2 Things which have made some games Truly Great
Elemental Forums
I'd like to expand on some previous ideas (e.g. https://forums.elementalgame.com/374597) and try to briefly pinpoint 2 small elements which really help make games great. They have led me (and others) to drop our jaw in the middle of a gaming session and go "wow!" or "I didn't know you could do that!" or "that really surprised me!" or "nice move, that was a great idea!" or "what a brilliant solution you found!" and let me tip my hat to my opponent (in most cases, human) or to myself in SP. I have not had that experience in some games I have not re-played often, and Elemental is one of those. I think Elemental could profit from more of these two elements.
I will call them
1. Syngergy and 2. Tradeoffs.
SYNERGY
I was recently surprised after playing two short blitz games of Dominions and a couple of Star Chamber. There are a large number of inherent spell-like actions in both games (and of course both of these games have their faults, I am not claiming that either is the "best" game ever) that, by themselves, are fairly unspectacular. In fact, most of the spell-like actions in these games are, by themselves, much like you would expect. But partly due to the sheer quantity of different spell-like actions (many of which appear, by themselves, quite underwhelming), and partly due to the clever mechanics of having conditional status flags which the game engine can read (such as, paraphrasing "_is_storm_present_on_area_PQR" or "is_reptilian" or "is_cursed" or "is_wet" or "is_blessed" or "is_a_lance(only 1 shot per battle)" or "is_summertime" or "is_Xyearsold", etc.), the combination of these vast quantities of abilities can be incredibly surprising. Players (and an AI who knows how to see them) can be incredibly creative. This makes for fun. In Elemental, I often get just what I expect. I am rarely surprised in a positive way (my surprises usually come when something "random" happens or when I fail to scout effectively). In games with a lot of synergy, you can be surprised because combinations you had never expected -- also combinations which result from varying conditions you might not have predicted -- or never seen before can be discovered and seen even years after the games have been out on the market. I'd like to see Elemental have more intercombinations (e.g. https://forums.elementalgame.com/369399,) flags for conditions, and a LOT more spells, even if these are, by themselves, not spectacular.
TRADEOFFS
By Tradeoff I mean that investing resources (including logistics, time, placement, etc.) into one aspect will cost you in another aspect, and that there are no really good "plain advantages". (This is, in some way, a derivative of an Axiom of TBS fun I attempted to write about 2 years ago in A Postule on TBS fun.) Example from "real life", martial arts: I can strike you (or otherwise attempt a maneuver, such as a takedown or a submission), but doing so will cost me, at least a quantum of fatigue and a certain quantum in loss of position, or the risk of position loss. I think you know what I mean. This contributes a lot to what makes most martial arts competitions exciting. Example from gaming (concretely, Dominions) : I can wear armor, or heavy or stronger armor, but doing so will cost me fatigue. Increasing Fatigue, in turn, will negatively affect my defense -- but not all situations require that I gain fatigue. When is the tradeoff worth it? You have to think. There is no easy solution, and no no-brainer. There is no "better" choice in all circumstances. Elemental could use less "better", and more tradeoffs, in the form of mechanics which interdepend on one another (I'd like to see Morale back) and more inherent penalties to better boni (e.g. this helmet protects against crits to the head, but obscures sight).