Thank you so much for this game! I got mildly addicted to it in the previous version (1.2) and was very excited to see this come out.
I actually took a ton of game testing notes this time including a spreadsheet detailing my approach to 8 different runs, and which enemies I encountered. If you'd like I could share the entire thing but for now I'll just post the highlights.
The first time I met the boss queen bee I was low on health and died immediately. The second time, I knocked the queen bee down about halfway before dying, but hadn't quite figured out what the marked spots and honey did. The third time, I figured out exactly what was going on, which made me excited to get back to it the fourth time, which is when I finally won. That was around run #20 (I've attached the FIN sheet to that run).
I've figured out how to beat the healing moth easily by saving the right dice for a few turns and attacking all at once. But a lot of players might not figure that out. I notice that it never appears on the first floor anymore in this update but it still comes in on the second. At first I thought you could push it back a few levels, but that only helps if the player consistently upgrades dice in the first couple levels to have a better shot at beating them. Instead, I'd probably lower its healing capability slightly, or give it 10 HP instead of 12. By the way, I personally don't have a problem with it now that I know how to beat it but I worry an enemy like this in the early stages of the game will cause some players to quit.
The first time I faced an axe bug, he was the only opponent. I think that's good for a player meeting a new enemy for the first time, especially one as difficult and complex as this guy. In later runs he wasn't alone though, which would have been annoying if it was my first time seeing him.
The blocker beetles look interesting but they don't really change how I play - there's still plenty of room on the board to place dice. What if they also block the path of your boost dice? I imagine the boost dice's power travels through the grooves of the board, so if a blocker dice is in the path of a 2-4 level boost dice, it negates it?
I'd love to see new dungeons with different boards! The current board is spacious and open but you could try different boards like long skinny ones, or very small ones, which would lead to using different tactics.
I've noticed I subconsciously place defense dice on the left half of the board and attack dice on the right half. I wonder if that could be used in some way, perhaps on other boards?
After my successful run, I decided to try some runs where I limited my dice bag to just 7 or 8. It turns out this is a great strategy as I immediately won my next two runs in a row. In fact, I think it's an overpowered strategy... I'd either find a way to disincentivize removing dice, or make it harder or impossible to do so. Otherwise, it makes it feel like the "correct" way to play the game if you want to win, and I think you should be able to win with other strategies too.
That's all I have for now... if you want to see the more nitty-gritty side of my notes let me know!
