On April 28, Gremlins, Inc. receives its major Spring update. The update includes 2 new cards, improvements in balance, more options for custom sessions, bug fixes, and a sizeable number of under-the-hood improvements. Below is the list of the changes:

NEW FEATURES

More options for custom sessions Now: When a new session is created, the list of goal values for each goal type is limited by 5 options. After the update: The list of goal values for each goal type is expanded to 12-19 options with a smaller step between them. For points and rounds it is possible to set any value between 10 and 100 that is divisible by 5 (10, 15, 45, 75, 90, etc). For minutes the limits are 10-120 with a 10 minutes step (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, etc). Reason: that was a popular request that existed for a long time, and for a good reason. We finally found the time to make it happen thanks for the patience!

NEW CONTENT

New cards: cards "Prize fund"
Location: Casino Cost: FREE Move points: 4 Type: regular Number of these cards in the default deck: 1 Special rule: Choose what you get: +$100 or +votes4 or -malice4. "If you are tasked with distribution of valuable prizes, do not forget to quietly add yourself to the list of winners. Preferably under some kind a pseudonym." cards "Spire of Gremlins"
Location: Inferno Cost: $650 Move points: 5 Type: secret Get: +score8 +malice2 Number of these cards in the default deck: 1 Special rule: Each opponent loses votes3. Teleport to The Astral. "Conceived as the greatest breakthrough that would connect the Inferno and the Astral Plane, the Spire of Gremlins became a perpetually delayed construction project. Some say that the construction of this Spire cannot be finished, but can only be stopped.

BALANCING CHANGES

Cards: cards "A Diversion in the Astral Plane" Now: +score13, +malice8 After the update: +score15, +malice8 cards "The Allies of Chaos" Now: +score6, +malice6 After the update: +score7, +malice6 Reason: Chaos cards are harder to play in the Astral, so they got a slight buff. This makes the choice more interesting: do you spend 10 votes/$1000 in the Inferno or try to deliver them to the Astral for a better reward? cards "The Runner Bomb" Now: 1 copy in the deck After the update: 2 copies in the deck Reason: as the number of permanent cards in the deck grows, players need an additional tool to deal with them. Characters: "The Banker: Money makes Money" Now: Whenever you stop on one of the income spots, your income is increased by 2. After the update: Whenever you stop on one of the income spots, your income is increased by a value equal to the number of opponents in the session (in team sessions, only players of opposing teams count as opponents). Reason: The Banker is a polarizing character: too good in duels but weak against multiple opponents. The change slows down the Banker a bit in duels but allows growing income faster in sessions with multiple opponents. "The Collector: Excavation" Now: doesn't exist. After the update: When you stop on an Income spot, choose between getting double income or discarding up to 6 cards. Reason: The Collector relies on playing permanent cards more than other characters and this ability helps cycling cards in the hand for a cost of double income. This ability also provides a meaningful choice for the character: do you want to change cards or do you want money? "The Damned: A Servant of Evil" Now: Your starting malice is 2. After the update: Your starting malice is 1. Reason: the malice2 on this character is somewhat redundant as it was added to the Damned in order to exceed the Thief's malice who at some point had it at 1. There is no more need in that and the change also helps the Damned in the early game if its player wants to get rid of the malice and avoid being auto-targeted by such cards as Karma, An Unmasking, etc. "The Damned: Agressor" Now: If you win Player Conflict, get score2 and malice1. After the update: If you win Player Conflict, get score2 and malice1 (in team sessions this effect applies only to conflicts with players of opposing teams). Reason: the lack of such limitation makes team combos with the Damned too strong, especially if combined with the Pauper. Playing fields: Reversal of change of the Clockwork Colony Now: An Income spot and a Misfortune spot before the Jail removed on both boards. After the update: Both spots will be returned to their initial spaces on the second board Clockwork Colony. Reason: The lack of the Misfortune spot before the Jail makes this location on the second board more welcoming than it should be. While our initial goal was to make the Jail less punishing, this is just too much: an arrest often turns into a way to teleport yourself closer to such locations as the Market or the Office.

