Category: Game Design Studio 1

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jam sesh test

  1. mostly it was the people, the game itself wasn’t ever frustrating, well maybe the amount of times we all rolled 12s.
  2. my favorite part was getting to make the songs and hear everyone’s peices.
  3. no, nothing felt like it needed to b added.
  4. maybe trading cards with others or being able to chose the key of your piece, but that would get very technical. also making it more competitive in a way, i know games don’t need to be competitive but it makes it more fun for me.
  5. having more cards.
  6. creative, simple, musical.
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Sara Estus – To Feed or Not to Feed Game Review

1.) Running out of food tokens was hard, I think it changed the game a lot

2.) I enjoyed that it was repayable through shuffling the deck after rounds!

3.) I wish I could have interacted more with the animals I had, rather than just feeding them and putting them to the side.

4.) More food tokens, and maybe more animals?

5.) I think the animal cards having more purpose, and that there should be more food tokens as stated above!

6.) Animals Very Hungry

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Sara Estus – Builder Buccaneers Game Review

1.) Trying to be super quick with building! It’s part of the game so I enjoyed it, but that can be hard sometimes to build fast.

2.) I enjoyed the aspect of having a range of different levels to build, with the levels reflecting super well with the building difficulty.

3.) Play the game longer, I felt like it ended super early, but for a prototype I’d say that’s good for further trial and error!

4.) A bigger board, with obstacles, pirates, treasure and different levels of difficulty.

5.) The length of the game and the board, as my previous comments on why.

6.) Fast Building Ships

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Playtest Review Lauren Yunk

To Feed or not to Feed

What was the most fruatrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Keeping track of which animals were fully fed or still needed fed.

What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? The fact that the game relates to war.

Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I dint think so.

If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be?  I feel like it would be fun to have certain animals tie because then you could encourperate something where youd have to battle to see who would win.

What should be improved with the next version? Adding a different color food for when you are finsihed feeding your animal.

Descibe the game in 3 words? fun, competitive, simple

Builders

What was the most fruatrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Making sure the build was built neatly.

What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? The competitive aspect of trying to do something neat yet quick to get the points.

Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? Nope.

If you has a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? I would add more builds

What should be improved with the next version? The cards telling you what to build

Descibe the game in 3 words? speedy, entertaining, competitive

Jam Sesh

What was the most fruatrating moment or aspect of what you just played? knowing what notes were what

What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? getting to hear my song at the end

Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? nope

If you has a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? i would remove or change the part where the notes have to be four notes apart to be placed next to each other, if that is even what that rule meant, because as someone who knows nothing about music, I found that very confusing

What should be improved with the next version? design aspect

Descibe the game in 3 words? musical, fun, ineresting

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The Lamp Rules

Game Objective

As moths, compete to earn the most points by landing on spaces and collecting cards & light orbs, but WATCH OUT for the Lamp. Follow the Lamp and get as close as possible WITHOUT touching it or ELSE your moth will DIE.

Contents

  • 1 Game Board
  • 4 Moth Pawns
  • Light Orbs (not sure how much yet) 
  • Trading Post Cards (not sure how much yet)
  • 1 Lamp
  • Hazard Space Cards (not sure how much yet) 
  • 2 Dice, Numbered 1-6
  • 1 Lamp State Die
  • 4 Survival Achievement Cards

Setup

  1. Place the Game Board in the center of the table. Place the Lamp in its designated spot on the Game Board. Keep the Lamp turned off. 
  2. Place the Trading Post Cards, Hazard Space Cards, and Light Orbs in their respective piles next to the Game Board. Set the Survival Achievement Cards aside for later. 
  3. Every player selects a Moth Pawn. Place the Moth Pawns at the beginning of the Game Board. 

The player who rolls the highest number on the numbered dice goes first. Play proceeds in a clockwise direction.

Gameplay

By rolling the die/dice, players must try to get their moths the closest to the Lamp without touching it. Becoming the closest moth will award the most points, however, moths that touch the Lamp will die. Additional points are earned by collecting  Light Orbs, which can be traded for more points at Trading Posts.

