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Bonanza (Three Act/Rating)

First Act: You are introduced to the beans and all the different types that you can plant and how much they cost! How many beans can you plant, and how much can you make?

Second Act: I think this can be shown through all the different trades you can do with the other players.

Third Act: Finally, you see after three “days” whoever harvested and made the most money from their bean, wins!

Did I enjoy it?
Yes I did! It was fun to see all the funny elaborate trades you can make with people. It gets you hooked fast after you figure it out. It’s a game that I will definitely replay one day. It was so much fun.

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Week 2 Lauren Yunk

Question Set 1

  1. What Mechanics would you like to use for a game with a theme that revolves around being the size of a nanometer? If I was able to shrink down to the size of a nanometer, I would like to create a device to is able to go into the human body and find the organ/bone. This will be educational and allow people to learn where parts of the body are located. If you can’t find it within a certain amount of time, the next player gets to steal your turn and get double points for finding it.
  2. Who are you making games for? Hasbro because they made the board game “Operation”.
  3. Who will be your play testers outside of class? Someone who is familiar with using the computer and can easily grasp instructions for a new game.

Question Set 2

  1. Can you think of a game you were able to play without referring to the rules? Connect 4 because it is pretty self-explanatory. The directions are in the title of the game.
  2. How do you define what a game is? A game is an activity involving rules that may or may not have a definite winner and loser.
  3. What features can make your games more intuitive? Having a game that is easy to learn yet enjoyable once you get the hang of it. Something that makes you want to come back and play again.

Question Set 3

  1. What was your gateway game? What do you play to introduce others to gaming? My gateway game is 500. Im not sure if thats the right title, but its just Gin Rummy but you go til get 500 points. I think this game is pretty easy to grasp and I love to play it.
  2. What features to gateway games share? Simple instructions that can be understood by all ages.
  3. What are the 10 beautiful mechanics and what should you aim for with your own? Noblesse Oblige, Heat, Set-Making, Card Tapping, Cow Tipping Rule, Popping, Hand Order Rule, Paddlewheels, Communication Breakdown, and Constant Shuffling. These should be implemented into a game to have a challenge and make it more interesting.
  4. How does luck and strategy factor into game play? Luck is something you cant control but helps along the way, while strategy is decision making throughout the game to benefit yourself by trying to win.

5 Game ideas that can be played using cards

  1. Manifoldtare – a game of solitare but you play with a group of people. you deal out the rest of the deck after placing the cards down and you compete to finish the game. Whoever finishes first wins.
  2. Lucky Loser – a game of crazy 8’s but you dont want to be the person who gets rid of all their cards first.
  3. Jokes on You – a game where you delt 7 cards and are trying to make a 7 card run but the joker card is involved. You trade with the other players to get the cards you need to make the run but whoever has the joker card has to find a way to trade off the joker without letting the other players know you have the joker. You cant win if you have the joker in your hand. If someone gets the run while you have the joker, you lose
  4. little war – you play war but the smallest card wins instead of the largest card

Bohnanza game review

  1. Was it fun? Yes! At first it was a little confusing but once we all got the hang of it we were all very involved and enjoyed playing.
  2. What was the interaction? You would trade with other players in order to get a better harvest.
  3. How long did it take to play? The game too aproxamently 30-45 minutes.
  4. Would you play again? Yes the game is very competitive and makes everyone get involved.
  5. Three Act Structure – Act 1 involves reading the rules and setting up the game by dealing out the cards and the field cards. You can also do a practice round to understand the rules. Act 2 is when you trade your cards and try to get better ones to make a better harvest. Act 3 is after the deck has been shuffled 3 times and you run out of cards the game ends. Whoever has the most coins from harvesting your beans is the winner.

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Munchkins 3 Acts

act 1: before the game started, it didn’t come with any pieces to keep score so we used an app. At first it took a long time to get the game started because there so many rules and mechanics. It took us 10 minutes to start playing. In the beginning some cards aren’t even playable so you waste a turn which slows the game down. We started flowing through it after 20 minutes.

Act 2 : we were double checking some rules but we started picking up the pace and it got more interesting. I could easily tell who was going to win around the middle of the game. Then people started to go after each other so then it became more unclear who would win towards the end.

Act 3 : once everyone was close to winning people started throwing their bad cards down and we couldn’t end the game before class ended. It was a good game once we got the hang of it.

