TOPIC: New Token Mat < Feedback Needed, Please

Mike Steele wrote: Jeff, I really like the concept. I'd possibly move some of the tokens around (like I'd expect Ioun Stones above the head), but it looks like a much less intimidating setup for newer players.

Is it going to be hard for coaches to read that upside down and figure out what slots all of those tokens go to?

The plan is to have the mat turned by the Coach when she arrives in front of the player in her sweet rolling stool. She can turn it either 90 degrees so that it is readable by both Coach and player, or she can turn it 180 degrees to fast reading by the Coach.

NOTE: We purposely limited the slots on this side of the mat to these spots. If a player has bunches of tokens, we want them to use the other side with the grid. That will make it easier for the Coach to tally on the stuff for the Party Card.

It is hoped that the approximately 80-90% of players who only have 1-2 token bags can have fun with this new side while not making it too tough on Coaches to figure things on the Party Card. If we listed all the slots on the front, it would be very hard for Coaches to figure all the Party Card stats. The other grid side has the tokens arranged in "effects the same Party Card stat" rows.

This graphical layout is definitely the way to go!

I think it needs a fair amount of tweaking, such as where the circles are located. In addition, a more symmetrical organization would be cleaner to my mind.

Here is my really quick attempt to illustrate what I'm saying:

I welcome anyone's version of how to best to the graphic. Just follow these rules:

1) 12" x 18" mat size

2) 1.7" circles

3) Use the text we did (or make a case why something should be better, you might be right)

4) Use the same number of labeled slots as we did. We analyzed the 2013 tokens and came up with what we thought would work best.

5) Have fun

Thanks!

Garrison wrote: This graphical layout is definitely the way to go!

I think it needs a fair amount of tweaking, such as where the circles are located. In addition, a more symmetrical organization would be cleaner to my mind.

Here is my really quick attempt to illustrate what I'm saying:

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I really dig this layout. It looks cleaner. I think they idea in general (Thanks, Jeff!) is a great way to make new players understand better.

And I was totally sad I have to flip to the "token-heavy" side of the mat instead of the pretty picture side.

Garrison wrote: This graphical layout is definitely the way to go!

I think it needs a fair amount of tweaking, such as where the circles are located. In addition, a more symmetrical organization would be cleaner to my mind.

Here is my really quick attempt to illustrate what I'm saying:

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I think you need to add spots for ranged main and off hand.

Okay, I have had some time to tweak the token mat. If everyone is agreed that the slots we picked are correct, and that the idea is generally sound, I can try to finalize the image over the next week.

Here is a more refined version of the token mat that all players will see when they enter the room. The other side of the mat will house the more elaborate token grid from last year.

Thanks!

Jeff,

That looks much better. I might add a third Ioun Stone spot, I think there is room for it, and they might be able to fill 3 of 5 slots.

That alignment looks exponentially better IMO.

Mike Steele wrote: Jeff,

That looks much better. I might add a third Ioun Stone spot, I think there is room for it, and they might be able to fill 3 of 5 slots.

A third charm spot would be nice as well.

Adding extra spots is doable...but it is not just a question of space. We have to draw the line somewhere so that we don't over-burden the Coaches with too many tokens on this simple side. We also don't want to overwhelm the newbie player with too many circles.

It is all a judgment call...and a bit of a guess. I almost left off the second Charm spot. There is only one Charm in 2013 below the UR level, so almost no newbies will need two Charm slots. I should probably take it off, but I thought it would be good to have the right side be different than the left -- to reinforce at first glance that each circle needs to be examined carefully.

My guess is that we should leave a lot of negative space on this newbie mat to make it less imposing to all the newbies AND to give the Coaches a bit of a break with computing Party Card stats. The goal is to give the players with 1-2 token packs a fun play mat.

Jeff Martin wrote: Adding extra spots is doable...but it is not just a question of space. We have to draw the line somewhere so that we don't over-burden the Coaches with too many tokens on this simple side. We also don't want to overwhelm the newbie player with too many circles.

It is all a judgment call...and a bit of a guess. I almost left off the second Charm spot. There is only one Charm in 2013 below the UR level, so almost no newbies will need two Charm slots. I should probably take it off, but I thought it would be good to have the right side be different than the left -- to reinforce at first glance that each circle needs to be examined carefully.

My guess is that we should leave a lot of negative space on this newbie mat to make it less imposing to all the newbies AND to give the Coaches a bit of a break with computing Party Card stats. The goal is to give the players with 1-2 token packs a fun play mat.

I guess if they have one or two more tokens than this side can handle, but aren't ready to flip it over, they can just put (for example) a third IOUN Stone next to the two with slots

Rather than add extra circles, maybe just a note like "Ioun Stones (up to 5)" so that the mat is accurate without being cluttered.