My head is a scary place lately. I’m supposed to be working out the kinks of my latest game “Arachnid” and finalizing the rules, but I keep getting distracted by two new games in my head, just itching to get out. I’ve put a couple earlier games on the back burner for now so I can concentrate on the latest one, but these two new games are coming together as if they’ve got a mind of their own. Here’s a peek at one of them.
Sheeny-Man
Sheeny-Man will be a card based game that has a two-phase turn system. Each player, in turn order, will perform phase one, which will be two actions from a list of three or four available. These actions will include “Pick’n” to collect items, “Shift’n” to arrange them on your tableau (Your junkyard) and “Swap’n” items with other players. There will be a unique method of set collection and a super simple but effective market mechanism. Turn order will be tracked by the “Sandford and Son Pick-up” first player marker which is passed to the next player after phase#1.
The second phase will be led by the previous winner of the “Gavel”, rather than the next player in turn. This is where a player can auction things off to other players, sell items at the market and then auction off the “Gavel” by itself, or auction off various power-ups which become available in the later part of the game. The player with the “Gavel” will have an edge when auctioning the power-ups and can only sell their valuable sets of merchandise when they have it. This will make the “Gavel” a very desirable item. It is passed to the winner of the Auction, ending phase#2.
The next round will be started again at phase#1 by the player who has the pick-up marker. Phase #2 will then be initiated by the player who holds the “Gavel”. It is possible for one player to have both items, which could result in a powerful turn.
Timing is crucial in this game. The value of your items will fluctuate with the market, there will be times when you really need that Gavel, and don’t forget about the “Market Crash” which happens near the end of the game.
Accurately assessing your opponents is also important because different phases of the game are triggered as players fill their mattresses with money. You need to anticipate when somebody is going to trigger the market crash or the final phase where the market is declining again and you must hurry to sell off your items before they become valueless.
There should be a lot of fun decisions in this game. For example, when Pick’n at the dump you might find a “Diamond Ring”, but you could also find a “Dead Possum” which will actually cost you money to get rid of. Don’t worry because you can always auction off the possum to another player who’s desperate for that “Gavel”.
I’ve always enjoyed a little chaos in my games, and I also like simultaneous play. These two things are tricky to pull off in a board game, but I think I’ve done it. The new action selection board for Arachnid is shown above, and it seems to work well in initial testing. I guess I should start at the beginning.
The earlier designs of Arachnid (Versions 16 and 17) had been switched to cooperative mode which eliminated many of the problems of politics and the boring “tit for tat” play of the competitive mode. This, however, introduced a whole set of new problems specific to co-op games. Certain bits of the game were fun but the game lacked an overall purpose and cohesive theme. I was at a loss for words when a game developer asked what the hook was. Just being a spider wasn’t enough and the game was going nowhere fast unless I could pull it all together. I finally came up with a juicy theme and a “Raison D’Etre” for the game, with a little help from my wife who likes to vacuum up spiders and bugs.
Arachnid is about a group of spiders living in a nuclear missile silo. Through being exposed to radiation, they have gained intelligence and are working together to expand their web and gather the keys to the “Red Beacon” (Launch Button). This will bring on Armageddon and the new age of Arachnid. Meanwhile, there are a number of “Critters” constantly invading the web in ever increasing numbers. An ominous whirring is getting louder and louder as well, which is Molly the cleaning lady vacuuming up the dust and cob-webs in the silo. Will the spiders gather the keys and hit the launch button before molly sucks up the spiders in a in a horrible “Hoover-geddon”? You’ll have to try the game and see for yourself.
The spiders must perform various spider actions like building the web, reinforcing it to capture food, gathering the food and fending off the “Critters”. This was originally done with cards placed on an action conveyor, which is explained in an earlier post. This puzzle didn’t mesh well with the action on the main board and severely detracted from the theme. It also failed miserably with 4 players. It had to be discarded from this game and replaced with something more streamlined so players can concentrate on the gameplay on the main board. There were a few conditions that had to be satisfied with this new mechanism:
It had to be streamlined and simple
It had to be expandable and flexible
Players had to have well defined roles
Player roles needed to be customizable
Players needed a clear direction to avoid confusion
It would be great if simultaneous play were possible.
