- (1.1) If the game revolves around being the size of a nanometer, I would include a mechanic that lets you change your size. This could be done with a dice roll that determines how many powers of ten you can change your size (up or down). This change in size allows you to access things on the new scales that you need to collect in order to win.
- (1.2) I am making games that I would play with my friends on game night.
- (1.3) I have several close friends who would play test a game I make, and several acquaintances that invite me to their game nights that I could probably convince to play test as well.
- (2.1) Does ‘refer to the rules’ mean at any time you have ever played the game? Or does it mean games where you already know the rules or the rules are intuitive enough to not need them? No one needs to know the rules for simple games like tag or Jenga in order to just play them.
- (3.1) My gateway game was Set. I played this as a kid and loved it (still love it) so much that I remembered it 15-odd years later when I had my own money to buy games. I enjoy introducing my friends to it because they either get it and love it and want to play again, or they hate it and never want to play again but ‘maybe we could try something else?’.
- (5) Luck and strategy are integral parts of a game that make it interesting. You have to have some degree of luck to create a possibility for everyone to win. This could be rolling the die, drawing a card, or randomly choosing a character card in Pandemic because you liked the colors, not because you read what each character does. Strategy also makes a game fun. This can be choosing which Jenga bricks to pick so you have the best chance of not knocking the tower over/making it extra hard for your friends, or it could be in actually reading the character cards for Pandemic and choosing the characters you think will help you ‘solve’ the game.
Week 2- Thoughts on gloom munchkin and love letter
I wasn’t a fan of gloom munchkin, mostly because I thought the game rules were too complicated and a lot was going on before starting the game. However, I enjoyed the love letter. I feel this game was straight to the point and was easy to follow. It also seemed to get more competitive when other players started to collect the tokens of affection. I also enjoyed how each round of this game could either go fast or slow. As well as determining how fast you can be out of a round, there were some times I was out on my first turn and then there were others when I made It to just me and another player.
Week 3- Game Ideas
- Farmland is a lifestyle game in which the farmers have to have the best farm by selling crops and upgrading their tools throughout the game.
- Peepers is a mystery game in which a group of teens tries to solve a mystery about a student who went missing, by collecting evidence through the game while being watched by a killer.
- Choices is an action-adventure game in which cave explorers have to work together to try to get out of the cave by strategizing ways on picking certain paths.
- Sunken is a puzzle game in which the crew members work together to try and escape a sunken ship by solving puzzles quickly enough.
- The island is a survival game in which crash survivors work together to survive and create a way to call for help by using anything that is provided from the island and plane crash.
Week 3- Thoughts on pandemic
I actually quite enjoyed this game and want to buy it for myself. The metaphor it used was fighting off infections and trying to stop the spread as well as find a cure. I liked how this game made you work together and try to strategies the best way to clear the diseases. At first, my group almost completely failed since we only cured one disease but the second time we played we got the hang of how the game worked and we started to read more about the characters we were playing and chose which ones would be best to try to beat the game. We still ended up losing but we ended up curing three diseases which were further than the first time.
Card Game Ideas
- drinking game – win by 5 alcohol shots, each number card has questions attached in rules, and associated alcoholic, water or disgusting beverage.
- bocce ball throwing cards – win by being first to get three closest to joker card, each card has unique ability (retrieve card, draw another card, move card back two feet, forward two feet, etc.
Week 2 Reading Questions
- What Mechanics would you like to use for a game with a theme that revolves around being the size of a nanometer?
When being a size of a nanometer, the game would be fun to make everything around you life size, as if you were looking at the world from an ants perspective. Given these circumstances, adding game mechanics such as a point system or levels that revolve around you avoiding larger obstacles could be a fun concept.
- Who are you making games for?
This answer varies depending on the game concept and objective of the game. You design a game based on mechanics and rules, and the audience you’re designing for follows.
- Who will be your play testers outside of class?
My teammates and friends can be play testers. Given their inexperience with art or game design at all, they will be a good, non-biased group to use for testing.
- Can you think of a game you were able to play without referring to the rules?
Yes, a game like rock, paper, scissors is so simple that you don’t have to refer to the rules. Everyone knows how to play because there is only three options and you can use the game to decide millions of circumstances.
- How do you define what a game is?
You define a game by the rules, objective and mechanics that provide its structure.
- What features can make your games more intuitive?
Features such as color or symbols can make a game more intuitive. It provides the user with a visual representation of good and bad or what to do vs what not to do.
- What was your gateway game? What do you play to introduce others to gaming?
My gateway game was probably five crowns. It is a card game that uses more then the usual amount of cards in a typical deck, and makes you really think about strategy and dealing with luck. Once you keep playing, you pick it up really quick and want to keep playing.
