenn jeder die M\u00f6glichkeit hat, denselben Preis zu zahlen, um genau das zu erhalten, was er braucht, wird er dies auch tun, sodass alle Spieler genau an derselben Stelle stehen bleiben und kein interessantes Spiel entsteht. Bei Spielen dreht sich alles um die Einschr\u00e4nkungen, denen die Spieler unterliegen \u2013 wobei der Zugang zu Ressourcen von Spieler zu Spieler variiert und die Spieler folglich sehr unterschiedliche Vorstellungen davon haben, welchen Wert eine bestimmte Aktion hat.   <\/p>\n<p>Ich musste sicherstellen, dass diese Unterscheidung im Mancala-Mechanismus vorhanden war, und plante, dies auf zwei wesentliche Arten umzusetzen:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/gh\/jdecked\/twemoji@17.0.2\/assets\/svg\/2714.svg\" alt=\"\u2714\ufe0f\" aria-label=\"Heavy Check Mark\"> Auf jedes Mancala-Feld, das die Spieler bei der Ausf\u00fchrung der Aktion erhalten haben, werden Landschaftskarten gelegt. Landschaftskarten eignen sich hervorragend, um Elemente einzuf\u00fchren, die f\u00fcr verschiedene Spieler unterschiedliche Werte haben, und da Menschen von Natur aus darauf ausgerichtet sind, Karten zu verstehen, l\u00e4sst sich auf diese Weise eine gro\u00dfe Vielfalt und Komplexit\u00e4t schaffen, die f\u00fcr die Spieler relativ leicht zu bew\u00e4ltigen ist. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/gh\/jdecked\/twemoji@17.0.2\/assets\/svg\/2714.svg\" alt=\"\u2714\ufe0f\" aria-label=\"Heavy Check Mark\"> Die Aktionen auf den einzelnen Feldern abwechslungsreicher gestalten \u2013 eines der Hauptprobleme bei meinem vorherigen Versuch war, dass sich das Spiel auf den Gleisbau konzentrierte, sodass sich die meisten Mancala-Felder ebenfalls auf den Gleisbau bezogen. Diese waren einander viel zu \u00e4hnlich. Stattdessen wollte ich Aktionen, die Nischencharakter haben und nur unter bestimmten Umst\u00e4nden interessant sind. Das birgt das Risiko, dass sich zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt kein Spieler f\u00fcr ein Feld interessiert \u2013 um dies abzumildern, habe ich beschlossen, jedem Feld mehrere Aktionen zuzuweisen, sodass die Spieler immer die andere Option w\u00e4hlen k\u00f6nnen.   <\/p>\n<p>Mit diesen \u00c4nderungen hoffte ich, dass die Hauptmechanik die Spieler dazu zwingen w\u00fcrde, drei verschiedene Aspekte gegeneinander abzuw\u00e4gen \u2013 das zu nehmende Spielfeld, die verf\u00fcgbaren Aktionen und die Anzahl der Spielsteine, die die Aktionen steuern \u2013, und dass die Bedeutung dieser Aspekte im Laufe des Spiels und von Partie zu Partie variieren w\u00fcrde, je nach den Spielern, ihren Positionen und ihren zuk\u00fcnftigen Strategien. Ich hatte das Gef\u00fchl, dass dies der Kern von etwas Gro\u00dfartigem sein k\u00f6nnte. Jetzt brauchte ich nur noch den Rest des Spiels.  <\/p>\n<p>Auf der Spiel 2019 traf ich mich mit <a class=\"ng-star-inserted\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgamedesigner\/69679\/juma-al-joujou\" target=\"_self\">Juma Al-JouJou<\/a> von <a class=\"ng-star-inserted\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgamepublisher\/26892\/karma-games\" target=\"_self\">Karma Games.<\/a> Er hatte mit seinem Spiel <a class=\"ng-star-inserted\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgame\/216132\/clans-of-caledonia\" target=\"_self\">\u201eClans of Caledonia\u201c <\/a>Erfolg gehabt und erwog, Karma Games zu erweitern, um auch Spiele anderer Designer zu ver\u00f6ffentlichen. Meine Spiele gefielen ihm, und er fragte mich, ob ich etwas h\u00e4tte, das zu seinem Publikum passen w\u00fcrde. Ich sagte ihm, dass ich zwar nichts h\u00e4tte \u2013 aber (mit Blick auf den Mancala-Mechanismus) gab es ein Spiel, das ich gerade entwickelte und das sich vielleicht als geeignet erweisen k\u00f6nnte. Er meinte, er w\u00e4re daran interessiert, es in einem fr\u00fcheren Stadium als \u00fcblich zu sehen und m\u00f6glicherweise bei der Entwicklung zu helfen, um sicherzustellen, dass es wirklich zu Karma Games passe.    <\/p>\n<p>Nachdem die zentrale Spielmechanik und die Zielgruppe feststanden, machte ich mich daran, herauszufinden, wie das Spiel rund um das Mancala gestaltet werden sollte. Das erforderte zahlreiche Versuche. Es gab Varianten, in denen Edelmetalle abgebaut, ein Themenpark errichtet oder Imperien und Zivilisationen aufgebaut wurden. Es gab Varianten, bei denen Spielsteine auf bestimmte Weise gruppiert werden mussten, um Punkte zu erzielen, mit ressourcenbasierten Wirtschaftssystemen, in denen H\u00e4user fertiggestellt werden mussten. Es hat auch viel Zeit gekostet \u2013 was durch die weltweite Pandemie nicht gerade erleichtert wurde, die mir eineinhalb Jahre lang meine Freizeit und den Zugang zu Testspielern genommen hat.    <\/p>\n<p>Nachdem die Kernmechanik des Spiels und die Zielgruppe feststanden, machte ich mich daran, herauszufinden, wie das Spiel rund um Mancala strukturiert werden sollte. Dies erforderte zahlreiche Versuche. Es gab Varianten, in denen die Spieler Edelmetalle abbauten, einen Themenpark bauten oder Reiche und Zivilisationen errichteten. Es gab Varianten, bei denen Spielsteine auf bestimmte Weise gruppiert werden mussten, um Punkte zu erzielen, sowie ressourcenbasierte Wirtschaftssysteme, in denen H\u00e4user fertiggestellt werden mussten. Es hat auch viel Zeit in Anspruch genommen \u2013 ein Prozess, der durch die globale Pandemie nicht gerade erleichtert wurde, die mir eineinhalb Jahre lang meine Freizeit und den Zugang zu Testspielern raubte.   <\/p>\n<p>Es gab eine Reihe von M\u00f6glichkeiten, wie ich die Entwicklung des Spiels weiterverfolgen konnte. Ich erinnerte mich an Jumas Vorschlag und beschloss, mich erneut mit ihm in Verbindung zu setzen, um zu erfahren, ob er das Spiel f\u00fcr Karma Games geeignet f\u00e4nde und, falls ja, ob er bestimmte Vorstellungen bez\u00fcglich der n\u00e4chsten Schritte h\u00e4tte. Also fuhr ich mit meinem aktuellen Prototyp zur Spiel 2023.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"row\"  id=\"row-1658147281\">\n\n\n\t<div id=\"col-81226596\" class=\"col medium-6 small-12 large-6\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_1164853185\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"765\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-1-1067x800.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"Early version of Wildscape 1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-1-1067x800.jpg 1067w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-1-533x400.jpg 533w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-1.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_1164853185 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p><em>Early versions of Wildscape, when it was badly themed around zoo building<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\t<div id=\"col-677508406\" class=\"col medium-6 small-12 large-6\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_213184315\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-2-Large-1062x800.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"Early version of Wildscape 2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-2-Large-1062x800.jpeg 1062w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-2-Large-531x400.jpeg 531w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-2-Large-768x578.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-2-2-Large.jpeg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_213184315 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\" ><\/div>\n\n<h5>PART 3: FREEDOM WITHOUT WALLS<\/h5>\n<p>In <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3721111\/wildscape-designer-diary-2-ideas-of-worth\" target=\"_self\">part 2 <\/a>of this designer diary, I discussed steps leading me to bring Wildscape to <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgamepublisher\/26892\/karma-games\" target=\"_self\">Karma Games<\/a> when I met them at the Spiel 2023 games fair. The version I took was in no way finished &#8211; the graphics were crude, the rules unpolished and the theming was limited &#8211; even the name \u2018Zoo Roundel\u2019 was clearly a placeholder. However, they were happy to try the prototype out and give feedback.  <\/p>\n<p>On the games mechanics side, their feedback was not dissimilar to other feedback I\u2019d already received. However, I received very insightful feedback on the thematic positioning from <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgamedesigner\/69679\/juma-al-joujou\" target=\"_self\">Juma<\/a>, who heads Karma games. He said that while introducing animals worked well mechanically, building a zoo was not particularly aspirational for most people &#8211; and people who wanted to build a zoo were already well served by <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgame\/342942\/ark-nova\" target=\"_self\">Ark Nova<\/a>. As a vegan he particularly found building walls for enclosures to imprison animals unappealing and asked whether I had considered an ecosystem theme &#8211; developing spaces for animals without walls?   <\/p>\n<div class=\"row\"  id=\"row-392924547\">\n\n\n\t<div id=\"col-1276529271\" class=\"col medium-6 small-12 large-6\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_754703155\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-1-1063x800.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-1-1063x800.jpg 1063w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-1-531x400.jpg 531w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-1-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-1-1536x1157.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_754703155 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p><em>Losing walls and changing theme<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\t<div id=\"col-2093986150\" class=\"col medium-6 small-12 large-6\"  >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_1677612209\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"912\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-2-912x800.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-2-912x800.jpg 912w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-2-456x400.jpg 456w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-2-768x674.jpg 768w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-2-1536x1348.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-2.jpg 1542w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 912px) 100vw, 912px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_1677612209 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n<\/div>\n<p>That small twist in perspective was just what I needed to drive the next stages of development. Removing the zoo walls on the habitat tiles gave more freedom to place them, allowed more inventive play, and supported a switch to hexagonal tiles (also suggested by Juma). The change in scale meant that lands could be textured with mountains and rivers. And rather than creating a generic zoo which could be anywhere, I could focus on a landscape in a particular place, for which I chose Africa.   <\/p>\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_602944765\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"673\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-3-1212x800.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-3-1212x800.jpg 1212w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-3-606x400.jpg 606w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-3-768x507.jpg 768w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-3-1536x1014.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/designer-diary-part-3-3-2048x1352.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_602944765 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p><em>Going hexagonal<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, I decided in the new version of the game, essentially all scoring would be done through the animals you place. In the zoo version of the game, particular arrangements of animal enclosures allowed certain amenities to be placed. That never made much sense &#8211; building amenities isn&#8217;t usually particularly hard. But if the game was about creating habitats for animals and particular predators needed certain configurations of herbivore habitats to flourish, that would be compelling. And if we have herbivores and predators, what about the other animal types? What about birds, which fly between players depending on certain criteria? What about primates which helped you by performing certain actions? What about snakes which filled in ecological niches? Where do we fit all the other weird and wonderful animals?        <\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t all straightforward, mind you. There were numerous challenges and adjustments which were required to make the game work &#8211; a constant stream of ideas being considered and incorporated, cards and tiles and abilities being changed and rebalanced, and lots of comments and suggestions from my many playtesters (thank you all!) <\/p>\n<p>All the while I kept Karma games looped in on developments, and they occasionally tried out various versions. Then, in early 2025 they decided we should move our informal collaboration onto a formal footing. They asked me to send them a \u2018best current version\u2019, played it, liked it and signed the game.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\" ><\/div>\n\n<h5>PART 4: SPECIALIST INTEREST<\/h5>\n<p>In the previous sections of this diary (<a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3717704\/wildscape-designer-diary-1-the-mancala-mechanism\" target=\"_self\">part 1<\/a>, <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3721111\/wildscape-designer-diary-2-ideas-of-worth\" target=\"_self\">part 2<\/a>, <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3724334\/wildscape-designer-diary-3-freedom-without-walls\" target=\"_self\">part 3<\/a>), I discussed how the mancala mechanism needs different players to have different ideas about what things are worth to function effectively. In addition to changing the mancala to achieve this, the surrounding game needs to encourage this. As a result, from a very early stage, Wildscape had specialists &#8211; cards which come into the game and give you one-off or ongoing special abilities.  <\/p>\n<p>In the early prototypes, players could use a mancala action to hire specialists, and each player had a maximum number which could be active at any time. The specialists were fun and certainly helped differentiate the players. However, the way players got them meant that the mechanic was very swingy &#8211; players who were lucky enough to chain specialists or get a couple of specialists who synergised well rocketed ahead while others floundered.  <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d seen and fixed this issue before, in my game <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgame\/157403\/black-fleet\" target=\"_self\">Black Fleet<\/a>. Early versions of the game allowed you to go through ongoing abilities in a similar fashion, resulting in a game which felt similar at the start and the end. Tying acquisition of these abilities to victory points meant that player powers were introduced gradually throughout the game, and the start and end felt very different.  <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, I had a different problem &#8211; while the actions on the roundel gave player interaction, the rest of the board play was relatively solitaire. I needed to give players reasons to care about what their opponents were doing. <\/p>\n<p>I realised I could solve both issues by requiring players to get enough of a particular type of animal to get a corresponding specialist &#8211; and increasing the boundary as specialists of that type came out. Players would have to race their opponents for the specialists and the specialists would come into the game at a sensible pace. <\/p>\n<p>Since each player would only get one specialist for each habitat type, this also allowed me to group the specialist abilities, to prevent any of the specialists synergising too well or too poorly with one-another. I ultimately ended up with five specialist categories &#8211; savannah specialists help turn-by-turn play, woodland specialists give immediate effects, wetland specialists interact with land tiles, desert specialists interact with animal cards, and river specialists give rewards for playing animals in a specific habitat. <\/p>\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_483866911\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"306\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20251123-1400x420.