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Eurogame mechanic

5 replies [Last post]
Tue, 01/07/2014 - 16:33
gebart
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Joined: 01/03/2014

Hey!

I'm new to this forum so forgive me any mistakes I make.

Lately I'm working on my first board game and I came across a problem with mechanism.
The idea is each player have money and resource. With money you can buy buildings (with common auction system) where you can change resource to money (each building have different ratio resource to money). More then that you can invest in other players building (which gives you and the owner money). Capacity of each building is limited to 2 or 3 slots. If the slots are occupied no one can invest anymore (even the owner). Money can also be used to buy victory points (in a form of luxury things like art ect.). I was thinking the victory points should be distributed by auction system, but since i already have it in building distribution there's no use of it. I'm planing to limit buildings to the number of 15-20 so I can put them all on the map (putting them on the board in specific order is essential for gaining more victory points).

I started to simulate the game with 5 players and every time it goes the same way (no victory points awarded so far). Every player will eventually get 3 buildings. Players are buying the same buildings and it's very predictible (I can guess when and what the player will buy). I wonder if implementing victory points system will change the problem. I would like the game to have different winning option. So I'm planning to give Victory points for:
- player with most money
- player with most luxury cards
- player with specific combination of building
- player with specific combination of buildings on the map

Will it help me to balance it or should I change something else.

Thanks!

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Tue, 01/07/2014 - 17:33
#1
ruy343
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Joined: 07/03/2013
Look at other games

The game you're postulating appears to borrowing many mechanics from Las Vegas Showdown: a game about having the best-equipped casino. In an effort to help you, let me sort of share how they handle winning and strategy:

In order to gain money from guests, you have to have certain things present, like a lobby, a restaurant, etc. These amenities have a cost and more are necessary as you expand your casino. In your case, perhaps you're all running art galleries, and you're purchasing rooms that have artwork slots that you buy and attract people, but you can't have clientele if you don't have a lobby, sufficient janitorial staff, a heating room, whatever.

Also, you could have certain artworks be worth a certain amount, and attract more people, but if no one buys them, their price reduces each round as a function of percentage, until a player is most likely to buy it before others do because it happens to be so cheap at the time.

But watch out for robbers who try to steal high-value artworks! You'll need to install security systems before the highest-end artworks can be placed into your museum...

Actually, I think that I could make a game like that!

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Thu, 01/09/2014 - 17:52
#2
gebart
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Joined: 01/03/2014
Thanks for answer

I checked Vegas Showdown mechanics. I see some similarities but my project is somehow different although I think I can find something usefull there as well.
I think I got the answer I was looking for.

The problem was that the starting amount of money was too small so all players end first round with similar amount of money and one building. I checked few other games and I think I got it fixed. I now got into balancing cards and prices - which is hard with so many variables. I probably need to do some hard math instead of using intuitiun to make it work.

I read somewhere that designers should check all of games mechanism separately before putting it altogether, but it shows some problems. I can only simulate one or two rounds because later players need to choose between biding for buildings or victory points / improvements. What is the best method in your opinion?

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Thu, 01/09/2014 - 20:46
#3
chaching812
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Joined: 09/13/2013
Another idea might be to

Another idea might be to implement some sort of supply-and-demand mechanic. If you've ever played Power Grid, some types of power plants are generally more efficient in turning resources into money (e.g. coal plant+2 coal-> $10 or oil plant+1 oil-> $10), but if everyone buys the same type of plant, then the other type of plant actually becomes more efficient (in the Power Grid example, if everyone buys up oil, all of a sudden oil costs $5 a pop while coal only costs $1, making it more efficient). One thing that's nice about implementing a supply-and-demand mechanic is that it can balance itself assuming that the game is designed well.