- What features do gateway games share?
Gateway games are easy for a beginner to pick up and play, allowing them to lose their game virginity so to speak. These types of games allow someone to be introduced into a complex world with a simplistic approach.
- What are the 10 beautiful mechanics and what should you aim for with your own?
As stated in the reading, the 10 beautiful game 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, and Dominion’s Constant Shuffling. I think with our own game, there shouldn’t be one specific thing you should aim for, but rather try to implement a little bit of each mechanic into your game. These mechanics are carefully thought out so that the user is constantly thinking and strategizing. This is one key to a good game.
- How does luck and strategy factor in to game play?
For games such as my gateway game, or in games such as Uno, luck can heavily influence the outcome of a game. However, strategy with said luck is maybe even more important. You have no control over what cards you get, but you do have control over the game mechanics, which cards you do have, and the communication or potential influence on players around you.
Week 2 questions
1-1 the players must get x number of card or an item to return to normal size
1-2 myself, friends, family
1-3 my roommates
2-1 connect 4 and uno
2-2 a game is anything you can play that has rules and is meant to be fun
2-3 can add in a randomization mechanic
3-1 a gate way game is any game that gets people interested in playing more games. The game I use is uno or connect 4
3-2 they share ease of learning, themed, luck, length, replay ability, originality, not complex
4 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 queens paddlewheels, time’s up’s communication breakdown, dominion’s constant shuffling. For my own games it should be something that dramatically changes the way the game is played.
5 luck and strategy both are important for example in an RTS one strategy is to build a balanced army. The luck comes into play when first contact is made as you do not know what you will be facing. In that moment all of the preplanning you did could be undone.
Card Game Ideas
Zombie Blitz
The playing of rapid fire Fluxx gave me the idea for a Zombie card game. In a round everyone’s turn would be timed, so you have to prepare as quickly as you can for the zombie blitz. At the end of the round the zombie’s attack, so you better hope you made the right preparation choices.
I’m Cookin’
I envision this a card game where you collect different foods/ingredients to complete the recipe card you picked at the beginning of the game. Whoever collects all their food first wins. I think a fun mechanic would be that food can go bad if you hold onto it for too long. It needs fleshing, but it’s getting there.
Butterfly Effect
A time travel card game. Players pick up historical events and debate on whether or not to take action to change them. Once players make the decision they draw the effect card. They have to be careful because one thing could change their entire world. This idea needs a lot more work.
Tame The Dragon
Based upon our continuous love of dragons we brought from 4D I was thinking about a card game in which players face off against different creatures gaining more animal handling skills until they feel like they are ready to tame a dragon. The player to tame a dragon first is the winner.
Dino Dream
Live as one amongst dinosaurs in the Jurassic era. Form bonds and friendships with different kinds of dinosaurs, and learn about how they used to live and survive.
Card Game Ideas
- A speed based card game that’s played by going around the group in a circle, and taking (quick) turns attempting to lay any matching set of three in a row in the middle. The player who lays down the final matching card is the one who get’s the set, so you have to be smart about what cards you lay down and which ones you hold on to. It is also possible to void, block, and swap cards that are laid out on the table depending on what cards you pick up. Whichever player has the most matching sets of three at the end is the winner.
- A humor based card game similar to Cards Against Humanity, where players are dealt a series of cards with funny phrases, words, and fill in the blanks. Players go around the group and take turns laying down cards to create a story/sentence. The only catch is players aren’t allowed to speak or make noise. If a player does vocally react then they are out of the game, and a new round starts. This goes until there’s only one player standing.
- Slasher – a card game where each player is thrown into the role of a horror film protagonist with multiple killers coming after them. Players are dealt a hand of cards that will act as the key to their survival, and help them defeat, escape, or kill the slashers (all worth varying points). There are 4 total sections of this game, acting as different parts of the night. The goal of the game is to survive until the end of the night (all four sections), and earn as many points as you can.
- Deception – a trading based card game where each player is aiming to collect four of a kind, while not letting the other players catch on. It’s more or less a version of go fish where you’re allowed and encouraged to lie about which cards are in your hand. As long as you don’t get caught. If another player catches you in a lie you have to forfeit whatever cards you were lying about and then the entire game is down a set of four.
- Paparazzi – a card game where the goal is to collect as many celebrity picture cards as you can. Except the more pictures you collect, the harder they get to “take”. Players are thrown into wacky scenarios (sometimes at each others hand) and it is up to them and their cards to navigate a way out without losing their opportunity to take a picture card.
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.
Card Games Ideas (W2 – Benjamin Zou)
Summit Seaplane — Escaping from Hazards
The Impression(s) of the Game (why is it fun): The plane will use weapons and protections for penetrating harsh environments to the peak.
