Skip to Content
 

Hello BGDF

8 replies [Last post]
Ryan Winters
Offline
Joined: 01/28/2019

Hello All,

I've been playing board games since I was quite young. Things like the original Dungeon! and Dark Tower (interested in the reboot). There was a bit of a gap before the large resurgence that started with Catan coming to America. In the mean time I dabbled in Magic: The Gathering and D&D. I was sucked back into the hobby with so many great games coming out and I try to spread the word when I can. I was always one of those people who would take exception to certain design choices or broken strategies. I've done more than a few house rules that I was rather happy with. A couple years ago I found myself unemployed with a lot of free time, so as a hobby I thought I'd try my hand at designing a game. I got fairly far in the process and had a number of good playtests, but then I hit some hurdles. Among other things, I got a new job (thankfully) so I had less time to work on it.

Recently, I've thought I should pick up where I left off and try to finish what I started. So I'm currently doing what I would call the second major overhaul of the design and I plan to start playtesting again soon. I started getting involved on the design forums of BGG and thought I'd check this place out as well. So here I am.

If you're curious about my project, I'd call it an "action placement" game. It's a minor variation of worker placement in that you have three numbered tokens you take turns placing in a round. In my head, this is one worker (the player) doing three different things in order. I'm sure some other games work in similar fashion. Thematically, players are competing merchants trying to sell equipment to adventurers that show up in town. The main meat of the game is buying materials and having weapons and armors built to serve the specific needs of the adventurers. This is very similar thematically to Bargain Quest which came out in the middle of me developing this game the first time around.

In my version, the weapons and armors have characteristics represented by a location in a 3x3 grid. Each hero has similar grids that represent their compatibility/training. The heroes are looking to buy items that best suit them by comparing these grids. Once a hero has bought both a weapon and armor, they seek glory in the dungeon. They will draw a random monster card and compare their power (based on the equipment and a single die roll) versus the monster. If they are successful, this will generate a monster material that can be used to craft special order (epic) items. Each round there are different weapons and armors available to be made as well as new deals on materials. New heroes will also show up each round (as long as there is room). So it's a very tactical game, trying to make the most out of each round and the order of actions needs to be considered. It's important to craft the items the heroes are looking for as they come up, but it's also important to get a good deal on materials to maximize profits. At the end, the player who has made the most money wins.

There are some other minor details, but that's the broad strokes. I think I am just about ready for another round of playtesting.

wob
Offline
Joined: 06/09/2017
hello. your games sounds

hello.
your games sounds interesting, and i could see it being a nice solo game as well.

Ryan Winters
Offline
Joined: 01/28/2019
Right now it's a 2-4 player

Right now it's a 2-4 player game. I'd have to give some consideration in how to make a solo variant. Is there a decent demand for that?

wob
Offline
Joined: 06/09/2017
if its done well. if it

if its done well. if it doesnt work you shouldnt just tack it on but i like a good solo game.
from th description you could probably try to equip as many people as you can in x turns. maybe make a few extra rules to take away your options.

Ryan Winters
Offline
Joined: 01/28/2019
Hmm, yeah you could make it

Hmm, yeah you could make it more about how many monsters are killed or something like that. It's an idea I can keep in the background until I'm done with the main game.

cybulskina
Offline
Joined: 10/08/2015
Welcome to BGDF

Welcome!
Glad to have you in the Forum!
Excited to check out your design, looks cool!
Games I know of to check out would be Caylus and ..maybe Agricola?

Would like to see/filter ideas if you want.

I'd also check out BGG mechanics section and define your mechanic a bit more, might be helpful! maybe you have a new mechanic! that'd be sweet. Most likely it would be a combination like you said, but still, cool stuff!

I Will Never Gr...
I Will Never Grow Up Gaming's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/23/2015
Welcome!

Ryan Winters wrote:
Right now it's a 2-4 player game. I'd have to give some consideration in how to make a solo variant. Is there a decent demand for that?

There is HUGE demand for solo games right now.

HOWEVER, that's with the caveat that it needs to play well solo. A lot of the games with a 'solo mode' are just beat your own score. That is ok for some games, but generally people prefer a game with an AI that works near as well as real opponent.

Make a great game first. If it's not solo-able, that's not a bad thing.

Ryan Winters
Offline
Joined: 01/28/2019
cybulskina

cybulskina wrote:
Welcome!
Glad to have you in the Forum!
Excited to check out your design, looks cool!
Games I know of to check out would be Caylus and ..maybe Agricola?

Would like to see/filter ideas if you want.

I'd also check out BGG mechanics section and define your mechanic a bit more, might be helpful! maybe you have a new mechanic! that'd be sweet. Most likely it would be a combination like you said, but still, cool stuff!

Yeah, there are a lot of variations on worker placement. I'm sure there are games that are very similar to mine functionally if not the same. From a design point of view, you only have one worker, but that worker can do three things in a round. It's very similar to having three workers, it may be semantics at this point. In my game, each action happens as soon as you take it. You don't fire everything off at the end of the round as in some games. This inherently makes the order important. You can't make a sword if you don't have enough metal, etc. One of driving principles is that each location has a best or optimal choice and you have to decide what's most important to you. When getting resources, the first person will get the best price, for example. When it comes to building gear, not all of the gear available will be immediately usable by the heroes in town. Perhaps there are no two handed hammer users around. So the items that will definitely be bought the round you make them are the "best" choices there.

I Will Never Grow Up Gaming wrote:

There is HUGE demand for solo games right now.

HOWEVER, that's with the caveat that it needs to play well solo. A lot of the games with a 'solo mode' are just beat your own score. That is ok for some games, but generally people prefer a game with an AI that works near as well as real opponent.

Make a great game first. If it's not solo-able, that's not a bad thing.

Yeah, I think a co-op game is easier to make a true solo variant for as the goal can remain largely the same. In a competitive game, you either need to shoot for a score, have some sort of "AI" opponent, or shift the goal of the game. I'm not planning to spend a lot of time on this until I've finished the 2-4P versions, but just milling it over briefly, I think shifting the goal might work. It might even develop into a variant game mode for more players, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Thinking about the pieces I have to work with (heroes, equipment, and monsters), I think some sort of monster hunt could be fun. I'm envisioning pre-selecting an assortment of monster cards, likely with a spread of difficulty, and having to defeat them within certain limits. Gold, number of rounds, etc. That might work, but I'd have to give it more serious consideration to know for sure.

questccg
questccg's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/16/2011
Welcome to BGDF...

Sorry I'm on the road writing this from my mobile... Feel free to discuss your game and jump right in with the other designers. Cheers!

Syndicate content


forum | by Dr. Radut