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Tabletop & Board Game Design |OT1| By Peoples for Meeples

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Welcome to the Official Topic for Tabletop, Board Game, Card Game, Pen & Paper, and most other Non-Digital Game Designs!

What We Discuss:
  • Games you are creating, or help create
  • Reousrces in game design
  • PLAYTEST, PLAYTEST, PLAY-TEST!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Input and Critique from within the NeoGaf community
  • Support! <3
  • Publishing and Distribution
  • Upcoming and Current Kickstarter Projects of your Own
  • Marketing
  • Rulebook Creation
  • Mechanic Design
  • Prototyping
  • Resources
  • Etc.

Anything Else :


References

r/TabletopGameDesign
r/BoardGamePublishing
r/TabelTopArtists
r/CrowdFundedBoardGames
BoardGame Geek Design Forums

Print
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/
http://www.printerstudio.com/
https://www.printplaygames.com/
http://www.wingogames.com/
http://pandagm.com/
https://www.admagic.com/

I look forward to our discussions! And remember, we do it for the meeple!

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Rule #1: Don't make a roll and move game.
Rule #2: If you fail to follow rule number one don't be upset when we tell you that people don't like roll and move games.
Rule #3: Calling your game a "traditional" or "classic" style game will not fool us into thinking that you haven't made a roll and move game.

For real though: The OP should include a section on Playtesting. It's the most important part of game design and one that a lot of designers get wrong because they think they know their own game well enough to not bring in outside playtesters.
 
Rule #1: Don't make a roll and move game.
Rule #2: If you fail to follow rule number one don't be upset when we tell you that people don't like roll and move games.
Rule #3: Calling your game a "traditional" or "classic" style game will not fool us into thinking that you haven't made a roll and move game.

For real though: The OP should include a section on Playtesting. It's the most important part of game design and one that a lot of designers get wrong because they think they know their own game well enough to not bring in outside playtesters.


Give me a few min and I'll add these ^_^

I gotta update the OP between work right now
 
I'd be interested in some play testing! I play with friends on a Thursday night, and I'm part of a Tabletop group on a Sunday. We don't tend to play board games, mainly pencil and paper games like D&D, Alternity, World of Darkness, etc.
 
I'm currently formulating a two games, with one being a fun quick game, while the other being close to a hybrid semi-story LCG-type where your decks gain more power over different scenarios.

The first one is, unsurprisingly, is about pugs and their constant want to barely use effort in anything they do. It's basically a racing game (think kind of like Odin's Ravens), except your goal is to exert as little energy as possible and get to the end before your opponent. I've got basic basic basic mechanics figured out, but I'm hoping to do some playtesting this weekend.

The second one, the LCG-type, is based around a video game I've partially developed over a year ago combining Norse myth with American culture. I realize I would enjoy it more as a card game that played like a beat-em-up but with enough factors to change each play through. It incorporates a mechanic that makes specific cards stronger or cheaper depending on your previous playthroughs. I'm mostly having trouble figuring out combat, as I want to factors for mental/verbal combat as well as physical.

It used a style like the following, though I plan to improve on it when I get past gameplay mechanics, and such ^_^


I was somewhat inspired by the Grimslingers project seeing as the visual artist was also the game designer... which is something I feel like I don't see often.
 

Karkador

Banned
I've wanted to contribute graphic design/art to a tabletop project. I'd be open to hearing suggestions about something to work on (although I'm employed full time and it would be a hobby at this point, basically)
 
I've wanted to contribute graphic design/art to a tabletop project. I'd be open to hearing suggestions about something to work on (although I'm employed full time and it would be a hobby at this point, basically)

I'm in this boat as well.

I kind of want to develop my own games first, but if someone here has a cool idea, I would'nt mind doing the art for it ^_^
 

Karkador

Banned
I've poured a fair amount of thought into trying to design a game, but it's gone nowhere.

I have put some work in redesigning (visually) existing games, but nothing finished. I should maybe use this thread as a art dump / social motivator.
 
I've poured a fair amount of thought into trying to design a game, but it's gone nowhere.

I have put some work in redesigning (visually) existing games, but nothing finished. I should maybe use this thread as a art dump / social motivator.

Please do!

