TOPIC: New Prototype Magnetic Slider

A few of you knew in the beginning that I was working on a new magnetic slider, mostly for my own satisfaction to see if I could improve on the design. After about the 3rd prototype I expanded the feedback group and sent one to Jeff to review. Four more prototypes later we were ready to test it out at The Grind.

First I want to thank all the great testing and feedback everyone has provided up to date. We couldn't have come this far without it.

Here are the key features of the new slider:

1. It will have a special magnet to calibrated to provide up and down pull with enough strength to keep the non-woody tokens attached 90% of the time.
2. A quick token release (by pressing the edges tilting the token up). After a few tries you can remove your token in under a couple of seconds. This would have to be demonstrated in the training room.
3. Pending Jeff's design choices we could do separate colors for different class groups (e.g. Druid/Ranger are green, Wizards are Red, Fighters - Blue).
4. A softer outer ring which cushions the fall if the puck leaves the table. This improves the retention rate by 30% so it is valuable but does slightly change the bumping pucks behavior.

For now if you could please post any comments/feedback you had while trying them here (so we can consolidate all the input) I would appreciate it.

I am giving Jeff a couple of weeks to get back and unwind and then I will be talking with him to go over the next steps. Rest assured I have heard the feedback on people wanting to buy the sliders and it will be a topic of discussion but I can not make any promises.

Thanks again for everyone's hard work. The goal is to keep those valuable tokens in your possession and not distract from the game.

The soft edge may be an issue. You can't bump other pucks easily, as we are accustomed to doing, and it could make every puck similar to a Flank punk left by a Rogue. The rest seems okay.

I used this on the grind and liked it

the bouncing is different and the puck felt heavier to me and I think it changed the slide

the material at the base also was slight different, I noted the puck I was using seem to rotate a lot more than normal

but then again you can adjust fast.

the weight could also add another layer to sliding, the boards already act fast or slow, the pucks could have different weights, like some computer mice do.

over all I liked them and would happily use again.

Updated with some pictures.

Ed

balthasar wrote: The soft edge may be an issue. You can't bump other pucks easily, as we are accustomed to doing, and it could make every puck similar to a Flank punk left by a Rogue. The rest seems okay.

They can be bumped but they need a bit more force to do so. The bumping concern was considered in the design but the value of increasing the retention of a token from 60% to 90% felt worth the soft bump. If it is decided that 60% is enough then the red bumper can be eliminated.

Ed

Most falling pucks will land on an edge.

If you can make a ring of bounciness along the top and bottom but leave the center harder, you'd get the best of both.

When viewed from the side it would look like a strawberry doublestuff Oreo, but the red cookies and white frosting would line up evenly.

Mmmm Oreos...

I used these as a monk on the 11:30 grind and I noticed that occasionally when I slid that the puck would catch on the board and roll up on its edge.

I used them on Grind and They worked well. As others have said they cause bumping to be different (Master Mongo is particularly good at this) but with practice that Should not be an issue.

They do slide and bump slightly differently but I'd argue they do both better than the current pucks. Overall I think it is a great improvement over what we have now.

A couple of thoughts/suggestions (most of which I already shared with you):

• Rings should be color coded by class (or at least color groups) to make it easier to find your slider. Ideally find a way to embed the class name on the edge of the token so when they are stacked up you can read the class names.
• Combat boards could have two measuring lines; stack the pucks up, compare against the line, and if it is the correct length then you know you have all of your pucks. The magnets make them very quick to stack up. This is great for DMs
• I did see one flip twice. These are a bit more top-heavy. If there is a way to lower the CG it probably would help.
  
• If the plastic or the writing could be made glow-in-the-dark that would be cool.
• For Monk we'd need a way to get a damage dial in there.
• Finally, the beveled edge is great for removing tokens, but it could be even better if it was a cone rather than a pyramid shape. This means you can push in any direction to pop your token out. Not sure if that's possible.

Kirk Bauer wrote: They do slide and bump slightly differently but I'd argue they do both better than the current pucks. Overall I think it is a great improvement over what we have now.

A couple of thoughts/suggestions (most of which I already shared with you):

Kirk Bauer wrote: Rings should be color coded by class (or at least color groups) to make it easier to find your slider. Ideally find a way to embed the class name on the edge of the token so when they are stacked up you can read the class names.

On the agenda to discuss with Jeff.

Kirk Bauer wrote: Combat boards could have two measuring lines; stack the pucks up, compare against the line, and if it is the correct length then you know you have all of your pucks. The magnets make them very quick to stack up. This is great for DMs

See above.

Kirk Bauer wrote: I did see one flip twice. These are a bit more top-heavy. If there is a way to lower the CG it probably would help.

Agreed the magnet is raising the CG and by lowering the magnet we lose retention rate. We could add weight at the bottom but I am worried about the puck getting too heavy.

Kirk Bauer wrote: If the plastic or the writing could be made glow-in-the-dark that would be cool.

Yes possible if Jeff wants.

Kirk Bauer wrote: For Monk we'd need a way to get a damage dial in there.

Going with a pyramid or cone (see next comment) it will be much harder. I am going to suggest some common tokens that can be used.

Kirk Bauer wrote: Finally, the beveled edge is great for removing tokens, but it could be even better if it was a cone rather than a pyramid shape. This means you can push in any direction to pop your token out. Not sure if that's possible.

It was great feedback and I am trying one with a cone to see how it works.


Ed

My group really enjoyed the prototype sliders.

Pro's
1. Magnet - Tokens stay in the puck, no worries about bumping the puck and watching your legendary fly out and hit the ground rolling!
2. Easy removal - just press down on one of the sides and the token pops up to remove it. As Kirk stated cone shape would be better but it is fine the way it is.
3. Heavier - Some of us really liked the weight of the slider...

Con's
1. Heavier - Some people thought the slider was to heavy...
2. Size - To big, made it easier to hit (quick fix).
3. Rubber - The rubber around the token made bumping harder, sometimes just need a good bump.

Maybe we as players can purchase these as personal sliders. This way sliders won't walk off to other rooms (opps!). I know my group would love to have personal sliders, with engraved names as a option. Just a thought!

Kaledor wrote: My group really enjoyed the prototype sliders.

Pro's
1. Magnet - Tokens stay in the puck, no worries about bumping the puck and watching your legendary fly out and hit the ground rolling!
2. Easy removal - just press down on one of the sides and the token pops up to remove it. As Kirk stated cone shape would be better but it is fine the way it is.
3. Heavier - Some of us really liked the weight of the slider...

Con's
1. Heavier - Some people thought the slider was to heavy...
2. Size - To big, made it easier to hit (quick fix).
3. Rubber - The rubber around the token made bumping harder, sometimes just need a good bump.

Maybe we as players can purchase these as personal sliders. This way sliders won't walk off to other rooms (opps!). I know my group would love to have personal sliders, with engraved names as a option. Just a thought!

2. Size - To big, made it easier to hit (quick fix). Excuse me but as I am a now living Prop from the Dungeon, why is this a "Con" Are you a secret spy for the monsters?