Week 4 - Prototype 1: Pretentiousness and Piracy

Name of the Game: Pretentiousness and Piracy

Number of Players: 2-4

Time to Play: 30-60 minutes

Object of the Game: Collect the most affection points to win.

Our board game is based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. After reading through Sparknotes pages, and watching the movie, we noticed that most of the unmarried male characters were wooing one of the Bennets at some point. We also took note that there was always the question of money when people were getting married. That was when we decided that this game should be a collection game. We also decided to design the game such that all the men are trying to marry the prettiest of the Bennet girls, Jane. However, Mr.Bennet and Mrs.Bennet only want the best for their daughter and so they decide that whom ever holds the most wealth and power, and whom ever Jane loves most, will marry Jane.

We looked at the list of male characters who were looking to marry and there were really only 4; Mr.Collins, Mr.Darcy, Mr.Bingley, and Mr.Wickham. We decided to go with a mechanic where players (playing as one of the 4 listed) could manage their estates and purchase more land, meaning we also added money. Each player has his home estate space. When they pass this space, they receive a salary (similar to the Go! space in Monopoly) based on what level their estate is (4 levels). There are also special spaces such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh's estate, where should a player land on it, they receive a cash bonus. If a player trespasses onto his love rival's territory, he has to pay a fine based on what level that territory is. 

Retro Filigree pattern money

We also needed another way for players to lose money, and that's how we incorporated the pirate. At first the pirate was just a space on the board, but after some discussion we thought that it would be best if the pirate were a non-player character that moved around the board, and if he lands on a property he destroys it, or if a player were to share the same space as him, he would rob them. This allowed for a slightly more realistic pirate as most pirates don't stay in the same place for a long time.

The final score is based on affection points, so we convert all the properties into cash, then cash into affection points.

Setup:

1. Each player picks a character (from the 4 corners of the board).
2. Each player starts with a level one estate (represented by one gem on their estate).
3. Each player starts with $500.
4. The pirate piece starts at the x2 money space.
5. One player is the accountant and handles the money.

How to Play:

1. Roll 2 dice and move around the board clockwise.

Rules:

• When a player passes their home space(one of the four corners), they collect $50 for each property (represented by a gem) on it.
• If you land on a space that is a part of your love rival's estate, you must pay them $25 for each property on that space.
• If a player has no money, but has properties left, they must sell their property for cash to the bank (the accountant handles this transaction). Each regular property sells for $125, a property adjacent to the Bennet's sells for $500. They then pay what is owed to their love rival
• Each space can hold four properties.
• You can place a property on a space that you land on. Properties cost $250 each. 
• Note: A space can contain properties of different players.
• If a player lands on the Lady Catherine de Bourgh space, they receive $500. A property cannot be placed on this space.
• If a player lands on the x2 money space, they collect $100 for each property on their home space. A property cannot be placed on this space.
• If a player lands on the Bennet space, they may choose to stay there and skip a turn, after which they will receive one affection point. A property cannot be placed on this space.
• If a player lands on the x2 heart space, the next time they land on the Bennet space and choose to stay, they will receive 2 affection points.
• If you land on this space again the bonus remains x2
• If a player shares a space with a pirate, they forfeit $500 to the bank. If the pirate lands on a space with a player's property on it, one property is destroyed
• If multiple players own property on the space, they must each roll the dice. The player with the lowest roll will have his property destroyed. 
• It costs $1000 to place a property in a space adjacent to the Bennet house. However, if a player has a property there, when ever they land on the Bennet house, they collect an affection point immediately and no longer give up their turn.
• If a player has no money and no property, they are eliminated.
• The game ends when all the spaces have at least one property on them.
• At the end of the game, all property is converted to cash. Each regular property is converted to $125, and a property adjacent to the Bennet's is converted to $500. All cash is then converted into affection points. Every $500 gives one affection point.

Week 3: Territorial Acquisition Board Game - Supreme Oil Monger

Name of the Game: Supreme Oil-Monger

Number of Players: 2-4

Game Bits: 4 sets of pipes (150 tiles each); 1 for each player. 12 wells

Time to play: 30 - 60 minutes

Setup:

1.  Players pick their colour and take their set of pipes.
2. Split the wells evenly between each other
3. Place wells on the board. Wells must be at least one space apart, and there can only be one well per quadrant.
4. Each player must shuffle their set of pipes. 

How to Play:

  2 Players:

1. Draw three pipes.
2. Place those pipes on the board. Your first pipe must be placed such that it is connected and adjacent to one of the spaces around the refinery located in the centre of the board. After connecting your first pipe to the refinery, you may connect one more pipe directly to the refinery, or choose to do so later on.

 3/4 Players:

1. Draw two pipes.
2. Place those pipes on the board. Your first pipe must be placed such that it is connected and adjacent to one of the spaces around the refinery located in the centre of the board. After connecting your first pipe to the refinery, you may connect one more pipe directly to the refinery, or choose to do so later on. 

NOTE:  Your pipes must be placed adjacent to another pipe. Pipes can be oriented in any direction. More than one person can connect to a well.