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Week 2 Questions, Game Ideas, and Game Review

Alana Tush

Question Set 1

  1. What Mechanics would you like to use for a game with a theme that revolves around being the size of a nanometer?
    • I guess some sort of biology game that has little trinkets of protiens, atoms, bacteria, etc.
  2. Who are you making games for?
    • I am making games for someone who is interested and curious about how the game works and who can make suggestions for how it can be better.
  3. Who will be your play testers outside of class?
    • My friends and boyfriend

Question Set 2

  1. Can you think of a game you were able to play without referring to the rules?
    • hide n seek, tag, red rover, four square
  2. How do you define what a game is?
    • Mechanics and rules, pieces and graphics, theme/ story
  3. What features can make your games more intuitive?
    • having a card game, for example uno, that has many different variations. I would assume mostly everyone in our generation knows how to play regular uno, but having a new variation is more exciting and fun, while still having the same premise.

Question Set 3

  1. What was your gateway game? What do you play to introduce others to gaming?
    • My gateway game was brick breaker on my moms blackberry phone 😉
  2. What features do gateway games share?
    • Gateway games share easy instructions that can be explained to young kids and still be fun for adults to play (family games).
  3. 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, mississipppi queen’s paddle wheels, communication breakdown, constant shuffling. I would say to have 2 or more of these mechanics in a game to make it more interesting.
  4. How does luck and strategy factor in to game play?
    • luck is something beyond your control, it might help you or hurt you. Strategy is making plans and decisions during game play that might further your winning status.

Game Ideas thats can be played using cards

  1. War (card game) with different characters with an emotional status. The card would have a character with a “happy meter” on the side of them. The higher happiness of the two cards down wins.
  2. Uno with shapes and letters
  3. Cards with random items that can be found in a classroom. The first person who finds the item and brings it back to the table wins a point.
  4. Playing darts but you have to flip a card over and try to hit that number
  5. The card game spoons, but the items that need to be grabbed are in a different room. Everyone has to run and try to get there before all the items are taken, and you are out.

Bohnanza Review

  1. Was it fun? Yes, the game was very entertaining. When you got the right amount of cards to harvest and get coins, it was exciting. It was still exciting though to make trades and barter for better bean cards.
  2. Is it interactive? Yes, this game is very interactive. Everyone wants to see the cards you reveal to make a decision whether to offer you a better bean card or to opt out of trading.
  3. Was it easy to learn? This game was fairly easy to learn. Once we played through the deck of cards once, we were all understanding of the premise.
  4. Would you replay the game? Yes I would replay this game, our group actually played another round instead of starting a new game because it was fun.
  5. Applying the three act structure-
    • act 1- reading the rules to the game and setting up the mechanics (dealing 5 bean cards to each person, setting the field cards on the correct side). Playing a practice round to get used to the premise of the game.
    • act 2- the competition begins.. Trading the bean cards is where all the competition takes place. The people who need the certain bean cards offer something the active player needs to further their status in the game to win.
    • Act 3- At the end of the bean game, everyone is looking how many coins each player has, and tries to sabotage the other players by not trading with them. If you make the decision not to trade, that could mean they wouldn’t get anymore coins to potentially beat you in the game. Everyone harvests their beans to get the max amount of coins at the end of the round.

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Critique & 3 Act Structure -Colin Kenny

So I played Munchkin with Gideon, Kiya, Grace, and Brady, and it lasted the entire class period. It took a while to learn the rules and we didn’t even finish our game, but we were close to finishing and once we got a handle of the rules the game started to get really fun. It is definitely worth replaying with those who know a lot about the game.

As far as the three act structure goes, I would say act one consisted of me reading the rules out loud for everyone and starting the game. This lasted longer than I thought but putting that effort into learning the rules was worth it. The second act of us getting more comfortable and playing strategically was a lot of fun. The third act started around the time Kiya and I were at level 8 (you need to get to level 10 to win) and we were using all of our force to push our way to the end and win. Unfortunately we didn’t get to the climax as class ended before someone was able to win, but the nail-biting energy was a fun experience.

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Week 2 – The Play Narrative

Question Set 1

  1. What Mechanics would you like to use for a game with a theme that revolves around being the size of a nanometer?
    • I would like to implement some kind of mechanic revolving around fighting viruses, being that the character is the size of a nanometer. If you would lose the fight of the virus, then the body you are fighting in would get sick and die. Succeed in killing off the virus, and you keep the body healthy, winning the game.
  2. Who are you making games for?
    • Obsidian entertainment, since they made a game already about being really small.
  3. Who will be your play testers outside of class?
    • Any hardcore computer gamer, since the game I’d make would most likely be a neat video game. People would have to have some sense of understanding on computer gaming.

