Third time's the charm, they say. With Heist, the third iteration of the rules flowed clearly better and I would say the rules are now in pretty good playable shape. I basically dropped all the shooting modifiers and used dice type variation to account for different shots (aimed/unaimed etc.) always rolling against set numbers depending on defender status (in cover etc.) A few relatively uncommon situations award bonus dice but that's it.

This worked much better than calculating modifiers. I hate calculating modifiers in a game. They always slow the gameplay down as you try to figure out if you took everything into account. By using simple classifications you only need to identify a single thing: I'm aiming, so I'm rolling d10's. He's moving in open, so I need 7's to hit. Nothing else to consider, pick up the dice and roll away.

There are still some tweaks to do based on the playtest results, but then the next thing to do is to write the rules into a slightly more presentable format and also include diagrams.

Another thing we tried was using one of my grandfather's old chess clocks to create time pressure. The idea in itself was good, but the execution was a bit lacking. Total game time limit was not pressuring enough. I think I will use a shorter timer and running out of time grants the opponent some benefit.

I will also need to paint up those gangsters that have been sitting on my desk for months if not years. Then I will write up some scenarios and run a mini campaign to give the rules a final test.

Who knows what the future will bring?

maxxon