On Your Turn

  1. Determine if you will KEEP PLAYING

Before you officially begin your turn, you MUST DECIDE if you are going to continue playing if you are close to the Lamp. REMEMBER: if your moth touches the Lamp, it will die and you will be disqualified. Players MAY NOT change their decision after they have chosen to roll the die. 

  1. Roll the Lamp State Die

Roll the Lamp State Die to determine the state of the Lamp during your turn (on/off). 

  • When ON is rolled on the Lamp State Die, turn the Lamp on (or leave it on if it already was). From here, your turn will proceed by rolling 2 numbered dice. 
  • When OFF is rolled on the Lamp State Die, turn the Lamp off (or leave it off if it already was). From here, your turn will proceed by rolling 1 numbered die. 
  1. Roll the Numbered Die/Dice

Based on the state indicated on the Lamp State Die, roll 1-2 dice to determine how many spaces your Moth will move. Move your Moth Pawn the number of spaces indicated on the die/dice. 

  1. Follow the Space’s Actions

Based on the space where you landed, follow the instructions for that specific space in the Board Spaces section.

Board Spaces

There are 3 different types of spaces on the Game Board: Light Orbs, Trading Posts, and Hazard Spaces.

Light Orb Spaces

Light Orb Spaces allow players to collect Light Orbs that can be traded for items at Trading Posts. Roll 1 Die to determine how many Light Orbs you collect. 

  • IF YOU ROLL 1-3 on the die: Collect 1 Light Orb
  • IF YOU ROLL 4-6 on the die: Collect 2 Light Orbs

Orbs are worth 1 point at the end of the game.

Trading Post Spaces

Trading Post Spaces allow players to trade their Light Orbs for various light-up objects. When you land on a Trading Post Space:

  • First, draw 3 Trading Post Cards from the Trading Post Card deck. 
  • Second, select 1 Trading Post Card that you would like to purchase, if any. 
  • Third, to purchase the card, return the number of Light Orbs indicated on the Trading Post Card to the pile of Light Orbs.
    • The number of Light Orbs you pay is indicated by the state of the Lamp. 
  • Finally, return all non purchased Trading Post Cards to the bottom of the deck. 

Trading Post Cards are worth varying amounts at the end of the game. The amount of points that a Trading Post Card is worth is indicated on the card. 

ADD EXAMPLE OF TRADING POST CARDS/SPACES HERE.

Hazard Spaces

Hazard Spaces make you LOSE POINTS when something bad happens to your moth. When you land on a Hazard Space:

  • Draw a Hazard Space Card
  • Hold onto this card until the end of the game

ADD EXAMPLE OF HAZARD CARDS/SPACES HERE. 

End of the Game

Players DECIDE the end of the game for themselves. Players must decide before each turn if they want to continue for the chance to get closer to the Lamp and earn more points.  REMEMBER: A player is ELIMINATED from the game if they touch the Lamp. 

When all players have decided to stop playing or have been otherwise eliminated, points are tallied. The player with the most points wins. 

  • Award the 4 Survival Achievement Cards to the players according to how close they got to the lamp.
    • 1st goes to the closest, 4th goes to the player farthest away, etc. 
    • ONLY award achievement cards for the amount of players you have at the end of the game. For example, if you have 4 players but 1 player got eliminated, award 3 Survival Achievement Cards. 
    • In the event of a tie, whoever rolls the highest on the dice gets the Achievement Card of higher points. 
  • Count how many Light Orbs you have. Each Orb is worth 1 point. 
  • Add the points from your purchased Trading Post Cards. 
  • Subtract 1 point for every Hazard Space Card you have.

If after tallying all of these points, there is a tie, the winner is the closest player to the Lamp.

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Garden Sabotage! Rules – Version 2

Game Objective

Compete to have the best garden by planting plants and sabotaging other players with bugs.

