The objective of the game is to get as many grass points/cards as you and your opponent mow all the grass on the board in order to end the game.
Materials needed:
Board
Grass cards
Setback cards
Two dice
meebles (marks which space/tile was mowed already)
Paper and pencil to keep track of score
Iphone timer
Setup:
Take all of the cards and shuffle them into one deck and place them in a empty space on the board.
The tallest player will start the game or be the first turn.
Turn:
Both players are going simultaneously
The player will roll one dice, and move the amount of spaces of that number on the dice.
The player can go anywhere on the board, no restrictions.
The player will pick a card for each space they move. For example, they roll a 2 and move 2 spaces hence pick up 2 cards.
After you have moved (mowed) a space, you will mark it with a x or a meeble.
(you can still use this space to move around in it but you can not get a card from it.)
Ex: rolls the dice and gets 3, but ⅔ spaces are mowed already. So, you can only pick up one card.
If you pick up a card that has a setback, you will have to complete the task on the card in order to continue.
You have approx. 25 seconds to complete the
Out of gas
Nebby neighbor
Dinner time
Reapply sunscreen
You do not have a time limit with:
Mower broke
Dog poop on the blade
If you do not complete the setback challenge within the time constraints then you have to remove one grass card point from your pile.
Winning/Losing:
Once the whole lawn is mowed, and there is no more space to collect cards then the game is over.
Count up your points, and the points win.
Some changes I made in Mow Masters was adding more setbacks and sabotages. A lot of the players gave me feedback on changing the setbacks since the game was too easy in a sense. I made a lot of alterations regarding the design of the board. I wanted to make it super unique and curvy, but it wasn’t making sense when the game was being played. So, I switched it around and changed the color which was to boring and wasn’t the best design. I finally stopped when the board was just in hashes to give the players a sense of what the board is and how it applies to game.
In the future, I would love to rework only roll 1 dice and two dice for challenges. As well as, adding a sand timer to pick up the pace in the game.
I would say that this is my least favorite game. The rules weren’t really making sense in my brain, and I kind of got frustrated with the design of the board. Overall, I did get get feedback so I was pleased with that.
Be the first to finish your stack of ice cream dishes.
Materials:
1 deck of 60 cards
Setup:
Shuffle the Deck and deal each player 30 cards randomly
Gameplay:
Flip over two and place in between your deck of cards.
There are no “turns”. The players race to be the first to finish their deck by rapidly matching either the flavor, type of dish or number of dishes on their card to the respective ones on EITHER of the cards that are flipped up in the middle.
As the game progresses, obviously the cards will change based on what cards the players place on top. Keep placing matching cards as fast as you can, whenever you can.
Winning:
The game ends when one player finishes their stack. That player is the winner. Hooray!
Reedit of the Rules:
Objective: The first person to get rid of their deck of cards wins!
Setup:
1 deck of 60 ice cream cards in different color, shape, or type of ice cream holder variation
Shuffle the deck and deal each player 30 cards randomly
From your deck pile pull four cards to keep in your hand at the start of the game
then flip your deck pile so you cannot see the front of the cards.
Place two cards in the middle of you and your opponent (face down)
Gameplay:
there are no turn involved and both players are going simultaneously
The game will start when you and your opponent flip over the two cards in the middle
Both of you will try to match the cards in your hand with the one of the cards in the middle.
You match them by either matching shape, color, or type of bowl, shake, cone, or waffle bowl
after you found match, you will place the matched card in your hand over the matched card in the center (face up)
Continue to repeat this until your deck has run out
What if you get stuck?
if you get stuck, you get to pull 2 cards from your deck. And, if you are still stuck you must wait until your partner matches something, that opens it up for you!
Winning/Losing:
the fastest person to eliminate their deck wins!!
Some changes we made was actually rewriting the entire game. We thought that our game creation could our chosen amount players able to play our game. So, we changed it to a 2 person game. That changed the whole landscape of the game, and we went into the direction of making a fast paced game to get the heart pumping.
Some design alterations was to change the vanilla ice cream flavor to a different color to stand out more. I think in the future, I would also change the waffle bowl so it doesn’t look as similar to other cards. Which would make it easier to play at a fast pace.
