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Equal opportunities mechanics?

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Mr Doctor
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Hi,
I just started my account here as I am currently trying to create my own board game. I've hit a snag so now I hope that maybe someone will come to the rescue. Here's what I have so far:

The goal is to eliminate the other players through warfare or economics. The game board is divided into several areas/countries that all have different resources of varying amount in them.

The resources are used to build armies/navies/submarines, research stations, refinaries et cetera... Players will be competing for control over the countries in order to secure more resources either through military might or ordinary trade.
As I'd like players to be free to travel across the board however they like, a problem has emerged. Since the middle east area is naturally rich in oil - and oil being the highest valued resource - it is a very good strategic area to control. Thus the player acting first would be off to a very advantageous start as all he/she has to do is directly go there and negotiate a trade deal alternatively invade.
How would I implement a fair and equal opportunity mechanic? I very much strive for streamlined rules that does not tangle up the players in bidding, ruining the flow of the game.

Oh yeah, another question:
Every round starts with the drawing of an event card that can have immediate and long-term effects. Fights will be resolved through dice. Are event cards and dice fights too random? My thought is that the event cards will add some interesting opportunities, or does it ruin the overall feel of strategy?

Hope y'all can give me some pointers, cheers!

OdysseyDyse
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oil

Make oil available in other places, Venezuela, Alaska, Texas, Siberia.

GrimFinger
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Are you wanting just a fair

Are you wanting just a fair and equal opportunity mechanic, or are you wanting players to not all rush pell mell into the Middle East? Knowing nothing about your game, I'm not sure what all might fit your mold or break it.

The Middle East being rich in oil is fine, and makes for fine incentive for all players to want to go after it and control it. But, are there any down sides envisioned by you for players controlling various areas/countries?

Is it a modern setting? Post- modern? Futuristic? What age/era?

What if controlling the Middle East is a simultaneous invitation to trouble? That would make them think twice, perhaps, before rushing in to try and grab it. Perhaps it revolts a lot, being a constant drain on military resources to keep it occupied. Perhaps occupying the Middle East generates terrorism (die rolls by the other players, their choice of targets elsewhere on the map). Maybe the place needs infrastructure improved, before the oil can begin to be beneficial. I don't know how complicated or simple the overall game is, so I am merely speculating on possibilities. Is religion incorporated into the game, somehow? If so, then maybe Jihad is a possibility.

Maybe the population has to be fed, and while rich in oil, it is poor in food production.

Is oil production all that matters? Or does it have to be transported? If so, then opportunity to capture, sink, or sabotage oil tankers or pipelines is a possibility.

Maybe start the Middle East under the control of all of the players, only give each one of them a piece of it, and then let the various players do what comes natural to them - which is go to war with one another. Perhaps the Middle East is the Risk equivalent of a continent in your game, and each player starts the game with multiple provinces that collectively comprise the entire Middle East. That way, it may take several turns for any one player to gain a decisive upper hand.

Mr Doctor
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A balancing act?

OdysseyDyse wrote:
Make oil available in other places, Venezuela, Alaska, Texas, Siberia.

Yes, this is the general idea. Oil is to be found in several countries but no country will be as rich in oil as the mid east.

GrimFinger wrote:
Are you wanting just a fair and equal opportunity mechanic, or are you wanting players to not all rush pell mell into the Middle East? Knowing nothing about your game, I'm not sure what all might fit your mold or break it.

Very good points you bring up, nice ideas indeed. However, my intention is to make a strategy game in more of a broader aspect. Like Risk but with some added features such as economy. I haven't played it, but from what I can read about it, http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/27/supremacy seem to be the closest thing I'm aiming for, only more streamlined, faster and more user-friendly. Tall order, I know, but why aim low.

The strange thing is that reading my own post I got a sense on how to solve it, it worked kinda like turning your drawing upside down to better spot your weak points...
Anyway, I figured that although the mid east is very rich in oil, balancing the game right it won't be so rich it'll tip the scales completely. Controlling the mid east will definitely be advantageous but not integral. Hopefully it will be a natural hot spot for PvP conflict.

silasmolino
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Your strength is your weakness

I say keep the Middle East as the dominant oil producer but add disincentives/penalites or tradeoffs for controlling it. Naturally, controlling the Middle East makes that player the number one target for all players.

You may also make it militarily weak which means it may not produce military output or may have a defense penalties.

I have found that in creating great mechanics you must create a cost/benefit analsis in which the acquisition of goods/incentives/strength must be offset by equal penalties/weaknesses. This will force the player to consider his options before persuing action.

With regards to randomness in games: I enjoy random within limits. It is possible to modify roles of the dice and card play with situations and rules on the board. I highly recommend a play through of Twilight Stuggle for a proper example of balance and random done right.

