Week 2 Discussion & Questions

5 Game Ideas that can be played using Cards:

• Memory Game: For this game players would lay out all cards onto a table face down. Each player would then pick two cards and try to get a match, the player with the most matches by the end win.
• Building Game: Players would have a certain amount of time to try to construct the biggest house of cards they can. The player with the biggest house of cards by the time limit wins.
• BattleCards: The game would play similar to Battleship, but players would use King, Queen and Joker cards as their ‘ships’. Players would guess where in the card layout the enemy player placed these cards, the player who guesses all the locations first wins.
• Guess Who?: Card Edition: Players would get a random card out of a deck and then take turns asking questions about the other players card to try to figure out which they have. The first player to guess correctly wins.
• 52 Pick Up: The entire deck of cards will be thrown onto the ground, then players will take turns picking up 1-3 cards. The person to pick up the last card loses.

Thoughts on Games Played Last Week:

• Gloom Munchkin: As a fan of the original Munchkin game, this version was not as enjoyable for me. The game felt too linear the entire time and it felt like the game wrapped up too quickly and suddenly. I also never got invested into the mechanics of the game like I would while playing the original Munchkin.
• Love Letter: While I wasn’t sold on the game at first, I started to get more into it as I became more familiar with how it worked. The game is rather simple at face value, but as other players started to gain ‘affection’ it started to become a mind game on how to stop those players from winning and finding the chance to get closer to victory for myself.

Kobold Guide to Game Design: Part 2 Questions:

• 1a. If we were able to play a game where we are all a nanometer tall, I think an interesting mechanic would be to utilize the fact that everything is now bigger than us now. Examples of this could be exploring the area around us in a new way or climbing things that used to be way smaller than us.
• 1b. When designing games it is best to aim for a target audience, which can be just about any group. The easiest way to find this specific target audience is to design a game that you personally would find fun and make it for the audience that you fit into.
• 1c. Outside of those in our class, I plan to have my friends and or family play-test any game I create as I know I can trust their opinions.
• 2a. I might have had to refer to the rules way back, but I never remember a time I had to look at the rules of Uno. Uno has always been a game I feel I just understood how to play and the cards make it fairly clear what each one does.
• 2b. A game can be defined by these three points: Mechanics and rules, Pieces and graphics, and theme.
• 2c. You can make your game design more intuitive by adding a variety of aspects: Color, Form, Size, etc.
• 3a. I would say my gateway game would be Monopoly, this is the game I can remember the most from my childhood and one of the game I remember playing the most. In order to get others into gaming I feel something simple is best so it’s easy for them to get the feel for it. I think a game like Uno can be a good simple way to introduce someone to gaming, it is easy to learn and can show how gaming can be competitive as well.
• 3b. Gateway games tend to share these qualities: Ease of Learning, Theme, Lack of Complexity, Interactivity, Luck, Duration, Originality, and Replay Value.
• 4. The 10 Beautiful Mechanics are:
• Kingmaker’s Noblesse Oblige
• BattleTech’s Heat
• Set’s Set-Making
• Magic’s Card Tapping
• Battle Cattle’s Cow Tipping Rule
• xXxenophile’s Popping
• Bohnanza’s Hand Order Rule
• Mississippi Queen’s Paddlewheels
• Time’s Up!’s Communication Breakdown
• Dominion’s Constant Shuffling
• When it comes time for me design my own mechanics I want to aim to have the mechanics be something that leave the players satisfied and overall happy with their experience.
• 5. Luck in games adds a sense of randomness and always gives a feeling of suspense and excitement for the player. Strategy allows the player to make choices and plan ahead to give them a sense of satisfaction.