Contents

  • 50 Garden Objective Cards
  • 100 Plant Cards
  • 50 Bug Cards
    • 10 Good Bug Cards
    • 20 Bad Bug Cards
    • 20 Pesticide Cards
  • 1 Golden Watering Can Card
  • 4 Action Reminder Cards
  • 4 Garden Boards
  • 1 Game Board
  • Instructions

Setup

(INSERT NEW SETUP IMAGE HERE)

  1. Every player selects a Garden Board. 
  2. Place the Game Board in the center of the table. 
  3. Shuffle the Garden Objective Cards, Bug Cards, and Plant Cards. Place the decks in their respective spots on the Game Board.
  4. Place the Golden Watering Can Card face-down in its respective spot on the Game Board.  
  5. Turn over the top 4 Plant Cards and place them in a face-up row next to the deck, as indicated by the spots on the Game Board. 
  6. Turn over the top 2 Bug Cards and place them in a face-up row next to the deck, as indicated by the spots on the Game Board
  7. Deal 3 Plant Cards, 1 Bug Card, and 1 Garden Objective Card to each player. Players may look at their cards, but should keep them a secret from the other players.
  8. Give each player an Action Reminder Card. 

The player who owns the most house plants (in real life) goes first. Play proceeds in a clockwise manner.

Gameplay

Points are earned by completing Garden Objective Cards, using Plant Cards. Players must plant all of the required plants on their Garden Board by laying Plant Cards on their board, face up. Some Garden Objective Cards are more difficult, and, therefore, are worth more points at the end of the game.

On Your Turn

  1. Perform Actions

Players perform 3 Actions on their turn. Players may perform the same Actions multiple times, and they can be performed in any order. You can quickly reference these actions at any point during the game using your Action Reminder Card. The 9 Actions include:

  • Draw a Plant Card
  • Plant a Plant in your Garden
  • Draw a Bug Card
  • Sabotage Another Player’s Garden
  • Play a Good Bug Card on your Garden
  • Sweep the Plant Cards
  • Use Pesticide
  • Draw a Garden Objective Card
  • Dig Up Your Garden
  • Discard a Card

Draw a Plant Card

Draw a Plant Card, either from the top of the deck or from the row of face-up cards. If you take a face-up card, replace the gap with a new card from the top of the deck. There is no limit to the number of cards a player can have in their hand.

Plant a Plant in your Garden

Place ONE Plant Card face-up on your Garden Board. Each Garden Board has two plots, Plot 1 and 2. Each plot has space for up to 3 Plant Cards.

Draw a Bug Card

Draw a Bug Card, either from the top of the deck or from the row of face-up cards. If you take a face-up card, replace the gap with a new card from the top of the deck. There is no limit to the number of cards a player can have in their hand.

Sabotage Another Player’s Garden

Place a Bad Bug Card face-up on any other player’s Garden Board on one plot. The Bug immediately eats one Plant. The affected player discards this Plant Card. The Bug will continue to eat Plants in the player’s Garden until it is killed with Pesticide. A Bug takes 1 Plant at the beginning of the affected player’s turn until exterminated. Additionally, players cannot meet Garden Objectives when a Bad Bug is in their Garden. Only 1 Bad Bug, in addition to 1 Good Bug, can be placed on a plot at a time.

Play a Good Bug on your Garden

Place a Good Bug Card face-up on your Garden Board on one plot. A Garden Objective completed with a Good Bug Card applied to it will score additional points at the end of the game. Only 1 Good Bug, in addition to the 1 Bad Bug, can be placed on a plot at a time.

Sweep the Plant Cards

If you do not like the four face-up Plant Cards, you may sweep them away to get four new ones. Discard all four cards and replace them with the top four cards from the deck. You CANNOT sweep the Bug Cards

Use Pesticide

To remove an unwanted Bad Bug from your Garden Board, you must use Pesticide. REPLACE the Bad Bug from your affected Garden Board Plot with a Pesticide Card. The Pesticide kills the Bad Bug, and the Bad Bug Card is discarded. Pesticide REMAINS on the plot until the beginning of the player’s next turn and PREVENTS another Bad Bug from being placed on the plot during that time.