It's a large reason why I made it, so I can push myself more as well as push others as well ^_^
 

zulux21

Member
Rule #1: Don't make a roll and move game.
Rule #2: If you fail to follow rule number one don't be upset when we tell you that people don't like roll and move games.
Rule #3: Calling your game a "traditional" or "classic" style game will not fool us into thinking that you haven't made a roll and move game.

For real though: The OP should include a section on Playtesting. It's the most important part of game design and one that a lot of designers get wrong because they think they know their own game well enough to not bring in outside playtesters.

Itadaki street is still a great game even if it is mostly monopoly :p

I'm trying to think if I actually have any roll to move games in my main collection. ah 221b baker street, but it's not a great game just an interesting one.

that being said I wouldn't really rule out any design idea. if you can bring something interesting to the table it could still be fun :p

betrayal has elements of roll to move :p

anyways I will likely try to remember to pop in on this thread from time to time. Don't currently have anything that I want to make, but I would be more than happy to give my input as a gamer to people. I tend to be pretty good at breaking things, and finding flaws in rule logic, which can be helpful lol.
 
Here's a thought I just want to put out there, and full disclosure this is for something I'm working on... All you guys designing and developing your own games, how would you feel about getting the alpha/beta of your designs put into a lootcrate type box focused on tabletop games?

I'm just trying to work things out mentally in my mind where I could go with this, this isn't a business up and running, but I'm trying to put ideas together.
 
Here's a thought I just want to put out there, and full disclosure this is for something I'm working on... All you guys designing and developing your own games, how would you feel about getting the alpha/beta of your designs put into a lootcrate type box focused on tabletop games?

I'm just trying to work things out mentally in my mind where I could go with this, this isn't a business up and running, but I'm trying to put ideas together.

I'd say itd be a cool service but with a requirement list for the game developers to full fill before they could be part of a "crate".

It also would be iffy because I could see level of quality being all over the place.

I know there's a crate thing for tabletop on Kickstarter right now, I just don't remember the name.
 

Karkador

Banned
Here's a thought I just want to put out there, and full disclosure this is for something I'm working on... All you guys designing and developing your own games, how would you feel about getting the alpha/beta of your designs put into a lootcrate type box focused on tabletop games?

I'm just trying to work things out mentally in my mind where I could go with this, this isn't a business up and running, but I'm trying to put ideas together.

I guess I'd want to know why I'd want to *pay* to playtest things that probably wont be good?

What could be compelling is if you pay a subscription fee, you get sent prototypes of different games that progressively get weeded out every month (like one of those reality TV talent shows), the subscribers give feedback and vote, and the game that eventually makes it to the end is finished and released to subscribers.
 

KJ869

Member
I've wanted to contribute graphic design/art to a tabletop project. I'd be open to hearing suggestions about something to work on (although I'm employed full time and it would be a hobby at this point, basically)
Is there portfolia anywhere? Easier to suggest something if the style/technique matches.

Currently im working on 3 prototypes. I will probaly write more about them next week when I have time.

I study gameresearch in university currently having break year because of chlildren. Working on heuristic evaluation system for board games. I am mostly focused on interface design and experience design.
 

Olorin

Member
Awesome thread!
I'm currently working on one game that's in the testing/prototype phase. The mechanics are all locked down, just need to do a lot more testing for balance at all player counts. My girlfriend is doing some of the artwork, but I'll need another artist as well. I've seen some great artist on bgg and deviantart, but I'd love to see some portfolio's in this thread as well.

Hopefully I'll be able to reveal more in a few weeks.
 
I guess I'd want to know why I'd want to *pay* to playtest things that probably wont be good?

What could be compelling is if you pay a subscription fee, you get sent prototypes of different games that progressively get weeded out every month (like one of those reality TV talent shows), the subscribers give feedback and vote, and the game that eventually makes it to the end is finished and released to subscribers.

It'd be more of the second one, yeah.
 
What have models been for other subscription services for tabletop?

I know the the store The Covenant would have one for LCGs where every new release was sent to you as soon as it was available.

That's the only one I'm familiar with.
 

Leunam

Member
Great idea for a thread.

