the Concept
So, what’s hel’s BELLEs about? What have I been trying to do?
Well, first off, I don’t think I’m the only one that enjoys giant robot fights. I also like board games. A lot. Especially board games that put it all in my own hands. I don’t mind losing, but it sucks to lose because you keep rolling 1’s (or 6’s, or whatever), or can’t draw the random card you need (need, not want; I’m talking about manascrew, not just failing to draw your ultimate combo). I also like tactical games with limited actions, like 40k, or jagged alliance, or even fallout 1 and 2.
Hel’s BELLEs is the game I want to play that doesn’t exist. Or didn’t, anyway, until I made it. The battlefield is built on the table in front of you. Minis, terrain and complex maps could all be used if you want to, but are completely unnecessary.
The cards you play define the battlefield, and you move about within that battlefield. Weapons, ammunition, armour, equipment, mecha, all upgraded and tweaked as you play, mid combat. Your movement improves over time as well, and every upgrade (equipment/maneuverability/supplies/terrain) is purchased by you, which means you get to decide whether you’d rather be agile or sturdy, whether you want the biggest guns or prefer a subtle game of modifications.
Commands are revealed and executed simultaneously, meaning you need to read through your opponent’s strategy and react while he’s still acting. Your tactics either work or they don’t; there are no dice rolls to determine results. Mecha, battlefield, action, equipment, market, terrain, all in a thick deck of cards.
As I said, I’m currently in the process of putting together a beta deck, making some adjustments that came up during early playtesting. I have a full ruleset written up at this point (putting it all into words was probably one of the hardest aspects of this whole process), and look forward to getting my beta prototype assembled so I can start doing some blind playtesting.
Hopefully I can find some time this weekend to tweak some card design details.
And maybe squeeze in a game…
rats east 