So in your game (without knowing more details about the game), maybe you could do something to the effect of having players receive a subsidy at the end of the turn after everyone's built their building (or bought their card). If you were the only player to build your building (or buy your card), you get $2; if one other player built your building, you get $1; if more than one other player built your building, you get $0 extra. This would encourage people to diversify in what they do in a way that also helps contribute to every game being different.

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Fri, 01/10/2014 - 15:06
#4
gebart
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Joined: 01/03/2014
I've played Power Grid and

I've played Power Grid and like it. Actually it's one of my favorites. The game mechanics is so simple yet so many ways to win. Still there are many rules you need to watch during the game, which is quite annoying for beginers. Unfortunately in my game there is only one resource so implementation of similiar mechanism is out of question.

I think it's time to write some more details about the game so people don't have to quess what I have on my mind. I should probably put it in different section, but maybe it's better to keep all informations together. This is my first game so it won't be probably a market hit, so nobody wants to steal it. Maybe there are similar games and some of you will write "hey, that's exactly like in game XXX".

Here it goes:

The game is about Mafia family. Each player is a different family and is strugling to be the best in the town. What is the main job of a Mafia? (except killing, robbing, selling drugs and so on - which aren't present in the game) Money laundering!. So every turn each family gets the same amount of money "dirty money" and at the begining of the game some "normal money". The idea is to turn dirty money into normal which is done in some bussines bought. Lets say in first turn family bought (in auction mechanism) a cafe with two slots for money laundering. First turn 4 dirty into 2 normal money and second turns 5 dirty into 2 normal money. After that we have money laundering phase. Each family have 10 members of family which can put into slots (in each bussines you have to occupy first free slots), you can occupy your own bussines slot or other player bussines slot - in that case he will get normal money for every occupied bussines slot he owns. You can wash only the amount of money you have. All unused dirty and normal money are kept in next turn. Let's say in our example two families laundred money in cafe so the family owning the cafe gets two money. With normal money (except bussines) you can buy luxury items which gives victory points or special items which will change something in the game (for example will rise family dirty money income each round). And that's pretty much it. Oh, I plan to put the bussines on the town map with different areas. So you will get bonus victory points for getting most bussines in each area or having same type bussines (for example food industry like cafe, restaurant, green grocery and shop).

I hope this will put some light into my idea.

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Fri, 01/10/2014 - 21:59
#5
knightshade
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Joined: 02/08/2013
You actually have two

You actually have two resouces.. dirty AND clean $.
I posted in your other thread, but to add some thought....

-maybe "secret objectives"???? Like each player draws from the same deck. Maybe a "job" deck where they each have a task. If uncompleted in a turn, then the player suffers a penalty, but if acheived, then grants *something*... so a player draws a card "sloppy crime" and states "must buy building X to clean up after the henchmen's sloppy work" and if completed, then a VP is awarded. That way players cannot guess what the other will do because they cannot see the secret objective card. The addition of this would easily solve your problem.

-the currency types can play a march larfer role than you think. ;) in my stock game I'm making, I have 3 currencies and exchange rates so one cannot just sell out and buy into another currency without penalty.

-another way to solve your player involvemeny issues would be to have everybody simply take turns at the same time? In the stock game I have everybody buy and sell at the same time on paper. Then they buy/sell. So one person could own half the shares of a stock and another buys out the other half, but at the same time, unknowingly player 1 sells their half, greatly dropping the share value and payout. "Blinds" might help your problem as well.

Just find things that inspire you. Watch The Godfather/Goodefellas and just take some notes every now and again when something stands out. Usually, for me, one word starts the snowball effect. (Much like Jimmy Fallon's "taking me back" skit) so I could hear the word racketeering. So racketeering→stealing→selling→illegal→risk/reward→fall guy→etc...

I LOVE to make flow chart like things. Like a visual outline with the bubbles and lines connecting them.. whatever they are called.. I like to call them BRAIN BUBBLES! That way you can see what is truly interconnected (visually) components or mechanics and if nothing is really connected then it goes away until I can find a use for it.. :)

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