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what were the odds?

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Sun, 01/12/2014 - 01:49
donut2099
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Working on my board game, party game, tweaking mechanics. I have a feature that the game relies on which modifys rules, without which its pretty much Candy Land. The trigger for these rule changes is not fixed in stone, I tried a method tonight that I thought would work well, with one drawback: its possible, if unlikely, to play the game in its entirety without triggering it, basically a combination of die roll and board position, straight chance. I did a quick solo run and it worked fine, but naturaly the first test game with a couple of my kids, my daughter was able to win the game before any rule changes took place :P

We played 3 more games that went pretty well. My question is, would you consider using a mechanic that might malfunction every once in a while with maybe a rule to cover this scenario. or would you ditch it and use a more reliable method of getting the job done?

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Sun, 01/12/2014 - 07:59
#1
X3M
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If it can be ditched and the

If it can be ditched and the game improves. Then I change the rules. Or I add one.
I had several occasions where this had to be done.
I like to be a perfectionist. I consider balance one of the most important things in my game.

Of course this depends on the type of game that you are working on. And you have not given enough information about it. (A bit vague too) How does the game work? When could these changes occur?

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Sun, 01/12/2014 - 15:16
#2
pelle
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The classic solution is to

The classic solution is to increase the chance of something happening, eventually increasing to 100% if it is not triggered before that. Details of course depends a lot on how the system works. A common one is "roll a die and if less than current turn number then ...".

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Sun, 01/12/2014 - 20:40
#3
donut2099
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At the start of the game, the

At the start of the game, the object is simply to roll the dice and move your pawn from start to finish. The game becomes more complex, hopefully in a fun way, as various rules are added to create confusion and players who fail to correctly follow the rules as they apply to their situation are forced to return to the start. The method I used to decide when the rules are modified was simple: playees role 2 dice, one normal d6 and one six sided die with a different color on eac side. If the color matches the color of the space the player lands on, then you add a nrw rule. I think it needs to be simple to keep the game fun and running smoothly . I could easily come up with another method or add the rule that you go back to start if you win too soon.

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Sun, 01/12/2014 - 23:24
#4
RBanuelos
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Some ideas

If the game is based around changing mechanics then it's a must to change the game. Would it be fun to win without a rule change?

A simple ideal is to keep the colors on the board but instead of the extra die roll have a deck of rule cards for each color. Red might change movement rules, Blue might change dice rolls, Green might change win conditions and Yellow might change everything.

You land on a color and you draw a new rule card from the corresponding deck and that replaces the old rule. If a deck runs out just reshuffle the cards no longer used.

Personally I would ditch the current mechanic for a more streamlined effect.

Sounds like a good idea for a game though!

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Mon, 01/13/2014 - 01:39
#5
questccg
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I think you NEED the rule changes

donut2099 wrote:
I have a feature that the game relies on which modifys rules, without which its pretty much Candy Land.

If your game is like "Candy Land" without the *rule changes* well then I would re-think how your game should play out. Some options, each player draws one (1) additional RULE from a deck of RULE CARDS. Those cards explain how the game changes and what the new rules are...

I think this would be cool... Because the game changes in how it is played. I think this is a GREAT *Party* game concept... But as I mentioned in my post in your other thread, *party* games are usually about the *FUN* of the game, not necessarily about winning or losing.

So if the rules changes are HILARIOUS, like each player needs to "balance something on their head - while they play their turn..." (yeah it's a little bit DUMB - but it's also FUN and would encourage people to laugh while playing the game...) I'm sure with this example, you can go on your merry way and think up of stupid things players could do and would make KIDS LOVE the game!!! Haha :P

Note: Consider that EACH PLAYER has 1 RULE card... And that rule says HOW THEY MUST PLAY the game. When it comes time to *switch* to another rule card, that player chooses a NEW card and now that card tells them how they must play the game. It think the game would have *more* variety if each player has his/her own rule card.

Take for example: "You must play the game with a BRITISH accent!". Again *funny* concepts that ADD to the diversion of the game.

If you design these types of dynamic, funny/entertaining rules, it won't be about who wins - it would be about the comedic value of the game! :D

Note 2: Since you have kids, I'm sure they can help you think up of *dumb*/*funny* rules you would have to obey while playing the game... Another FUN part: penalizing a player who does NOT OBEY his/her rules! That's probably a whole other topic worthy of debate!!!

Note 3: If you think my "balance something on your head" is DUMB - IMAGINE playing the game with people who are DRINKING!!! Hahaha... That would be such a *STIFF* rule to follow! Nothing says the game can't be an adult game either... It's your game, choose the direction you feel is *best* for what you want to achieve!

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Mon, 01/13/2014 - 01:41
#6
donut2099
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I think you are getting my

I think you are getting my vibe. I'm calling the WIP 'Laws of the Medes and Persians' based on the story of Daniel if you're familiar with it then it makes sense, but that could change.

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Mon, 01/13/2014 - 16:44
#7
McTeddy
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I actually think that's a

I actually think that's a clever idea, starting with something like candy land and adding rules as you go.

But I would be concerned if the game played out without a rule change this early. My own method of testing whether it's a problem is to multiply up...

You played five times... one bad run
If 1000 people played a single game... 200 had an awful first experience and wont play again.
If the 1000 people played five games... 1000 games ended poorly.

Obviously, in your case you don't need the technique, but I find it helps when I'm getting a bad result every 10 or 20 games. Seeing the large numbers helps me see how big a problem really is.

- - -

My first thought thought would be to make the rule changes a guarantee because they sound like the core of your game. Without them... you have candy land and that won't satisfy many players. You NEED them to occur for your game to show off its intended experience.

Why not just activate a new rule each turn after all players have moved? Each new turn the player's will have a new set of challenges that they need to work inside. This ensures that the game will be constantly changing and that your games core aspects WILL be activated.

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Mon, 01/13/2014 - 17:28
#8
donut2099
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new rule each turn

That will probably be what I try next. I'm concerned that might cause the game to get to complex too quickly but it is a simple solution and simpler is better. From the beginning I kinda figured there needed to be two winning criteria, being the first to reach the end or being the last to give up lol

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Fri, 03/21/2014 - 11:52
#9
Zag24
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Simplify rule change triggers

You might just have rule changes triggered by people reaching certain spots on the board, perhaps in addition to the way you are already doing it. So, when each person hits the half-way point, for instance, a rule change occurs.

Do you have different rules that apply only to sections of the board? You could have a lot more changes overall if they only apply to one section. And you might have them be harder to follow for people who are a section ahead of others, making for a "catch up" opportunity.

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Fri, 03/21/2014 - 12:25
#10
Shoe
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You could use cards instead

You could use cards instead of dice like candyland, and have some cards just be rule changes that let you draw another card, and the others be the colored move cards

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Sat, 03/22/2014 - 22:58
#11
Toa Lewa
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Quote:You might just have

Quote:
You might just have rule changes triggered by people reaching certain spots on the board, perhaps in addition to the way you are already doing it. So, when each person hits the half-way point, for instance, a rule change occurs

I second Zag's idea of adding a rule change everytime a player passes specific points on the board. That would ensure that there will be rule changes periodically. You could also make it where the rule change is not a one-time thing. A rule change could happen every time any player crosses one of these spots. To add some randomness to the rule change intervals, players movement could be determined by a die roll or cards in hand. In addition, some randomness would be added by players going back to start and recrossing rule change spaces.

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