Skip to Content
 

Public to Private Information

6 replies [Last post]
The Dead Gamers
The Dead Gamers's picture
Offline
Joined: 12/22/2013

Hey guys,

Working on a design and one of the major phases of the game revolves around drafting cards from a resource area and taking them into your hand to be played later (something along the lines of Through the Ages).

We've been playtesting it, and the biggest complaint from one individual is that he can be "blown out" by a card that someone drafted on a prior turn and that he just forgot about. His argument is that a serious gamer would just get into the habit of writing down all of the cards that his opponents drafted, rather than face losing to what boils down as a memory issue.

In some ways, I agree with him that losing because you forgot that someone had a card (especially if you're newish to the game and don't know what all the cards do, let alone who drafted what) isn't exactly fun, and it doesn't feel all that sleek in terms of design. The game is fairly cutthroat with a lot of cards that pack an offensive punch, and simply forgetting what's out there isn't exactly what I consider a lapse in strategy, or even something that I want people to care about that much.

I guess what I'm looking for from the community is - how do you deal with public to private information? Would it be better to just have drafted cards remain face-up in front of a player's play area? Should I come up with some way to make the purchase phase completely private, so no one feels like an idiot when they just forget that a certain card had been picked and not played yet?

Thanks for the feedback,
Phil

anonymousmagic
Offline
Joined: 11/06/2013
What works best for your

What works best for your game? Drafting in public or in private? Right now you draft in public but keep the result secret for no apparent reason if I understood you correctly.

Procylon
Offline
Joined: 06/27/2012
I don't think a "serious" MtG

I don't think a "serious" MtG player writes down every card he sees as he drafts, why would a player do it in your game?

It sounds like you either have a very nitpicky play tester, or a card that is powerful enough to change the tide of the game.

I mean, is it something like "I didn't know he had a Destroy all Creatures card"? Even then, it seems like a pretty poor complaint in a draft format.

X3M
X3M's picture
Offline
Joined: 10/28/2013
Don't change the game

The only reason that I could think of that he would be right is that if there are over 50 cards on the table anyway. But then he needs to train his memory more just like any one else, and get experience with the cards. His opponent seems to have remembered. :)

Always keep in mind with testers:

Quote:

When they win, it is a GG, the game rocks, it's a smart game, wants to play the game more and more, doesn't understand why you don't play that game.

When they loose, it is a BG, the game sucks, it's a stupid game, doesn't want to play the game any more, doesn't understand why you do like the game.

ReneWiersma
ReneWiersma's picture
Offline
Joined: 08/08/2008
If you leave all the drafted

If you leave all the drafted cards face up you might introduce analysis paralysis, which is probably even worse.

Your system sounds similar to Rochester Draft in MtG. It would be impossible to remember all the cards drafted by all the players, but experienced will be able to remember the "game changers".

Obscuring some previously-open information is a concern in some successful published designs. An example is Euphrates & Tigris where players hide their scoring blocks. Some people play with their scoring blocks revealed because of this.

Bottom line, I think, is that you simply have to accept that some players will not enjoy a game where they feel they have to memorise trivial stuff to be able to compete. For 90% it probably won't be a huge issue.

The Dead Gamers
The Dead Gamers's picture
Offline
Joined: 12/22/2013
Hey guys, Just some

Hey guys,

Just some clarifications:

There are only 10 cards available to draft during each round, and the game lasts for 6 rounds. I didn't mean to imply that all the cards were face up at the beginning of the game.

Also, while I've never seen MTG players write down drafted cards (not sure if that's legal actually) some of the more competitive players in tournaments would write down the contents of my hand if they had an ability that let them look at it, and cross cards off as I played them. Since this particular player is a Magic judge, I can see his concern.

Anonymousmagic, you are probably right that I have no real "reason" for obscuring the cards other than liking that players can have some information that others don't. My problem is that I don't think I've executed it all that well.

And yes, I share the concern that leaving everything that's been previously drafted face up might introduce some measure of AP into the game. In my playtests, players have had on average about 2-4 card in their hands on any given turn.

The Dead Gamers
The Dead Gamers's picture
Offline
Joined: 12/22/2013
Thus far I've only had one

Thus far I've only had one card come up as broken and I've cut it from the game. In a few months of testing no one has taken issue with card power level, so I've ruled that out. (And yeah, it was essentially worked out to be a board-sweeper).

Good point though.

Making games is hard :/

Syndicate content


forum | by Dr. Radut