Honestly, I really loved making these designs. Even though, they were extremely tedious to cut out and make each card individually, it was super rewarding and fun to see everyone play it. I think Kali and I had some frustrations and stress since we had to recreate a game with limited amount of time since we already had our whole entire game planned out.
Below, is some of our notes we took during the creation process.
brainstorming:
Ice Cream game
Game starts:
Objective: to complete tasks to keep your ice cream shop running and gain points.
Each player has the opportunity to sabotage the game (if you successful sabotage then you will gain more points) but you risk getting caught and lose points (depending on the round)
Materials needed:
Task cards
Sabotage cards
Problem cards
Points key
Melt down meter ( how you lose)
Two types:
Task cards
Sabotage cards
Problem cards
(the task cards will address the problem cards and the players will draw from the task cards)
Each player starts out with 4 task cards
Game prior
Melting Mystery
5 players
Objective:
Keep your ice cream shop running as the Staff while Problems arise throughout the day and ward off the Saboteur
Materials:
Problem Cards (diff problems) (15 cards max)
Task Cards (with Sabotage and Defend Cards) *** sabotage (all the same) (Defend all the same) (Task (fixing cards/cleaning))
Role Cards (4 Staff and 1 Saboteur) **all the same staff card and one saboteur card
1 Staff Points Meter and 1 Saboteur Points Meter
Setup:
2 stacks of cards – the Problem cards and Task cards (include sabotage and “diffuse sabotage” cards)
5 Role Cards – 4 Staff and 1 Saboteur – at the beginning of the game each player is given one of their cards to determine their role throughout the game.
Place the Staff Points and Saboteur Points meters within reach (designate one person randomly to be in charge of points)
Each player is dealt 4 Task cards into their hand (after shuffling).
Place Problem cards in the middle of the table and flip over 1 Problem card face-up.
Gameplay:
Each turn players draw one card into their hand (so that when they play one they will have 4 remaining)
Players will play cards to deal with problems that arise.
Based on the Problem, players discuss with each other what part of the Problem card they will address. Feel free to lie. Because someone is the saboteur.
FOR EXAMPLE:
The Problem card on the table says “Fix Soft Serve Machine” : Tasks to Complete: 2+ “Fix it” Task Cards and 1+ “Cleaning” Task Cards
Players will then discuss with each other what cards they plan to use to fix the situation and all place their cards face DOWN on the table. Someone then mixes them up and reveals the cards by placing them face up in a line on the table.
IF player does not like their hand they have the option to pass on a round and replace any number of cards that they like – but caution this can mess up resolving a Problem so make sure you are communicating with your fellow Staff (or enemies heheheehe)
Based on the order the cards are revealed in, if a Sabotage Card is played it sabotages the Task that is to the left of it
If the correct amount of Tasks are played (and not sabotaged) to resolve the Problem, the Staff wins the round. However, if the Problem is not resolved because of a sabotage card, the Staff loses the rounds and the sabotager wins. Each win is worth one point respectively.
NOTE: there are Defend Cards that “diffuse” Sabotage Cards and when played basically make it like there was never a sabotage card – wherever they land in the order when placed face up they automatically diffuse the sabotage.
At the end of every round, the table is cleared (whether the Problem is resolved or unresolved) and a new Problem card is put on the table.
The game consists of 7 rounds. At the end of 7 rounds, proceed to ending the game.
Ending the Game:
The end of the game is where the Staff tries to determine the Saboteur. Discuss amongst yourself who you think has been suspicious throughout the game. Again feel free to lie to the Saboteur to try to win the game. Each person votes who they think is the Saboteur.
If the majority votes the correct Saboteur, the Staff gets an extra point. If EVERYONE votes the correct Saboteur, the Staff gets 2 points.
If the Saboteur does not get voted off (needs a majority vote) they get 2 points.
WINNING:
Whoever has the most points on their respective points meter WINS. Congrats. You have successfully operated your ice cream shop.
Or not, the Sabotager melted all your products.
Additional Rules:
When Staff members get Sabotage Cards in their hands, they should keep them there.
Make the most valuable jam recipes by combining various fruits and spices before the deck runs out! The player that reaches 30 points in recipe combos wins!
Ideal player count is 3-4.
