Week 13: Healthy Games - Season Salad

   

Name of the Game: Season Salad

Number of Players: 3-8

Time to Play: 10-15 minutes

Objective: Get rid of all your cards.

Setup:

1. Shuffle the deck
2. Deal the cards evenly between all players

Rules

1. Before the game begins, players can claim pairs by putting them face up or face down on the table.
• A pair consists of a season and a corresponding fruit during that season.
2. Once gameplay has begun, players take turns in a clockwise direction, taking a random card from the player on their right, one at a time. 
• If they have a pair when they take a random card, they put it face down and play continues.
3. The player with the Ice Cream card at the end is the loser.

This game was inspired by the Victorian card game Old Maid.

Week 9 Remixing & Modifying: Tic-Tac-Foot & Tyrannical Oil Monger

This week we had to modify the game of Tic-Tac-Toe so that there is an element of luck.

I made a couple simple change that I have found through playtesting make the game more interesting and still add that element of luck required for the assignment.

Name of the Game: Tic-Tac-Foot

Number of Players: 2

Time to Play: 15 - 30 minutes

Setup:

1. 5x5 Grid (as opposed to the 3x3 grid)
2. One player is Xs the other is Os.
3. Get a coin. Tails represents X. Heads represents O

Rules:

• Who ever gets 5 in a row of their shape wins.

One Round:

• Flip a coin to determine which shape you will draw on your turn. If its heads you have to place an O on the grid. If its tails you have to place on X on the grid, regardless of what shape is yours.
• This means a player can be the shape X but if they flip a coin on heads they have to place an O on the board.

Playtesting:

I found that during playtesting the game actually took longer to play than regular Tic-Tac-Toe, not only because of the size of the board, but because when a player had to place the opposing player's shape on the board they took more time to think about where they were placing it. Because of the element of luck it also means that players can't do the same thing every time they play (like in regular Tic-Tac-Toe). The size of the board was important because at 3x3 the game ended too quickly with my rule change, but the 5x5 dimensions suited it perfectly.

We also had to modify a game we previously made in class to shit the focus of the original game entirely to either skill or chance depending on the original focus of the game. I decided to change the focus of the territorial acquisition game Moazzam Pathan and I made, Supreme Oil Monger, such that it is based entirely on luck.

Name of the Game: Tyrannical 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

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

One change that I've made to the board is that the spaces alternate between grey and white like a checker board.

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. If it is your first turn draw 5 pipes. Otherwise draw until you have 5 pipes.
2. Flip a coin. Heads is grey, tails is white. You may place your next piece on the space of the corresponding colour.
3. Place those pipes on the board. Your first pipe must be placed such that it is connected and adjacent or touching corners 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 an additional pipe directly to the refinery, or choose to do so later on. 3 of 5 pipes must be placed on the board

 3/4 Players:

1. If it is your first turn draw 4 pipes. Otherwise draw until you have 4 pipes.
2. Flip a coin. Heads is grey, tails is white. You may place your next piece on the space of the corresponding colour.
3. Place those pipes on the board. Your first pipe must be placed such that it is connected and adjacent or touching corners 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 an additional pipe directly to the refinery, or choose to do so later on. 2 of 4 pipes must be placed on the board.

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

Pipes are still drawn from a deck to maintain the element of chance, however players no longer choose exactly where to place their pipes; a coin is flipped to determine what color space the player's next pipe can be placed on. The only choice I have left for players is the option to choose which pipe to place. If I took out this choice, there would no longer be any meaningful decisions in this game.

Playtesting:

During playtesting I found that the game was now indeed more based on luck now. It was much more difficult to place pieces in such a way that everything connects. At first the rule was that all pipes must be placed on the board. I playtested this way once and found that it was too difficult to the point of frustration. I decided to adjust that rule to give the player a little more freedom, and made it so that they only have to place a fraction of the pipes they have. This way, the game was still based on luck, but the player also still felt they at least had some control and made them feel less frustrated.

Week 8: What is Art?

In the last lecture we had a discussion about what makes an art game and the question of 'What is art?' was asked. When I first thought about the question the first thing that came into my head was that if art was a form of self expression then anything can be art.

I've thought about it a little more since then, and I don't think anything can be art. I believe I've come to my own conclusion on what I personally believe art is, but I don't expect others to agree. Art is a form of self expression, but in my opinion it has to have meaning and is only art once someone other than the artist has experienced it; by hearing, reading, seeing or playing it.

The reason I say that it is not art until someone has experienced it is because if no one else has experienced it, it has no significance to anyone except the artist. It would make the piece of work more like a form of a diary or private journal. If a poet were to write a poem and no one ever reads it or hears it, how can anyone say it's art? How can anyone even say the poem exists?