I've got a few ideas rolling around in my head but I'm only committed to working on one at the moment when I find time here and there. I'm still outlining some things but I have a good idea of where I want it to go. Because I've mostly played miniature war games the game I'm working on takes a lot of cues from that area of design in terms of movement and combat but I'm probably going to restrict it to be tile based.

The abstract is basically two rival super spies competing for opposing objectives (assassination vs extraction of a VIP for instance) against an AI controlled opponent in a heavily guarded facility. It's fun solving gameplay problems in my head but I'm going to need to test out a very basic game first to see how even the most simple things have to play.
 

Ferulci

Member
Interested to see where it goes. Not a tabletop creator myself but I'm always intrigued by the creative process behind it.
 

Olorin

Member
Here's another good resource: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter/
Jamey Stegmaier's experiences with kickstarter and all kinds of other design and publishing articles. Lot's of great insight and tips.

It's fun solving gameplay problems in my head but I'm going to need to test out a very basic game first to see how even the most simple things have to play.

Yeah, it's super important to make a working prototype as quickly as possible to really get a feel for what works and what doesn't. You might be going over ideas in your head that end up being terrible in practice.
 

Cth

Member
I had to create a game for class and a year later something similar started appearing on shelves.

Frustrating and surely coincidental, but ah well.

Looking forward to checking this thread out!
 

Blizzard

Banned
I had to create a game for class and a year later something similar started appearing on shelves.

Frustrating and surely coincidental, but ah well.

Looking forward to checking this thread out!
Just remember, as soon as you post your idea in this thread, we'll all create a better and cheaper version. ;)
 

zulux21

Member
Just remember, as soon as you post your idea in this thread, we'll all create a better and cheaper version. ;)

oh really, take it, I just want to play it :p

a co op (1-4 players most likely) story based deck builder where you have a sort of choose your own adventure story to read first, story wise you train, and depending on your choices you get a different pool of cards to choose from to add to your deck.

then maybe you do something like face a first boss (automatically played perhaps a bit like aeon's end but attacking you only instead of you and city or perhaps a bit like sentinels of the multiverse , that will change depending on number of players) that if you win or lose you continue it just changes the cards available, and then more story, more cards to potentially add, maybe another boss like before, a final round of story that gets you some more cards and then finally a final scenario boss that if you win you complete the scenario if you don't you get the bad ending :p

it would need to easily be savable between each boss, and ideally would be designed with a continuing story some what like arkham horror card game.

I actually do have the rough idea of how it would work written down in far more detail somewhere lol. I have been working on a story for oh 14 years now, and when I sat down to think.... if I turned my story into some sort of board game what would it be like... this is what I came up with lol. In the context of the story the first set would have three major bosses to go through, and the second set would have 4 (which would take you through book 2. book 3 is less agreeable to be turned into a game like this, and book 4 would need to be a different game completely. Book 5 isn't solid enough yet to be sure how that would turn out lol)
 

Blizzard

Banned
oh really, take it, I just want to play it :p

a co op (1-4 players most likely) story based deck builder where you have a sort of choose your own adventure story to read first, story wise you train, and depending on your choices you get a different pool of cards to choose from to add to your deck.

then maybe you do something like face a first boss (automatically played perhaps a bit like aeon's end but attacking you only instead of you and city or perhaps a bit like sentinels of the multiverse , that will change depending on number of players) that if you win or lose you continue it just changes the cards available, and then more story, more cards to potentially add, maybe another boss like before, a final round of story that gets you some more cards and then finally a final scenario boss that if you win you complete the scenario if you don't you get the bad ending :p

it would need to easily be savable between each boss, and ideally would be designed with a continuing story some what like arkham horror card game.

I actually do have the rough idea of how it would work written down in far more detail somewhere lol. I have been working on a story for oh 14 years now, and when I sat down to think.... if I turned my story into some sort of board game what would it be like... this is what I came up with lol. In the context of the story the first set would have three major bosses to go through, and the second set would have 4 (which would take you through book 2. book 3 is less agreeable to be turned into a game like this, and book 4 would need to be a different game completely. Book 5 isn't solid enough yet to be sure how that would turn out lol)
So Warhammer Adventure Card Game but with more choose your own story elements. All you need to do is rebrand it with a really obnoxious "Epic As F@&*" name and you're golden. :D

On the flip side, I think all the WACG mechanics are available since the Epic As F people failed their kickstarter and they might get used in another game eventually.
 
