Overhaul Devlog - 01 - Why?

Last weekend we made the difficult decision to pull Banda’s Grove out of layout, and rewrite the core rules from scratch, reorganize all the sections, condense, simplify, and also redesign the entire graphic design aspect of it.

Here’s why:

For the last few months I have been hand editing a physical copy of Banda’s Grove and something has felt off about the entire game to me, and so I haven’t been promoting or talking about what I consider to be our biggest game that defines who Pandion is.

What I’ve come to realize is that I LOVE Banda’s Grove and its world, but the game text and current rules have become sloppy. Its not at the standard that we produce today. BG was one of our first games, and it shows now that I’ve grown as a designer.

• Knowing what to print to play has become confusing
• Understanding and reading the rules is difficult
• Maps are not interesting
• Online play is difficult
• The book is bloated and disorganized
• Legacy terms are still used
• The graphic design is inconsistent & inaccessible

This is all hard to admit. But the players have hinted at this over the last year with incredibly polite feedback. But the simple truth is, Banda’s Grove is not a game I’m proud of anymore. But I am still proud of what it is trying to be.

So, it’s time to correct that.

Everyone will get this update when it releases if you’ve already bought Banda’s Grove. We are pausing our plans for taking it to print, and going to focus on getting this right. We’ll keep you updated along the way about the changes we’re making, and sharing the new designs we’ve created.

The core rules of Banda’s Grove are starting over as headers in a doc, and being rewritten from scratch. It’s still token-based, it’s still about building your quantum slice of life community, but we’re reviewing everything and condensing, simplifying, or deleting.

If you’ve made content for Banda’s Grove, it will still be compatible! And the setting’s content will not change, like the Nature Watching Creatures, and Quantum Events. But how we introduce the Grove’s setting is being revised for clarity and consistency.

Again, we are going to keep you updated on this progress through devlogs, talking about all the changes we’re making.

I’m already more excited about the game now than I have been in months. So keep an eye out, and expect to be hearing more about the fantastical Quantum Convergence of Campgrounds more in the future!