A few weeks ago, we shared the rules for Sylvan Tactics publicly for the first time. And almost immediately after, we put those rules to the test with real players in a remote playtest hosted by the wonderful folks over at the Distraction Makers podcast Discord. The results? Encouraging, insightful, and just a little bit humbling.
We have been big fans of the Distraction Makers podcast during the development of Sylvan Tactics. They cover a wide range of game design topics and often use Magic the Gathering and other card-battlers as examples.
The Problem: Decision-Making Bottlenecks
The biggest piece of feedback we heard from that session and podcast host, Forrest Imel, was that turns felt… slow. Not in the sense of complex or drawn-out rules, but in terms of decision-making friction. New players did not have the game knowledge to evaluate which cards in their opening hand would be the best choice to discard when creating a Sigil. Then they had to inspect every card in the draft row to decide if they should pick one to draw or just draw a random card from the draw deck.
In theory, these mechanics created interesting tension. In practice, they stalled momentum. The result? Too many turns where players were staring at the board, parsing options, and not doing much. And that runs directly counter to what we want: action-packed turns full of movement, tactical card plays, and big, satisfying swings.
The Solution: A Single, Elegant Change
We realized something kind of magical: we could solve both the hand-size issue and the draft row redundancy with a single change. Make Sigils their own unique cards.
By separating Sigils from the rest of the deck, players no longer had to discard cards from their hand to build their resource base. That meant more cards to choose from each turn and fewer hard choices that happen before the fun starts. Plus, since you weren’t burning through your deck just to play Sigils, we could remove the draft row entirely without fear of players being starved for options.
The New Sigils
With just a few days to spare before Protospiel Kansas City, we redesigned our prototype decks to include six dedicated Sigil cards per player. Each turn, you flip one of your dormant Sigils to its active side, representing the growth of your resource pool. No more sacrificing cards. No more draft row clutter. Just smooth, forward momentum.
To make room and keep the print run under 108 cards, we trimmed a few redundant cards and rebalanced the deck accordingly.
The Game Crafter graciously provided a plethora of playtesting game pieces for attendees of Protospiel Kansas City.
Testing the New Build at Protospiel KC
Protospiel Kansas City was an incredible experience. I made the solo trek from Eastern Iowa with my newly revised prototype and found myself surrounded by some of the most welcoming and insightful designers I've ever met.
Within the first few test games, it was clear: the Sigil change was a massive success. Players felt empowered, turns moved faster, and the game’s rhythm felt more fluid and exciting. In fact, it was almost too good. We had to cap the starting and max hand size to six to keep players from being overloaded with options.
New Feedback and New Experiments
Here’s what stood out from all the games we played that weekend:
1. The Art and Theme Are Resonating.
Seeing people light up when they saw the anthropomorphic woodland animal art was incredibly rewarding. We’ve gotten great responses online, but nothing beats hearing someone say, “Oh my gosh, this raccoon is amazing,” in person.
2. Sometimes You Still Get Dead Cards.
And sometimes that’s okay. Not every card in your hand is always helpful. Some of that is due to how you play and position your units. But to give players more agency, we’re introducing a new mechanic: once per turn, you can invoke your King to discard two cards and draw one from the deck. It’s a calculated gamble, and we love that. Combine it with the Queen’s ability (sacrifice 1 Health to draw a card), and players now have multiple ways to manage their hand strategically.
3. High-Cost Cards Can Feel Like a Trap.
Some of our coolest Mercenaries cost all six Sigils to play. While they’re powerful, players often felt hesitant to commit all their resources in one go. So we’re experimenting with a new keyword: Apex Predator. Mercenaries with this keyword can be played for 2 fewer Sigils if you’re willing to sacrifice a Pawn and take 2 morale damage to your King. Since morale damage can’t kill you, this offers a potential comeback mechanic and makes it more satisfying to deploy those big threats when you’re behind.
4. Some Cards Just Weren’t Fun.
We ended up changing a few different cards to improve overall enjoyment of the game. For example, Hard Freeze was originally designed to prevent your opponent from invoking any cards for a turn. Cool on paper, but not fun to be on the receiving end. We’ve since reworked it to prevent your opponent from invoking just their Mercenaries. They can still invoke Sigils to play cards from their hand, keeping the game engaging while retaining the spirit of disruption.
Looking Ahead
Every iteration of Sylvan Tactics brings us closer to our vision: a game that rewards clever play, offers deep tactical choices, and delights players with its art and atmosphere. We’re getting there. And events like Protospiel KC are a huge part of that journey.
Our next in-person playtesting event is coming up this weekend at the EICC Gaming Convention in Davenport, Iowa. I plan to be there demoing Sylvan Tactics all day on Saturday in their board gaming room. Stop by and try the new mechanics!
If you want to view the latest version of the rules with all the changes described above, you can find those here.
We’re planning to keep pushing and refining ahead of an eventual crowdfunding campaign. If you want to follow along (or try the game yourself), be sure to join us on Bluesky, Instagram, or our Discord.
Thanks to everyone who’s played, tested, or offered feedback so far. You’re helping us make something truly special.