- The most frustrating actions in Broken Mime was the inability to repeat actions done. Though the intent of this restriction is reasonable, it makes cards that depict specific actions difficult to re-enact.
- The charade’s style game play of Broken Mime lent to many funny moments. I also enjoyed the debate that happened after the card’s prompt was revealed.
- As mentioned before, some cards were incredibly specific, so it made not repeating actions difficult.
- I would add more clarity to some of the rules. For example, are players besides the participating two supposed to watch or look away?
- The charades mechanics work with the concept of Telephone well. Rounds often ended with hilarious debates of what the original card was.
Game Play Observations to Improve – Trick or Treat
- Once out of the muster deck and discard deck, you can only steal and put down, not pick up.
- Only put down your Keep cards at the beginning of the turn
- If not enough cards to complete an action roll, you forfeit your turn
- Use physical coins for TP.
→ Use TP when you’re out of cards- Use TP to freeze other players from taking your cards
- Adjust the game if there are fewer than 4 players
- Roll 4 needs to change to 3 of the same suit instead
- Make it clearer to shuffle the deck and have something that allows players to know that when picking characters, you can’t choose those of the same element
- They need to know when to pick up their cheat sheet cards
- Change the treat Point paper with actual coins
- make known the cheat sheet cards in the directions, and the cards
- Make clear what cards get pulled specifically
- Make it clear in the directions that when allowed to be back, you would peek at the cards after you picked up
- Pick up a card based on Roll, then if you have left over, discard to five for your hand limit. Specifically, picking up after your turn is completed
- The hand limit no longer applies when both the discard and mustard decks are empty. Make sure to replenish your hands to keep a consistent five cards in your hand until both decks die out, then it is a free-for-all
- After the mustard deck is emptied and there is a discard deck left, make sure to shuffle the deck and use that as the new mustard deck until all cards are fully given out
- Three of one to be used and add more points to them, as far as what you can buy with treat points
- Make clear the order in which a player must play the game, with the first step being the roll and the last step being replenishing their hand.
Playtest – Honey Heist
Playtest – Memory Language Game
Playtest – Power
Playtest – Trick-or-Treat
Playtest – Chakra Crusade
Playtest – World Bound Revised
Game Analysis 10/16- Harmony Jablon
Trick or Treat/Play Test notes
Trick Or Treat Game Makers Playtest
Power Game Review
Worldbound Game Review
Playtest for Broken Mime
- What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? I think that the list of tasks that the players are supposed to mimic need refinement. Some of them seemed way too easy, while others felt nearly impossible.
- What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I like the way that it stimulates humorous table talk. It brings out some personality in players. It involves quite bit of movement, so everyone gets a chance to perform fairly regularly, while others are kept entertained. There’s not much time for boredom.
- Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? No, not off the top of my head.
- If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? With a change in the mechanics that keep the difficulty roughly the same throughout all the tasks, the game could be a new spin on the old Charades classic.
- What were the mechanics and how well did they work during your play? The mechanics were competitive and team/turn based. They worked well. The rules were clear and easy to follow. The pace of the game felt good.
- Is this a game you would play again? Absolutely. I think this game would be great at parties. I could see different versions sold for adults as well as children. I think it’s also one of those games were a little bit of alcohol for social lubrication could really take the fun to a new level of fun and funny.
Game Response Questions – Honey Heist
Was it fun? Absolutely, once we all got into the spirit.
What were the player interactions? The player interactions were quite humorous, as we all pretended we were bears trying to do uniquely human tasks.
How long did it take to learn? Since the game involved more of a sandbox experience with no turn based rules, I feel like it took more time getting into the story than it did learning the rules.
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? I think the most frustrating aspect is that the game seemed only as interactive as the least interactive player.
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? The laughs. The laughs. The laughs. I really enjoyed the character creation sheet, both pages.
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I wanted a simpler way to collaborate with my teammates. The story kinda kept us apart.
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything: I would add more depth to the bear characters, including attribute scores.
Is this a game you would play again? Yes, because I enjoy the humor, socializing, and open ended structure.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. The opening act would be the setting up of the characters with roles and attributes, along with a goal/statement of purpose. The second act involves the majority of the fun, where each player adds their own unique personalities to their humorous roles as bears trying to steal honey.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? I found the entire game to be collaborative.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game mechanic that stood out the most was the lack of game mechanics. Aside from act 1 (in which players learn their roles) and act 3 (where the players actually end up as a bear or a criminal) are we bothered by the mechanics of starting and finishing the story. The second act, where the majority of the gameplay takes place, is fairly open ended.