Draw a Garden Objective Card

Draw a Garden Objective Card from the top of the deck. NOTE: Players can only have 2 Garden Objective Cards in their hand at a time.

Dig Up Your Garden

In the event that players don’t want the plants on their Garden Board anymore, players must remove ALL of the Plant Cards from ONE of the plots on their Garden Board.

Discard a Card

Discard 1 unwanted Plant Card, Bug Card, or Garden Objective Card from your hand. Place the card in its respective discard pile.

Completing Objectives

Objectives are completed automatically when you have met all of the requirements on a Garden Objective Card. To indicate this, lay the Garden Objective Card face-up in front of you. Requirements are met when all of the Plant and Bug Cards shown on the Garden Objective Card are placed on one Garden Board plot. All of the Bug and Plant Cards (except for the Good Bug Cards) on the plot that fulfill this requirement are discarded.

  • You may complete Objective Cards anytime during your turn and it does NOT count as one of your standard Actions. It is possible to complete more than one Garden Objective Card during your turn. 
  • If there is a Good Bug Card applied to the Garden Plot that completes the Objective, stack this card underneath your completed Garden Objective Card in front of you. 
  • Garden Objectives CANNOT be completed with a Bad Bug on the Garden Plot. Bad Bugs MUST be killed with Pesticide first. 

Types of Cards

There are three different types of cards throughout the game: Plant Cards, Bug Cards, and Garden Objective Cards. The following describes and provides examples of these cards.

Plant Cards

Plant Cards enable players to complete Garden Objective Cards, which are necessary to earn points and win the game. Up to 3 Plant Cards can be planted on 1 plot.

Bug Cards

There are three types of Bug Cards: Good Bug Cards, Bad Bug Cards, and Pesticide Cards.

Good Bug Cards

Good Bug Cards are white and feature bugs that will benefit your Garden. 

  • Only 1 Good Bug Card can be placed on a Garden Board Plot at a time.
  • At the end of the game, you receive 3 additional points for every Garden Objective Card completed with a Good Bug on it. 
  • You CANNOT place a Good Bug Card on another player’s Garden Board.

Bad Bug Cards

Bad Bug Cards are black and feature bugs that will harm other player’s Gardens. 

  • When a Bad Bug Card is placed, it immediately eats 1 Plant Card. That card is then discarded. 
  • A Bad Bug eats 1 Plant at the beginning of the affected player’s turn until exterminated. 
  • Attacking Player selects which Plant Card the Bad Bug Eats.
  • Only 1 Bad Bug Card can be placed on a Garden Board Plot at a time.
  • You CANNOT complete Garden Objectives with a Bad Bug on your plot. Bad Bug Cards MUST be killed using Pesticide before an Objective can be completed. 
  • You CANNOT place a Bad Bug Card on your own Garden Board.

Pesticide Cards

Pesticide Cards are mixed throughout the Bug Cards and allow players to kill Bad Bugs placed on their Garden Board. 

  • To use Pesticide, lay the Pesticide Card on 1 plot of your Garden Objective Board. 
  • The Pesticide immediately kills the Bad Bug, and the Bad Bug Card is discarded. 
  • The Pesticide Card remains in the spot where the Bad Bug was on that player’s board until the beginning of the player’s next turn. 

The Pesticide Card prevents other players from laying a Bad Bug on the affected player’s plot until the Pesticide Card is removed at the beginning of their next turn.

Garden Objective Cards

Garden Objective Cards are necessary to earn points and win the game. Garden Objective Cards are completed by obtaining and planting all of the required plants on the card.

Action Reminder Cards

Action Reminder Cards reference the actions that players are able to take each turn. Players should refer to the rules for the function and details of each Action.

Golden Watering Can Card

At the end of the game, the Golden Watering Can Card is awarded to the player who triggers the final round, or completes 5 Garden Objective Cards first. This card is worth additional points at the end of the game.

End of the Game

The player who reaches 5 objective cards first triggers the final round. The player who triggered the final round receives the Golden Watering Can Card. The remaining players get one last turn to try to complete objectives in order to earn points. The player with the most points tallied up from their completed objective cards wins. 

