TBK Update and My Game Design Basics

Note: This is post number 2 of a series, these posts are best read in order! :)

Project Status

After getting the initial idea for Toy Box Kingdom I immediately went to work developing the idea. I knew you would build your kingdom using tile placement on the board and I knew that you would gather the resources for this venture with cards. These cards would represent specific toys as well as toy sets that would enhance and accelerate your kingdom's growth. This pretty quickly led to the mechanics of the game.

At this point in the game I am almost done with the initial prototype. I have been creating cards and tiles for a few days now and enjoying the challenges the process has created. Though I think the game has a solid base I feel there is much more to discover through playtesting.

My process has consisted of going back and forth from my components and the document of ideas I initially created as I tried to hammer out a playable concept. For me the most frustrating and the most exciting aspects of game design come during this time. You quickly realize that not everything you came up with will work within a fun and playable game. I definitely hit several of these roadblocks especially as it came to the resource cards and how resources would be obtained, tracked, and spent. This is still being ironed out, but I think further understanding will require playtesting.

Toy Box Kingdom Mechanics

Let me talk about some of the basic mechanics I came up with that make the game interesting, then I'll talk about the principles I look at when making any game.

The first and most obvious challenge in the game is the tile placement. This is a bit more of a complex tile placement system and is based on situation rather than pattern for points.

#1: Tiles would be scored at the moment you place them not after finishing a certain set or at game end. This means that you have to spend turns carefully arranging tiles to build up to higher scoring turns.

#2 The game would have a limited set of tiles and the game would end when the tiles are gone. This is not an uncommon concept in tile placement games but this game allows players to use resources and strategy to be able to place more tiles and therefore hopefully have more opportunities to score than their opponents.

#3 Multiple tiles filling similar roles. In the game players must first expand their borders by claiming land and then building on that land in order to create the economy and population of their kingdom. They have the ability to conquer land through military or settle new land based on their population. Both allow for expansion and building, but they serve have differing advantages and scoring structures.

The other half of the game includes the card structure. Here are a couple of things I came up with.

#1: Resource cards come in several types. These cards are always available on the table, but there is only one copy of each card. This means that once a player has taken a resource card, no other players may use that card until that player has spent it. These cards represent toy sets, such as blocks, cards, army men etc. so it fits the theme that one player at a time would use the sets and you would have to vie for the best ones.

#2: Citizen Cards: These card represent specific toys such as action figures, cars, and dinosaurs and will populate your kingdom. They grant abilities, increase income, and create milestones that allow for increased points.

These are the major "discoveries" that occured during the speed prototype process. Notice I call them discoveries. The process is kind of like digging, searching your theme and ideas in under the lens of your knowledge of board game mechanics and design.

Design Principles

There are some basic principles that I came up with and that I consider while making a game to add strategy and challenge. You will see me talk about these and many more in future posts. These are the things that make games fun for me.

Balancing: Having to balance multiple necessary endeavors.

Give and Take Decisions: Making decisions that will benefit the player but also cost them. Ie. expensive purchases, trade agreements, investments that cost now but pay off down the line.

Taking Risks: Making a decision that could result in a great gain or a great loss

Decision Making: Weighing the opportunity cost of various options and making a decision, similar to balancing but balancing comes throughout the game, I am talking about defined decisions. ie. deciding what to buy, or deciding what action to take on a turn.

There are others you could include, but most things will fit into one of these broad categories. There are many specific mechanics you could utilize in your game, but I try to not feel restricted by popular or established gameplay methods. As long as a game effectively delivers on one or more of these factors in a relatable way your game should be pretty fun.

Luck Versus Chance:

Something I always make sure to pay attention to is the role of chance and the presence of luck. Let me explain how I perceive the difference between chance and luck. Luck occurs when your success or some measure of it depends on a random variable. Such as when you roll to move and the goal of the game is to get to the end first. Chance on the other hand is when elements of the game are random or variable. Such as the random display of cards in some deck builders.

For me luck disrupts the experience and can ruin a good game. Well placed chance, on the other hand can add tension, variability, and unpredictability to game which can lead to more challenging game play and better replayability.

These are just a few things I consider while designing a game. Hope this helps someone!