Materials Needed
Strawberry cards
Blueberry cards
Peach cards
Vanilla spice cards
Mint cards
Basil cards
Ginger cards
Special action cards
Jammer Scoresheet and pencil (to add up points as you go)
Setup
Shuffle all the deck of cards
Deal 5 cards to each player
Place the remaining deck in the center of the table, face down (this will be the draw pile)
Right next to the draw pile will be the discard pile (these cards can face up when once a pile starts to form)
The person who was last to eat a piece of fruit recently will go first! (if you can remember the tallest will go)
The turns will go clockwise
Play overview
A players turn will consist of three phases (draw phase, action phase, and cleanup phase
Turn Order
THIS IS THE START OF YOUR TURN
Draw Phase:
Draw 1 card from the draw pile
Action Phase:
Choose one of the following actions:
Complete recipe
If you have a the correct spice and fruits then create a Recipe Combo from your hand (e.g., “Blueberry bliss” needs blueberry + vanilla)
Recipe Combos stays in front of you for final scoring.
Action card
Play an action card then discard it
Discard a Card
If you don’t like what you see, you can get rid of a card that is in your hand to the discard pile.
Cleanup phase:
After every player’s turn, you must have 5 cards in their hand.
There must be 5 cards in your hands, no more and no less
This goes for action, fruit, and spice cards.
Write down how many points you have after your turn (if possible)
For example: You pick up 1 card (6 cards in your hand). Then, play a recipe combo which includes three cards played. Leading you to pick up 2 cards from the draw pile.
For example: You pick up 1 card (6 cards in your hand). You still don’t see a recipe combo or action card that you like. You will then discard a card of your choice, and that would get you back to 5 cards.
***See more details in the action card key about how it affects the hand limit
YOUR TURN IS THEN DONE.
Reshuffle
If the deck runs out of cards, reshuffle all of the cards except the completed recipe combos from each player.
Tri preserve (strawberry + peach + blueberry + any spice) 7 points
Berry sweet (two fruits + cinnamon) 3 points
Earthy herb (any fruit + basil) 4 points
Action Cards:
Bunny attack: choose a player and they have to discard one fruit (player that discard their fruit must pick up a card from the draw pile)
Farmers market: draw two cards next turn instead of 1 and place card the 2nd card that was not used under the draw pile. Cards can be played the following turn.
Fruit poacher: steal 1 random card from another players hand (the player that was stolen from must pick up a card from draw pile)
Another man’s trash, is another man’s treasure: swap one fruit from your hand with one from the discard pile
Jam Packed: Whatever recipe combo that you create on your turn will be doubled (tri preserve is originally 7 points, but would be 14 points with the Jam Packed card)
Win/Lose
The Game ends immediately when the player reaches the set number of JAM points (30) or over, and will be the TOP JAMMER!!!!!
Tiebreakers:
Most completed recipes
Most fruits used overall
If still tied, both share the victory as co JAMMERS!!
Photos of:
the game when setup
details of the pieces
any process photos – making
any design iterations – changes to the board, cards or pieces
An overview of changes made
An overview of changes to make
Your thoughts and lessons learned from play testing
During the course of this design, it went through many reworks. From fixing confusing directions, card size, amount of cards in each category, and changing how a players turn would work. I am pretty proud of what I reworked and testing to see how fluid the game is. I strived to make the cards cut as neat as possible which was tedious, but I am proud of committing to that. Moreover, the game became more fluid once I changed the hand limit to 5 cards (no more or no less). My last change was adding more spices to give people more chances to make recipe combos, and adding a Jammer scoresheet.
What is the difference between a “working” and a “display” prototype?
– The difference between working and display prototype is working is for playtesters or potential publishers to play. Meanwhile display is when the game pieces are fully finished and only intended for distributors and chain buyers. Both meaning is a prototype that is advance copy of that game.
What is required of a working prototype, and what might cause one to fail?
– The working prototype needs to be clear and playable. Many publishers don’t worry about the aesthetic appeal of the game during a prototype. Game maker must update other components of his game if he makes alterations to other aspects of it. Do not send untested playing cards. Sometimes having no illustration or design on the playtest cards is better because it leaves it up to the players imagination when in working prototype. Making sure all the rules makes sense and do not add any extra handwritten notes. Makes it hard to read and ruins the game. The passage discusses that prototype must include everything in order to play the game, not include anything that hasn’t been tested prior, focus on gameplay, and must be legible.