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"Early specialists design, November 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20251123-1400x420.png 1400w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20251123-800x240.png 800w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20251123-768x230.png 768w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20251123-1536x460.png 1536w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20251123-2048x614.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_483866911 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p><em>Specialists from the Wildscape prototype in 2025<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Within each specialist type, it was important to me that all the specialists played differently &#8211; a desire that proved to be quite a challenge when <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgamepublisher\/26892\/karma-games\" target=\"_self\">Karma games<\/a> signed the game and asked that I increase the number of specialists of each type to eight.<\/p>\n<p>Why eight? Because specialists were an area where the level of complexity could easily be dialed up and down to suit different levels of player experience, and having two specialists per player would facilitate this. <\/p>\n<p>The version of the game which I had been working on, where specialists are known from the start of the game, became the expert mode &#8211; and was improved by giving players a selection of two specialists of each type at the beginning rather than having the choice of specialist imposed. In its place, the standard mode had players select specialists from a choice of two when playing them, which helped prevent player overload when they didn\u2019t have experience with the game and all its systems. And finally Karma games added an expert draft variant for competitive players who wanted to minimise the influence of chance.  <\/p>\n<p>It took some creativity to increase the specialist roster &#8211; but we were successful, allowing Wildscape to come with 40 distinct specialists helping to make every game unique.<\/p>\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_307784979\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"291\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20260528-1400x399.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"Final specialist card designs, May 2026\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20260528-1400x399.png 1400w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20260528-800x228.png 800w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20260528-768x219.png 768w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20260528-1536x438.png 1536w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/specialists-20260528-2048x584.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_307784979 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p><em>Specialists in the final game<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\" ><\/div>\n\n<h5>PART 5: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE<\/h5>\n<p>As discussed in <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3727439\/wildscape-designer-diary-4-specialist-interest\" target=\"_self\">part 4<\/a>, Wildscape\u2019s design process did not end with the game being signed &#8211; in many ways it was kicked into overdrive, with a lot of intense testing and carefully targeted improvements. I have to commend Juma and his team at <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgamepublisher\/26892\/karma-games\" target=\"_self\">Karma games<\/a> for the excellent work they did in identifying aspects of the game which could be improved and working to find better solutions. <br><br>When the game was signed, for example, neither predators nor primates were represented on your landscape. While they gave you points, they felt detached and not properly integrated. I\u2019d tried various approaches to address this &#8211; but hadn\u2019t come up with anything which justified the mechanical complexity. The most interesting version I\u2019d tried was perhaps the one where predator pawns helped increase habitat size &#8211; which I\u2019d abandoned because this made it harder to assess the size of the habitat and introduced odd timing issues.   <br><br>That didn\u2019t deter Karma Games, and after extensive discussions and numerous tests we worked out systems which added predator and primate meeples to the board in a way which made the game look nicer, was more thematic and added nuance to the gameplay.<\/p>\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_1847889006\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"529\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665184.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665184.jpg 1210w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665184-771x400.jpg 771w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665184-768x399.