Questions tagged [game-design]
The process of designing a game to be played, such as the creation of the game mechanics and theme and the associated rules, board, map, cards, tokens and/or other playing implements. Also includes the process of play testing early versions of the game to refine and improve these elements.
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What is the maximum number of columns and rows of cards a 2-player physical TCG layout could reasonably have?
Some TCGs have layouts of pre-defined slots in which cards are placed during gameplay. Others do not (but may or may not have limits on the number of cards which may be in play simultaneously). This ...
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What is the purpose of minimum points required for initial meld?
In Canasta and several variants of Contract-Rummy, like Rummikub and Kaluki, there is an "initial meld" rule: The first melds put down by a player must consist of cards to a total value of ...
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How to define “Design Space”?
Mark Rosewater, Head Designer for Magic the Gathering, frequently writes about “Design Space” by which he means something like the amount of scope for detailed creative output which is enabled by some ...
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Why is the first word doubled in Scrabble?
How does the first-word-is-double-points rule affect the game of scrabble? From a game design point of view.
I wonder if it gives an (additional?) advantage to the first player, or actually makes the ...
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How to simulate random events without repetition (no cards)
I'm writing a game manual where there are a lot of random tables with events. A good game session should make them unique, instead of repeatable (i.e., occurs only once).
If I had cards, the solution ...
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What reasons would a designer want to employ squares over hexes in a battle simulation game?
In many games I have played, initial editions (eg the 1960s version of Midway) use squares for their boards.
Often, later editions (eg the 1990s edition of Midway) change to a hex pattern.
Hexes get ...
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Board games with random maps not revealed at the beginning of the game and exploration
I am trying to develop a physical board game with the following features (among others):
The map is randomly/procedurally generated (square/hex tiles, does not matter)
The map is not revealed at the ...
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How can I make a real-time mechanic in a tabletop game?
I'm coming up with a prototype for a card game with real-time mechanics. Players would act simultaneously, each performing actions that take a set amount of time to complete. These actions can be ...
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Are engraved dice unbalanced or biased?
On a regular six sided die (d6) the face with six pips has more material removed than the face with one pip during the engraving process. Does this worsen the distribution of outcomes (make the die ...
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Is kingmaking in multiplayer games a problem that can be fixed?
The original Kingmaker was Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. He was instrumental during the Wars of the Roses in the deposition of two kings. The term kingmaker has come to mean, "a person or ...
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Write custom symbols in text
My game use boxes □ that are marked with one or more line depending on how many times they are used. They can be marked up to 3 times, first with a single line like 〼, then ☒, finally a third ...
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Why are there fewer board games with a triangular grid?
Many games have a rectangular grid, some even use hexagonal but it's quite rare to see triangles. I have heard the argument that hexagons confuse players. Is that true? Is there any evidence to ...
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How can I identify the mechanics of Risk?
Today I learned about game mechanics and I'm trying to find some game mechanics in the board game Risk. It is pretty hard since it is a new lecture I learned. So far I found 4:
player elimination,
...
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What board games have maps that change each time? [closed]
I'm designing a board game
Each time the game is played, the board must change and also be revealed as player pieces scout the edges of the known map
Can anybody name other board games with similar ...
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How to design a Ticket to Ride fan expansion?
I want to design a unofficial map for ticket to ride. Is there a known formula how to create one, basic ground rules on what makes a playable board? How many cities is playable? What percentage of ...
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Tri-dimensional board games: How does the additional dimension extend possible player requirements & game structure?
Recently I saw the Star Trek chess game in a serial and looked it up on wikipedia. It exists as a real game, but it seems it's not too popular, too tricky, too unwieldy to carry and play everywhere, ...
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How can showing the least number of fingers be used to determine who goes first?
I was reading this article about marbles and came across this line about determining who goes first.
When I played, we used a common practice of the past where each player at the count of five would ...
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Is there a method that gets beneficial diminishing returns when adding more dice, yet stays random?
Short Story: I want to find a dice system where multiple dice are rolled and compared at once, but rolling more dice is only slightly more effective than rolling fewer dice, while still being fairly ...
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Can a Player who has forfeited win the game?
So take a situation where 4 players are playing. Player 1 is in the lead, but no longer wishes to play. Player 1 forfeits and conceded victory to Player 2. Players 3 and 4 concede victory to Player 1. ...
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Proposing editions of a game [duplicate]
Suppose I have what I think is a great idea for a new Settlers expansion. (Like 5,000 other people, no doubt!)
What would be the most effective way to realize this possibility? Write to the makers and ...
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What makes a cooperative board game actually a game?
Most board games are competitive, where you have players competing against each other, trying to win. Some board games are described as "cooperative", where the players are trying to do...what ...
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How did makers of "Gwent" set scores for each card?
I am curious about one thing.
In the game called Gwent the Witcher card game each card has its own score. And also these cards have some potential scores that they can enhance their own scores or the ...
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Players who can't seem to follow the rules -- What can be done?
Non--board-game people keep making up their own rules, without knowing it.
I'm talking about players who are intelligent and literate, but who don't generally play board games.
Is there anything a ...
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Which program to chose when designing my own cards? [closed]
I am working on a prototype of a board game for which I need to design several cards. The cards will have several features like name, picture, text and some additional symbols. I am not sure which ...
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In mahjong, how will joker tiles change the game strategy?
