One of the biggest challenges in designing a tactical board game is balancing depth with pacing. A game that offers strategic decision-making but takes too long to reach a conclusion can lose its sense of urgency, leading to drawn-out, repetitive late-game turns.
We recently encountered this issue in Sylvan Tactics. Originally, the King had 20 health, a number inspired by Magic: The Gathering’s standard life total. The idea was to give players room to maneuver, recover from setbacks, and engage in a battle of endurance. However, after extensive playtesting, we realized that this system was creating unintended problems. Games were dragging on, sometimes reaching three-hour playtimes, and late-game turns started feeling repetitive.
So, we made a bold change. We reduced the King’s health from 20 to 12.
This single tweak has had a dramatic impact on pacing, tension, and the overall feel of the game. Let’s explore why.
The Problem: A Game That Stretched Too Long
At first, we thought the primary culprit of long games was the number of choices available per turn. Sylvan Tactics allows for deep strategic planning, and we knew we had to streamline the decision-making process to keep things moving. Our solution? We introduced a 6-Sigil cap—a hard limit on the number of Sigils a player could have at any time. This ensured that turns didn’t snowball into analysis paralysis with too many options.
The 6-Sigil cap worked. Turns became snappier. Players took actions more quickly, and downtime was reduced.
But something unexpected happened. Even though individual turns felt faster, games still took too long to finish.
Why?
Because Sylvan Tactics lacked a natural power progression curve.
A Lesson from Magic: The Gathering
When comparing Sylvan Tactics to other strategic card games, one glaring difference stood out: the way resources scale over time.
In Magic: The Gathering, you can continue playing lands indefinitely. This means that as the game progresses, players naturally start playing bigger and more impactful spells. Even though the first few turns involve small, incremental plays, the game always builds towards an explosive climax.
But with Sylvan Tactics we capped Sigils at 6.
This meant that players peaked early in terms of their available actions. After reaching 6 Sigils, there were no new resource surges or massive plays—just consistent, even-paced turns until the game ended. The tension plateaued. The final turns lacked the kind of high-stakes drama that makes for an exciting conclusion.
We realized we needed to shorten the arc of the game so that players weren’t spending a prolonged period "maxed out" at full power.
Our original 20 health for the King was inspired directly by Magic: The Gathering. It was a good starting point, but we quickly discovered it wasn’t right for Sylvan Tactics.
The Solution: Lowering the King's Health to 12
The most direct way to speed up the late game was to make the King easier to kill. Reducing its health from 20 to 12 made every point of damage feel more meaningful and brought the game’s conclusion into sharper focus.
With this change, players no longer spend an excessive number of turns attacking a King that feels like a damage sponge. Instead, victory feels within reach much earlier, leading to a more natural build-up and climax.
More importantly, the pacing of the game now mirrors its strategic progression. The first few turns are about establishing a position, the mid-game is about controlling the board, and the late game is about executing finishing moves. Instead of lingering in a stagnant final phase, the game builds towards an inevitable and exciting conclusion. Play times are now down to around 1 hour and sometimes as quick as 45 minutes.
Other Game Design Lessons from This Change
Lowering the King’s health had ripple effects across multiple design aspects:
Combat feels deadlier. Every attack against the King carries more weight, increasing tension.
Players make more aggressive plays. Knowing the game is shorter, players are more likely to take risks.
Unit synergy matters more. With fewer turns available, setting up strong board control early is even more important.
Endgame is no longer a slog. The final turns are now more varied and impactful, rather than repetitive.
Ultimately, Sylvan Tactics now feels punchier, tighter, and more engaging from start to finish.
Game Balance Is an Ongoing Process
This experience reinforced an important lesson: game balance isn’t just about numbers—it’s about the emotional pacing of play.
By reducing the King’s health, we didn’t just make the game shorter—we reshaped the flow of the entire experience. Every decision now matters more, and the game delivers a sharper, more dramatic arc that keeps players engaged.
If you're a game designer, here’s our takeaway: don’t be afraid to revisit core assumptions about your game. Small tweaks—like adjusting a health value—can have outsized effects on everything from pacing to player psychology.
We’ll continue refining Sylvan Tactics based on feedback and testing, and we’d love to hear from you. Have you encountered similar balance challenges in your own designs? What changes have helped improve pacing in your games?
Let us know in the comments or join the conversation on Bluesky and Instagram!
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