When it comes to game design we have 4 primary values:
PACING – Pacing is everything (well, almost everything). If a game can get its players constantly involved in the action, if it can reward them regularly, if it can keep them glued to the board by sheer frequency of activity, then its halfway to greatness. We think the biggest sin in gaming is when a turn can last so long that the other playe
rs mentally check out. You can have the prettiest game, with the coolest looking miniatures and the most innovative battle mechanic, but if your players are bored while waiting for their turns, then you’ve failed. VARIETY – What keeps players coming back to the same board game time and time again? The idea that they’re going find something new – a new way to win. A new combination of powers. A new way to destroy their opponents. We’ve all played those games that, as its being set up, we already know exactly how its going to play out – not necessarily which player is going to win – but which strategies are going to be employed, which early moves are going to be made, and where the battles are going to be fought. Starting a game should feel like entering a world full of options and opportunity, not driving down a familiar one way lane. BALANCE – This is maybe one of the trickiest things of all to achieve. Its not about making sure that everything is the same – whether its powers, start locations or upgrades – its about making sure that all players, from the onset, have an equally valid chance of ultimately winning, even if the conditions they initially find themselves in are wildly different. Achieving victory should be just that – an achievement – not a consequence of dumb luck or the result of a dominant ability which no other player can counter. CONSEQUENCE – When the best games finish players talk about what just happened. They’re able to pinpoint the exact moment, the precise turn, the critical battle, the one misstep that won or lost them everything. There’s a sense of consequence associated with their plays. Its what makes executing a strategy a rewarding experience. Its what allows a move to be ‘unorthodox’ but brilliant. Games should have opportunities for players to make big gambles – which pay off in spades or leave them facing utter ruin.
