Demon's TD: Day Two

The written rules for Demon's Tower Defense are coming together but are doing so very slowly. I knew that writing the rules would be slow but I expected most of that to present itself during the scrubbing process as I added examples and flourishes to keep things interesting. The process of recording the basic principles of the game, so that an unfamiliar player could read and be competent playing my game, is itself very time consuming. Already I see holes in write-up and can quickly identify places where I will need examples and expanded information. In general I am learning quite a fair amount and I am pleased with my progress for the most part.

The game has been changed and is no longer one where players roll dice to select roles. The availability of important actions could not be guaranteed and often the players just felt as though the game slowed down during the process of creating the dice pools. I have instead opted to push the game towards a card driven engine which cycles through a predefined set of cards. This basic purchase system has the added perk of allowing players access to a light draft mechanism where they can overpay for cards that pop up further along the display. Mostly however the card driven system allows me to capture much more story and introduce more player interaction as well as overall flexibility. It is hard to model a wide variety of possible options using six-sided dice without resorting to tables, yet today I was able to create a wide number of simple and flavorful card options that should help the players formulate a narrative as they play.

A New Plan

"Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most." -Buddha

If there was anyone who had checked this site in the past year they would probably have realized that nothing has changed. Not a single post. My activity does not reflect a lack of ideas but a shortcoming in my dedication. I will be attempting to change this and today marks my first day of focused work. In fact, I have adjusted my work schedule to allow me every Friday off, which I will use to work on my designs. In addition, I will be posting here every Friday at the minimum and hope that a few folks come along for the ride.

I have a long list of potential games and game ideas in various stages of development and I will be creating a few design files to house the information. More importantly, I want to establish some rules and make them available for folks to look over. Further down the line I will be posting print/play versions or construction guidelines for these games as was my original thought for the blog. My ultimate goal is to see a game published.

Molding: The Fief Element

Flavor:

In the Fief Element you take on the roll of a noble duke working to carve out a kingdom for yourself from the surrounding countryside.  You must manage the growth of your city with the wealth and production of your nation and wage war on unworthy infidels.  We have, of course, heard all this before.


Play:

Turns so far a loose and very simple.  You select a card from a face up pool of options.  First you must build the wall section depicted on the card, then you may build one of the kingdom elements associated with that card which will earn you victory points.  These elements cover a range of developmental characteristics from finance to military strength.  Players will each play between 8-12 turns before the randomly seeded scoring card turns up and ends the game.  At the end of the game, players earn points in each category based on who controls major shares of each element, more points if the elements are scarcely represented and less if the board is cluttered with that element.  

The 13 different building pieces are used to create enclosed boroughs to both score points and boost elements placed within their walls. Eleven of the wall sections depicted are simple shapes. One is a castle gate which in general has a diminishing end game point value and supports your commerce. The last is a tower section that my function as a normal wall section but may also be built atop a wall to create a multiplier for both military elements built on top of it as well as double the point value of all boroughs that it overlooks.

Play time for the initial tests were approximately 10 min and 25 min respectively. In the second game we tried a few changes which were interesting but extended the length of the game beyond what I am comfortable with the two player version requiring.

Thoughts and/or questions are encouraged.

A Gamestorm Recap

Critical Fumbles:

• After having spent a good deal of time on Thursday working on my personal design, Wizards' School,  I left the house with about 40 minutes to arrive and make my play test session.  I knew I was running behind but the drive only takes about 25 minutes.  Except on Thursdays when you have a play test, then it takes 90 min.  I missed this deadline and was unable to get a proper play test in all weekend.  This was a major loss and is what I regret most.  
• Two late starts on Thursday and Friday ate up more of my schedule than I had anticipated. 
• Not bringing any games that I own.  It seems odd given their library of games but there were games that we may have had time to play had I brought them.  Next year I will make sure to bring one or two.

Misses:

•  Cargo Noir proved to be very interesting at first as the primary auctioning mechanic provided a very rich, tight experience.  Unfortunately, the game seemed to fall apart in the last two turns as things wrapped up and the focus shifted to crunching numbers and optimizing.  I would play this again but, as with most Days of Wonder games, I do not think I would make the purchase.
• Unsure on the length of a demo and unable to seat all four players that I was visiting with, I opted not to participate in a game of Dominant Species.  I am a fool.  That game seemed very interesting to me but I had a few other things I wanted to do with that time midday Saturday.
• I was unable to meet up with Eric Dottarar, a designer who I met last year to play test his prototype, Patron.  I wish our schedules had aligned.