Brief Info: Each player has at least 10 cards about dealing with the circumstances and the fundamental coins about a hundred in case any player doesn’t have the appropriate tool to deal with the dreadful atmosphere. Other collections of random cards are combined with numbers of moving forward towards the safe destination — the mountain peak and as well as harsh climates that will need the player to use one of their 10 cards to face them. Five protection cards are water spray for undersea volcano eruptions, shark spray for shark coming, fire-extinguisher for thunderstorms, shield for rock fallings, and Switch for both cyclones and whirlpools. If any player doesn’t have the defense tool for the situation once it comes, the player would need to use coins to purchase the protection card which costs 25 coins per card. If the coin is empty, the player needs to throw a square dice (only one chance) – one counts 25 coins. If the coin is empty a second time, the player will lose. (The difference between this game compared with the traditional board game is the map of the board is filled with the card for the step dot.)
Ballroom Party — Stepping to the Social Stage
The Impression(s) of the Game (why is it fun): Connecting the right partner for a social ball.
Brief Info: Each player will randomly draw a card about the partner’s fashion items and styles based on the descriptions of each player’s card (randomly selected). The player will win if one of them collects the most items and styles from drawn cards that match the descriptions.
Submarine Diver — Treasure Hunting By Sub Driving
The Impression(s) of the Game (why is it fun): Getting the tools to unlock the submarine to drive to the precious items.
Brief Info: Each player has the tasks including tool collections listed in the card to be completed before each one can unlock the submarine. Player’s cards will include the tools to penetrate the barriers like fogs, underwater choppy tides, snow, storming (ex: thunderstorms and sandstorms), underwater cyclone, drought climate, and earthquakes. After each player completes the tasks successfully, each player will roll a dice and randomly collect the treasures (the quantity depends on the number of the dice).
Ice-skating Obstacles — Will You Be Blown By The Iceberg
The Impression(s) of the Game (why is it fun): Speed and figure ice-skating to achieve a better-skilled ice skater.
Brief Info: Each Player is like a skating racer and competes with each other until arriving at the destination of the competition; besides, there will be barriers like ice hills and bumps, ice drops, and melting ice as well as conflict between players. A player will first throw some dice to determine the unit of length they travel. Then he/she will use the number of cards based on the number of dice to feel the step areas, if they approach the conditions, (as stated as barriers) they will use the 8 cards available to pass through, else they will be thrown back to the starting point. The winner will be the skater who skates the furthest.
Wild Roam — Will Rushes Be Sensed by Ghost
The Impression(s) of the Game (why is it fun): Collecting Treasures to unlock the key to escape from the haunted atmosphere.
Brief Info: Each player will have cards that can use to attack the surrounding dangers including the ghost itself. Each player will draw cards about the steps they will run. Once they approach the section of the hazardous zones (surrounding dangers), they must have enough self-defense tools (as shown in their cards) to scare the enemies. When any player’s card spot the pigeon area, he/she will be successfully left from the wild paths.
Week 2 – 5 Game Ideas involving cards
- “Hey, look who it is” – can be played while walking around campus, Pittsburgh, or anywhere you are that may have other people walking around that you know/recognize. The goal is to say “Hey, look who it is,” and the others around would have to guess who you’re referring to. A deck of game-specific cards reveal whether a point is gained, lost, or stolen from another player to add a little bit of randomness into the game.
- A card has a portion of a guitar, bass, drum, etc tab-style note layout on it with no lyrics, only a tempo and you have to play it and guess what song it is for the point.
- Cards have silhouettes of different poses. A group of people flip a community card and everyone has to strike the pose as quickly as possible. The last person to strike the pose is out. (Optional life counts to extend game time)
- Cards have Netflix TV show and movie descriptions on them. Teams compete to match another set of cards with the movie titles on them, with the descriptions. The team to have the most correct after a certain amount of time win.
- Whoever can dig the deepest hole with a playing card in x-amount of minutes wins
Week 2 Discussion Questions
1a. What Mechanics would you like to use for a game with a theme that revolves around being the size of a nanometer?
The first thing I thought of reading this was Little Nightmares for some reason, and then I kind of went with the aspect of playing as something so little and how it makes you have to play sort of cautiously. So, I think that game piece movement, and movement from area to area would be something I’d want to explore in terms of finding a way to incorporate that caution
1b. Who are you making games for?
Most of my ideas stem from things I myself enjoy, or find interesting. So, when I make a game I’d say its targeted at like-minded people.
1c. Who will be your play testers outside of class?
My roommate and my brother primarily. Potentially, some of my other classmates/friends as well.
2a. Can you think of a game you were able to play without referring to the rules?
