Update · Wilbur
Relaxed mode: Wilbur finally lets you breathe
No robbers, no fevers, no fires. Pick Relaxed on the start card and Tiltwick turns into the cosy little town it always pretended to be. The hard life is still there for those who want it.
Let's be honest. Somewhere around week six of a normal game of Wilbur, you were broke, coughing, robbed by a pickpocket outside the tavern, and the bailiffs were on their way. Tiltwick is a lovely town. It is also out to get you.
That was the plan, of course. Fernand built Wilbur because Jones in the Fast Lane got too predictable. But along the way the dial got turned a little too far. His own verdict this week: Wilbur had become too hard to just sit back and enjoy. So now you get to choose.
Two ways to live
On the start card you now pick Relaxed or Full rules. New players start on Relaxed. Played before? Then nothing changes for you: you keep Full rules, and your device remembers what you picked.
What Relaxed leaves out
No street robbers, no pickpockets, no reeve checking your papers. No illness, no fires, no bailiffs. The nasty little town events stay home too: the draught, the mice, the rats, the thief and the cold. And nobody gets demoted or fired.
The town is kinder, too. The landlady comes round for the rent herself, first from your purse and then from the bank. Can't pay it all? It simply waits, without halving your wages. Cupboard empty? The baker knocks on your door with bread for 12 silver. There is always water. And Mayor Plumpton plays on Easy, which he dosn't like to admit.
"Relaxed doesn't mean boring. You still have to work, study and climb that ladder."
A tap on the shoulder
The second half of this update works on both settings. When you have 20 hours or less left and you are missing water, food or next week's rent, Wilbur tells you. Once a week, not every five seconds.
And if you head Home to bed with something still missing, a little card asks: sort it out first (Wilbur walks over there for you), or sleep anyway? We all know someone who always picks "sleep anyway". We will not name names.
Our test bot played hundreds of games in both modes. On Relaxed a short game takes about 15 weeks instead of 18, and the very longest one drops from 53 weeks to 22. Fewer disasters, same Wilbur. Miss the misery? Pick Full rules. The rats have been waiting for you.
