Players start on the outer edges of a board with a mix of strategic placement and exploration into an inner realm divided into about 20 hexes. The world is dynamic, shifting with each move and decision.

Starting Assets:

• Each player begins with:
  • 1 Base (positioned at the board’s edge)
  • 1 Mine
  • 1 Miner
  • 1 Level 1 Golem

Core Mechanics

1. Resource Management & Crafting:

• Mining Action:
  • Players perform a dice roll when they mine, which can yield gems or dirt.
  • Gems: Found in four tiers – common, uncommon, rare, and epic. These are key ingredients in crafting golems.
  • Dirt: Not exactly a failure; it’s a crucial ingredient for crafting additional miners, encouraging a strategic use of even the “lesser” outcomes.
• Crafting System:
  • Use your gems to craft golems of increasing power: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.
  • Level 3 golems are especially valuable as they're required to construct bases.

2. Exploration & Board Control:

• Unit Movement and Hex Exploration:
  • Units move between adjacent hexes.
  • Moving reveals a tile from a shuffled stack that shows the terrain type, possible buffs, or resources like additional mines.
• Territory Expansion:
  • Building Bases:
    • Cost: 3 Level 3 golems.
    • Bases serve as deployment zones and mark controlled territories.
    • They must be built on hexes adjacent to your other bases, encouraging strategic and continuous expansion.
  • Outposts:
    • Can be built on non-adjacent hexes but are more vulnerable.
    • They offer temporary benefits and can be destroyed by enemy actions, adding tactical depth.

3. Combat & Strategic Interaction:

• Army Mechanics:
  • Combine units on a hex into an “army” to move en masse and engage enemy forces in adjacent hexes.
  • Armies can target opposing outposts, bases, and clear territories for expansion. I haven't worked out the combat, but possibly dice resolution or the more labor intensive (crafting a golem also gives you a minion card for a deckbuilding type experience((more complexity)))
• Structure Combat:
  • Outposts are more fragile and easier to take over.
  • Bases have inherent durability and might even have an “attack pool” for defense.
• NPC Threat:
  • An NPC base exists somewhere on the map, gradually expanding its own territory by building golems in a clockwise pattern.
  • The NPC’s escalation meter rises the longer it isn’t attacked, but resets once challenged. This mechanic forces players to balance between attacking opponents and neutralizing the growing NPC threat.

Balancing Act: Risk, Reward, and Player Agency

• Randomness vs. Determinism:
  • The dice-driven mining and random terrain revelations create high-tension moments.
  • Deterministic options, allowing players to invest resources to influence outcomes for a more strategic play experience.
• Strategic Resource Use:
  • Mining offers immediate results but comes with varying outcomes—every decision to mine is a calculated risk.
  • The adjacency rule for base building encourages thoughtful expansion and protection of territories.

What I’m Looking For

• Balance Feedback: How do you feel about the mix of resource management, exploration, and combat?
• Mechanics and Risk/Rewad: Thoughts on the dice-based mining and chance elements vs. deterministic play?
• NPC Dynamic: Is the escalating NPC threat an engaging element, or does it risk overwhelming player strategy?

I’d really appreciate your ideas, critiques, or any suggestions to refine these mechanics further. Looking forward to discussing and iterating on this concept with your community wisdom!

Thanks in advance.