Question Set 2

  1. Can you think of a game you were able to play without referring to the rules?
    • Minecraft – it is a game that does not have a strict set of rules and can be played hundreds of different ways. The only “rules” of Minecraft are the mechanics and understandings of the game, which eventually get so well known that I don’t even have to refer to the rules.
  2. How do you define what a game is?
    • Is it an interactive experience including mechanics, objectives and a theme(s)? Does this playable experience have a story?
  3. What features can make your games more intuitive?
    • Keeping the design and concepts of the game consistent, but simple. Make it easy to learn but fun to play. Additionally, letting the controls be easily accessible, maybe even with a configuration system to let players adapt to the controls.

Question Set 3

  1. What was your gateway game? What do you play to introduce others to gaming?
    • My gateway game that introduced people to boardgames was always CandyLand. If anyone were to ask what boardgame I would play or what is my favorite, it has always been CandyLand. I feel that CandyLand is simple enough for anyone to understand and get into games.
  2. What features to gateway games share?
    • Simple ruleset, theme, interactivity, luck, replay value, and duration.
  3. What are the 10 beautiful mechanics and what should you aim for with your own?
    • Noblesse Oblige, Heat, Set-Making, Card Tapping, Cow Tipping Rule, Popping, Hand Order Rule, Paddlewheels, Communication Breakdown, and Constant Shuffling. You should aim for trying out/implementing some of these in your own game design to make the overall experience more enjoyable.
  4. How does luck and strategy factor into game play?
    • Luck is a choice beyond your control. It’s a fork in the road that could be good or bad. Strategy is the act of making plans and decisions during the game which gives limited information.

5 Game ideas that can be played using cards

  1. Card drawing – A player drops a card down and two other players try to doodle the card with a timer. The more detailed drawing or better drawing wins.
  2. Card sherif – Two players deal 5 cards and stand at a distance, throwing cards at each other. If you get hit you lose a life, but if you use all 5 cards without defeating your opponent you lose.
  3. Card Tower race – First person to build a card tower wins (any size tower)
  4. Card Guesser – A person draws a card and has 5 hints to give the other player as to what the card could be.
  5. Fibonacci roulette – Draw cards that add up via Fibonacci sequence until you are able to get the best card in the deck (ace). Color can shape doesn’t matter. Trade duplicates with the other player.

Dix it game review

  1. Was it fun?
    • Yes, the game was very fun and interesting in its own way. It combines art and theme to win.
  2. What was the interaction?
    • All players put down a card that they think best embodies the theme announced by the chosen player. All players must then choose out of all cards which is best fitting for the theme.
  3. How long did it take to play?
    • The game wasn’t too long, and it wasn’t too short. The estimated playing time took about 15 minutes, but time flew by.
  4. Would you play again?
    • Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the playing experience, and I’d be willing to play with personal friends.

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Evelyn: Bohnanza Review

  1. How did this game use the 3 act structure? The beginning of the game was a bit confusing. Mostly because nobody knew how to play and the rules were a not really based off of a familiar game. Once we got familiar with the rules, the middle of the game was quite fun! The cards were cute and gameplay was a great combination of peaceful yet cutthroat. Gameplay felt like it was a great pace! The end of the game came at a defined point which added to the strategy.
  2. Easy to understand? I would say it has a medium learning curve. It definitely helps having someone who knows how to play the game to help teach it. It might’ve taken about 10 -15 minutes to figure it out. Once we did, it was simple enough!
  3. Is it fun? Would I do it again? It was very fun and we chose to do it again! My favorite game yet. Definitely recommend!
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game designs cards

  1. darts but with cards, they don’t have to stick just hit a certain part of the board.
  2. paper football but with a playing card.
  3. balloon pop( distance game kind of like archery)
  4. ceiling tile tic tac toe( normal tic tac toe rules)
  5. prediction.( everyone gets a card and someone has to guess the card someone else has, if you don’t guess the card you have to pick up a new card to be your main card if you do guess it you get to give one of your stock piled cards to your opponent, whoever has the most cards at the end of a certain amount of rounds loses and the player with the least cards wins.
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thoughts on dominion

