What were the player interactions? Shocking each other
How long did it take to learn? Seconds
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? It just looks painful
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I’d play it because it’s a very unique game
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? No
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything. from the experience, what would it be? No
Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why I’d 100% play it
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.Play game, feel pain, make other player be in game
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? No collaborative aspect but a very big competitive aspect. The competitive aspect will be to hurt the other players and not yourself
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The pain apect
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku. Play the game. Feel pain. Give pain.
Was it fun? I enjoyed it, very simple game with minimal items needed to play
What were the player interactions? The interactions would be throwing the ball at one another and creating rules for each other.
How long did it take to learn? Seconds
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? The most frustrating part would be if there’s too many rules.
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? My favorite moment is when we realized you can just end the game by saying you win.
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? No
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Nothing
Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why. Yes because it’s a simple and fun game to play.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. Get ball, make rule, throw ball
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? I’d say there’s no competitive aspect, but it’s collaborative in the way of making rules together.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku. It’s a fun a simple game to play. Fun to add rules. Easy to learn the game.
Digital Pet ( you get to pick) you have to maintain its health. Feed it , bath it , play with it, hydrate, comfort it, teach it trick, etc.
You can get more pets the more you take care of it.
If you don’t take care of it your pet will be lonely and will just be sitting on your device waiting for you to come back.
Civilization game. Relaxing Garden game where you have to snip, grow, build up on your garden. The more you expand the more you grow and enhance your garden.
Merge Game (Turtle Merge) merging turtles to different breeds/hybrids.
The more you merge the more coins, and points you get.
Endless levels
Police game once you get a call you have to attend to the emergency once you complete the task you upgrade to get employees and upgrade to different materials to help you complete your tasks.
You have endless calls and scenarios to attend to.
Dog walking simulator
some dogs are easier to walk then others
the more you complete the walks the more materials you get to walk the dog while painting your well being to
upgrading to better shoes, better leash, doggie bags, etc.
The goal of Chef Check is to be the first chef to reach the winning score by creating complete meal “runs” and earning points each round.
During each round, players race to get rid of all their cards by forming as many runs as possible, each run scoring valuable points. The round ends when one player plays or discards their last card, and everyone adds up their total points from completed meals.
Keep track of your points throughout the game.
Setup
You need a score sheet and a pencil.
Shuffle the Food Cards and deal all players 7 cards, and place the rest face down in the center as the Draw Pile.
Turn the top card face up beside it — this is the FoodDiscard Pile.
Create a separate space for the Sabotage Discard Pile, where used sabotage cards will go (they can’t be reused or picked up later)
Gameplay
Any player can go first, and game continues clockwise
To start your turn you must pick up a card from the discard pile or the draw pile.
During your turn, you then have freedom to then lay down any meal runs you may have and/or use a sabotage card.
When you use a Sabotage card, place it in the sabotage discard pile.
Then to end your turn you have to discard one of your cards from your hand
IF you picked up from the discard pile to BEGIN your turn, you CANNOT discard that card during the same turn.
When discarding your card, place it on top of the previous card so that the previous card is no longer visible.
IF the deck runs out of cards, reshuffle the food discard pile and take the top card and flip it over to begin the new discard pile and continue play.
Points
Players add up their points at the end of each round. These are the values of cards/runs:
Chef Meals: 20pts
Regular Meals: 10pts
IF you have cards remaining in your hand after a player has run out of cards, you subtract the point value of what is in your hand from your current points. Each card left in your hand is -5 points.
Winning
Once a player reaches 100 points after a few rounds of play, wins the game and the game ends.
Card Types:
There are 4 types of cards in Chef Check: Entree cards, Side cards, Drink cards, and Sabotage cards. Three cards of all food types make up a set:
Example: (Fillet Mignon [Entree], Rice [Side], Water [Drink]).
Entree cards are distinguished by the image of a plate with utensils, side dishes have an image of a bowl, and drinks have an image of a glass. Sabotage cards can be played once during a player’s turn, which can affect themselves or other players.
