Playtest September 10

September brought two strong tables — and a wave of breakthrough insights for GridCore.

Table 1 · Drake, Andrew, Jettson, David

Andrew’s black dog stole the spotlight early on. This group saw GridCore as a social game and questioned whether both Freestyle and Jury Mode were needed — feedback that later merged the two into one.

They asked for more magnet crashes, maybe a real barrier around the circle, and perhaps visible paths on the board. Andrew found the layout confusing; not the first time I’ve heard this comment, yet to be addressed. David’s honest reaction — that seeing all the values felt like getting boxed in — helped rebalance tone, add more player agency, and simplify the design.

Their conversation led to the new OffGrid mechanic and draw-deck Core cards.

Table 1

Table 2 · John, Kyle, Brett, Chris

A table of seasoned designers with sharp instincts. Brett emphasized “match the mechanic to the theme,” and John clarified why Freestyle (now TruthCore) is essential — it’s the moment you act from instinct, not from the script. Those ideas built the foundation for the merged Freestyle + Jury Modeand inspired the GlowCore ending that now defines the OffGrid Edition. Big stuff!

Key Changes — to be realized two sessions later

• Combined Freestyle + Jury Mode for cleaner social play.

• Adjusted OffGrid pacing (2:1 action-to-reflection).

• Switched to drawn Gameplay decks.

Table 2 (before starting GridCore playtest)

This session captured the shift from conversation to connection — every rule tweak pulling GridCore closer to the rhythm of real-world instincts in play.