  1. it was fun but the turns got very redundant because we weren’t using any curse cards so it was just a lot of buying and not a lot of playing action cards to win.
  2. the interactions were very minimal between players because their wasn’t any attacking and not a lot of us really used the action cards curse their was no need in how we ended up playing.
  3. it took us probably about 30 minutes to understand the basic rules( after Ames explained them to us in simpler terms) and about an hour to actually smoothly move from turn to turn.
  4. i would love to play again. their were many parts that we didn’t end up using so i would love to play another game with all of the cards and rules in full swing.
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Week 1 Questions Dillon

In your opinion, what should every game have? Why do you like your favorite game?

  • I believe the most important element a game could have is replay-ability. If you are able to play the game, enjoy it, and then come back to it later and still enjoy it just as much as you did the first time — that’s a well-designed game. Replay-ability is important because, without it, the game would lose momentum after the first few months following release; the longer a game can remain relevant the better.
  • My all-time favorite game is and has always been Minecraft; I started playing when I was a young child and have watched the game evolve over the last 15 years while it simultaneously dominated the gaming industry. My favorite part about Minecraft is that it gives the player the ability to, quite literally, do WHATEVER they want. Of course, it’s an imagination-based sandbox game with random finite generation that ensures every world you play is different from the last, but beyond the confines of the base-game, Minecraft allows (and even encourages) their players to mod and customize their game however they please. CurseForge, the most popular website for the Minecraft modding community, reached 100,000 unique player-created mods in 2022. I am personally a member of the that community and I enjoy using Minecraft as a creative outlet where I can develop new features and mechanics for my community server.

List the games you have played or currently played.

  • Currently Play: Creativity: Minecraft, Terraria; Shooters: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite Battle Royale, Platformers: Ultimate Chicken Horse; Other:
  • Have Played: Creativity: Stardew Valley, The Sims, Roblox; Shooters: Destiny, Destiny 2, Overwatch 1, Paladins, Apex Legends, Fortnite Save the World, Darwin Project, Ironsight, Splitgate; Platformers: Hollow Knight, Little Nightmares, Little Nightmares 2, Portal, Portal 2; Other: Stranded Deep, Skylanders Series, Rayman Legends, Firewatch,

Can you apply the three-act structure to your favorite game? What is its pacing and how long do you find yourself in each act?

  • Minecraft’s standard Survival mode could be broken into 3 acts.
    Act 1: Early-Game
    The player begins by spawning in a new world with absolutely nothing in their inventory. Players are supposed to secure shelter and protection against the enemies that come out at night using accessible resources such as wood and stone to craft gear. Players will typically start an early-game food source, like an animal pen or a crop farm. The early-game act takes up a majority of Minecraft’s gameplay; it is the slowest paced act of the three due to limitations on your character like weak tools and armor. In a typical playthrough, the first act usually takes me a few weeks, but that’s due to my methodical playstyle. If you were to focus on completing the game in one sitting, I would estimate around 5-8 hours for extensive completion.
    Act 2: Mid-Game
    Once the player has finished acquiring basic tools, armor, and a base of operations, they will begin mining and adventuring for resources. Players must descend into the dangerous caves below them in search of non-renewable resources such as iron, gold, emeralds, and diamonds, all used to further improve their gear. They will encounter hostile monsters and natural hazards like lava that will impede their progress. Players will want to acquire obsidian for an enchanting table to enhance their tools’ stats and a nether portal to travel between dimensions. The mid-game act takes up the second-most amount of time as it has the most amount of different objectives, each necessary for the end-game preparation. In my personal playthroughs, I spend the most amount of time (typically a month or more) in the second act because it is my favorite. If you knew what you were doing and were to focus on completing this act in one sitting, I would estimate around 4-7 hours.
    Act 3: End-Game
    After the player has acquired powerful enchanted weapons and armor, their next step is locating the Stronghold, home of the End Portal. Players will hunt rare monsters to acquire Eyes of Ender, a necessary item for locating and activating the portal. Once fully prepared, the player will cross dimensions to The End where they will battle the final boss of Minecraft, the Ender Dragon who, once defeated, rolls the game credits; however many will argue that this is not the end of Minecraft, as there is a plethora of content still available and being released every year for players to enjoy. For me, I savor this act. The end-game act can take between 2-3 hours depending on whether or not you want to proceed with your playthrough following the Ender Dragon, and I always choose to continue.