Chef Meals
Chef meals are special card sets that yield extra points when played. Instead of receiving 10 points for a set of 3 unrelated food items, completed chef meals yield 20. Cards in the same meal set are color coded below.
High Class – Filet Mignon, Mashed Potato, Red Wine
Pescitarian – Salmon, caesar salad, lemonade
Meal prep – Roast Chicken, Rice, Water
Cookout – BBQ Ribs, Mac and Cheese, Beer
Red lobster – Lobster tail, Veggies, Dr. Pepper
Sabotage Cards: ( ! symbol on each card )
Food Swap: Swap one random card with another player.
Mice Attack: Your target has to get rid of ONE of their runs and put it in the discard pile.
Kitchen Fire: You burnt one of your food items, discard a useless card from your hand.
Key changes since the first iteration were the introduction of visual elements to the cards, a revision of the rules and card interactions, and the introduction of a playing board. To make the cards more accessible, we decided to change their color to match the meal that would fit them most optimally. We also added icons to the ends of each card to help identify what type of food item they are (entree, side, drink). Our final version included a game board to add more atmosphere to the game.
After play tests, we encountered issues surrounding the ending of rounds and the avoidance of sabotage cards. Due to the way that rounds are supposed to end, players ended up with only one card, and no way to discard it and end the round. We require more play testing to find out the likelihood of the issue, but we believed that changing the number of starting cards could solve the issue. Another issue was the specificity of the sabotage cards. Some sabotage cards needed revisions to expand their usage.
While feedback for the game was good, we had many takeaways from our play tests. From those results we learned to emphasize visual design and consistency and refine the interactions between cards to account for all contingencies.
Below is the full documentation for the card game QUADS
Rules for QUADS
QUADS
Introduction:
Quads is a fast-paced card game that blends the style of Poker with the mechanics of Spoons. Players pass cards between themselves, aiming to collect a winning hand to bet on. After a timed card-passing phase, players bet on their hands for the chance to win the pot.
What you will need:
3-6 players
1 deck of cards that includes Jokers
A 30-second timer
Betting chips in at least two different colors (or denominations), with enough for multiple rounds.
Game Setup
Shuffle the deck of cards. Remember to include the jokers.
Pass 1 card to each player. The player with the highest card becomes the “Passer”, who will cards from the deck during the Passing Phase. If two players tie, repeat this process between the players who tied until a tiebreaker is reached. If a joker is drawn, discard it and draw another card.
The winner chooses the direction for passing cards: clockwise or counterclockwise. All players must pass cards in that chosen direction. (If you’d like, you can alter the direction of play after every round)
Deal a number of chips depending on the difficulty you choose to play the game:
Easy: Deal 5 green chips and 6 red chips to each player (21 points to start)
Normal: Deal 4 green chips and 3 red chips to each player (15 points to start)
Hard: Deal 2 green chips and 6 red chips to each player (12 points to start)
Green chips will be counted as 3 points, and red chips will be counted as 1. Extra chips should be made accessible if players run out of certain chips, and wish to exchange for chips of an equivalent value. If new to the game, play the game with a Normal level of chips.
Hand Rankings
This game borrows the hand ranking system from Poker, but removes some of the winning hands. Familiarize yourself with the ranking of hands below. Players with the highest ranking hand will claim the pot, or all chips in play. In the event of a tie, players must split the pot evenly, regardless of any extra cards (unless you are playing the Advanced Edition). When ready, start the passing phase.
Here are some examples of the hands you should be looking for.
Four-of-a-Kind (Quads) – 4 cards of the same number (all suits): (4♠,4ç,4♦,4♣)
Straight Flush – 4 sequential cards of the same suit: (2♠,3♠,4♠,5♠)
Three-of-a-Kind – 3 cards of the same number (regardless of suit): (3♣,3♥,3♠,1♥)
Two Pair – 2 pairs of cards with the same number (regardless of suit: (6♥,6♦,8♣,8♠)
Pair – A pair of cards that share the same number (regardless of suit): (7♦,7♠,2♦,6♦)
Passing phase
Shuffle the deck and deal 4 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards in an accessible place, this will become the draw pile. If a player receives a joker, reshuffle the joker back into the draw pile.