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_1847889006 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p><em>Ferocious beasts<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the new version, predators are placed on their prey &#8211; with larger prey giving more points. This incentivises players to place predators in a natural way &#8211; going after the larger more plentiful herbivores where possible &#8211; and avoids odd situations which emerged in earlier versions where all the predators could be satisfied by one single animal tile. <br><br>Primates, on the other hand, can be placed on any suitable habitat tile suitable for the species being played &#8211; provided it is at a suitable distance from other primates. They give points for similar terrain in the immediate vicinity, and their preference for woodlands is incorporated and helps balance the strength of woodland specialist cards. <br><br>Bird cards also saw changes &#8211; the submitted version had all players competing over a pool of birds (which scaled badly with different numbers of players) and this was switched to a version where you competed with each of your adjacent players for a subset.<br><br>But the most important change was to the acquisition of animal cards &#8211; for most of the game\u2019s development, I\u2019d relied on a system where players taking cards drew two and discarded one. This was switched to an approach with a lower level of luck with players drawing from a small tableau of cards. <\/p>\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_24962586\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"707\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665192-707x800.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665192-707x800.jpg 707w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665192-354x400.jpg 354w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665192-768x869.jpg 768w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665192.jpg 837w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_24962586 {\n  width: 75%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p><em>Fauna, Primate, and Predator card tableau<\/em><br><br>Once the game was in a near final stage, I designed the solo player mode. When I design solo player modes, I like to have a simulated opponent whom I can beat &#8211; but want to ensure that the work required to run them is minimal so I can focus on playing the game rather than working out what the opponent must do. Having the opponent try and place habitat tiles and evaluate animal cards was therefore out of the question &#8211; instead I had the soloplay opponent use the mancala mechanism to gain animals directly. This worked out beautifully &#8211; although the opponent is not random and so plays smoothly, the tile draw introduces enough randomness that you feel you\u2019re playing against the opponent rather than the soloplay mode turning into a puzzle.   <\/p>\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_1440279273\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"792\" height=\"713\" src=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665193.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665193.jpg 792w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665193-444x400.jpg 444w, https:\/\/karma-games.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pic9665193-768x691.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 792px) 100vw, 792px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_1440279273 {\n  width: 75%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p><em>Prototype showing the central ring which dictates which habitat the solo opponent takes animals from.<\/em><br><br>While this was happening, Karma replaced my crude graphics with stunning art, inconsistent explanations with a thorough rulebook and player aids and throw-it-all-in-the-box storage with custom inserts (here on <a class=\"postlink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DZ4Xm0kiOSq\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a>). I think they\u2019ve done an outstanding job in both doing the final development and rendering the game into its final form. <br><br>Looking back over the course of development, the game\u2019s come a long way since its initial conception in 2014, growing with me as a designer. Its measured development has allowed me to continually refine aspects of the game. It\u2019s taken some time but I think, and I hope you\u2019ll agree, that the end result is worth it.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\" ><\/div>\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to comment or ask a question, you can on the original BoardGameGeek thread!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3717704\/wildscape-designer-diary-1-the-mancala-mechanism\">Teil 1: Der Mancala-Mechanismus<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3721111\/wildscape-designer-diary-2-ideas-of-worth\">Part 2: Ideas of Worth<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3724334\/wildscape-designer-diary-3-freedom-without-walls\">Part 3: Freedom Without Walls<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"forum-header__title tw-m-0 tw-break-words tw-text-base tw-leading-tight md:tw-text-lg md:tw-leading-tight\"><a class=\"link-text-color\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3727439\/wildscape-designer-diary-4-specialist-interest\">Part 4: Specialist Interest<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"forum-header__title tw-m-0 tw-break-words tw-text-base tw-leading-tight md:tw-text-lg md:tw-leading-tight\"><a class=\"link-text-color\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/thread\/3730610\/wildscape-designer-diary-5-where-the-wild-things-a\">Part 5: Where the Wild Things Are<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":0,"parent":11094,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11463","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11463\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karma-games.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}