What makes for a good prototype according to Dale Yu?
– Dale Yu explains that overall appearance of a game is crucial because if it is clean and well made then it demonstrates that a lot of time has been spent on this project. Making sure that everything is organized and looks put together is very important. Yu talks about having different baggies for game pieces and a card sleeve so your cards are not everywhere. The rules MUST be eligible. You have to put yourself in players shoes when writing the rules so because this is their first time reading the instructions for this game. Makes sure you are adding any extra rules or clarifications just in case the players are struggling to understand.
What advice from Richard Levy will help you pitch your game?
– Some advice that Richard Levy said will help with pitching my game is making sure your are prepared. Meaning, do your homework on the company you are pitching to, and understand the market. In your pitch, you are selling you and your game. First impressions are crucial and can mean everything if you can get the buyer to like you. Switch your mindset on rejection. Many games that have been rejected, have been reworked and became a successful game. Have a healthy ego, this can kill your chances of your game working. Sometimes ego can be the reason your game got rejected. Sell your game when buyers are interested, if they don’t seem to care and not attentive then it’s not going to work more than likely. Submit your prototype to multiple companies.
Where might you pitch your game?-
I might pitch my game to new game companies but as I become more well know I want to aim to pitch to Cardinal Games, Mattel, Hasbro, Magnetic Poetry, INC. etc.
What do publishers look for in a game?
– Publishers look for game makers that truly care about their work and want to be professional. You must prove that you are willing to follow instructions, and meet deadlines. They look for your proposal to be neat and organized which means there is no inaccurate information or errors before they throw it into the mail to be looked at. They look for the player interactions, least amount of set up time, cool theme, seeing strategies happen, immersive, solid mechanics and rules, compatiable with other products, good target market, and a really well done title name.
What makes a good set of Rules?
– What makes a good set of rules is having a overview, components or materials of the game, setup, gameplay or what the player does on their turn, card types, winning/losing, examples of how to play, and credits.
Question Set 2
Describe the best game you’ve made this semester in 200 words? Follow Michelle Nephew’s advice.
– The best game I have made this semester is the Alleyway Pharmacy because I think it could be a really fun and interesting game after some minor tweaks and revisions. The nephew discussed the production of a game and who the game maker collaborates with to ensure that there are no errors or flaws in the game. Moreover, there would be an artist who would come in and create the design layout for the game, determining what would best fit it. I think my game cards in the Alleyway Pharmacy are not just a still of something, but make the player really look at the cards. Many of the cards are double entendres, and an obvious symbolization of that category is. Furthermore, I think some changes that could happen based off of Nephew’s advice is that the design piece must be interactive and understandable. I think my game can be reworked and create a warning advisory at the beginning of the rules saying what the game is and the age range its intended for. I think that would clear up anything the player may see on the cards and be aware that it is for adults. Lastly, Michelle talks about the sketches and print of the cards must be eligible and comprehensible. I think the Alleyway Pharmacy completes that, and my cards are the standard card size for games.
The game was pretty fun, and I enjoyed the design of the game. I thought it was super pretty, and fit the vibe of the game. It was super engaging while not difficult to understand. It was easy to talk to other players and still focus on the game.
What were the player interactions?
The player interactions was not being able to be on the same space as another player. Players were going against each other by getting as many points as possible, and having to deal with managing the amount of tokens they had.
How long did it take to learn?
The game took about 20 or so minutes to learn. At first, it was a little hard to understand and was a lot to digest since there was a lot of card decks and moving pieces. After we starting to get the game, it became more fluid. Players were making better decisions on their turn as we progressed.
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?
The most frustrating part of Tokinado was not being able to collect tokens or coins as easily. I felt that I didn’t completely understand the coin collection rules, and was giving away my tokens and never gaining any.
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?
My favorite moment was being able to move my colored circle piece up on the number spaces. Or having the ability to get to the restaurant stage, and picking out your meal. I really loved the theme of the game as well. I enjoyed how you were backpacking across Japan, and thought the concept was extremely cool.
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?
I really wanted to add my coin collection, and I couldn’t or didn’t know how to. I was trying to figure out the system of the game, but with the limited time we had it was harder to grasp.