Here's another good resource: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter/
Jamey Stegmaier's experiences with kickstarter and all kinds of other design and publishing articles. Lot's of great insight and tips.
.

Thanks I'll compile this in on my next edit of the OT. I've read elsewhere that sometimes it's better to approach publishers than Kickstarter, but mostly depends on the game itself; Hard to say if thats true or not since I have yet to go through the process.

oh really, take it, I just want to play it :p

a co op (1-4 players most likely) story based deck builder where you have a sort of choose your own adventure story to read first, story wise you train, and depending on your choices you get a different pool of cards to choose from to add to your deck.

then maybe you do something like face a first boss (automatically played perhaps a bit like aeon's end but attacking you only instead of you and city or perhaps a bit like sentinels of the multiverse , that will change depending on number of players) that if you win or lose you continue it just changes the cards available, and then more story, more cards to potentially add, maybe another boss like before, a final round of story that gets you some more cards and then finally a final scenario boss that if you win you complete the scenario if you don't you get the bad ending :p

it would need to easily be savable between each boss, and ideally would be designed with a continuing story some what like arkham horror card game.

I actually do have the rough idea of how it would work written down in far more detail somewhere lol. I have been working on a story for oh 14 years now, and when I sat down to think.... if I turned my story into some sort of board game what would it be like... this is what I came up with lol. In the context of the story the first set would have three major bosses to go through, and the second set would have 4 (which would take you through book 2. book 3 is less agreeable to be turned into a game like this, and book 4 would need to be a different game completely. Book 5 isn't solid enough yet to be sure how that would turn out lol)

Check the Lord of the Rings LCG Campaign rules if you go the card game route. They have some interesting forms of changing your deck based on choices or completed goals you make in the campaign that are different from Arkahm's XP route.

I play alot of LotR LCG but have yet to touch the campaign. The expansions helped add some great story rewards to the game.

The game I am working on dosnt sound too far off from what you have planned, except I'm trying to build a sense of malleable permanence in the gameworld while also using just cards and counters.
 

zulux21

Member
So Warhammer Adventure Card Game but with more choose your own story elements. All you need to do is rebrand it with a really obnoxious "Epic As F@&*" name and you're golden. :D

On the flip side, I think all the WACG mechanics are available since the Epic As F people failed their kickstarter and they might get used in another game eventually.

I own the warhammer adventure card game... I think, I should play it sometime. I bought it because it sounded interesting when it was going out of print (got that fury of dracula and space hulk something I think)

The game I am working on dosnt sound too far off from what you have planned, except I'm trying to build a sense of malleable permanence in the gameworld while also using just cards and counters.
not really planned, just something I have thought about at work a few times lol.
 

Dreavus

Member
Closest I've come to design are some thoughtful house rules.

And a card game that in retrospect was a bit like Coup (cards counter each other, and some cards are better in certain situations, etc.) but with simultaneous reveal instead of a limited hand. It didn't really pan out, lol.
 

joelseph

Member
I'm working on a couple things. I will be sure to share once I have something of value.

I'm struggling with designing mechanics around theme instead of attaching theme to mechanics.
 
I'm stuck with hurricane Irma on the way so I won't be able to update the OP till weather is all good and done.

I did grab some board games to play while waiting the storm out.
 
Does anyone have articles that would help that I can add to the OP?

I dont have power at home due to Hurricane Irma, so be patient with me, but I'll update it when I can.
 

Olorin

Member
Seems like a great way to test quick card ideas.

Seems useful. I always use regular paper inside a sleeve with a card behind it for support. I went from handwritten bits of paper to a quickly designed prototype printed on paper and am now working on an easy to print low-ink prototype that is closer to my current design.
 
Seems useful. I always use regular paper inside a sleeve with a card behind it for support. I went from handwritten bits of paper to a quickly designed prototype printed on paper and am now working on an easy to print low-ink prototype that is closer to my current design.

Nice!

Yeah I'm still in the basic phases of my design, so the dry erase markers make sense for now.