Object of the Game: Connect the refinery to the most oil wells with your pipes to win.

We found that our game was similar to Ticket To Ride in that players must connect their pipes from a refinery to wells. We found it similar to Blokus in that we use pipes in a similar fashion such that when players lay down their pipes they can block other players from accessing parts of the board and they can then spread around.

Week 2: Demo or Die! - Donkey Kong Classic: Damsel In Distress

http://th08.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2010/345/c/e/donkey_kong_arcade_by_lwiis64-d34o8f7.png

Name of the Game: Donkey Kong Classic: Damsel In Distress

Number of Players: 2 - 4

When asked to make a board game based on a classic arcade game, the group we formed decided to make it based on the iconic Donkey Kong arcade game.

The object of the original game was to get to the top, on the same platform as Princess Peach. As Mario (originally named Jumpman) you make your way to the top, Donkey Kong would throw barrels which would travel down the level. If you were hit by a barrel you lost a life and were forced to restart. You could jump over barrels, or avoid them by climbing ladders.

After playing the original game, we decided that a race to the end game was the best fit, and Donkey Kong Classic: Damsel In Distress was born. The idea was that multiple characters want to save Peach first to win her love.

Object of the Game: The first player to reach Princess Peach wins the game and her heart.

Pieces:

• 4 player pieces
• 4 barrels

Rules:

• After 1 rounds of turns, a barrel is added to the board on the last space.
• After each player rolls, every barrel on the board moves 1 space
• If a player lands on a barrel or vice versa, that player has to return to the beginning and the barrel is sent to the last space on the board
• If a barrel gets to the end of the board it is returned to the last space
• Players can pass barrels without consequence
• If a player lands on a space with a ladder on it, they climb it to the connecting space above; players may not travel down a ladder

How to Play:

• On the first turn, players roll to see who goes first
• Players roll a die to move along the board

Because we didn't have much time to pitch all our ideas and debate about what mechanics are best, I found we completed the game much faster; it forced us to make decisions faster. This is definitely a useful exercise since every time you design a game you gain a little more experience. The next time I make a game, I'll know a little more about what might work and what might not.

As I look back, what could have been nice is to make the ladders themselves spaces on the board and with that allow barrels to go down ladders based on a die roll. This way a player could choose whether or not they wanted to go up a ladder, and if a barrel came down on them it would knock them back just like in the original game.

Week 1: My Race to the End Board Game

Name of the Game: Line of Sight

Number of Players: 2 Players

Game Bits: 2 dice, 2 tokens per player

Time it took to play: 10 - 20 minutes (with 2 pieces each)

Object of the Game: Get your pieces to the end space.

Rules:

• Player 1 puts his tokens on the player 1 start space, and player 2 puts his tokens on the player 2 start space
• Player 1 rolls the dice first
• To get a token off the start space, the player must roll a multiple of 2 (the sum of both dice must be a multiple of two)
• Only one piece can be moved per turn
• Both players move clockwise but must stay on spaces that contain their colors; the middle lane is shared
• If a player lands on the space beside a bridge, that player's token proceeds to the end space
• If opposing players' tokens are in the same lane, or line of sight, each player takes a die and rolls; the player with the lower die roll must return that token to their start space. The player who loses does NOT lose their turn if they were next.
• For a player to get their piece out, they must land exactly on the end space and take that piece off the board. If a player lands on the end space and they find themselves in the same lane as their opponent, they must still role a die each to see who returns to their respective start spaces

Inspiration/Development:

During our first lecture, while we were making a race to the end board game as a class, I was drawing out my own idea for a race to the end board game inspired by the board game Sorry! which is a cross and circle race to the end board game, where the first player to get all their pieces to the end wins. When I played Sorry!(with the maximum of 4 players) I found it enjoyable at first but due to the number of pieces and the size of the board, it became increasingly boring as I played through. I thought the mechanic of sending a player back to the start was a good feature in the game, as well as the fact that the player had to pick up a specific number to get their piece out of the start space to begin moving around the board. The players would move by rolling a die.

The first thing I did was make the board much smaller than Sorry! in terms of number of spaces. I made the board 10x11, with spaces on the outside of the board, and 9-space lane in the middle of the board. The outer lanes are split such that the white pieces must stay on white spaces, and they grey ones must stay on grey spaces, with the middle lane having shared spaces. Both players travel clockwise, and must land perfectly on the end-space to take that piece off the board, otherwise they continue and loop around the board once more. Sorry! also influenced the idea of a player requiring a specific number to take a piece off of their start space and into the lanes, and so I added a rule that requires a player to roll a multiple of two to enter the game.

The next thing I wanted to do was create some sort of mechanic to send the player back to their start space. I happened to be playing Portal 2 and was considering using footage from the game for another blog I was writing for my Computer Animation course. While I was playing I ran into some turrets, which only shot at me when they could see me. This inspired my idea of a line of sight, where if pieces occupy the same lane, they must battle and the loser gets sent back to their start point. They would battle by each rolling the die.