Hits:

• The hospitality room was awesome and although you could not bring food out of their designated area, the fact that they provided some on site snacks was fantastic.
• Relearning the rules to Hansa Teutonica resolved a number of problems I had with the game.  Actions make more sense now and I would be interested to play it more in the future.  The game is a much richer experience than I had previously encountered. 
• I actually had a good time playing Stone Age , although I am not exactly sure why. I did opt for more tools this time than I have in the past.  The game is still 'meh' in my mind but the experience was fun, perhaps due to company.  I enjoyed watching Andy shoot the moon with the starvation strat which did not work for him at all. It was his first game of Stone Age ever though and next time will be much more interesting.
• Dr. Reiner Knizia's classic horse racing game Winner's Circle was a blast.  Players place bets on horses before the race starts and then take turns rolling dice and determining which horses to move.  It sounds simple and it is for the most part but can provide some light choices.  I really enjoy the atmosphere it creates.  You can really feel the pull by individuals for their horses.
• Watched James Ernest play test a new version of Deadwood ('Two point Oh' I think.) with some folks at the GameLab. 
• Play tested a prototype by a local designer, Dave Meyers, called Paradise.  The game uses Lego's build-able dice as the core mechanic and starts each player off with a 'pair of dice'.  Roles allow players to populate their fiefs (dice) with actions from farming, merchant trading, building, and even allowed besieging other players dice.  It needs some serious play testing but was a very interesting space.
• Silly dice rolling game called Battling Towers.  More decisions than I had imagined and short enough to be a legitimate filler.  Solid design that I own all the pieces to recreate.

Critical Hits:

• Eating lunch on Saturday at Tiger Delight or some such place was amazing.  I really enjoyed my Beef Red Curry and the Spring Rolls were top notch.  I even had a Thai Iced Tea. 
• The only thing better than discovering the 'Double Bwaaaannhh' would have been ordering it.  
• Play testing a prototype by designer, Kris Gould, called Switching Tracks.  Kris is responsible for Jet Set and his new design is a pickup and deliver train game.  On your turn you get to toggle track switches to try to arrive at the optimal number of destinations where you deliver goods you picked up along the way.  It seemed very well put together and I am excited to try it again.
• I discovered Airlines Europe as a homemade copy was being played by some dedicated locals.  I had met a few of them before so I watched and I am super excited to purchase/play this game when it is released sometime in April.  It was packed with relevant decisions and played in around 60-74 min with four players.  Good job Alan Moon.
• Discovered the King of RPGs manga and met the writer Jason Thompson.

GameStorm Prep.

I forgot that I enjoy boardgames.  No, I guess that lie will not work, huh?  I have been lazy.  Yes the truth is, well, so.. honest.  There is a local convention in Vancouver, WA this weekend and I have been working on Wizard's School in an attempt to get it ready for my first public play test.  I have been making minor tweaks, interesting revisions and the occasional sweeping change.  I am very happy with where the design is headed and while I think the core concepts are very strong I am not sure I am all that near to a final product.Tonight I hosted some friends, Sean and Chase, and with Jenni's help we slogged through another partial game.  I have to say that the experience was very helpful and with their help I was able to identify at least half a dozen issues with the game and create some compelling resolutions.  I am going to list them below and speak briefly on their proposed solutions but basically what it all boils down to is this:  I am excited to test again.

1. The most troublesome class, Alchemy, has recently been changed to Enchantments for the better but an underlying issue with the spell book mechanic persisted and made catching up when you fell behind basically impossible. This is bad.  Allowing players the opportunity to overwrite cards in their spell book for an increased cost will resolve this issue and in a very streamlined way allow players to recover from silly mistakes.
   
2. Potions class was a magnificent table hog and due to the rewards structure did not properly create incentives for players after they had made their first or second resource contributions.  This made it feel flat (not enough interaction).  Scoring the class based on the number of potions created as opposed to the number of unique potions created has all but dissolved this issue.  Additionally, allowing the use of the potions has balanced the payout, making it comparable to Enchantments, and added another space where players can interact.
   
3. Magical Writings is the grease that makes your engine churn. However, in the current version the distribution of cards both in your starting hands and those available during the card drafting phase would often not provide players with the requisite flexibility that the spell book demands.  All of the necessary cards are represented, but are mixed with other more compelling but expensive cards.  I am moving towards a series of structured phase decks.  In phase one you will have access primarily to building block cards and as the game progresses more specialized cards will appear.
   
4. The advancement icons on the skill tracks was poorly distributed which caused the pacing of the early turns to be too slow.  Easy fix.
   
5. General Studies, which represents a consolation for lost draft cards, was not being utilized well.  It is in fact ripe design space and I am excited to develop cards for what could develop into an auxiliary strategy.
   
6. To create visual direction, prevent board clutter and drive the overwriting mechanic, I will be adding spaces for the cards a wizard is currently scribing.  This will simplify many aspects of the game in terms of rules complexity, add design space, and emphasize the importance of managing your hand of cards.

Fun stuff ahead.  I will keep you posted as I near a better prototype.

Molding: AxGnomes

Flavor:

Chop it, Chop it, Chop it! Gnomes in Beaver-suits? Giant mechanical scorpions? What is going on here? Trees are falling and logs are cascading down rivers! Hurry and deliver your lumber on time or lose face and money!