I want to use this:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/523600/Card_Creator/

but currently am waiting to get my win PC back.
 
D&D without the 100 dice rolls would be great. I hate DMing D&D games past 5th level, as the amount of dice the players need is absurd.
 

Olorin

Member
How are everyone's games coming along?

I'm using Inktober to force myself to make a quick scetch every day, which I can use as placeholder art for my game. I'll need about 49 pieces of art, so I should get more than half of that done this month.

I also just submitted myself and my company to the boardgamegeek database, which is a small thing, but still feels exciting :D
 
How are everyone's games coming along?

I'm using Inktober to force myself to make a quick scetch every day, which I can use as placeholder art for my game. I'll need about 49 pieces of art, so I should get more than half of that done this month.

I also just submitted myself and my company to the boardgamegeek database, which is a small thing, but still feels exciting :D

Wooh! That's awesome!

Those "small" steps are way bigger than they seem. Keep us updated.


I had time yesterday to put together some cards for prototyping. I saw a picture on Reddit that helped push me to making a fast playable prototype. Basically I grabbed playing cards and put them in penny protective sleeves. I then just cut out paper that I would write my card info and fit it in the sleeves with the cards.

Made for a quick setup of card making. Didn't get to play test but got to make cards with my daughter which was nice.
 
Hey, guys. Cool thread. Subscribed immediately. Thanks, Rolento!

I'll copy/paste what I said in the other thread:

I've actually been working on a game I want to get published on game crafter as a personal goal. A survival horror/slasher flick co-op (and solo, of course) game with simultaneous turn-based action (kind of like a roguelike). I'm 9 pages deep with ideas, haha. It's so much fun trying to design shit.

And this is the prototype/WIP visual aid to help my creative juices flow:


Yoshi is the stalker and the main threat to the players (using eye drops and lip balms as players, haha), but not the only one. The index cards are rooms randomly placed via die rolls, with on-flip effects. I've made some cards already, but since it's still super early, they're just basic effects to give me an idea of what I may want to do.

The ultimate goal is to reach the second floor (still wondering if I should do a double-sided board or hexes) by finding key items, and escaping. You search the rooms (index cards) and hope you get lucky.

Since I'm a writer, too, my super cheap lore flair to explain away drawing new rooms to place is that these survivors were drugged with hallucinogens. Or something. We'll see.

I want multiple stalkers and survivors with unique abilities. And multiple masterminds (the people who captured you) and writing the motivations, etc., as flavor text. I'm still trying to see how to sneak a good story in there, because the base theme is generic.

I actually started with cards + dice but eventually realized I may need a board since I wanted player pawns. I still like what I came up with for the cards, but I think I can make that its own game eventually, too :p. Same universe? Ha.

I'm really excited about movement. I have a stamina system and need to math out tight numbers to make someone's ass pucker because of close calls with the stalkers. And I want people to always be able to act out of turn.

I'm grinning just typing everything out, and I can't wait to get back to brainstorming when I get home in two days.

It's a co-op game with repercussions because the active player decides some things for other players. That's one of my main goals for it overall. Work together, die together. If you're too selfish, it's game over.
 

Karkador

Banned
Yoshi is the stalker and the main threat to the players (using eye drops and lip balms as players, haha), but not the only one. The index cards are rooms randomly placed via die rolls, with on-flip effects. I've made some cards already, but since it's still super early, they're just basic effects to give me an idea of what I may want to do.

Why not just shuffle the rooms and place them randomly? Or do you envision tiles that aren't easy to shuffle?


The ultimate goal is to reach the second floor (still wondering if I should do a double-sided board or hexes) by finding key items, and escaping. You search the rooms (index cards) and hope you get lucky.

If I'm being honest, searching for the game-winning objects at random is not fun.


I'm really excited about movement. I have a stamina system and need to math out tight numbers to make someone's ass pucker because of close calls with the stalkers. And I want people to always be able to act out of turn.

It's a co-op game with repercussions because the active player decides some things for other players. That's one of my main goals for it overall. Work together, die together. If you're too selfish, it's game over.

I'm confused, because you said it was a simultaneous action? Wouldn't everyone do their thing at the same time?