JustActCasual
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Defensive Forces

If the problem you have is not that the Middle East is unbalanced, but rather that the Middle East is unbalanced if someone snaps it up at the start, then you could put some penalty on initial occupation: since you already have dice combat, you could simply put neutral defensive forces in as part of setup. I like this solution because it uses mechanics you already have and works it way easily into event cards or other balancing aspects. You see neutral forces used this way in both Small World and 2-player Risk.

ckleach
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Imbalance lends itself to strategic approach

If you feel the game play is "unfair" to those in certain situations then it's not on you (Game God) to make it right. If the mechanics dictate that if path A or option A is chosen, and option B trumps A, then so be it. The rock-paper-scissors can't be applied to every game. Make the best thing in the game cost the player more in the end. Player who starts first has the advantage of starting first... this applies to almost every game ever created that is turn-based. You can't change that, but what you can do is make prerequisites or gate players so that whether your first or third into the middle east, you have to have x-amount or do-something or travel to get their first. First to the boat doesn't necessarily mean first to land. I know you'll figure it out.

If it's a matter of trying to hinder people from racing into the middle east because of the dominance achieved form oil, then every other region should also have a 1up in a different aspect. There are some great suggestions from posters before me. I suggest you read them, step back, and see if you can approach this at a different angle.

Mr Doctor
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NPCs & AIs

silasmolino wrote:
I have found that in creating great mechanics you must create a cost/benefit analsis in which the acquisition of goods/incentives/strength must be offset by equal penalties/weaknesses. This will force the player to consider his options before persuing action.
I guess there is no cost/benefit in controlling a country, only benefit. The cost is NOT to control a country since you won't generate as much income and therefore will not be able to expand your military might, or build submarines, or research nuclear tech, or build refinaries, or launch defensive space platforms...

silasmolino wrote:
It is possible to modify rolls of the dice and card play with situations and rules on the board.
JustActCasual wrote:
...you could simply put neutral defensive forces in as part of setup.
My intention is to include some sort of crude NPC (AI?) driven by event cards like "If is not occupied by any player it will try to annex its neighbor" as well as behaviours such as "Passive" and "Aggressive".

ckleach wrote:
If it's a matter of trying to hinder people from racing into the middle east because of the dominance achieved form oil, then every other region should also have a 1up in a different aspect.
Yes, there is supposed to be other countries that produce grain/food (needed for armies) or metal/steel (needed to build just about anything) and perhaps even drugs (pure monetary income) in varying amount.

Mr Doctor
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Bits & pieces

Another problematic area is game board pieces because they...
...clutter the game board
...make the game slow
...put a strain to my wallet
...are hard to find

I've decided on these two mechanics :
- First, players must pay upkeep (or salaries, if you will) of their armies/navies. This way a player can't build a massive and over-powerd military force and at the same time it will force players into conflict over resources.

- Second, in order to avoid having piles of chits/markers representing your collected resources, all players has a mat where they keep track of their overall income/cost (ie. the resource income minus upkeep/reserach/build). There is also a storage track that each turn adds the amount of income/cost. Buying stuff is therefore just a matter of moving the surplus backwards (and if it is a military unit the income/cost track would decrease). This, I think, should speed up the "banking phase".

Any thoughts / ideas / suggestions?

ckleach
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I hear you bro. The issue is not necessarily the mechanics

Mr Doctor wrote:
Yes, there is supposed to be other countries that produce grain/food (needed for armies) or metal/steel (needed to build just about anything) and perhaps even drugs (pure monetary income) in varying amount.

If this is the case then make 1 or 2 other countries more enticing... OR... the least enticing county provides a wealth of growth where the more inviting ones have caps. It just sounds like you have an issue because oil in the middle east is over-powered. Since it's your world put caps or cost restraints on it. The same rule doesn't have to apply to each commodity/resource in the same way. You have the power to unravel it, so try not to get caught up in the mechanics.

I've realized that after a couple attempts at this vocabulary game I've created. You get caught up in the depth and cool-factor that you completely surpass the base function and natural flow. If you have to back pedal and break some things to make it fit, so be it. Hacks aren't always the best but they do lead to alternative solutions.

Press on, and like I said, reading some of the posts above mine, these people have some good suggestions. I like that there are so many resources and commodities available in this game. Truly makes it deep.

ckleach
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I like where you're going...

Mr Doctor wrote:
First, players must pay upkeep (or salaries, if you will) of their armies/navies. This way a player can't build a massive and over-powerd military force and at the same time it will force players into conflict over resources.

Great idea. The more OP you get, the more you spend, hence creating a hidden cap to the system.

Mr Doctor wrote:

Second, in order to avoid having piles of chits/markers representing your collected resources, all players has a mat where they keep track of their overall income/cost (ie. the resource income minus upkeep/reserach/build).

I always favoured a mat/deck for each player in games like this. Little 70x70mm cards to represent bulk quantities and coloured chits to mark on the map who is where. Cuts down on clutter for sure.

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