Pictionary, Headbandz, War, Blackjack. These were all games that were easy for me to just jump in and play.
2b. How do you define what a game is?
To me, a game is a structured form of immersive entertainment.
2c. What features can make your games more intuitive?
I think that having a reason behind the games design is important , and not just creating game pieces mindlessly or because you “need” them. The pieces of the game should have a purpose that is easy and clear to see when you view them. They should also fit into the game as a whole.
3a. What was your gateway game? What do you play to introduce others to gaming?
Spoons. I mean I played all kinds of video games before, and boardgames here and there as a kid, but I can remember Spoons as being one of the first games I got truly fascinated with. I always wanted to play it, and I always enjoyed it.
3b. What features do gateway games share?
- They’re easy to learn/play
- They have a theme that can appeal to a wide variety of people.
- They’re simple
- They include interaction between players
- They are not solely based on skill
- They aren’t overly time-consuming, but also aren’t too short. They hit the sweet spot.
- They have an original aspect to them, something unique
- They are easy/fun to replay
4. What are the 10 beautiful mechanics and what should you aim for with your own?
- Kingmakers 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 Communicationn Breakdown
- Dominions Constant Shuffling
I should aim to have a game mechanic that makes the game enjoyable. Something that doesn’t feel tedious, but fun and works to elevate the game as a whole.
5. How does luck and strategy factor into game play?
Both Luck and Strategy are key factors in playing and winning a game. While playing with strategy comes from having a deeper understanding and knowledge of the game, it is still not always a surefire way to win. This is because luck exists randomly. It is a crucial part of gameplay that can either boost a player to a win, or cause their downfall. Luck is also what helps keep the game interesting, it’s an unpredictable lement and it helps to ensure different outcomes.
Week 2 – Card Game Ideas
Card Color Theory – have a deck of rainbow cards. Each color is assigned a value based on color theory. You have to get to a certain color value by mixing colors without making a muddled brown color. Like blackjack, but with colored cards instead of numbered cards.
Jimmy Sprinkles – there are six piles of four cards face down in front of each person (2 players) and four face up cards between them. Looking at one group of four at a time, you can swap out cards from that group with the face up cards in the middle. You must have four cards in each ‘hand’ at a time. The goal is to have four matching cards. Once you have a matching four card set, that ‘hand’ is laid down face up. Cards can no longer be traded in or out of that group. The goal is to be the first person to get all six of their ‘hands’ face up AND shout Jimmy Sprinkles. Why Jimmy Sprinkles? I don’t know, it sounds funny.
Four Kingdoms – each suite is a kingdom (13 cards). Players take turns playing war, capturing the fallen card and setting them aside. Once the player is out of their original 13 cards from their own suite, they must use their captured cards to keep playing. However, if they play a hand of war with a captured suite against that suite’s original kingdom, the original kingdom automatically wins and discards the challenger from play (no matter the card point total). The last man standing wins.
Mismatch – several mismatched decks of cards are mixed together and divided evenly among the players. Players take turns playing war. Card numbers are important, but so are the decks the cards came from. For example, red themed cards have a plus one against blue themed cards, blue themed cards have a plus one against Tennessee tchotchke novelty themed cards, and Tennessee themed cards have a plus one against red themed cards. The card number + the color/theme bonus = total card value. If your total card value is higher than your opponent’s, you win that round and the challenger is eliminated from play. Last person with cards wins.
Fridge Magnets – the deck has many different words, each printed on its own card. Players must make a poem/sentence/joke out of the cards from their hands. Only play one word at a time, draw a new word at the end of the hand. First person to make a coherent phrase wins.
Week 2 Game Reviews
Love Letter
I really enjoyed this game, once we managed to understand the rules. Apparently we were supposed to take out two of the royals (picking the one that suited our fancy), but we accidentally played with all three royals in the game. I feel like this made things complicated but in a funny way. There were a few times when the remaining two players each had a royal. They either tied the round and each got an affection token, or they knew the other person had a royal, and forced them to discard so they could win. Act 1 was learning to play the game, and the first few rounds. Act 2 was starting to use strategy and actually playing the game. I thought we were going into Act 3 when Aaron had 3/4 necessary affection tokens to win, but Ronan managed to come back. The real Act 3 was when Ronan and Aaron each had three love tokens, while me and Luke each only had one.
Munchkin
Wow I absolutely hated this game. I couldn’t even tell you what the different acts were because we literally stopped playing this after a few minutes. Way too many rules to follow. I think we collectively gave up as a group halfway down page 2 of reading the rules and seeing there was still nearly four pages of rules left to read. We tried to play with what rules we had already read and just read the next rules as we went along, but the whole system was too convoluted to make that work. -1/10, would not play again ever.