I have seen elements of this game mechanic for research in past threads, but you have enough original parts to make it seem fresh again. What you have is a skeleton of an idea that still draws a lot of questions and loop holes, the obvious being… how much are chips? which opponent has the right to block breakthroughs, and is there a maximum amount of chips for one field.
My idea long ago was to have 3 types of facilities for purchase and each turn you received a die roll for each facility you own, a Laboratory, a Training Academy, and a government agency. Each facility had its own chart of 6 breakthroughs which stopped the nonsense of paratroopers and war bonds being categorized as a “technology”. Of course some of these ideas came from someone else’s idea of a laboratory facility.
I’t really hard to evaluate ideas like this because they are so raw in their delivery. I appreciate your open ended approach letting the user expand the mechanic with what ever they can imagine, but one thing I have come to understand about house rules is… if the creator leaves them open to modification, someone will try to sell you a truck load of crazy and the idea burns to ashes. If you finish the rules, solidify the angles, and close the loop holes… I would present it to my group.