  • Tally the points from only the COMPLETED objective cards 
  • Add an extra 3 points for every Good Bug that you completed a Garden Objective with 
  • The player with the Golden Watering Can Card adds 2 extra points to their score
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Week 6 – Prototyping, Presenting and Test

Playtest for: Zoomiez

  1. What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?
    • Luck was not on my side, I kept rolling odd numbers, so I kept having to take a treat.
  2. What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?
    • My favorite aspect was that everyone is striving to reach a goal, but players can choose to interfere with another player’s journey. If you want to play the game safer, collect more treats, but you are able to play aggressively too.
  3. Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?
    • I wanted more sabotage options, or more ways to cause mayhem during the game. I think mechanics like that make the game more competitive and funnier.
  4. If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be?
    • I brought up the idea that there should be a laser pointer card that distracts the other players from reaching the top of the tower, preventing them from playing. This was already changed during the playing process, but I also wanted the risky jump card to be a 50/50 split, so even numbers allow you to jump while the odds don’t.
  5. What should be improved with the next version?
    • The only thing I’d say is more diversity in the card options, improving the gameplay. This would also allow for some interesting interactions between the players.
  6. Describe the game in 3 words
    • Simple, Relaxing, Funny

Game Maker’s Play Test Notes

  1. What questions did your players have?
    • “Is the round timed” “Do we take turns building?” “Are the dashes on the board the points you earn?” “Is this a race?”
  2. How quickly did they learn to play?
    • Since the rules are fairly simple, it only took a game or two for them to understand. Little things need more clarification though, so that interfered with their learning capabilities.
  3. What kinds of interactions did the players have?
    • The players were racing against each other, constant competition. Once somebody wins, they yell “ahoy!” When it came time to determine who won, players also started arguing on who finished first.
  4. What confused players?
    • The pieces that they had to use. They had to refer to the info card. Sometimes, they would struggle with the instructions.
  5. What made players excited?
    • The thrill of the race, along with the simplicity of the rules. People kept going for the harder cards, so they were excited when they earned the maximum amount of points.
  6. What did your players enjoy doing?
    • They enjoyed the ship building; they thought it was interesting. Players even recommended more pieces to add.
  7. Did any aspect of the game frustrate players?
    • The benefit is for the faster-handed people, so they suggested I add elements to raise the stakes. There was a lot of player discourse between who build their ship first, so it was recommended that a judge was present.

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Evelyn: Builder Buccaneer v.1 Review

Fun and interesting concept. Here are some thoughts to consider in future iterations:

Players were definitely frustrated and argued over who won and what constituted a “better built ship.” In order to prevent arguing, perhaps clearly define what you want the final product to look like. It might help to have a player judge as well.

Consider blueprint designs. That could be cool. Colored-coded pieces on the instructions?

Please include enough piece reference for every player.

I would consider the mechanic of choosing a blueprint. Perhaps its a pile of unidentified difficulties and it’s luck and randomized how hard the blueprint is. Or maybe define who picks first (ex: whoever won last time).

Game right now: chaotic, tension-building, creative

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Garden Sabotage! Play Test Notes

Play Test #1

  • What questions did your players have? Which cards were which? How pesticide worked? Where is the pesticide card? How many cards can be in each garden?
  • How quickly did they learn to play? At least 20 minutes. Quite longer than I expected. 
  • What kinds of interactions did the players have? Players planted cards in each other’s gardens. Players also helped each other make the best moves on their turn since everyone was learning the game for the first time. 
  • What confused players? The first player rule—whoever has the most houseplants goes first. The players thought that this was determined by the cards that you were dealt. They also didn’t understand at first that you couldn’t plant multiple plants in your garden at once and that each plant you planted is a separate action. They were also confused by the fact that pesticide isn’t a physical card; it is just an action that you declare you are doing. Players also did not form a discard pile for the used plants, bugs, and garden objective cards. 
  • What made players excited? The players enjoyed the gameplay and the card art. The most exciting part would have been when players played bugs on each other’s gardens. 
  • What did your players enjoy doing? They enjoyed the fact that the bugs make the game more difficult and add value to the game. They enjoyed the size of the bug cards and appreciated that the end of the game isn’t totally obvious because players count their points after someone reaches 7 cards. 
  • Did any aspect of the game frustrate players? The objective cards were frustrating and confusing to players. The fact that you have to play the objective card after you completed the card wasn’t totally obvious.

