Jumping the Gun on 3 and 4 Player

In short, I want to develop a three and four player rule set for Collapsi.  I have been working over the past few days to get those rules finalized, and I have learned a valuable lesson... I need to slow down.  

My initial thought was to simply extend the deck to include 5's, 6's, 7's, and 8's for the larger 5x5 and 6x6 grids.  I did this with haste relying on some feedback I received from people who were already playing with different formats for the game.  I needed to rely on this because I do not have three or four people on hand to help me test ideas.  In my mind, I was sure the extended deck would be fine.  It wasn't.

With the help of a new contributor to the game's development, I was able to start playing against a computer opponent on the larger grids... and I quickly discovered that the higher number cards are actually pretty terrible.  7's, and especially 8's allow you to reach almost any square at any time.  They only become interesting during the end game when movement is more limited.  They are also a real pain in the rear because you have to count out your moves, and the analysis paralysis of determining where you want to go is real. 

Something else that drove the idea of using the higher ranking cards was that I wanted the game to be playable with a single deck. Sure, players could say "5's are actually 1's, 6's are actually 2's" and so on, but that's pretty lame.  I think the solution lies in grabbing a second deck and using its 1's, 2's, 3's, and 4's.  Not only will this work for the 3 and 4 player game, but it gives players the option to play on bigger boards at a two player count as well.

So what's next?  What are my action steps?

1. The 3 and 4 player rules have been removed from the pdf until further notice
2. Spend some serious time diving into playing with larger player counts and larger boards
3. Get a browser version of the game playable here on Itch.io
4. Brainstorm what a produced edition of the game might look like
   1. acrylic tiles and stones?  cardboard tiles and plastic pawns?  playing card stock?  
   2. theme?  

There is also the solo version of the game that I have mentioned.  It is basically done and ready to release... however... I am waiting on one more element to be completed before I release the rules.