Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum and I'm looking forward to it!
I'm in the early stages of developing a board game. The setting is a massive planet, much larger than Earth and the mechanics of the game include exploration and discovery, individual fights and large battles with other races and monsters, etc. The size of the planet is a 'character' in and of itself, and one the heroes need to learn to overcome. The board will have detailed art, to give the impression of many features over a large landscape. The landscape itself is a key component of this game.
I know there's games out there, like the recently released War of the Ring Anniversary Edition that have a 3 by 4 foot board. I'm hoping to make my board 4 feet by 5 feet, maybe 6 feet. I'm wondering if this is too big.
In my view, it's not, but I think games with huge boards are awesome and add so much to a game that's dependent on and interacts so heavily with the landscape. Aside from potential cost limitations, what do you think about a board this big? The board will have space around the edges to make room for the players cards, etc. Would the size alone keep people from buying it?
I like games that expand with tiles/hexes, like Mage Knight or Descent, but my game won't work too well with that type of mechanic. I could use a playmat, although I've heard that the art quality suffers and the mat will show wear and tear quickly, especially after rolling it up for storage purposes.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, I can't wait to hear your comments and ideas!
Thank you!
Comments
Check out Veldriss' game
Here is the BGDF thread link:
http://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/prototyping/medioevo-universalis
He sometimes posts updates about his game. LOOK AT THE SIZE OF HIS MAP!
It's HUGE!!! And his game is getting published also! :)
So don't be discouraged about having TOO BIG of anything... Just focus on a FUN and different game experience!
Best of luck with your game!
Veldriss game
Thanks for the link! Wow, that game is huge. Makes mine look small:)
Big map?
If you're planning on a big map, I suppose that's cool, providing you're ok with the customer paying a higher price point.
But if this is more or less a fan project, then by all means.
Still, my suggestion would be to playtest on smaller, more manageable boards for iterations. I'd even suggest using paper boards until you have a solid enough design to work on a larger model.
In my opinion, 4x6 ft is way too big. But if you're going that direction, plan for it.
Biggest map ever
If you were looking to design a game with the biggest size of board, well I think Veldriss' game is the one to beat...
The other option is 10x10 inch boards that interconnect...
Just some idea!
4x6 ft is way too big
"4x6 ft is way too big"
Well, 4 by 6 is big, but it also depends on the game, and whether or not the board adds to or is needed by the game. This isn't a fan project, and is meant to be published at some point (after a kickstarter campaign, probably). If you could explain WHY you don't like a big board, that would be very helpful for me. Is it just cost, or space, personal preference, or something else?
I'm printing out the game on paper, and just taping it together for now. It's very difficult for me to get the detail and the number of locations on the board I want with anything smaller than 4x5 feet.
Biggest map ever
Thanks for the ideas! No, this isn't intended to be the game with the biggest board ever:) It just happens to work well, I think, with a very large board. I guess if I were further along, I wouldn't mind posting the background or story behind the game to give reasons for the board size - hopefully that's not too far off, though.
I like the idea of interconnecting panels to form a large board. I don't think a single board of this size would be feasible, but you never know, I suppose.
Big boards are awesome,
Big boards are awesome, especially if you're playing epic war games, and you lay the whole thing on the floor.
Your game seems sort of D&D like, where they simply abstract the world map, and only use grids during combat and in dungeons.
Would you be using most of the board at all times, or are the players only going to be on a small portion of the board?
Big Game
Well, 4 by 6 is big, but it also depends on the game, and whether or not the board adds to or is needed by the game. This isn't a fan project, and is meant to be published at some point (after a kickstarter campaign, probably). If you could explain WHY you don't like a big board, that would be very helpful for me. Is it just cost, or space, personal preference, or something else?
I'm printing out the game on paper, and just taping it together for now. It's very difficult for me to get the detail and the number of locations on the board I want with anything smaller than 4x5 feet.
The phrase "depends on the game" can always used to explain away anything. Like I said before, it was my opinion, and in this space, I'm really just a stranger.
But, as per your request I'll tell you what I think based on my design experiences in both the video and analog game industries.
Your development is going to take A LOT of time. You mentioned that your game can't be smaller based on the fact that it's "difficult to get all the detail on the board with something smaller than 4x5". This, to me, indicates you're planning on a very deep game with complex rules. Bigger rules = exponentially longer development time. If you're willing to tackle that, then that's up to you. I will say that my card game that's releasing this month has been in development for almost a year...and my game has only 100 cards and the playspace of around 1x2ft. I can assure you, if you want to create a good game, you're looking at least 2 years...more if you have a day job
Product cost. If you don't have an IP like Cthulhu to help boost your title, then you'll be hard pressed to find people that are willing to pay money to buy a game that's larger than a standard dining table. In this day and age, with board games on the rise, hardcore gamers will have a difficult time justifying the money and house space for such a big game. Casual gamers won't even touch it, it's far too intimidating. Fantasy Flight has success with their X-Wing game, which uses a space of about 4x5 (accounting for character cards and other materials, but they have the Star Wars license and they've built their reputation over 20 years.