OTHER CHANGES

The Jail events Now: Players are forced to accept the last Jail event. After the update: Players can decline the last Jail event. In this case, the player receives +1 malice and -1 Jail experience. Reason: Jail events should provide a meaningful choice at all steps, including the last one which it now does. The change also eliminates the feeling that players are forced to accept the last event even if they don't like it. Matchmaking Now: 2 players can't enter the same ranked session if they already played together 3 ranked sessions in the previous 24 hours. After the update: 2 players can't enter the same ranked session if they already played together 3 ranked sessions in the previous 24 hours OR if they played together 10 sessions of any type in the previous 720 hours (30 days). Reason: this is a change that is based on the analysis of hundreds of players' protests. In ranked sessions, team play is only possible between friends who exploit matchmaking in order to play together. The change prevents such behavior more aggressively in order to make the ranked mode fairer. The limit of 10 sessions per month was made on purpose. This way, the limitation won't affect players who are unfamiliar with each other but occasionally meet in ranked sessions because they play at the same time. Please keep in mind that it doesn't affect our approach to the Fair Play Rules. The change makes harder to utilize team play but doesn't reduce or cancel the responsibility for the violation if it is confirmed. Updated dice-roller animation Reason: while we were fixing an issue with re-rolls (see below) we also used the opportunity to update the dice roller's animation which is now a bit shorter. No ping indication on the server list Reason: due to multiple changes that were made in the servers' architecture in the past months, the numbers on this list lost their meaning and mostly confuse players as they often show 0. The actual ping during sessions still can be seen through the in-game menu.

FIXES

• Fixed a rare issue: if during a session player receives the request to roll the die and skips that request, the bot will decide if the roll happens or not. If bot decides positively and then rolls 1, the session might bug out and freeze. After the update, the session will continue normally.
• Fixed a rare issue: if the timer expires during a dice re-roll, the result that is shown to the player on the screen and the result of the actual roll on the server could differ. This could lead to a different outcome than was expected by the look at the dice roller. After the update, the value on the dice roller and the server will always be the same.

Thanks for sticking with us, and for being a part of this game's wonderful community we wish you lots of fun with the updated game, and we promise to continue working on improvements and new content throughout 2020!

[ 2020-04-25 08:02:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is an intense strategy board game in a steampunk world of corrupt capitalist gremlins who compete for money, political power and prestige. Save and invest, steal and extort, arrest and get arrested – in single-player and multiplayer modes, with ranks and ladders. Unleash your inner gremlin!

HOW DO YOU PLAY THIS GAME?

Gremlins, Inc. is designed for 2 to 6 players, in multiplayer or in single-player mode (with AI bots). Each player has 6 cards on their hand (replenished from the same deck), and uses them to move around the playing field and to perform a number of different game actions. There is a lot of interaction with other players, and duels are significantly different from 3-player or 4-player games. You play for score limit, or rounds, or for time limit in custom or ranked sessions (with matchmaking by rating). Password-protected private sessions are also available.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO PLAY ONE SESSION?

The game offers different session settings to make them fit your available time, and single-player mode offers automatic Save/Load function at every turn so that you can take a break whenever you want (multiplayer mode offers re-connect functionality as long as the session is still in progress). A quick duel for 20 score points with a fast timer can finish in under 20 minutes, while a 4-player session for 60 rounds can last for 2 hours or more.

SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM STRATEGIES?

There are different types of cards in the game (permanent, regular, secret and criminal) and as each card can be used either to move or for action, you will develop both short-term and long-term strategies for making the most out of where you are, and what you have in your hand. Normally you spend half of your game time accumulating things, and another half controlling other players (stealing, arresting, making them pay a fine, initiating player conflicts, and so on). The more you play, the more new strategies you will discover, especially when combining the effects of several cards played in a row.

MAKE DECISIONS, PLAN YOUR MOVES

• This is an intense strategy game: make decisions at every round! Plan your moves, then adjust to the actions of the other players and new cards drawn.

• The design of the playing field and the layers of optional features allow for a variety of strategies. The more you play, the more roads to victory you discover, using a combination of features based on the particular setup of the session.

• The game offers a resource system that allows for many comebacks even after you're robbed or arrested (or both). With score, money, votes, malice, income and bribes, the tension remains until the very last round.

• In this game, you have to be mean to win: not letting the others to score is as important as scoring yourself. The only true moment of unity in a multiplayer session is when everybody's united against the player who's about to win the game. Earn and steal resources, set traps, arrest, initiate Player Conflicts, bluff and climb up the political ladder to become the Governor.

• The multilayer mode of the game features a system of ratings, ladders and ranked sessions: compete in a specific league, and take part in the regularly organised tournaments (normally, over 1,000 players participate). A system of anonymous masks allows everyone to compete on equal terms in a ranked session, so that you can't really disregard someone as a newbie player, or target a veteran as your prime suspect in a political race.