Play Test #2

  • What questions did your players have? If you just declare that you are using pesticide? Do you draw at the beginning of your turn? Do you lay the objective card down first?
  • How quickly did they learn to play? Pretty quickly. 
  • What kinds of interactions did the players have? Players helped each other to understand the game at first and then sabotaged each other with bugs. 
  • What confused players? They were confused about discarding plant objectives for another being 1 turn. They were also confused about what they would do if they ran out of plant cards because there was no hand limit. 
  • What made players excited? They really enjoyed the gameplay and the card art. 
  • What did your players enjoy doing? I could tell that they enjoyed eating others’ plants with bugs. 
  • Did any aspect of the game frustrate players? The fact that it is pretty luck based on what cards you draw frustrated some of the players. 
  • Other comments:
    • This group accumulated a lot of plant cards in their hands, so a hand limit might be necessary. 
    • This group ran into the issue where they planted plants in the garden that they didn’t want to plant and had no way to remove it. 

Potential Changes to Make

  • Simplify garden objective cards rules
  • Maybe make good bug cards worth more because they are so rare in the deck?
  • Reminder cards that show the different actions that you can take on your turn
  • Clarify that objective cards are met automatically and you don’t lay them down until the objective is met
  • Clarify that you can only plant ONE plant in your garden
  • Make pesticide a physical card or object or otherwise clarify it 
  • Potentially make it harder to obtain pesticide
  • Design a board to have specified places for the cards to make the face-up cards and discard piles make sense
  • Design the garden boards so that there are spaces for the bugs
  • Clarify how it is determined which plant is eaten by a bug 
  • Clarify what bugs do on the cards themselves
  • Add the option to remove a plant from your garden as an action (or you have to get rid of all the plants on that plot)
  • Make it 5 cards to trigger the last round
  • Could add a fence that protects your garden from bugs for a turn
  • Add an incentive to be the first person to finish 
  • Add a hand limit so that you don’t run out of plant cards. 
  • Clarify that only 3 plant cards can be placed on 1 plot
  • Clarify rules regarding discarding cards you don’t want
  • Potentially add color to the plant cards
  • Maybe rename the plant cards to be flower cards? 
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Zombie Flux Review

Zombie flux is an interesting game to say the least. There are multiple ways to win the game and multiple way to mess up other players. One of the ways is reaching different goal cards. The players can use rule cards in order to change the rules in ways of benefiting or negatively affecting the players. Its a frustrating game for sure, don’t get me wrong. But I love the fact the rules and goals of the game change throughout it.

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Forbidden island review

Forbidden island is a team building game which requires the players to work together in order to escape the flooding island. You go around collecting relics and trading with your teammates in order to escape the island alive. You have cards that can help you achieve that goal quicker by for instance the shovel thing where you can dig back up some parts of the island so it does not sink. You continue to do that until all the relics are at the exit with your teammates intact. Without your teammates or relics you will not be able to escape. Truly there is nothing I do not like. The game is perfect the way it is.

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Catan Review

Fun game but its not fair when Professor Ames plays with us becausse he has an unfair advantage. All jokes aside, its a simple game that involves ruling the die to hopefully land on one of the squares that you have land on. There is definetly strategy involved in this because you can play it safe and just get the area near you or you can stretch your land out to claim more resources and get a bonus for having the longest road. It is a little rough though if you are not able to move because of the fact you will be extremely limited on resources. The trading factor fixes that a bit so you can get resources that are hard for the players to obtain. Overall i think its a fun game to play, I wish the land was bigger so the game can last longer.