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything
from the experience, what would it be?
I would change how the coin collection would go. Maybe add a feature of coin collection or easier ways to get more coins.
Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why
Yes, I would play this game again. I love the style of the game and the adventure it gives the players. I enjoyed playing the game and I liked the style that the last player or player behind everyone went.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.
the first act is reading the instructions and understanding the objective of the game. Each player is figuring out what their character does and how their turns work. The second act of the game is when the instructions are figured out and the rhythm of the game is found. In this act, players are thinking out their next moves and intentionally placing their pieces on spaces they think will be beneficial. The third act is when points are being rounded up and players are coming to the end of the board. We did not get to this stage since class ended.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game?
The collaborative aspect of the game was picking a meal out of the card deck that another player picked up. The competitive side of was managing your coins and choosing spaces that another player may have wanted or getting their first.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?
The games mechanics is game pieces, the board itself, and card decks. The mechanics helped players figure out where to go and what to do. For instance, whatever you landed on had a certain color which decided what deck to choose from. The games’ metaphor was
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku.
what is the difference between a game designer and a game developer? – The difference between a game designer and game developer is the game designer creates the mechanics for the game and figures out rules and development of the game. The designer creates the finished Skelton of the game which is then sent to a game developer who makes the game more marketable. The whole point of a game developer is make the game better. In part 3, they refer to game designer as the author and a game developer as the book editor (game editor to make it better). A game developer has the power to change a designers mechanic if it will lead to the game to be more efficient and fun.
what commonly occurs during the game development process?
– What commonly occurs in game development process is initial play testing, rules, blind play testing, and titles/theming. In initial play testing the designers main focus to see the game from a “newbie” perspective. They are trying to figure out the major flaws in the game and fix the flow of it. This stage is where the game maker sees how much they can simplify the rules in order to avoid the players having an automatic bad experience with the game. Rules come into play where it helps the mechanics of the game flow better and more comprehensible. They are supposed to be eye catching to the player and make it easy for them to understand the game. The rules are acting as a communicator and a reference for the users. Blind testing is when the game is polished enough for a group of people to pick up the game and be able to fully grasp the game and play it. The maker is taking notes of what needs to be tweaked. Finally, there is titles and theming which is theme that the game is revolved around. For example, Dominion is a deck building game. The game has a story or theme behind it. We talked briefly about my last prototype theme and why its ok to play it (talked about Breaking Bad and the crossing the boarders game).
what are the challenges of balancing a game?
– The challenges of balancing a game is ensuring that no action is completely unjust or unfair. There must be different ways to combat a negative action and making sure a positive action is too much. For example, adding a time restraint in your game or adding difficult cards in the deck will help with balancing the easier/hard parts of the game. The second challenge is balancing the game with the idea of cost. No card should be unfair or too overpowered. Peterson highlights that the card can be used in the game but must be developed extremely well.
what should every player of your game believe? why?
– Every player of a game should believe that they are able to win. No player should feel that they don’t have an opportunity to win right off the bat, and if so that’s where there is a problem in the format of the game or in the rules. Peterson highlights that this is VERY important in when designing a game. When a player loses interest in losing then the game is over in their head, and you have no longer engaged this user. Not giving the user an opportunity to feel confident in winning is the moment the game lost its engagement.
how can you avoid stealing players fun?
– You can avoid stealing players fun by getting players to interact with each other. Peterson believes that the players should be able to choose who the winner is. This gives each player the opportunity to be more engaged in the game and feel more control over how the game ends.
what 10 maxims should you follow when writing rules?
Use no intermediary terminology: “Call things what it is.” Avoid made up names or labels of people (call people, people or dice, dice).
Use real words: make rules easy to understand and they must be consistent throughout the game
Make no more work than necessary: don’t overcomplicate the mechanics and rules of the game. Cut out all the rules that make it harder to learn or uneccesscary to learn
Add flavor (but not too much): Be aware of how much flavor you can add to your game, and make sure its the right amount (not too much, not too little)
Make your text no smarter than your reader: make it easy to read the rules, players are more willing to play a game that is easier than confusing.
