Talk:Aquarius Rising

Multi-Connection Bonus Playtest Results

As originally drafted, Aquarius Rising rules specified: "Play with or without the Aquarius 2.0 multi-connection bonus rule, according to your house preference. If you do use this bonus, it also applies to Element cards played upwards: i.e. a card that matches two different elements to the pyramids beneath it will generate a bonus draw, and so forth."

In practice, this turned out to be a dud. For regular Aquarius play, the incentive for connecting multiple elements is balanced by defensive play, so that there is an intrinsic "cost" of aiding someone else towards their seven panels when you get your extra card. But since the seven connected panels on the tabletop are not the primary determinant of victory in Aquarius Rising, the tendency is for players to accumulate large and unwieldy hands.

As I was typing up this note, it occurred to me: the multi-connection bonus would still be constructive in Aquarius Rising, if applied vertically only. Off to revise the rules page accordingly. --Carthoris 18:54, 17 March 2012 (UTC)

New Rule for Consideration/Playtesting

Aquarius Rising is pretty extensively playtested in its current form, and it works fine. But in some games, particularly using the To the Clouds and Sky High variants, I'm starting to think that the following additional rule might be useful:

Instead of playing a card from your hand, you have the option to take a card from the table and place it atop a full card of four pyramids, according to the regular rules for building upwards. It must not have any pyramids on it already, and it must come from the outer edge of the playing area. Such a play is not eligible for the multi-connection bonus.

It seems to me that this rule could help keep play interesting towards the end of the game, when it sometimes winds down a little anticlimactically. --Carthoris 17:03, 4 July 2012 (UTC)

Some conversation on this: http://boardgamegeek.com/article/9540656 --Carthoris 14:29, 5 July 2012 (UTC)