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M.U.L.E. - difference between videogame and boardgame

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08 Feb 2016 11:37 - 08 Feb 2016 11:41 #221965 by RobertB
I rounded up an Atari 8-bit emulator, and a copy of M.U.L.E., so I could see what the differences were between the videogame and the boardgame. They are:

Land Grant/Expansion
The video game lets you pick the lot you want on the colony map. If two players pick the same lot, the lower-ranked player wins. In the boardgame, picking available lots goes from lowest-ranked player to highest-rank. Lots are then placed on your private map.

After the land grant, the video game may randomly put up 1-3 lots up for auction. The boardgame changes this by giving each player a Land Grant card. A player may play the card to put a plot up for auction.

Unlike the video game, the boardgame has no mechanism for a player to put an owned plot back up for auction or for private sale. A purchased plat stays purchased.


Development
The video game randomly gives out player-specific random events before Development. The boardgame defers this until the last phase of a turn.

In the video game you run back and forth from town, placing MULEs, prospecting, etc. Food determines how much time you have for running around, up to a maximum. The boardgame handles this by letting you use food to buy board actions like placing MULES and prospecting. If you don't want to do anything, you can just pass and keep your food.

Unlike the video game, prospecting in the boardgame is secret. You can spend one food to prospect any two lots, regardless of location.

Also unlike the video game, you can't buy MULEs and turn them loose to affect the price.


Usage/Spoilage
The boardgame has a phase where you pick the lots you want to produce. After you pick which lots will produce, you may have to spoil excess resources. 50% of leftover food, 25% of leftover energy, and all resources greater than 12 per type will spoil. The video game selects plots that fail for lack of energy at random, spoils goods during the Auction phase, and doesn't set a maximum amount on goods.

The boardgame gives the players a Goods From Home card, which can be used if you have the lowest amount of energy or food. If you have the lowest amount of energy or food you can cash it in for two of either.


Production
These are close to identical. The only differences are that the boardgame handles economies of scale a little differently, and doesn't handle learning curve effects at all. Events that happen in this phase in the boardgame are exactly the same as the ones in the video game, Sunspots, acid rain, Space Pirates, etc.


Pricing
With the exception of Crystite, the video game has it's own ideas of what market prices should be, based on the last round prices. The boardgame formalizes this, and you go through a few steps for each commodity in order to generate the Store's prices.

Crystite in the video game is set at random. In the boardgame it is on the Production event card.


Auction/Market
That cool video game auction is just so you can do an auction in a video game at all. The boardgame Market day is basically the time for players to cut deals. Purchasing goods from the Store is done in reverse player order, low to high.


Ranking
The video game ranks players by total cash and goods. The boardgame ranks this by cash only, until the end of the game.


Personal Events
In the boardgame, the first-place player pulls a good event and gives it to another player. That player then pulls a bad event, and gives it to another player (including the first-place player). Like the Production events, these events are exactly the same as the ones in the video game. Glac-elves eat your food, Space Gypsies, etc.


End of Game
The boardgame lasts seven turns, where the video game lasts 12. There are a couple of optional rules to address that, like simply play more turns or set up a variable ending.

The boardgame doesn't count lot value in the final total, although it is available as an optional rule.


Given all the stuff that goes on in MULE, they've definitely hit all the high notes in the boardgame. A couple of the differences are covered in optional rules. If you're wanting MULE in a handy boardgame format, it provides that admirably.
Last edit: 08 Feb 2016 11:41 by RobertB.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Erik Twice

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