When ready, the Passer will begin by drawing a card and discarding a card in their chosen direction. The player who received the card from the passer must collect the card and discard a card in the direction of the passer.
When the last player in the cycle receives a card, they must discard a card in a pile adjacent to the draw pile. You should maintain a hand of 4 cards at all times.
At any point during this process, players can “lock-in” their hand by placing their cards face-down and announcing it to the table. Locked-in players can no longer receive or discard cards. Players must pass around the locked-in player, and can draw if the previous passer locks-in.
Continue this process until the first player locks in, or a Joker is drawn. If a Joker is drawn, the Passing Phase ends immediately and the betting phase begins.
After the first player locks in a 30-second timer will begin. All other players must lock in their hands before the countdown ends to continue to the Betting Phase. When all but one player lock-in their hand, the passing phase ends immediately.
Players who are holding more than 4 cards by the end of the Passing Phase are disqualified from the betting phase. Move quickly.
Betting Phase
Once the Passing Phase ends, all players (that are not disqualified) enter the betting phase. Given their current hand, players can choose to:
Bet High – Place one green chip worth 3 points.
Bet Low – Place one red chip worth 1 point
Fold – Place your hand face down and disqualify yourself, making no bet.
The player who is locked-in first must start the betting phase, and the order of betting will follow the order of passing. After all decisions have been made, players enter the Reveal Phase.
Reveal Phase
Once the Betting Phase ends, all betting players must reveal their hand to the table. The player with the highest ranking hand will take the entire pot. If two players tie, and no other hand outranks them, they must split the pot as evenly as possible (Exchange chips if needed). If all players but one fold, the winner can take the pot “uncontested” and does not need to reveal their cards (It would make the game funnier if they did though). Players who run out of chips are eliminated from the game unless house rules state otherwise.
Collect the cards, shuffle the deck, then restart the Passing Phase. Continue until a Win Condition is reached.
Win conditions
Players can decide a winner using points, rounds, disqualification, or some mixture of the 3. Here’s some standard examples to provide a framework, but feel free to create your own:
After 5/10/15 rounds, count the value of the chips. The player with the highest number of points wins. To start, play between 5-8 rounds and choose the winner based on chips.
Given the number of points each player starts with, set a winning number of points players must reach to win.
The last player to be disqualified wins the game.
Advanced Edition (Optional Rules): Read if you’ve played Quads enough
If you’ve played enough Quads to understand the game, and want more complexity/challenge, feel free to add some bonus rules:
Play with more players (alter time and decks for extra players)
No betting limit: Players can bet as many or little points as desired (be sure to adjust the points/starting chips to account for this)
Add more winning hands to the game
Straight – Any hand of cards that progress in numerical order, regardless of suit
High Card – If two players tie with the same hand rank, the player with the highest unmatched card wins the pot.
Add 1-2 more decks to the original to increase complexity
Expand the hand limit from 4 to 5
I used a standard deck of playing cards as well as a normal set of gambling chips.
Key changes include revisions to the rules and some of the game’s mechanics. Through testing, I found that the presence of two short timers was overwhemling and complex, especially for new players and players that wanted to take time to analyze their situation. In my final rendition, I removed the timer for the betting phase to allow players room to think. Furthermore, I changed the rules to start a timer only after a player locks in their hand. With this approach, the timer is less punishing, but still an active reminder to move quickly.
One final change to make is balancing the amount of starting chips in the game to allow the most expressive behavior. This will require more playtesting.
Key lessons I learned from playtesting is to have no expectations for the outcome, be adaptable to players who do not play the same way you do, and do not punish players (too much). I feel that I created a more balanced, fun, and casual game that is more accessable through playtesting.
