Roll-and-Move & Track Advancement Games

Well, I think I'll explain my referenced game as well. Crusoe's Planet is a regular around my group, but a quick look at bgg.com shows that, well, no one's heard of it.

The game is an economic simulator, where players try to work with various governmental/economic systems (chosen ahead of time) to survive on the planet. Most of that doesn't really relate to the Roll and Move mechanic... However, there are eight paths a player may choose from on the laminated board, each markedly different. Once a player chooses a path, they stay with it until the game is over (or they're eliminated). Players roll a die and move a certain number of spaces along their path. When they reach the end, they start back at the beginning of the path. Each space along the path has a certain amount of resources or commodities associated with it, which a player has access to when he lands on it.

In other words, the Roll and Move system of Crusoe's planet is, on the face of things, only a way to randomize the influx of resources in fundamentally different ways (types of resources, amounts of resources) from player to player. Also, as I mentioned, it creates a center piece for the game and an easy visualization for the player so he doesn't have to look at 8 differrent d10 charts to see what kind of resources he and other players might get. So, the Roll and Move mechanic, while necessary to the game, is not on the primary mechanic players work with.

I think Roll and Move works best in a situation similar to Crusoe's Planet (ignoring obvious geographically linear themes like racing and that Super Mario game from 15 years ago). Roll and Move is good for inserting randomness into a design while at the same time giving players something to visualize about the mechanics they're manipulating. It need not always be geography (economic cycles, seasons, and population growth all spring to mind), but playing with a pawn on a board with thematic pictures, I think, does a better job than a shuffled deck of cards at giving a game "a feel."

I want to run through one more (short) example of what I think is a good Roll and Move system, then I'll be quiet. The game could be about trying to survive in wild, unsettled land with little tech (a la pilgrims). In it, players could represent families trying to make it while, if they can, improving the village for everyone. So, players build on a common board, and perhaps the player interaction is sorta like Puerto Rico. But to really put that "planning ahead for the winter" and "boy, summer is great" feel, the influx of resources needs to be seasonal. Enter Roll and Move. With a circular track, players move a single pawn so many spaces forward (a d6 roll) at the beginning of each player turn. The space a player lands on gives information on the resources available to him for his turn.

This is good, because:
it allows a slightly randomized resource system while sticking to set seasons
because of the randomness, winter can come early, or summer late, etc
could give a set ending to the game (four treks around the circle)
and it changes the game with more or less players in a thematic way, as in, the more people playing (families in the village), the faster the seasons will go by, meaning, players will have less resources to work with, and winter could be devastating but shouldn't kill everyone until resources become sustainable.

So... yeah, I like Roll and Move if it's done well (and I think it can be done well).

Hey folks,
Just chiming in with my 2 cents.

Firstly, Thanks to Richard for being so bold as to drag us kicking and screaming into this topic :-) It's good to participate in these thought exercises. I also appreciated the great intro that Richard put together for us, bravo. And, nice use of the poll, it realy made me think. At first I was just going to answer "not exactly" but then as I read the first few posts I began to appreciate the challenge of building something which had die rolling and track advancement as core mechanisms and yet presented interesting decisions... thus I had to change my mind and I finally submitted an answer of "yes."

Along with that, my advanced apologies to Jeff, I see more lightly themed games in your future :-) Though, I'll probably subject mrs. nosissies to these ideas first.

I have to agree with a number of you on many good points.

I'd have to agree with Jeff, a game which is strictly die rolling and track advancement would be difficult to apply a depth of theme... at least it seems that way on the surface... Though, I'd love to be proven wrong on this one. At the same time, there are plenty of fine games which are themeless, so this isn't anything to be ashamed of, just something to consider in your marketing.

warning... slight tangent ahead ... At the same time, I find that any game which I play regularly the theme tends to "wear off" as I become more aware of the underlying mechanisms of the game. Even Jeff's disciples at some point just breaks down to resource management ;-) ... anyhow, perhaps "Theming" would make a good topic for a future TiGD allowing us to explore both sides of the theming coin.

ok, back on topic...

I think I also have to agree with others' statements to the effect that this is a mechanism like any other, and put in the right context it could be the makings of many good games. I'm convinced that with some creative thinking there are some interesting decisions which can be provided for players in a game which is comprised of R&M. Much of this would come from the interactions which are laid out in the rest of the game. The interaction of the player's piece(s), the topology of the board which facilitates that interaction etc.

One other thought... it seems to me that there is some value simply in the familiary and the tactile nature of R&M. Perhaps this is more the case for the broader american game market

peace,
Tom

The game Evo has an interesting variation of the 'roll and move' . Basically you roll the die to determine how the climate will change (whether it gets colder, warmer or stays the same). The game was designed to follow a specific cycle (cold to hot, then hot to cold, cold to hot etc) but it is possible to stay the same or even do the opposite of the climate tendency (I.E. if the climate is warm and getting warmer, it is possible for it stay warm or even get cold, although less likely). Neat mechanic.

-Darke

Those were good ideas, and this one made me think of a BMX race or something... where there are hills and if you're on the top of a hill (or going downhill) you roll more dice than if you're on your way UP the hill.

That might give some neat back-and-forth in a race sort of game, allowing players to catch up a little at times, or pull away at other times.

To make that interesting perhaps there should be some sort of scoring round where points are awarded with respect to current position on the course.

Also, to seperate it from everyone having the same chances to advance (and therefor whoever rolls higher wins) perhaps there could be some way to use your momentum coming off the hill and continue to roll extra dice at the cost of maneuverability or something.

- Seth