Category: What our play testers had to say

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What do people think about Kotay?

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What did people not like about Kotay?

This is from a survey we did between 2015-2017

What do you dislike about Kotay?

It can be intense and draining, it also brings out the mean streak in people you consider your friends 🙂

Explaining the rules to a noob

not available in a store near me!

Too many complicated rules at times

The level of complexity it requires to explain it to new comers

too many small details in rules- no of step, range of action etc

Abrubt buying of an extra move

End game becomes deterministic. There is no chance for flipping fates.

Dice

I think the board needs a bit of work (although I know its a work in progress)! Also some of the rules are a little hard to understand/remember the first few times you play.

Not knowing/remembering the weighting of the dice (prototype version)

I think the board (when I played it) was a bit small. More field area, please

The endgame, the few times I’ve played the game, tends to get slightly predictable, cannons rumbling into place and taking aim at opponents’ castles, and hoping that they get favourable rolls of dice. I’ve put it a little simplistically, of course, but maybe it would help to have a little more variety of ways to win games?

takes really long

I really liked this one the best

Nothing that I dislike, but may be a few things that could be considered as an enhancement:1. Clarity around military trade – There needs to be more clarity around whether you could use another player’s military to attack / defend. It gives the attacking forces multiple opportunities (some even out of turn). What that also leaves open to interpretation is, if one can spawn / move units of another player. Considering how easy attack lines can be, and how the roll of dice for a cannon is a pretty solid strike, it could often leave a player in a helpless spot.

2. Consider ending the game with the conquest of the first capital. That way, the conspiring against one player will be limited.

3. Make the spawning of cannons more expensive perhaps?

4. Considering how additional resources to spawn a cavalry is just two gold more than infantry, I noticed that infantry was rarely being deployed. Would be nice to find a way to promote infantry.

5. Since cavalry and cannons shoot across a range of 2, the terrains (such as water and mountains) rarely prove as deterrents while combating.

I maybe think the canon is too powerful and there are few rules I would need to understand better.

How abruptly things can change

It moves slower than most other games I have played

What did people like about Kotay?

This is from a survey of 22 play testers we did  between 2015-2017 .

It completely engages you, it is like playing chess but with more colour and possibilities

Destroying stuff!

Random map, warfare

Speed, Unpredictable twists, Interactive

The combination of resource development and conflict resolution. I also like the speed at which the game ends.

“inter personal dynamics”

Gameplay, Treaty, Battle strategies

The uniqueness of each game’s terrain, and the counter-balanced power of the pieces, forcing you to have an adaptive strategy.

Building the geography

It’s not too long, and it gets exciting quickly!

I liked the initial exploring and building of my own kingdom. Then the competitiveness it provoked, and also alliances it promoted, among the players during the battle stages.

the knife’s edge between luck and ability

The complexity of its gameplay, particularly in the initial stages, where there are multiple routes available to any player with outcomes as yet hazy.

No simple strategy to win have to play multiple times to figure out..

It was not too long and it had detailed rules

Plenty of things:

1. Strategy – I like how many dimensions there are to concentrate on. Truly keeping the players involved

2. Trade – Engaging with other players, which happens in Catan too, but its interesting how trade also includes dimensions like truce and ceasefire.

3. Game design – Beautifully designed. Yet to see the final product, but the aesthetics really made me fall me in love with the game

4. Rule book – Very comprehensive and detailed.

I think it is a really interesting and catchy game. Time literally flied when I was playing,

The social interactions it brings about. Good mix of strategy and diplomacy.

It is like a battlefield where you have to generate resources to attack your opponent, manage logistics of moving troops and building infrastructure, and form and break alliances
The unique thing about kotay is that it keeps all the players engaged throughout the game. Also, it is really interesting cause you get to team up with other players, betray, negotiate, etc. which you don’t really do in most of the other games. It has a lot of strategy involved.