Working prototypes are functional, or semi-functional game designs that are intended to be reviewed and revised by publishers or game designers. Unlike display prototypes, working prototypes focus more on the game play, rules, and general systems rather than presentation. Display prototypes are the opposite, as they focus more on visibility and attraction than functionality. “The buyers at Toy Fair want to see your meeples, but they don’t care about your rules!”(Selinker, 119). Both protypes are useful depending on who is receiving the prototype.
Many factors play into what makes a working prototype a functional one. Working prototypes must be tested, flexible, and transparent. Prototypes must work as intended, and must be tested when new additions are considered. Prototypes must be adaptable to criticisms by publishers and designers, which is why one shouldn’t overinvest in a prototype. Lastly, a prototype must not withhold information, or leave information up to the designers or publishers.
To Dale Yu, what makes a good prototype is attention to detail, a good first impression, and a compotent design. Dale mentioned how the appearance of the prototype is among the first aspects of a game he views “I’d like the box art and text to look nice, and when I open thebox, I’d like to see the bits organized nicely. If it looks like you’ve spent a lot of time making your prototype, that goes a long way to impress me” (Yu, 126). Moreover, the appearance of the game factors into the playtester/designer/publisher’s first impressions. Lastly, rules must be legible and understandable.
Richard Levy advises to be prepared and adopt a liable personality. Being prepared entails doing research on the company you intend to pitch your game to, and also making sure that your game is unique and well designed. Being liakable is important because you need to sell yourself, as well as your game, to publishers. Realistic expectations, a good work ethic, and the ability to handle rejection are important to pitching a game.
You can pitch a game to small or medium sized game publishers, or to independent platforms that allow you to self-publish your game.
Publishers look for innovative designs, easily manufactuable components, accessability, expandability, and a good name, among other things.
Define aspects of the game like components, gameplay, and procedures accurately and in detail. Give overviews of the backstory and gameplay, as well as describe the items that players should be faimilar with. Explain the setup, gameplay, and the win state.
Attached is also a player’s review sheet for both of my competed games. I asked my family for their feedback and took these notes before my final revisions.
Game 1 – Deadline:
The biggest changes I made to my card game throughout the semester was clarifying the rules and balancing the final scores. I learned that adding illustrations was a more effective way of conveying the layout and specific objectives. I also took note of any confusion during the gameplay experience and made sure that my updated rule sheet reflected these notes from playtesting. In my next iteration I would test out the scoring of consecutive cards of different suits, as well as creating a specialized deck of different classes (Math, English etc.). I also need to expand on the rules regarding extra credit, and building off of extra credit to accumulate points for a “completed assignment” in the game. Playtesting my first game taught me to be thorough with filling these gaps and anticipate questions players might have, especially if they have no experience with Gin Rummy suit building mechanics.
Game 2 – Witch’s Brew:
The first iteration of this game had a lot of room for improvement. I explored the use of dice, inspired by Catan, as well as an alternative version using a Game of Life board game spinner (1-10). Though the spinner would have worked for gathering the necessary ingredients, I attempted to balance the game with the probability curve of using two dice. I ended up simplifying the spells, adding action cards for rolling a 7 (the most common combination), and adding special benefits for rolling a 1 or 12 (the most rare combinations). In the next version of this game, I would test out a board more similar to Catan for balancing. Playtesting I learned about game pacing, and managing player frustration.
Game 3 – Takedown:
This was our two player game. Originally we used a number system for the blocks, but found that colors would be easier to identify on all sides of each block. We also removed six blocks from the original Jenga game to account for the height of the towers and chosen number of blocks per color. We then worked on crafting the blocks, which were painted with acrylic and then spray painted with a satin finish, and our matching spinner. For the spinner, I used a heat reactive glue sheet (I forget what this process is called) and baked a printed image onto the surface. This was easier than I would have imagined, and I believe it game the prototype a finished look. As for the gameplay, we defined and redefined how many blocks would have to fall for the players would lose the game, and how blocks could be stacked. In the next version, I would like to incorporate wedge blocks like we had talked about, and maybe special weighted blocks so that support the building mechanic and potential for sabotage.
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.