Command your fellow gnomes, make savvy business decisions, and deliver you lumber to the meglocorps and secure yourself stacks of coin. Bank it and retire. But don't forget, you can't do it alone so make deals, engineer steals, and upgrade your technology to come out on top.

Play:

You must manage the leases on land representing the rights to the trees growing there, hire and pay the salary of gnomes chopping your trees, transport those logs, mill them into boards and deliver on the contracts you fought so hard to earn.

The game is played over the course of 20 years (30 years in a long game) with each year representing a turn consisting of four parts. In the first phase of the turn players mimic the passing of time by advancing all of their leases and contracts on their tracker board. In the second phase all passive board elements trigger such as trees growing and rivers pushing logs downstream. Any number of actions are taken by each player one at a time in the third phase following turn order. This phase is where all of the negotiation and planning will take place. In the last phase of each turn any player which has successfully completed the prerequisites for a contract makes a delivery and collects payment. After 20 turns the game ends and players compare stacks of money. Its all about the Benjaminicins (A famous gnomish inventor minted on every coin).

Crazy climbing

I know this isn't really gaming related, but you need to check this out Joe. At 34 seconds into the clip he performs the most bizarre maneuver I have ever seen and I demand you use it in your next climbing competition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPN3gLVDsOY

Molding: The Kingdom of Angwar

Flavor:
An evil rift has spawned in the land surrounding the kingdom of Angwar and the power of undeath grips the realm. The great lords of the Undead battle one another for the bodies and souls of the Angwar citizens. Thankfully, the populace is not without hope...

In 'The Kingdom of Angwar' you play the role of a powerful undead lord who is shaping the very land itself with evil magic and the might of your undead hoard. You must be careful, however, as every action you take strengthens the resolve of the citizens and knights of Angwar. Balance carefully your evil acts and you can lure more helpless cattle to your desecrated hellscape, overextend and face the wrath of the clergy.

Play:
A preselected player begins by bidding some number of 'Kingdom' cards they are willing to take from the central realm (a face down pile) into their province (the cards that will ultimatly form their Kingdom deck). After each player has had at least one chance to bid (each player must bid at least one) and the high bid stands the high bidder looks at the pile of cards in the central kingdom. They select one of these cards and give it to any player to add to his province, and pass him the rest of the central kingdom cards. That player does the same. This process repeats itself until all bids have been filled with kingdom cards. A player who has collected a number of cards equal to his bid can no longer be passed cards. Once all the central kingdom cards are gone for the turn any player who has not yet met their bid draws from a face down supply of kingdom cards.

All players will now have some number of cards in their province; the starting amount (probably 3) plus their bid. The players shuffle up these cards to form their Kingdom deck and starting with the highest bidder and working down take their turns. A player shuffles up his other two decks: The Resource deck and the Location deck, and then draws cards to fill his opening hand in any combination from these two decks. One location is played, and special abilities utilized, before the topmost card of the kingdom deck is flipped and makes his way towards the players inner sanctum. Location and resource cards will have values to combat the intruders and at the end of the round (large portions glossed here... see comments for clarifications) the player will tally the Victory points on the cards they played this round from all three decks to use towards the purchase of face up location cards for their location deck. If any kingdom cards find their way to a players inner sanctum their VP values are subtracted from the players tally for the round, as well as from that players stash of VP chips. Each player starts with a predetermined number of VP chips and the game ends at the end of the round in which any player loses their last VP chip. Scores are based on a players VP tally including every card in all three decks plus that players VP chips.

Three decks:

Kingdom deck - every card has some positive VP value and is obtained only through bidding or other manipulation (to be explained)

Location deck - Locations have a VP value often low but positive and are obtained through purchase at the end of a players rally phase.

Resource deck - Resource cards vary greatly in VP value but tend to be higher than locations and in some cases kingdom cards. These are earned by playing out locations and resource pairs or by winning combats against insurgent kingdom warriors.

sleep for now...

Here's a game question....

God does not throw dice, Albert Einstein famously declared, but suppose he was wrong. Suppose God decided to demonstrate otherwise by showing up one day at the Institute for Advanced Study. God announces that dice games are in fact wildly popular in heaven, and that the purpose of this visit it to teach a new game to Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer. God explains the rules:

There are three blank dice. First, Oppenheimer will take each of the six-sided dice and write the numbers from 1 to 18, in any order he likes, on the 18 faces of the three dice. Einstein will then examine the dice and select one of them as his own. Oppenheimer will then examine the remaining two dice and select one of them. (The third die will be discarded.) Oppenheimer and Einstein will then play repeated rounds of “Dice War” in which they roll the dice simultaneously, with a point being awarded each round to the player who rolls the higher number. The player with the most points wins.

Assume that Oppenheimer and Einstein employ the smartest possible strategies, and that the outcome will be determined by the laws of probability (meaning that God doesn’t skew the dice or the influence the rolls). Which player, if either, is favored to win?