So there's a lot going on with Puzzle Strike. First, the Upgrade Pack is a hit, thankfully. Here's a review, and another, and another. Some players think the main point of it are the playmats and screens, which make the whole experience of playing kind of cooler. Other players think the whole point is the set of 30 character chips, rebalanced based on tournament play. Yesterday one player named vivafringe said "Puzzle Strike is finally fun." Ha, I'll choose to take that as a compliment. ;)
Next, here's a french review of Puzzle Strike.
And here's a podcast with Magic: the Gathering creator Richard Garfield and Pro Tour creator Skaff Elias. Too bad Richard fixates on the barely-used mechanic of putting a chip on top of your bag, but he seems to really like the mechanics overall, cool. And of course the asymmetry. And the part where there's a lot of player interaction.
Next, there's the full expansion in the works. You are invited and welcomed to come test it online now, before it's finalized. You can do that at www.fantasystrike.com, then click on "PLAY" and then go to Puzzle Strike. From the character select screen, use the code "shift+b" to enable the expansion characters. We're working on balancing them right now and the more help the better. If you're planning on complaining about something after release, it's better to complain now! Excuse our dust on the website, by the way. We just updated the site with several graphical enhancements, so now there's a mix of a few real parts and many placeholder parts, and clashing color schemes. I'm really excited that we'll be upgrading the website graphics again probably next week to make the matchmaking screen look a ton better.
Speaking of testing, if you're in the tinkering mood, I'll give you some changes you can try out in the base set. These aren't official errata, but they might improve your play experience if you're feeling adventurous:
Secret Move. Cost 1 instead of 3. Gives you +black arrow the turn you play it.
Thinking Ahead. "Put any chips you buy this turn on top of your bag" as opposed to just one chip.
Iron Defense. Costs 4 instead of 5. The part about "you may play the crash gem as if from your hand" works on the current turn as well as future turns.
Gems to Gemonade. Cost 4 instead of 5. Reaction effect changed to: Negate up to three gems sent to you and get +$1 for each negated gem during your next buy phase."
You can remind yourself what all these chips normally do here. (Click on "Puzzle Chips" toward the top.)
Finally, you are encouraged to hold tournaments at your local game stores, or even casual events. We'll eventually have a better way for you to report those results, but for now just let us know in the forums or post about it on our Facebook wall or something. You're also encouraged to run and participate in online tournaments for the expansion, since we need get the balance in shape.
Thanks to all the Puzzle Strikers everywhere!