When coming up with ideas where do you find your start, with the metaphor or the mechanics?

  • When I am drafting ideas for my custom Minecraft additions, I always start with mechanics. I will factor in things like “how will this work”, “how is this acquired”, and “how would i create this with code?”. Once the mechanics are fleshed out and they function, then I go back and work on the aesthetics.

Over the course of this semester, who would you like to collaborate with and why?

  • I’m open to collaborating with anybody.
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Fluxx Questions

Was The Game Fun

Yes the game is fun only when the other players are engaged.

Would you play it again?

yes. just to be chaotic

How long did it take to learn

I played it previously so it took a few steps to bring back the memory

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Question Set 1

  1. In my opinion every game should have a good set of rules that are easy to follow(but can be exploited if needed) as long as a good story line to keep the player(s) engaged throughout the whole game. One reason that I like my favorite game(being The Binding of Isaac) is that there is a very high returnability factor for this game. For it being a Rogue like game that has 547 different items that you can use and combine to beat the various enemies.
  2. Some of the games that I have played include the entirety of the pokemon franchise, The binding of isaac games, Minecraft, Ping pong, Pong, pool, billiards, 9 ball, golf, basketball, baseball, softball.
  3. There is not a direct pacing for my favorite game due to it being skill based and some time based mechanics in the game but no set pacing.
  4. I try to start with the metaphor just to get all of the ideas then I start to get the mechanics after that.
  5. I feel like the student aspect would be Gideon to pick his brain on how he would do things. But also any faculty member to get there own spin to get them involved.

5 ideas for games around campus

  1. Group hide and seek (battle of the schools style)
  2. Capture the flag( battle of the schools)
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Fluxx questions

Was the game fun?

Fluxx can be fun if the rules don’t get messed up almost immediately

Would you play it again?

yes I would play it again because I still need to finish a game of fluxx

How long did it take to learn

Flux didn’t take me that long to learn it took me longer to understand what a majority of the cards did

what was the interactive aspect and what was it ?

the interactive aspect is talking to the people at your table and deciding do I want to mess up the entire game with a rule that will make a big inconvenience

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Week 1 questions Owen Cable

In your opinion what should every game have? Why do you like your favorite game

I believe that every game should have a story or an adventure aspect or a competitive aspect I have been playing a lot of Elden ring and College football 25 and Fortnite are the main games I have been into lately but my all time favorite game has to be ark because it has a good story and the maps are well made and there is so much to do.

List games you are playing currently

I am currently playing Fortnite College football 25 and Elden ring which is angering me at the moment.

Can you apply the 3-act structure to your favorite game? What is its pacing and how long do you find yourself in ach act

i feel like each act should take a decent amount of time for a good game but would go faster if you did them in groups you could split up the acts or work on them together

When coming up with ideas where do you start.

I always start with the design aspect then i will go onto the rules the prep phase

Over the course of this semester who would you like to collaborate with

This semester I would like to collaborate with Gideon, Evan, Carson and Braden

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Game Ideas Tori

  1. A tabletop game in which you are growing items in your own planter box. Different plants and herbs are worth varying points, and there could be bundles that when completed award players extra points. It would go through all the seasons, with some plants only being able to grow in certain conditions. Selling your reapings, players could buy different buffs they could add to their garden to make it more efficient.
  2. Tick-Tack-Throw! An outdoor spin on the classic game of tick-tack-toe. Players will throw frisbee-like discs with no center toward a large board made of pegs. Get your disc to land on a peg, and count it as your mark!
  3. Business owner simulator. Allows players to create their own unique start-up business and create their dream store in virtual reality! Hire employees, define your store layout, determine prices, and gain real experience on what handling a business might be like!
  4. Head Count! A fun outdoor game to play with big groups that only requires one ball! Have a large group divide themselves into two teams. Make sure they can identify one another. Proceed to have all players form a large circle while still standing. A ball is then bounced hard into the ground so that it shoots into the air. From here, players will try to run under the ball to someone on their team on the other side of the circle without touching another player, or getting hit by the ball.
  5. Hall Pass. This online game is fun to play with friends. One player is randomly assigned to be a delinquent student roaming the hallways without a hall pass. All other players will play as teachers, who will try to allocate the student player among the slew of many NPC students. The student player will have objectives, but doing them will draw attention to themselves and create a cause to get caught.