I decided on a shared action pool. Players each have their own colored actions which are played on their own cards. There were also some shared tokens and shared actions which provided some flexibility. Players can also purchase more action tokens or action cards which enhance their abilities. The pool has a default order of actions which can be overridden when necessary by the players when certain actions have to be played in a specific order. This may sound a little wishy washy but it actually worked. In fact, the last playtest resulted in the players playing simultaneously in the second half of the game. It happened naturally and it appears that the game may even go faster with more players that with just two. I have no idea how to write rules for this player behavior which seemed to organically come about during gameplay. I hope it wasn’t just a fluke, and that this chaotic behavior will remain a big part of my game. Only time and more playtesting will tell.
“Chance Favors the Prepared Mind”. This is one of the more important quotes that has guided me in life in my later years. We have all heard stories of a single chance meeting or unusual occurrence which has started a chain of events, putting a person on a path which eventually leads to success. Our propensity to eliminate noise makes us see this unbroken path as absolute, rather than a single branch among the scores of possible choices heading off in all directions. Our confirmation bias ensures us that this path was the only path to the ultimate goal. Last but not least, we overlook the mental “Priming” effect which brings this singular event to our attention, and inspires us to act on it. In short, we tend to subscribe to the popular delusion that success is based on fate.
Under closer examination of these success stories, there doesn’t appear to be any consistency in the number of attempts it takes to succeed. Some people have succeeded on what appears to be the first try, while others have only succeeded after a string of failures. This would imply that random events could be what starts a person on the path for success, but in the essence of true randomness, this could take any number of tries, or experiments. We also overlook the years of hard work which is often involved in becoming an “Overnight Success”. I believe that all these stories have one thing in common, a firm focus on success. This mental priming is the key factor.
It is fine to delude ourselves when we are in the safe environment of a Board Game, in fact it is often an important factor, contributing to the fun. The fate delusion is a welcome addition to the “Magic Circle” of the game group. The challenge to game designers, however, is how to employ this to the best effect.
It is critical to “prime” a player in the early part of a game so that they can start off on their path and head in a chosen direction. This can be done with unique character profiles or abilities, proper graphic design clues, a clear game theme, reduced choices in the beginning which expand afterwards, a story-line to follow, and anything else which can create a clear starting point in the players mind and one or more clear directions to head. Once a player is primed to look for certain specific opportunities, and has a clear direction to follow, the designer needs to introduce some choices.
Uncertainty could be introduced by other players actions, causing a player to make a choice and react a certain way. Another common way to induce choice is by introducing random events with cards or dice. However it is done, the players must receive a constant input of decisions to be made, so that they can lay down their path of action. As this decision path becomes more firmly anchored in a player’s mind, the player will be able to peer into the possible future and develop strategies. In the end, the player should be able to see a clear path of action from the beginning to the end of the game. Whether they attribute their victory or loss to fate or skill is completely up to the player and, of course, part of the fun.
Disclaimer…..
I am not an expert, nor am I successful in publishing games. (Yet!) I am just trying to figure things out and hope you enjoy my occasional rant. Feel free to comment if you agree or disagree, or even if you just want to say hi.
This is a list of the most important books in my Game Design library and the reason why they are so important to me. Everybody has their own unique approach to game design and may have their own favorite tomes which they rely on. This is a peek at my personal library.
We’ll start out with the nuts and bolts of game design:
This will cover just about everything related to game design. It is a pricey book, but it covers every aspect of design and is well worth it. This is basically the foundation of my game design library and I couldn’t imagine being without it. (3 Squirrels)
This is a catalog of every common game mechanism used in modern games. A very thorough listing of game mechanisms, which I consider to be the gold standard. Whenever I dream up some hairbrained mechanism, I check in this book to see if somebody has already done it, or something like it. It is also a good reference for when you really need a cool mechanism, or it can be used as a Thesaurus to inspire new ideas which build on earlier practices. (5 Squirrels)
This may sound like some type of boring product design book, but in reality it’s about the psychology of design. It covers many topics, like the principles of human interaction, cognition and emotion. It sheds light on how the human mind interacts with the products we design as well as how it processes information and interprets what we encounter as we engage with the devices and systems around us. It also discusses how errors and misinterpretations can occur and how to avoid them. This is a must read for anybody designing anything! (3 Squirrels)
This book explains how every game requires some type of uncertainty. The uncertainty in chess, for example, lies in the inability to predict exactly how your opponent is going to move. Every game has its own type of uncertainty which is explored in this book. This uncertainty comes in many forms that you may not realize until it’s pointed out to you. (2 Squirrels)
This is an enlightening guide to writing non-fiction. It has really helped me understand my target audience when writing rules for games. I highly recommend this. (1 Squirrel)
This is a fascinating look into how we interpret the world around us. The basic premise is that our thought processes are split between a primitive but necessary automatic level and a more deliberate but much slower conscious and deliberate level. It explains the strengths and shortcomings of each level, and uses these to explain our quirks and behaviors like loss aversion, imprinting, and many other facets of our thinking. If you’ve ever wondered what’s going on inside a game player’s mind, this book can help you find out. (3 Squirrels)
A compelling look at what drives us to do what we we do. How people, our environment and social pressures guide our decisions. We can use these tools to guide players on a fascinating journey within our games. (3 Squirrels)
The following books are less essential to my design library, but still important. They delve deeper into some topics and provide interesting perspectives. I am glad to have them.
