Chemical compound Scrabble

I'm not someone too into chemical compounds, but it sounds like the game would be a lot of fun and would be educational for some basic understandings of chemical formulas.

In a similar vein, I had been working on a "Scrabble"-type game which I shelved... Just because I wasn't feeling it anymore. Perhaps the game just wasn't as interesting as I had hoped for it to be.

Basically there are five (5) Schools of Magic each one which a special ability unique to that school. And each level, your goal is to SPELL the correct words matching a card which is a "dungeon" level.

I know it sounds real cool... But it doesn't play as well as it sounds. Like I say "Ideas sound real cool, until you playtest it and it's total crap..." It's not really all that bad. But I shelved it nevertheless.

It's sort of a cross between "Crosswords" and "Scrabble". Here's a sample Lore card:

Never went very far with the concept... Maybe some ideas are still worth it in some way or another. The game concept is cool... But the actual implementation (prototype) needs a LOT of work.

Just sharing. Cheers!

Note #1: It was a "dungeon-delving" type game... Now that you posted something about Chemical Components, I wonder if I can't make the game about Summoning "Demons" (or something along that vein)... IDK.

Maybe some words could be in LATIN ... for some old-school type vibe! LOL

Note #2: Some thing I liked were the NAME and Spelling as being one aspect of the game... But conjuring and summoning may be more appropriate considering your would be using SPELLS to do it... Really like how those two concepts intertwine... But the implementation needs much re-working.

I like Quest's general idea of using cards, particularly as a way to provide some initial direction for the players. Think of the cards as "recipes" or "road maps" that award the player for creating specific patterns. Instead of words, you're creating chemical compound notation.

The compounds could be for commonly-found or well-known chemical compounds: water, alcohol, soap, etc. This way, the game could be educational as well as entertaining. And most importantly it doesn't require someone to have a lexicon of chemistry knowledge in their head. They can simply guide themselves based on the cards.

Your scoring system can be simple or complex. A single compound per card, scoring one point. Or a compound scoring one point per element or notation in the compound. Maybe there are several formula on a single card, organized together as groups or families of related compounds.

You DON'T necessarily NEED a board. Which is great because this is a BIG expense when it comes to traditional Scrabble boards.

Look I'm not saying it's super expensive... I'm just saying that you can do without the board and only use the cards (with the Fragments) and have an even BETTER experience than Scrabble.

The cards (and Fragments) help in many ways. Like Stephen said, you don't need to have memorized a lexicon of chemical formulas, they are on the cards themselves, with a "skipping" mechanic helps the game go along without stalling.

Anyhow if any of this helps ... GREAT! If not, well you don't need to follow my advice, I'm just offering your some ideas that I had and have since shelved... I still think the design is COOL. But not what I was going for in terms of design (there are still things to iron out...)

Cheers!

I don't think it was off-topic at all... I've looked at the game and although I'm not too impressed with it's presentation... The game looks like a real nice RPG game that uses words to combat your opponents.

Maybe I can get some ideas off of that game. I'm forever TRYING to design some kind of COOL "Duel Card Game" ... and seeing other "word"-related type of games definitely breathes "new life"... In that there could be some ideas in there that I might be able to think more about.

Thanks Jason... Cool beans!