With these simple rules, I began testing with my roommate to determine how long it would take to play through one round of my game.

The first round we played with one piece each. It was rare that our pieces find themselves in each other's line of sight, and the game was finishing within five minutes, but felt like it was dragging on much longer. This was when I added the line of sight lane; a lane that you could not travel across, but if players were inline on that lane, right in front of the end-space, they'd battle. This increased the number of battles, but it was still not enough. I decided to add another die to the game and we battled (we each took a die and rolled at the same time) more often, but the game was too fast paced for just one piece. I added one more piece for each player, and that's when the game became much more interesting. There were many more battles, and the game went on longer, but it didn't feel as though it was a chore to play anymore. We then tried playing with three pieces each, but the game went on too long and became boring again, so I decided to stick with two pieces, although the game can technically be played with any number of pieces. As a bit of a twist, I added the bridge spot which automatically takes that piece to the end spot. I found that it was very rare that a player land on that spot, and when they did it changed the dynamic because it catapults them either to be on par with or ahead of their opponent.

The last major rule I created was concerning a line of sight battle and the end-space. At first we played so that if the player landed on the end-space that piece would be removed from the board immediately, even if it was in its line of sight. But I retracted that decision and made it so that if a player lands on the line of sight spot, and is in their opponents line of sight, they must first battle and if they win they can take that piece off the board.

What I Learned:

Designing a game that is unique and fun is very challenging, but creating opportunities for meaningful decisions is even more challenging. I found myself having trouble finding a way to give players options. Most of the race to the end games I've played have very few meaningful decisions except going in through one lane versus another. In my quest to find a race to the end game with some options I looked for other race to the end games and discovered that some games that are considered race to the end games, such as The Game of Life*, are not race to the end games because their win condition is not based on the first player to the end wins, but rather on who has the highest score (whether it be represented by points or money). I think the reason I had trouble creating on opportunity for players was because I had already made my game when I started thinking about how I could add something for players to make decisions.

All in all, I had a lot of fun designing my game and learned a lot about the process of creating a game. I can't wait for the next one.


*http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/663/gamecareerguidecoms_game_design_.php

Week 1: Board Game Review - Ticket To Ride

Name of the game: Ticket To Ride

Number of players: 4 Players (would have been five but a piece was missing :o)

Time it took to play: We played for around 20 minutes but we didn't get close to finishing.

Object of the game:
The object of the game is to score the highest number of total points. Points can be
scored by:

• Claiming a route between two adjacent cities on the map; 
• Successfully completing a continuous path of routes between two cities listed on your Destination Ticket(s); Completing the longest continuous path of routes.
• Points are lost if you do not successfully complete the route given on the Destination Ticket(s) you kept.

Rules:
Each player gets 4 train cards and 3 Destination Tickets. The rest are put aside in a stack. At the beginning the players can look at their Tickets and decide which ones to keep (they must keep at least one).
Each turn the player can either:

• Draw train cards: The player can draw two train cards; 2 face-down, 2 face-up, or a mix (if they pick a face-up wild-card they can only get one card or if they pick a face-up card and it's replaced with a wild card they can't pick it up.
• Draw Destination Tickets
• Claim a Route

Major Observations:

Things I Liked: I liked the fact that the game was a territorial acquisition game as that is my favorite type of board game. I liked that there is an as equally strong emphasis on strategy as there is on the luck involved with the cards you pick up. The game requires you to plan ahead as opposed to other territorial acquisition games such as monopoly which I've found is generally based around luck and how much money you have.

The fact that the player with the longest route gets extra points is a nice addition to the game as it allows players to adapt different playing styles; you can play dangerously and take the longest routes possible to get points but run the risk of being blocked by another player or you can play cautiously and claim routes taking the shortest route possible but run the risk of not getting the longest route. This creates an interesting dynamic as the game goes on because you'll find players have to change their strategies if they get blocked or if they don't have enough train cards to claim the longest route. Players may also aggressively block one another as opposed to trying to create their own routes. There's many different ways to play and the game allows you to adapt accordingly.

I also appreciated the addition of the rules limiting players from picking up wild-cards, because otherwise this would create an extremely unfair advantage for a player whose turn happens to bring out multiple wild-cards.

Things I Didn't Like: I didn't like the fact that it takes very long to get into the game itself; it takes time to get your routes set up and it seems like you could wait very long to gather the perfect hand such that you can claim large routes. The rules were also very simple, but I feel that the rule book makes it seem more complicated than it really is. I also found the mechanic of claiming a route slightly confusing, but after watching a short round on YouTube I understood that mechanic better.

Something I Would Design Differently:
I would allow the player to pick up three cards on every turn as opposed to just two. The reason for this is because it takes quite a bit of time to get enough matching cards to lay down a route, and that means a good player can be stuck for quite some time due to bad luck. I feel that this would speed up the game slightly more so that players can begin claiming tracks earlier, and it would give players a higher probability of collecting the right cards. This might make players more aggressive in their style of play, but that would also make it more fast-paced and still maintain the strategic thinking required by the game.