• In addition to the multilayer mode, the game offers 9 single-player challenges plus the option to create custom single-player sessions with different AI bots (with each major update, we keep adding new challenges).

FACTS & FIGURES

• The game currently features 169 cards in the main deck: permanent, regular, secret and criminal, each with a hand-drawn steampunk illustration (with each major update, we keep adding 1-2 new cards to the core deck).

• The game also features 34 telegrams of Misfortune in the Misfortune deck: send and receive events that may disrupt another player's plans, or significantly improve your own standing (with each major update, we keep adding 1-2 new cards to the Misfortune deck).

• Chaos Cards: an optional set of 6 cards available to every player in the game, that changes the dynamics of the session.

• Special Character Abilities: an optional feature that enables 12 sets of abilities unique to each character type, which then defines the core strategy of every player.

• There are 11 locations – the Office, the Plant, the Dump, the Marketplace, the Inferno, the Jail, the Casino, the Court, the Treasure, the Bank and the Astral Plane – and 7 spot types – Danger, Gamble, Police, Income, Bribe, Misfortune and Tribune.

• The game took us three years to develop from concept to Early Access and to full release, and we're committed to the continued support of the community and development of new features and new content. It is the brainchild of Alexey Bokulev, the acclaimed creator of Eador.Genesis. There are currently over 35,000 players of Gremlins, Inc. on Steam from all over the world, including USA, Russia, China, Japan, UK and France. Collectively, players launched over 400,000 single-player and multiplayer sessions since the game's full release in March 2016.

FINALLY, WHO ARE THE GREMLINS?

You think that’s just a pocket watch in your hand, a watch that’s a bit late because you keep forgetting to wind it up? No, no and no – you couldn’t be further from the truth! What you carry around is a whole gremlin town packed into this tiny mechanism: a town with its own bank, its own casino… and even its own jail! Gremlins are the microscopic creatures that inhabit any mechanism that they can possibly infiltrate. If a watch or a telescope malfunctions, then it’s probably due to gremlins who took up a residence there.

More than anything in life, gremlins value money, political power and prestige: prestige that one can claim after completing some sort of a grandiose engineering project. Aside from working on their own projects, gremlins mostly spend their time preventing other gremlins from building something even more grandiose. This they achieve through bribing officials and lying to the electorate, as well through stealing from their competitors - and outright arresting them.

A DISCLAIMER (JUST IN CASE)

We felt it important to note that Gremlins, Inc. is not a free-to-play game. Also, this is not a CCG or TCG: you do not need to buy boosters or packs, in every session the game offers the same deck to every player, and everyone's chances are equal.

OUR DLC POLICY

We remain committed to the principle of continuously updating the game with new features (e.g. special character abilities) and new content (e.g. new cards, new Misfortunes) that come in the form of regular updates that are FREE for every owner of the product. At the same time, from time to time we create and release fun stuff (animations, character portraits, alternative music themes) that is not related to the game mechanics, as paid DLCs. If you like it, you can support our efforts by your purchase. However, there is absolutely no pressure to own any of the DLCs in order to play the game or compete in the tournaments.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ONLINE CONNECTION

Gremlins, Inc. was designed as a digital board game with the multiplayer mode at its heart. This is not to say that we don't like single-player – we do, and there's a separate section with the single-player challenges as well as the mode where you can create any custom single-player session that you like. However, the architecture of the game is built in a way that allows us to continually update the game mechanics and AI logic, which for this reason is processed entirely on the server side. Therefore whether you play Gremlins, Inc. in a single-player mode or in a multiplayer mode, your game client needs to be connected to Steam, and game's server, at all times. If you are looking specifically for a game that can be played offline, then Gremlins, Inc. in the current state is not the right product for you. An offline-only version of the game is currently in development for release later in 2016.

AMSTERDAM AND SINGAPORE SERVERS

The game currently supports 2 separate servers: Amsterdam and Singapore. Players are able to check their ping value for each of these servers, and play on the server that is the most convenient. Each server has its own player ladder, statistics and player profiles. Most players choose Amsterdam, since ping to Amsterdam from anywhere in the world rarely exceeds 300. However, as we saw more and more players from the Asian region join the game, especially from China, we added the server in Singapore in order to be able to offer faster connection specifically to these players. We hope that this works well for every player, as good player experience is our top priority. We will continue to monitor the quality of our server/client connection in order to adapt the servers to the changing requirements and we thank you for your patience.