I'm developing a new ruleset of mahjong. It's supposed to be a hybrid of Japanese rule and Chinese rule. I'm also considering including the joker tile, also known as baida (百塔). Here is the sketch of ...
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What is a "random" method of picking the start player at which a person could cheat? [closed]
I'm writing a kid's book in which the characters use cards or dice to decide who goes first--and eventually start using the method to determine who has to do certain chores such as washing the dishes. ...
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Othello on a non-square board?
Many games - such as Othello, Checkers, Chess1, and Go - are played on highly-regular, square boards.
How would the game mechanic change if you played an Othello-like game on, say, a Chinese Checkers ...
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Poker auction - Precedence of hands
I have created a simple card game called Poker Auction.
Rules
All players are dealt 2 cards each facedown. They have a fixed amount of money (say 1000 pts.) A card is opened from the deck, and ...
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How to generate numbers from a Pareto distribution? [closed]
I need to generate numbers from a Pareto distribution (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_distribution) for a game I'm making. Ideally with xm=10, and alpha = 2, but approximately is good enough. Is ...
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How to sell a new game, similar to chess [closed]
I designed a board game that is similar to chess, but on a hexagonal board and fundamentally different in a number of significant ways. For instance it can be two or three player, and the moves of ...
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Are there any dice games you can play with a standard 7-die set? [closed]
Are there any dice games that you can play with a standard role-playing 7-die set (d4, d6, d8, d10, d%, d12, d20)?
Maybe you have some time to kill before your tabletop session starts, or during a ...
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What's the most intuitive way to use a die for a pass/fail test?
I'm working on a board game for general, non-gamer audiences. (Think people who have played Monopoly and Uno, but not Risk or Settlers of Catan.) Sometimes the player faces a test with only two ...
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What are the standards for algorithmically forecasting metagame evolution under certain conditions of TCG design?
Company X operates a trading card game, periodically designing and releasing new card sets, which seed evolutionary shifts in its competitive metagame. For the purpose of achieving balanced card ...
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How can I hold pieces in place between turns? [closed]
Let's say you want to play a longish board game over the course of several days. For many games this is a fairly unwise idea that entails a bunch of problems. Among them: People are going to bump into ...
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How to randomly choose a hex tile
I’m designing a board game which uses hexagonal tiles (hex[es]) to form the game area the players move about in. There is a single hex which is the players starting point, and one “layer” of hexes ...
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How to self print/self publish card game [duplicate]
Essentially, I'm working on a little card game. It's my big project for the next two months or so. I've already made quite a few digital designs, and this game would involve nothing but cards, and ...
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Backgammon board for 3 players
I've been thinking about how backgammon might be extended to 3 or more players. Below is a mockup of my current idea of what the board might look like. The concept could technically be extended to any ...
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What are the qualities of a successful beta testing session from the player's perspective?
I'm a board game designer with the luxury of a large public playing area filled with board game enthusiasts. I would like to beta test a new board game and was wondering what YOU, as the player, would ...
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What should I study for designing card game? [closed]
I need to design a point-based card game to teach something in the classroom.
Which mathematical area discusses the principles of card games?
Is it "Game Theory"?
What I understood is, game theory ...
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What do I need to consider when creating a new card game variant?
I came up with a card game variant, combining Texas Hold 'Em and Cribbage, with a friend. You basically follow Hold 'Em play mechanics, and the best hand at showdown is the 5 card hand (2 hole cards +...
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Elevation simulation [closed]
So, I am designing a board game. In it, players will recreate various tank battles (essentially a tabletop version of War Thunder.) The tanks will be represented by 3d printed models, so its a little ...
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Why isn't the minimum bid for a property its mortgage value?
It seems rather odd that the minimum bid for an unmortgaged property in Monopoly is $1, instead of it being the mortgage value (or mortgage value -10% approximately).
Bidding may start at any ...
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Rock Paper Scissor Lizard Spock applied to units features [closed]
I need to put together a system for a game, with the following premises:
There are 5 types of units: A, B, C, D, E.
A beats B and D
B beats C and E
C beats D and A
D beats B and E
E beats A and C
In ...
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Are there any board or card games known to have been designed to feature OODA loops? [closed]
I am looking for any board or card games that use OODA loops as a part of their design. Specific examples of the application of each phase of the OODA loop are appreciated.
The OODA loop is the cycle ...
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Keeping track of many independent variables on a physical board?
I have a large number of independent variables which I would like to represent on a physical game board. One idea I had was to implement these using rotating disks, a little like the metal spinning ...
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What kind of paper can I use for a game card?
I really want to make game card that's similar to Monopoly cards or the like.
What kind of paper should I use for the cards?
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Know any games designed for old game systems like Orion or Sly [closed]
A Game System is a set of components and/or rules that are intended to be used to create games. That is, one set of components that allows to play several diffrent games.
Recent game systems like ...
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Deck Size Problems in Deckbuilding
Question: What kind of mechanic would allow players to remove cards from their constructed decks in my game?
Theory: I'm making a deckbuilding game! So, players start with a number of cards which ...
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Does Classic Egyptian Rat Screw have Marriages?
I've played Egyptian Rat Screw for years, and I've encountered one major discrepancy in the way others play compared to how I do. The combinations that were grounds to slap that I learned were -
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How can you have units with secret locations on the board?
I've heard that there are games where the units on the board are secret -- that the other player doesn't know where they are. How does this actually work? How can you have units on the board without ...
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