This book asks the same questions to a hundred or so of the top board game designers world wide. It is basically a feel good book. It is nice to know that you aren’t the only one going through the problems you encounter when designing a game. It is also nice to know that there may not be one right answer to a given question. There are many different approaches and many common problems encountered when designing games. It’s nice to hear so many unique perspectives. (2 Squirrels)
Have you ever wondered what compels us to do things? This book will explain what drives us to do the things we do for better or worse. It is an expose’ on the influence peddlers, fast talking salespeople, compelling ads and media tricksters which control and exploit us. It is both a safety manual and a “how to guide” on influencing human behavior. This is a must read for people who want to manipulate others for fun… (by Designing Games) (4 Squirrels)
This book deals with scarcity of resources and how it can have very strong effects on an individual. This is a very powerful effect which can be utilized in board games in many ways. (3 Squirrels)
Another psychology book about how we are such irrational beings. This will also provide insight into game players’ odd and sometimes bizarre behaviors. (3 Squirrels)
A peek under the hood of our subconscious mind. It shows how we often make decisions on a subconscious level, then consciously convince ourselves that we were very clever. (Confirmation Bias) It is a guide to the care and feeding and the function of our subconscious mind. It sheds some light on the decisions we make when playing games. (2 Squirrels)
No library is complete without a few words from Geoff Englestein. This is a collection of his most fascinating topics discussed on the GameTek segment of the Ludology podcast, distilled into one book. A fascinating and informative read. (4 Squirrels)
A collection of insights and anecdotes from game designers like Richard Garfeild, Steve Jackson, James Ernest and many more. It’s really fascinating and fun read. (2 Squirrels)
A game scholar and a game guru from “Snakes and Lattes board game café in Toronto, team up to discuss the social implications of modern board games. They tackle some controversial topics like colonialism, cultural appropriation and people behaving badly; as well as lighter topics like “That Stupid Free Parking Rule” in monopoly. I really enjoyed this book. (2 Squirrels)
Game design in a nutshell. This is a great beginner’s primer on game design, and was the first book in my game design library. It’s a little outdated, but provides a good overall picture of the game making process. (2 Squirrels)
A fascinating look at how to overcome the roadblocks to truly creative thinking. A must read for any game designer. (2 Squirrels)
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I would love to hear about the cherished members of your own design library. Please leave a comment to recommend a book or tell me how absolutely right or wrong I am about my current selections.
Nova Raiders (AKA Pirates of the black hole) has gotten a complete redesign, both inside and out:
I discarded about half of the movement rules to streamline the game
Introduced the “Telleport” spaces
Re-structured the turn order so players wouldn’t fall asleep in between turns
Made the dice more prominent to encourage tactical play
Gave it a complete graphical face-lift
modified the end-game to increase the tension
opened up the movement rules to give players more flexibility
and gave it a snazzy new name.
I was a bit worried that I may have broken the game with so many changes, but it played fairly well in the last play-test. I would like to thank the game designers for the time they spent testing the game and for the frank and honest feedback. I managed somehow to maintain the fun parts of the game while fixing the bugs.
Of, course there were a few new issues as expected with such a drastic overhaul. It appears that I might have opened up the movement possibilities a bit too much, making the game a bit less challenging. I also had too many restrictions on bringing new player pieces into play. My next challenge will be to increase the opportunities to bring in more components, while at the same time, restricting movement just the right amount to make things more challenging. I’m gonna have to put on my thinking cap for this one.
The next issue is the counter-intuitive scoring system. There is some type of thematic or behavioral dis-connect that I have to iron out. The system works, but seems weird. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to sort this one out. There has got to be a simple solution, I just have to find it.
All in all, it was a great test. Only about a thousand or so more to go…LOL
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