Even then, after someone has experienced the work, it has to mean something to the person who experienced it. The person experiencing it must understand the artist's message. Recently I saw a modern art sculpture; it was a large piece of metal that was twisted in the center and folded slightly. This meant nothing to me when I saw it, and the only thing that came to mind was "Why on earth is this in the middle of a park?" But to someone else this may mean something and I'm just unable to see or feel what they do. It is only art to him and not to me.

In conclusion, I can definitively say there is no definitive definition of art because it is very subjective. What may be art to me may not be art to others and vice versa.

Week 7: Liar's Dice Rule Changes

Name of the Game: Liar's Dice 2.0

Number of Players: 2 or more

Object of the Game: Make the correct bids and deceive your opponents as long as possible.

Setup:

1. 5 dice for each player plus another five to be placed in the center
2. 5 cups to cover player's dice. The five dice in the center are left uncovered.
3. Choose a player to go first in the first round. 

One Round:

1. Every player rolls their dice while hiding them in their cups. The dice in the center are also rolled and left covered.
2. The first player makes a bid. When a player makes a bid they say a face value and guess how many there are at the table. 
3. The next player can either challenge the bid, or make a higher bid by guessing either a higher face value, or guess a higher quantity of the face value at the table, or both.
• If the next player challenges the previous player's bid, everyone reveals their dice. If the challenger was correct and the previous player was lying, the liar gives his die to the challenger. If the challenger was wrong he/she gives his/her die to the player whom he/she challenged.
4. If a player's finds himself/herself with dice that are all different, he/she can change one die to anything at the beginning of the round. She/He must inform the other players she/he is changing one, but he/she must not show his/her dice. A player can fake changing his/her die and opposing players can challenge the player changing his die.
5. If a player has one die left, that die is always a wild one.

Our task was to eliminate the positive feedback loop. The positive feedback loop in Liar's dice is created due to the mechanic whereby a player loses a die. Every time a player loses a die, he/she is more at a disadvantage, and the players with more dice have an even better chance of winning the round.

Week 6: Atari Golden Age Card Game - Paperboy The Card Game

Name of the Game: Paperboy - The Card Game

Number of Players: 3 - 4

Object of the Game: The player with the most pairs at the end of the game wins.

Setup:

1. The deck is shuffled.
2. Each player is given four cards.
3. The rest of the deck is set aside, and a dealer must be chosen.
4. The dealer will place 4 cards in the center of the deck and keep track of rounds.

How to Play:

1. Four cards from the deck are placed face up in the center of the table.
2. Once all the cards have been placed, players can begin picking up cards when the dealer says go.
• A player must put down a card to pick up another.
• After ten seconds the cards are removed and placed in a trash deck on the side.
3. Once a player has 4 cards that are of a set (the sets are specified below), they can claim that set by showing their cards to the other players after a round of cards has been placed. They set this set aside in their own deck, and the dealer deals that player 4 new cards.
4. If a player has the trump card (which is the bike with an explosion behind it) they can use that card when another player claims a set and the targeted player will not receive any points and his/her cards are placed in the trash deck.

Sets:

1. House, Bike, Paper, Fence.
2. Rock, Fire Hydrant, Dog, Old Man.
3. Window, Car, Tree, Mailbox.

Our game is based on the Atari game Paperboy.

Week 5: Collection Board Game - 4 Tile

Name of the Game: 4 Tile

Number of Players: 2-4

Object of the Game: The first player to get the specific number of each color tile wins.

How to Play:

1. All players start on any corner on the board.
2. At the start of the game players roll a die for each of the 4 colors(green,red,blue,white) on the board. Each roll determines how many tokens of that color players will need to win. Eg. Roll a 4,3,2 then 1 would mean the first player to get 4 green, 3 red, 2 blue and 1 white token will win.
3. Players take turns rolling the die and move around the board in a clockwise direction.
4. When a player lands on a colored space, they collect one token of that color.
5. When a player lands on one of the 'X' spaces, they should follow the directions written on the board.
• For the top right and bottom left corners: Pick a player. This player loses one token of every color.
• For the top left and bottom right corners: Lose one token of every color.
• For the top and bottom middle spaces: All other players lose one of every color.
• For the right and left middle spaces: Take one of any color from each player.
6. The player to get the specified amount of tokens wins.
7. Players may trade with others at the start of their turn.

We wanted to make a game that was simple enough for players to understand while still creating opportunities for players to interact, and not having the game drag on. We started the initial concept with just the colored tiles, and then we added the 'X' spaces and made them all do something different. We found that there was much more interaction that way, without having to add more mechanics and rules.

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.