If you want some inspiration, I'd say check out Room 25 (which sounds kind of similar to what you're going for), or Fearsome Floors (which has an interesting and fun way of doing player and monster movement).
 
Why not just shuffle the rooms and place them randomly? Or do you envision tiles that aren't easy to shuffle?




If I'm being honest, searching for the game-winning objects at random is not fun.




I'm confused, because you said it was a simultaneous action? Wouldn't everyone do their thing at the same time?


If you want some inspiration, I'd say check out Room 25 (which sounds kind of similar to what you're going for), or Fearsome Floors (which has an interesting and fun way of doing player and monster movement).
I thought of tiles or cards, but I want the rooms to block certain things if they happen to land there (they are fixed on the game board). Again, though, it's still in the super early stages of brainstorming. I'm still experimenting to see what I want. It could be one thing now, and something else the next.

Key items wouldn't be at the mercy of luck. I just meant that they would spawn at random points (but I'm still figuring them out, too. How many, what they are, 'key cards,' etc). I like a mix of luck/skill so every game can feel unique. Players would either know outright, or have a general idea of where an important item is. Again, still early brainstorming, and I feel I need to finish my WIP to get a sense of flow before committing. It could be that later on I get another idea for winning conditions altogether and scrap key items (or make them something else).

I meant simultaneous movement, sorry. Sounding like a broken record, but I'm still trying to figure things out for everything. I usually don't get much done because I overthink things, so I decided to just write whatever pops into my head (that's why I have 9 pages) and then go back and pick out what fits well within what I want the game world to provide.

Since I'm a solo player mostly, my idea of simultaneous movement seems counterintuitive to that, so I'm still going back and forth on what I want/how to change up the solo, etc., in regards to movement. (Thought of a stalker AI deck, but then countered myself, 'but what if I want to control multiple charterers?'). Yeah, it's a mess, but a fun one.

I was thinking the active player would roll x dice, where x is number of players/characters, and then he assigns 1 roll as that player's movement by giving them the die, and everyone moves by 1 together (hidden from the stalker player. I want stalker to be playable by someone, as well as be AI), so there's minimal down time. Even when it's not your turn, you're doing something. Some cards can be posted it of turn, etc., but typically, you can only do other actions when you're the active player.

The stamina system in thinking of also plays a bit into this, as well as stalker movement.

Thanks for those recommendations. I'd love to hear more for inspiration. I actually really like Forbidden Desert's storm system and was, like, "whoa" when I finally saw it played. It's almost what I'm going for, but not quite.

Anyway, my ideas are half-baked at best, but I wouldn't rush to print it without really fine-tuning it, as well as getting multiple opinions.

I'm using this thread mostly as another form of brainstorming by rambling to make myself want to see it through.
 
One solution to overcome randomness is using what the LotR LCG does where the quest (or quest cards in LotR LCG) dictate what decks are to be drawn from.

Ie. Players are at part 1 of quest, map cards are drawn from regular map deck. Players then progress to part 2 of the quest and shuffle into the map deck hazards/enemies that were set aside. Players then progress to part 3 and a certain. Number of map cards are added, then the last card is the set aside end game objective or boss to win the game.

Not sure if that helps.


Right now I'm still figuring out but getting closer to crafting between playthroughs in my game. So far I've come up with the boss monster deck having different icons (designating monster parts) that are shuffled then drawn as loot prizes at the end of the game. Some icons are more common than others.

Ie. Depending on how monster is beaten, you get more or less loot draws. You then check the required parts to build an armor part or sword and spend those monster parts to build your equipment which is permanent and can be used in your next fight.

There are ways to target specific parts during battle, but yeah.

Also trying to figure out the best way to log saved up monster parts (trying to use cards only). I was thinking if you fought same monster for more parts, you then turned the parts you won facedown upside-down so you can remember which one's yours. I might just make an app, manual, or tokens to be used for recording saved items.


Still needs to be tested.


I'm really fascinated with the idea of progression/unlocking and permanency in card games. It's not hard to come up with ideas, but the execution is a little hard.



I'm creating another card game that uses unlocking of cards to be stronger if conditions are met before hand, but that's another story.
 
Holy moly, I love you karkador. I finally looked up the games you mentioned. I had actually heard/seen fearsome floors in passing but forgot all about it!

