Somehow I started thinking about using rowboats as an element in a game and this notion has started to evolve into a potential game design. I hit upon the idea that what if a rowboat needs to be balanced on both sides before it can go off and complete some objective. From there it has turned into the idea of loading a rowboat that holds 6 people (3 rows of seats with two people sitting side by side) of differing sizes (scrawny, beefy, and burly) and the player needs to rearrange them so both sides are balanced and the boat won't tip over while in transit. The current story for this game is that there is a cluster of islands that pirates have been using to hide treasure for years. In the center of the islands is a dormant volcano but lately it's been rumbling and smoke has been pouring out of it so now the pirates need to recover their gold before the volcano explodes.
Game mechanics are starting to look like the following. Each player has three rowboats alongside their ship. Pirates are represented by a token which shows if they are scrawny, beefy, or burly. At the beginning the tokens are turned over, mixed up, and the rowboats are loaded blindly with pirates (as if they rushed onto the rowboats in a rush of enthusiasm). The tokens are then turned over and the player needs to rearrange them so that both sides of the rowboat are balanced. To do this one of the pirates is taken off the back row which then allows the other pirates to be pushed around like a block puzzle. If necessary any number of pirates can be left off. Once the rowboat is balanced the pirates can go off and retrieve chests of gold. Another thing to work in is that once a rowboat reaches an island and a chest of gold is dug up and loaded the rowboat must again be balanced so a pirate will most likely need to be left behind. I'm also working on some other ideas like the possibility of loosing pirates while on the water (maybe when they hit a rock and someone is tossed out) or needing to go around and pick up pirates stranded on the islands.
Comments
A puzzling conundrum
I'm trying to figure out where the player interaction is, but it may be that my understanding is incomplete based on the description. Does each player have one ship that they are rearranging using their pirates only? Are there multiple ships and anyone can use any of them? Can a player move their own pirates only?
If each player has their own ship with their own pirates only, then it seems like you are generating a random puzzle for each player that can be solved in X moves (or is this real-time) and because it's random that X might be very different for each player and will probably be the greatest determining factor in who wins. Not sure I can comment further without further understanding of how the rules would work.
All good points
At this point the concept is very early in the design phase and I haven't quite figured out how the players would interact. Your comments concerning each player having their own puzzle to solve would basically determine how the game ends is something that has been rolling around in my head a bit. I'm starting to realize that each player having their own puzzle to solve independent of everyone else is probably not something that works well for board game design. Perhaps one strategy to avoid this is for each player should have a common pool (of resources, challenges, etc) to work from. This might also facilitate some player interaction. Either that or I should focus on designing solo games :)
Solo puzzle
Yes, a completely isolated puzzle for each player would be tough to make enjoyable for all players. However, limited interaction (based on a constraint) might work just fine. For example, maybe I could place one of my pirates on someone else's rowbot as long as I don't unbalance any pair of seats that are already balanced. In doing so, I secure myself a share of the treasure that the boat picks up when it goes to the island.
As far as the common pool, maybe the boats are common to everyone. Perhaps I can place a pirate on any boat I like (with probably the constraint above still in place), but if I have more pirates than anyone else I have the ability to move pirates around. Or maybe I can always shift my own pirates around (which both gives me the most possibilities to finish the puzzle and the most incentive if I get more treasure because of it).
Those could be very helpful
Those could be very helpful suggestions. Thanks for the input.
I just had an idea that may
I just had an idea that may add some complexity (hopefully leading to strategy options) as well as some thematic flair.I just had an idea for this. Perhaps each boat needs to have people with particular objects to commence with retrieving gold from the islands. I'm thinking a shovel, map, anchor, lantern, rum, and a parrot. If a rowboat has a pirate with a shovel then there isn't any need for another pirate with a shovel.
Combine?
I like it, do you want to fold it into this mission based pirate game that started developing out of a conversation with another member and I?
www.bgdf.com/node/12409
What we have so far is a system for trade, which could run contemporaneously.
Or what you are talking about could become one whole game, but it feels casual right now
Thanks for the offer...
...but at this point I'm not looking to collaborate.
Good luck with your design.