Discard rules that cannot be written: Remove a rule if it is too complicated or complex to write. You may want to write the rules because you like how it goes with the game, but for the players sake it has to be able to explain.
Take a breath: if text is getting complex and long, break it up
Go easy on the eyes: rules must be readable
Play test your final version: look over your rules in a final playtesting and make sure everything is easy to understand.
Fix it in the FAQ: Make clarifications
Question Set 2
how has play testing changed your game?
– Play testing has changed my game because it allowed me to see the speed of the game and come up with different actions or rules to improve the game. Playtesting highlights all of the issues in your game that you didn’t think of when preparing it. So, playing the game and taking notes allows you to make changes to the game so its is better.
who from class would you like to play test your next game or version 2 of your first game?
– I would like to play test with a different group of people and have one person from the group prior to join and see the alterations of the game. I think having one person from the first testing will allow feedback to me, and see what they liked/disliked in the first testing and the second.
who is the audience for your game?
– The audience that my game is for is high school and up. I think especially my second prototype game was more rated and not kid friendly. I am aiming to target the audience that is interested in a GTA ish world or enjoy that kind of games.
who should play test your game outside of class?
– My soccer friends are really excited to play test my games outside of class. They have been constantly asking me to bring it over when I have the time.
Idea: The Alleyway Pharmacy is a card game in which the players are drug dealers competing against other drug dealers where they have to collect various drugs to resell. The kick to it is, the drug dealers have to make sure whether the drugs they collected are real and not candy. If they are caught using candy (x amount of times) then they will go to jail (lose).
Objective:
Players are rival dealers that are fighting for the same street block. They are competing to make the most profit by reselling drugs while avoiding fake ones (candy). To win, the player must be the first to reach the profit goal ($20,000) or by the last one that didn’t get busted.
Materials needed:
Deck of cards:
Drug cards
Candy cards
Action cards
Profit tracker (score pad)
Busted disk trackers
Rules sheet
Your hand for your cards
Stash (faced down pile on the table)
Setup:
Shuffle cards into one deck which will become the draw pile
Each player will draw 3 cards that will be their starting hand
Give each player 3 busted tokens
Have a space for the discard pile
Discuss what the profit goal will be for this game (default is $20,000)
The tallest player will go first
Insight:
Hand: these are the cards you can see and choose from (max. Card limit is 5)
Stash: cards you placed face down on the table (max card limit is 6)
Profit tracker: how much money you are at
Busted tokens: track how many times you had a candy drug (3=jail and you lost the game)
Turns:
Draw 1 card from the draw pile
You will then move into your action part of your turn:
You can choose one action play
Options:
Play a drug: place 1 card from your hand to you stash pile (face down)
Play an action: use it immediately (sneak, inspect, etc)
Slip a fake drug (sneak): Put a card from your hand (candy or real drug) to an opponents stash pile (face down)
Pass (take no action)
Resell (You can resell if you think you have 3 of the same cards in your stash)
If you have all 3 of the same drug, then you will earn a profit based on the value of the drug type. After, you have collected your points you will discard this set
1 Candy drug:
If you have a 1 candy drug in your stash during RESELL, then your resell fails (even if you have 3 of the same drug) and the player will take a penalty.
Penalty: Lose ½ of the profit or discard 1 random hand card
Discard the candy card after
2 or more Candy drug:
If the player has 2 or more candy drugs in their stash during resell then resell fails, and collect 1 bust token. Discard all candy cards
Check hand and stash number:
If you have more than 5 cards in your hand, discard extras
If you have more the 6 cards in your hand, discard extras
Out of turn options:
Players are able to play an action card during another players turn
Inspect: peek at only one card in a players stash
Steal: Force a player to reveal one of their stash cards
Snitch: take one random card from an opponent’s hand
Hideout: block a sabotage or inspection against you
Win/Lose:
Be the first person to reach the profit goal
Be the last person standing, if the other opponents went to jail
Player is out of the game if they received 3 bust tokens
Card Meanings:
Inspect: peek at only one card in a players stash
Steal: Force a player to reveal one of their stash cards
Snitch: take one random card from an opponent’s hand
Hideout: block a sabotage or inspection against you
Sneak: place 1 card from your hand to an opponent’s stash
Swap: trade 1 card from your stash with 1 from an opponent’s stash (face down)
