Micro Bots and Micro Dojo – Late Pledges

The pledge manager for Micro Bots is now live on Gamefound, allowing you to late pledge for a copy of Micro Bots: Duel (for just £10/$12) or add the Power Up expansion (for a total of £18/$22).

Check out the page below for more details:

Micro Dojo & Express Shipping

If you missed the previous campaign, or simply want to buy extra copies, Micro Dojo (along with the expansion Loyalty & Deceit) is also available as an add-on through the pledge manager.

An ‘Express Shipping’ option is also offered for those that want to receive Micro Dojo immediately, and have Micro Bots ship later during regular fulfillment.

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Stonemaier Games publishes Micro Dojo: Rolling Realms

Earlier in the year I bought the roll-and-write game Rolling Realms by Stonemaier Games, and I fell in love with it. So much so in fact that I wrote an article analysing the games framework and then used that analysis to create a version of Micro Dojo that would could be played alongside Rolling Realms.

Well I’m delighted to announce, that Jamey has announced, the official Stonemaier Games published Micro Dojo Rolling Realms promotional pack. This will be on sale on the Stonemaier Games shop:

Final Round – Guard House vs Stables vs Theatre

This is it. The final 3! There isn’t must left to say that hasn’t already said about these Buildings, so get to voting and next week we will crown the champion!

To get involved in the voting, click on the link here for the Micro Dojo Facebook Group.

Round 21 – Brewery vs Theatre

The last round of the semi-finals is here, and almost the last week of the playoffs! As the Shinchoku buildings were all eliminated in earlier rounds we have 2 final Tsuyo buildings pitted against each other.

Both of these are pretty wild from a design point of view, as they disrupt two parts of the game that were previously untouched. Using points as a resource is a new feature introduced with the Brewery – previously you could exchange Gold and Food for points but not the other way around! The Theatre changes another feature of the design, which is that once objectives are scored they are effectively removed from the game. In the base game there is no difference between flipping an objective face down or removing it from the game, but this small distinction makes the Theatre possible in a way that also keeps the game one of ‘perfect information’.

Both of these buildings also mess with the design feature that every turn progresses the game towards a conclusion, but since only one player uses the Brewery and the Theatre can only be used one time, it doesn’t break that feature too drastically. And besides, they offer a lot of interesting decisions by doing so!

To get involved in the voting, click on the link here for the Micro Dojo Facebook Group.

Round 20 – Barracks vs Stables

The last two of the base game buildings here in our almost last round of the playoffs.

For a final showdown, these two buildings are quite different. The base game has three categories of buildings – resource generation, movement, and scoring, with these two buildings in the last two categories. The similarity between them is that they both require resources to fuel. Whilst the Barracks provides a clear path to victory, the Stables is a little more situational by allowing you to control the board state and access spaces you need to. The only final observation I have is that the Barracks made it this far whilst it’s equivalent (the Shrine) did not. I wonder if people just like Gold more than Food!

To get involved in the voting, click on the link here for the Micro Dojo Facebook Group.

Round 19 – Guard House vs Toll Gate

Wow we’re into the final stretch! Just 4 weeks to go to settle the most popular Micro Dojo building. It seems already that the Tsuyo were the most popular clan (as none of the Shinchoku clan buildings made it to the semi-finals), and here we have the first base game vs expansion playoff.

By coincidence, these buildings cost (almost) the same to acquire, with the Toll Gate using the expected Favour rather than Food. The Guard House and the Toll Gate were both buildings that were designed at the very start of the process for each game. Though they went through a few tweaks to their costs and rulebook definitions, the core ability stayed the same. They are both some of the more interactive buildings in the game, allowing you to manipulate your opponents options game state, and both can be used quite tactically to your advantage.

But there can be only one, so which is your favourite?

To get involved in the voting, click on the link here for the Micro Dojo Facebook Group.

Round 18 – Tea House vs Theatre

The final round of the quarter finals is here, with the last of the Loyalty & Deceit buildings and the last Shinchoku clan building still in the running!

The Tea House is super efficient, not only granting 2 resources per turn (in addition to any other effects like Action or Build that the Loyalty space might share) but 2 resources that are highly flexible. It’s a good early pickup where you can make use it of it several times over the game. The Theatre on the other hand is a late game pickup, both due to its cost and the time it is most useful. Flipping a single point objective might buy you some time to lock up a later one, but taking a 2 point objective that you can easily win (maybe a Loyalty track, or building cost objective) is 2 points for just 5 resources. It’s harder to use, and your opponent might take it just to prevent you from having it, but if you can time it right it can be very powerful.

Which of these two you vote for will depend on your preference for powers either consistently decent or rarely super-powerful.

To get involved in the voting, click on the link here for the Micro Dojo Facebook Group.

Round 17 – Shrine vs Stables

Just like last week, we have two very different buildings to compare.

The Shrine is a simple points scoring building, that ideally you would want to use 2 or 3 times over the course of the game (to make it more efficient than just using the Donate action). The Stables with its single Food activation cost might only get used rarely to reach an otherwise unreachable Action space to score a late objective, but it can also be used aggressively to block spaces and manipulate the opponents choices.

Valuing the Shrine will depend on your view of the current game length (and objectives), but is typically clear from the start of the game. Whereas, the value of Stables might not be apparent until the exact moments that arise when it becomes very beneficial.

To get involved in the voting, click on the link here for the Micro Dojo Facebook Group.

Round 16 – Brewery vs Jail

More Tsuyo buildings! The Brewery will give you a ton of resources, far above a standard turn, whilst the Jail asks for more resources than a standard turn will provide.

The Brewery is useful once you’ve scored at least 1 point (and ideally this would be from an objective rather than the Donate action) but used early on it can snag objectives or accelerate your game plan. The Jail by contrast is more useful later in the game, when the resource cost can be used to gain advantage for a 2 or 3 point objective. It has two purposes – to free up a blocked space, or to place a meeple in a position that blocks your opponent, and the ideal situation for spending 3 Gold is when you can take advantage of both.

The ideal situation for either building will depend on the point in the game at which you acquire it, but if either of these ends up as the reward for the 5th spot of the Tsuyo track it could change how much you value that whole track.

To get involved in the voting, click on the link here for the Micro Dojo Facebook Group.

Round 15 – Castle vs Barracks

Two very popular buildings from the original game here, both useful in scoring points.

The appeal of getting 2 points straight away from the Castle is clear, and I often see players in their first game dedicating several turns to gathering resources with the sole intention of taking the Castle. When a late objective depends on building costs, it can take the winning player by surprise as suddenly the owner of the Castle goes from 1 point to 5 or 6 points in just a couple of turns. The Barracks is far more predictable, but used several times over the game represents a much better investment of resources. Particularly combined with the Broker or a Gold Mine it can be consistently used to win the game without fighting over objectives. The Barracks therefore requires a bit more nuance to use most effectively, but doesn’t require the same level of commitment as the Castle.

To get involved in the voting, click on the link here for the Micro Dojo Facebook Group.