And you're right, room 25 seems similar to what I'm going for. Two easiest wishlist additions in a while. I'll have to actually look up videos for them (I just looked them up on Amazon to see if they were attainable).

Thanks so much!

Edit: for some reason the look of room 25 does nothing for me, and it looks to have too much going on (at a glance). Fearsome floors's movement is really interesting, especially the characters. It's close to what I was thinking of with the stamina, but not exactly. I'd love to get my hand on that (love the theme)
 

Mista Koo

Member
I made two bad games in a course. One was a bad Forbidden Desert inspired one. You needed too many pieces to win, needed to eat and hide every X turns, and the number of actions you had was based on dice roll/coin flips.
The other was a re-implementation of a multi-piece roll and move racing game. I made it an elimination race with multiple laps and set cards instead. The only vaguely interesting card was one that allowed you to move one piece to the next, possibly gaining close to a full lap. Both games were gorgeous since I cared more about that :p
(We made 5 games in total, but these are the ones I had more to do with.)

I've been wanting to making a game that is a mash up of Magical Athlete and Machi Koro for a few years now.
 
Been working here and there since getting home, and progress on my game has both backtracked and advanced. It's almost not the same game anymore, but the fundamental ideas I wanted are still there. That card version idea I initially thought of, but said I'd hold off on for a possible card version of the game... well, I went back to it and tweaked it after lots of writing, and just rambling to friends about what I'm working on. And lots of sitting down, chucking dice, and making up cards that have no real meaning yet (again).

I scaled back a lot. There's no board now, and no traditional movement; therefore, there's no stamina. I playtested my manila folder map and didn't like it (I overdesigned it, so that's on me), but that led me to coming up with a way to program my stalkers/killers as a threat to the players, with scraps from that stamina/movement idea. I feel like the stalkers/killers have really become the heart of the game, and everything I was thinking of doing with the players kind of organically shifted to the stalkers/killers (I don't know what to call them yet, haha), as well as still applying to the players. Two birds, one stone!

This also means no one can directly control the stalker/killer like I originally planned (1vsAll), so, that movement dilemma I was having early on has been solved. Players can now only influence the stalker/killer with certain abilities or items, and I'm having fun coming up with different killers that do different things to mess up certain players more than others. For example, a La Llorona-inspired killer whose thematic color is blue (water), and she'll pick on blue players more than the others. Or if she goes after someone else and they use an ability to divert her attention to another player, it will always be towards blue. Stuff like that.

I'm being vague about the gameplay for now, but I want it to be an intense, fun, and fully cooperative (with minimal selfish actions so as to not allow griefing) tug of war between players/killer, but definitely in the killer's favor. I'm even considering having more than one killer under certain circumstances (or as a higher difficulty).

Cards and dice are the meat of the game, with player pawns just to have some player representation.

I wonder how long till I report back with a completely different game again :p. Everything feels right so far, though. Now I just have to work on the other half: minor enemies, items, key items, card effects, etc.

I want death to be common, that's why each player gets to control three(?) characters, and if one dies, they skip a turn after bringing in the new character to pick up where the last one left off. If any one player loses all three, it's game over for everyone. That's why I'm working hard on having a bouncy feel to stuff, for lack of a better term. I want everyone to suffer almost equally. An idea is having an ability or card for a character to be able to take a hit in someone's place. Teamwork stuff.

Anyway, that's my update!

Hope you guys are having a good time designing your own games.
 

Olorin

Member
Been working here and there since getting home, and progress on my game has both backtracked and advanced. It's almost not the same game anymore, but the fundamental ideas I wanted are still there.

Sounds good! Don't be afraid to scrap things that don't work and streamline the heck out of it.


This weekend has been kind of hectic, but fun! My BoardGameGeek submission went through faster than I expected, so I've been busy updating my website and just posted my game announcement :D

So the game I've been working on is Heroes of Tenefyr, a fully cooperative deckbuilding game for 1-4 players.
I don't have any final artwork yet, but I'm almost ready to start with blind playtesting.

Press release and more info: http://brokenmillgames.com/?p=news1

BGG link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/237706/heroes-tenefyr
 
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