Monday, September 29, 2014

EmDo 3rd expansion... what's in a name?

I've been getting back into Exotica lately, soliciting outside playtesting to help finalize and wrap that expansion up. Pretty soon I'll dig up the ideas I've had for the third (and final?) EmDo expansion - the one with the Politics role, Agendas, and Clout tokens.

That said, I might as well choose a title, or at least a code name, for this final expansion - that'll help me refer to it later. I'll ask for feedback on the following thoughts:

1. Eminent Domain: Oblivion

2. Eminent Domain: Corruption

3. Eminent Domain: Despotism

4. Eminent Domain: Agendas

5. Eminent Domain: ??? MAKE A SUGGESTION!

Remember, the thrust of the expansion is the Politics role, through which players will bring global effects (Agendas) into play, and they will use "clout" tokens (I imagine this as throwing around your political clout) to help boost roles.

I kinda like Oblivion ("the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening") as a bit of a joke or comment on politics, and it sounds ominous and cool.

Despotism ("the exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way") sounds cool for an EmDo expansion, but maybe not one about a Politics role...

I'd love to hear what you think about this, and I'm excited about the prospect of working on new EmDo stuff!

16 comments:

Peter Schott said...

Maybe "A New Republic" or "Making of a President" could work? "Councils" or similar could work as well. Keeping it short-ish and tied to the space theme would be best.

Despotism probably has too many negative meanings to work well, though Imperialism might work. "Manifest Destiny" could work, but would likely be targeted more at the general US population who might vaguely remember it from school. Along those lines, "Senate" or similar could work. "Agendas" isn't that bad, though not as cool as "Escalation" was.

Anonymous said...

"Oblivion" referring to an expansion revolving around politics has a certain appeal. "When war is no longer an option, politics is all that stands between you and OBLIVION."

Unknown said...

What about "EmDo: Expediency". This keeps with the 'E' titles, and the definition is: "a regard for what is politic or advantageous rather than for what is right or just; a sense of self-interest."

AlexC said...

"Dominance"? Wait, that's fine on its own, but sounds silly as a postfix to "Eminent Domain" :)

"Statecraft"? "Finesse"? "Ascendancy"?

Anonymous said...

If this is the last EmDo expansion, then my vote is "Oblivion". Or "End Times". Or "Apocalypse", or "Armageddon", or "Judgment".

AlexC said...

"Dominance"? Wait, that'd work on its own, but sounds distinctly silly as "Eminent Domain: Dominance" :P

"Finesse"? "Statecraft"? "Preeminence"? "Power Struggle"?
You kinda want "Intrigue", but as an expansion for a deckbuilding game that name is probably taken... :)

"Agendas" sounds perfectly reasonable too.

Ed Marriott said...

What about Eminent Domain: Supremacy?

I think that conveys the political idea of being superior (militarily, economically, intellectually, technologically) from all others.

Unknown said...

My suggestion would be Eminent Domain: Coercive Diplomacy.

The galaxies have become smaller and smaller. What were once uncharted planets have now become bustling economic hubs. Politicians once again start looking to their own self-interests. The time of exploration has ended; the era of Coercive Diplomacy has begun...

Nushura said...

I like Agendas....but how about the simple "Politics"?

Seth Jaffee said...

Thanks for all the responses, guys!

I'm currently leaning toward (in no particular order):
Eminent Domain: Oblivion
Eminent Domain: Politics
Eminent Domain: Agenda
Eminent Domain: Supremacy

I have time to figure this out. If you have any other thoughts, please feel free to post them here :)

Hobbes said...

I like the thought of keeping with "e" names. What about just "Eminence"?

This is political, and also makes it seem like the final, capstone expansion that it is.

Seth Jaffee said...

Thinking about this again, as Exotica is about done with art and will be off to the presses before long (or at least will be on Kickstarter soon)...

In my last comment I was leaning toward the following (thanks to Gil Hova, Ed Marriott, and Matias Korman for these suggestions):
Eminent Domain: Oblivion
Eminent Domain: Politics
Eminent Domain: Agenda
Eminent Domain: Supremacy

I still like each of those, but to add to the list, I like Alex's suggestion above:
Eminent Domain: Statecraft

Other options that came up yesterday, some better than others, include:
Eminent Domain: Elections
Eminent Domain: Electorate
Eminent Domain: Machinations
(darn, I forget the rest! Fortunately they're written down at home)

As for taglines or descriptive text, I'd also like to thank Gil for this gem:
"When war is no longer an option, politics is all that stands between you and OBLIVION."

As well as Patricio for this text that I REALLY like (even if I'm not too hot on "Coercive Diplomacy" as a title):
"The galaxies have become smaller and smaller. What were once uncharted planets have now become bustling economic hubs. Politicians once again start looking to their own self-interests. The time of exploration has ended; the era of Coercive Diplomacy has begun... "

Unknown said...

Thanks for the kind words Seth. You can use as much or as little of my post without any credit. Awesome job in all your activities!

John DiCerbo said...

How about Embassy?

Seth Jaffee said...

I doubt anybody will see this, but in the end I did stick with Oblivion, and the expansion was finished and published a couple of years ago :)

Peter Schott said...

Still on my list to get at some point. I keep up with the posts on BGG.