Production cost. 4x5 ANYTHING is going to cost money. Cthulhu Wars is $200. I know that a large chunk of that cost goes into its beautiful mini(?)atures and I know people personally that stay clear of Cthulhu Wars just on cost alone. Your game is much bigger. A game like that will hardly hit the table, if ever..
Testing. You said that there are many locations and details. These need testing. Not only are you going to have to test every nuance of your game, you'll be hard pressed to find someone willing to test your incredibly large game. You'll need gameplay testing, functionality testing, and blind testing, each of these requiring more and more people. You can't have the same 4 people test your game. If you want the widest profit margin, you'll need new players constantly.
Reputation. If you're a new game designer, you're going to have a hard time convincing people to buy into such a large game. I have trouble justifying $100 for a game from an established game designer, much less one that hasn't published anything before. In addition, you're planning Kickstarter? Now (if the KS is successful) you have to divide your time between manufacturers of your materials, testing of said materials, shipping, customs, financing, promoting, marketing, assembling AND polishing your game. You will not be able to dedicate the time you would like and you'll be fighting time between making a great game and making sure something is made period. If your fail KS, your reputation is on the line and then hardly anyone will trust you as a designer.
You want to do what you love, but you have to understand this is a business. You want to make money doing what you love, but you want people to enjoy your game as much as possible. If you're truly bent on making such a large game and you're not a published game designer, I'd make a small game, build your reputation as a game designer, THEN work on your big game built on the reputation you made when you created the small game. You'll learn valuable lessons making a small game that you'll be able to apply to your large game, I assure you.
It's like asking a person that's lived in houses all their life to build a house because they love living in houses and they appreciate good houses.
But with all of what I've said, it's just my opinion. I know nothing of the game other than its size. If you want to take the risk, by all means, I can't stop you. I have nothing to gain here, you have everything to gain.
After all of THAT, if you STILL want to do this, I would create smaller chunks of your game (like 1/4 of the map) as standalones and "expand" to your eventual 4x6 where they will all attach together.
I too have big maps
Keep in mind that players need to be able to reach pieces when they want to move them around.
If possible, make the board wider but smaller.
Seperate maps can be seperate boards.
Many wargames limit the size
Many wargames limit the size of the board to 4 feet one way, so players can actually move their units without knocking everything over. Though those tables usually overlap any normal table, so the board would need to be made of something rigid, not a playmat.
I've never owned any printed playmats, but having spent some time looking and reading about them at my wargaming forums, I'd say that if one chooses the right manufacturer, those things will not deteriorate at all. And if you'd settle for max 3 feet one way, it would fit most normal tables.
I'm kinda niche gamer (so don't listen to me about selling to the masses), but I'd really be interested in a huge game that'd be more like a big art piece left hanging on a wall when not playing it.
pipe dream?
Yes, there's a lot of things that can make this nothing more than a pipe dream. I understand there's a ton of things to do here, how much time and testing it will take, costs, etc. This is definitely not meant to be a short term process. I also know that failure is a possibility. I appreciate your reality check and the suggestion of doing a small game first. I just need to come up with an idea for that:)
I am friends with someone has done a very successful kickstarter, so he's warned me about the pitfalls of that. I'm not clear about your comment that I will not have the time do everything I want. I would never put a game that is not nearly complete on kickstarter, which is only a possibility, not a definite.
For me, $100 on a game isn't too big of a deal if I think I will like the game. It's interesting the different opinions I'm getting on this forum, which range from huge boards are awesome to they're awful. It's kind of like listening to all the different reviewers online, some who hate and some who love the same game:) Very interesting.
As a friendly side note, I don't agree that my phrase, 'depends on the game', can explain away anything. I do not believe that is true, and I think many games do need a larger board. Imagine playing War of the Ring or Cthulu Wars (which is so expensive solely because of the miniatures) on a small board.
Like I said, thank you for your opinion - I appreciate it and will need to do some thinking about your suggestions.
Big boards are awesome,
I agree! While the players will start out in one region, they will quickly move throughout the board, encountering NPC's, treasure, natural features, and much more.
Many wargames limit size
That's true, but this game will be more than just a war game. I actually thought about your art piece idea, which I really like, too. Again, it's the costs that get in the way.
rjb wrote:I agree! While the
I just know that the more I buy and play games, the less space I have in my house to store it all and the games I start to look for come in smaller boxes. Me? As much as a game is good, I'd never buy a 4x5 board based on practicality alone...heck, I have X-Wing with a small chunk of fighters and I'm still hesitant on getting a medium scale ship like the Millennium Falcon cause I wouldn't know where to put it.