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Size of gaming surface?

5 replies [Last post]
Sat, 07/09/2005 - 13:32
Anonymous

I have recently started with the game design of a card game. In this card game each player will play a religion/sect, and the winning condition is to be the first to complete a network of Priests and Believers (which will take upon the world with holy force, ofcourse).

The problem is the ammount of space the game will need. The network will contain a pyramid of 6 Priest cards (1 on top, 2 in the middle, 3 on the bottom), and each of these Priests will have at least 2 Believer cards, which are bound to the priests. I have measured the size of this network (using other cards (Magic the Gathering), sized the same as the ones I will use) and the size will be about 33cmx33cm (that is about 12x12 inches). This is the gaming surface each player will need.

My question is: Is the gaming surface to big to fit a gaming table?

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Sat, 07/09/2005 - 15:59
#1
Anonymous
:)

You should probably play a lot more magic :P. 12inx12in is really rather small lol. That's one a small 1 ft square. I've seen Magic games played over 4 or 5 feet of table. Generally speaking most places that have tables for gaming just use regular tables anyway, which are usually like 2-3 feet x 8-10 feet, depending. Those are rough figures though, I haven't taken a ruler to the tables. But no, your size isn't really that big to worry about.

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Sat, 07/09/2005 - 19:20
#2
Anonymous
Size of gaming surface?

That amount of room is a pittance! Unless you're talking about 10+ players... Even a standard card table is 3' by 3', or 9 square feet -- that means 4 players sitting at a card table with their own 1 square foot of space is using less than 1/2 the overall table space -- allowing plenty of room for draw decks, dice, or other things.

Louis XIV (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/13642) by Rio Grande/Alea uses lots of cards and other components to form the board and individual playing areas. The card-built grid comprising the playing surface is a bit more than 1 foot square. Each player needs about that much, or slightly more, for his chips, tiles, cards and other components. Then there are the mutual draw/discard piles, etc. That game, relatively "compact" by some euro standards, uses up far, far more space than what you seem to be proposing, even though it lacks a traditional board.

It certainly can be done, and your space requirements don't seem too unwieldy, by any stretch! You've got plenty of room.

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Sat, 07/09/2005 - 20:10
#3
Anonymous
Size of gaming surface?

Exactly. My friend is a Magic nut, so he plays a lot, and every so often I'll play with him with one of his decks. Average games can take up about a 1x2 foot rectangle, and less than average sometimes 2x2 depending on what sort of deck is being played. Really a 1x1 foot square is not a lot of space at all. Conventional board games like Monopoly take up more space than that, and look at Dominoes :P, that can take up a whole room if you have a crazy enough person to do that with :P. Really, I think you'll only have to worry about space problems if you start moving out of the 2x2 range, because then it'd make it difficult for multiple players to play.

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Sat, 07/09/2005 - 20:35
#4
Anonymous
Size of gaming surface?

Thank you! I was a bit worried, but I think it'll be allright then. At first I was thinking about having a different layout of the game area (bigger), but I think this will be enough.
I have to say that the game is coming along nicely so far. At this rate I'll have a basic foundation of the rules in a couple of days, and I'll be ready to start the design of individual cards.

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Sat, 07/09/2005 - 20:51
#5
Anonymous
Size of gaming surface?

Sounds like an interesting idea -- good luck with your development.

But don't be afraid to stretch the required playing surfaces a bit more if you find that your design and game decisions would benefit from more room!

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