Week 3: Presenting and 2nd Party Play-testing

In our third week, we had our idea and an almost staple set of rules down to go with our mock-up, so we presented our game to the other groups. I think we made our idea clear enough and people said they liked the premise, so we swapped games with another group to play-test each other's. The other group seemed to be enjoying our game, but they got a little confused with some of the rules so we had to clarify quite often. This prompted us to make a clearer set of rules that not only we could understand. Other than this, they said they had a lot of fun with the game and said we had a solid idea, with a great balance of chance and strategy involved. I think the fact that we had play-tested the game a lot ourselves previously helped a lot in making it as enjoyable as possible, and this session really helped us in adding the finishing touches to our game.

Week 2: Refining the Rules

Our mock-up tiles in all their glory.

Through play-testing our game, we'd come up with a set of basic rules that would give us a template to work with. These rules were made after we found that some games were over too quickly, while one game lasted for as long as 90 minutes! We decided that each player would start with 2 random tiles in their hand, which would be kept face down. When a player had their turn, they would roll and place a tile when they reached the edge of the tile they currently stood on. Each tile contained 9 squares and varied with the paths they had drawn onto them. As for the Cards, we figured that rather than the traditional method of picking a card up when a certain space is landed on, we figured we'd sacrifice two of the movement numbers on the dice for card numbers. We first tried a 5 and 6, but found that the game moved at a much better pace when it was 1 or 6. The cards consisted of "Rotate a Tile", "Back to Start", "Miss a Turn", "Exchange Tiles", "Go to Landmark" and "Switch Places". After our long play-test, we came to the conclusion that the "Miss a Turn" and "Back to Start" cards made the game drag on much longer than needed, and gave some players a very small chance of making a comeback. As previously mentioned, the "Go to Landmark" cards involved moving to a special tile on the board, if it was placed down already. There were 4 Landmarks, a Fox, a Shrine, a Fallen Warrior and a Boar. We juggled the idea of either being able to hold onto a certain amount of Cards, just like the tiles, or having to use them straight away. We found, for the flow of the game and added excitement, that all players must use a Card as soon as they draw it from the deck. This was a good way to play as it made getting a Card a worrying factor, since the outcome could be good or bad.

After getting some basic rules down, we decided to add another key element (literally) into the game. We thought that rather than have every player rushing to the middle, we'd make it so that in order to gain access to the Victory space, a Key must be collected from a space on the board and taken successfully to the middle of the board. 

BATTLE!!

This idea also brought forth the concept of battling, in which players who met on the same space would have to do battle in order to stay in the spot they were on and/or to keep hold of the Key (if applicable). Battles begun by one player passing through another's occupied spot. The player that was already on the space in question would be defending against the player that had landed on their space. If the attacker won the battle, the defender was sent back to their home space. If the defender was successful, the attacker was knocked back to the space next to the occupied one. The winner of these battles would be determined by a roll of the dice, with the highest number being the winner.


To add a little extra spice on top of that, we added an ability system for the characters;

• The Thief has the ability to pass by an enemy unnoticed using his/her illusive skills, avoiding all combat and stealing the Key (if applicable).

• The Archer has the capability to attack one square away from the opponent using their trusty bow and arrow.

• The Mage is a spell caster, and has ability to use magic to power up his/her strikes. It grants them a +1 bonus to all their attacks.

• The Knight has a broad shield/armour and has seen many battles. Honing his/her survival instincts, he/she can read their opponent's every move. This character has a +1 bonus in defence.

These were the final abilities we gave to the characters, after testing a few others which seemed too over-powering and some which didn't seem to do anything at all.


We began play-testing the game with these refined rules in place, and found that it was a much better experience. We did, however, change the Key from being collected on a pre-determined tile to the player with the highest starting roll claimed the Key and moved first. We also made the Victory tile rotatable, so that the journey to the middle wouldn't be so easy for the Key holder.


During this process, we came up with several ideas for a name for our game. These included Pathfinder,  Key Chase, Path to Victory and Key to Victory. We eventually settled with the last one, as it said in brief exactly what our game was about. Now, to get everything set in stone!

Board Games: The Good, the Bad and the...something.

A game is an activity in which people (referred to as 'players') play either alone, with or against each other to attain a set goal. There are specific rules and regulations that must be followed to get to the goal, which provides a fair opportunity for everybody. Most games rely on chance, which is the fact that every outcome and path to the goal will be different each time the game is played. Chance is usually created by the use of dice, cards and other randomising objects. Another key factor in board games is strategic element, where players must think ahead or move carefully in order to win.

I believe that the criteria to a good game must contain most, if not all of the following;

• Tension in Competition: Most games grow in tension as they play out, since each player is closer to winning. Tension must always peak naturally and never to a near non-existent point, as players will grow tired of playing and have no fun.
• Replayability: If the game is exactly the same every time, there will be no replay-value. Nobody wants to play the exact same game over and over again, so freshness keeps things from getting stale. Chance is also a big factor here, as you're very unlikely to get the same roll, for example, on every turn in two different games.
• Surprise: The element of surprise could be linked with tension, as the unexpected always keeps players on the edge. Surprise mostly comes from opposing players when they make a move that may hinder the progress of you or another player.
• Equal Opportunity: All games must give player an equal chance of winning the game, otherwise the losing player(s) can determine who the winner will be and not want to continue playing. This is a vital ingredient to making a game that everybody can enjoy until the end.

I also believe that the more of the following the game includes, the more likely it's going to be a bad experience to play;

• Long Waiting Times: If the wait until a player's next turn is too long, they will lose interest in the game and what's currently happening. Turns must be kept short and sweet to avoid boredom.
• Inconsistency of Rules: Games must know what they want to be before they are played. Strategy games cannot rely too much on chance, and vice-versa. "Games of chance must have simple rules and offer few alternative possible moves. This should result in short turns and a generally fast-paced game. Games of strategy, at the other end of the spectrum, should offer abundant alternatives each move. This will let players realize their potential. It must be possible for a player to achieve mastery." (1)
• Complexity: If a game is too simple or complicated, it would be hard for players to be engrossed by it. Games involving strategy have the option of being a lot more complex as this is the audience they may be targeted at. Games solely of chance must usually be simple and fast-paced to avoid boredom and to keep things fair.

I think this will help us when deciding on the mechanics of our board game, to keep it from becoming tiresome and to keep things fresh and replayable.

(1) Kramer, W. http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/WhatMakesaGame.shtml