Sensless.

This week, we were tasked with creating some kind of game based on a Jane Austin novel. With no clue what to do, we sat and talked about what we should do. We threw around ideas about what book to do and possibly creating some kind of board game, but nothing seemed to stick. Finally, we decided that the easiest thing to do is create a game and try and fit the novel into it. Starting with a card game as a base, we slowly eased in the concepts of Sense and Sensibility into the card game.

Above image taken from http://meghankirkland.blogspot.ca/2012/07/sense-and-sensibility-by-jane-austen.html.

We soon had a pseudo matchmaking game featuring fast paced, almost uneven action in a race to win the hand of your love.

Sense and Sensibility: The Card Game

A few of the cards used in the game.

RULES:

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Players: 2 – 5

Setup:

• Players shuffle the Greed, Love, Trait, Asset/Liabilities and Action cards into their respective piles.
• The Action cards are split in half and each half is put into the Greed and Love cards.
• Each player draws 3 trait and 2 Asset/Liabilities cards. They are then placed face-up in front of them.
• A die is then rolled to see who goes first.

NOTE: Traits and Asset/Liabilities modify how many points you get from either Greed or Love cards – be it an increase or decrease boost. Read the card to see how your points are affected.

Play:

• Players draw a card from the either the Greed or Love pile and place it face-up in front of them at the beginning of the turn.
•  There are three kinds of possible cards: Love cards, Greed cards and Action cards. Action cards are mixed into both piles.
• Players collect the points on the card they draw, unless it’s an action card. Action cards are activated immediately on drawing and are played towards another player.
• Once a player has accumulated enough Love points (25) OR enough Greed points (20), they can go for a chance to woo their suitor.
• The die is rolled to see if the woo is successful. If a player is going for the Love win, they must roll a 3 or higher.  If the player is going for a Greed win, they need to roll a 5 or higher.
• If a players woo is unsuccessful, that player loses half the points in the mode they chose to woo with.
• Play continues until a player successfully woos their suitor and wins their heart.

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I didn't really enjoy creating this game as much as the others since it was sort of a fuzzy process creating it. I felt lost most times when we were trying to pull all the rules together that I didn't think we'd ever have a concrete concept. Finally, when it started taking shape and I could see the direction the game was heading, I enjoyed the challenge of adding in themes and dynamics from an outside source and inserting it into a card based game. Since this was my first endeavor in creating a game based on something I didn't personally come-up with, I believe that's where the initial dislike of the game creation came from. Once I got that aside and set concrete matches between both game and novel, I had an easier time enjoying myself.

One thing that players may notice is sometimes - this game is not fair. A player may be unable to gain money and keep picking up money cards. A player may start off with almost enough points to win the game. However, like the novel Pride and Prejudice, love isn't always fair. Sometimes, people are just out there to get you or there's some "unforeseen force" acting on you and sending bad luck your way. Unfortunately, that's just the ropes when it comes to life, that novel and this game.

I wish it was Advance Wars.

This week, we were tasked with creating a board game based on acquiring territory. The hard part about this was making it not play the same as Risk. After creating ideas that were all pretty much exact copies of Risk, we knew we would need some in-game attribute that would make it play differently. But first, we needed fuel.

Mmmm, chocolate.

While making the chow, I suggested a game about hacking computers. Then it stuck; giving birth to H.A.C.K.E.R.S.: The Movie - The Game.

Awesome board created by James Creavalle.

RULEBOOK EXERPT:
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H.A.C.K.E.R.S.: Having All Computer Kernels Every Realtime Second

Players: 2-4 players

H.A.C.K.E.R.S. is all about the war for the Cloud. Control the Cloud, control the internet. Join a Faction and out hack the enemies to control the Cloud and get one step closer to world domination! 

Set-up: Each player chooses a Faction to represent in the war by choosing a colour of bead. Factions then roll to see who goes first or play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Players chose a starting node based on turn order. Each node is assigned 10 bits of power. Players then decide how many turns the game will run for. At the end of the last turn, the player with the most nodes wins.

Play: Each node runs on bits. Players accumulate bits at the beginning of each turn. Players amass bits based at a flat rate of 5 with a boost based on how many nodes they own, according to the following chart:

• ·         3 nodes = +2
• ·         6 nodes = +4
• ·         9 nodes = +5
• ·         12 nodes = +7

After capturing 12 nodes, you gain +1 for every 2 more captured nodes. The collected bits are then distributed to each node based on the players choosing. Nodes are indicated by placing the small blue beads on the node you control.

There are 3 phases per turn: Transfer, Boost and Hack. During the Transfer phase, players can transfer power to any nodes that they are connected to. When a bit is sent, it is subtracted from the current total as well, (e.g. if node A has 12 bits and sends 4, node A will have 8 bits after). Players may only transfer bits once per turn. Nodes can only hold 30 bits max. 

In the Boost phase, players may sacrifice bits to set up Firewalls. Firewalls make you harder to hack during the Hacking phase and disappear on your next turn. To indicate a Firewall has been placed, select a bead colour for “Firewalls” and place it on your node. Firewalls are powered up based on the following:

• ·         Firewall Lvl 1 (costs 5 bits): reflects 2 bits of damage
• ·         Firewall Lvl 2 (costs 7 bits): reflects 3 bits of damage
• ·         Firewall Lvl 3 (costs 9 bits): reflects 4 bits of damage
• ·         Firewall Lvl 4 (costs 12 bits): reflects 5 bits of damage

During the Hacking phase, players may sacrifice bits to attack other players. When sacrificing, players must leave at least 10 bits in the node to sustain their capture of it. Players may only attack once. To attack, players select any node they are connected to. Players may then attack that node with any other nodes they own that are connected to it. The defender then decides how many bits to use to defend. If the defender uses more bits than the attacker, the difference is dealt in damage to the attacker; e.g. if the attacker sends out 10 and the defender defends with 15, the attacker loses 5 bits on their node(s).

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I really enjoy how this game came out; as close as it is to Risk, I feel as though we've created a definite gap in our game versus Risk. The fact that it's also very futuristic helps towards this case as well. In terms of change, however, I would've liked to add some form of physical counter to the board, instead of having beads. Another concept I would've like to try and work in was attack boosts. Based on the sacrificing of health to attack, we didn't see any way to add it into the game without it feeling over powered.

One possible change I would've also liked to have add is the ability to charge attacks - you would sacrifice the health like you were going to attack that turn, but store it for later use (possibly even increasing the strength of the attack). I didn't suggest this as we didn't have time to test it and the possibility of attack boosts was iffy, but it would be interesting to see how it would alter gameplay.

Another thing would be completely removing the Firewall. The conecpt sounded nice and looked benefical when actually playing the game, but after analyzing the numbers, we noticed that there seems to be a net loss instead of a gain for the player.

So join a Faction today and take your part in the war to the Cloud!

Do the hustle.

In my Game Design class last week, we were asked to make a "race to the finish" board game. At first, I was annoyed. Why would they make us do this? I asked myself. After running through a couple of unsuccessful ideas such as a monster capture racer and one where you had to race to the end of a super market collecting groceries, I finally came up with a decent idea: a game about rapping. From there, the ideas just started flowin'.

But how to incorporate it? At first, I thought that instead of rolling a die/spinning a spinner, you could rhyme words - with each successful rhyme counting as a movement point. That idea then evolved into two different modes of boosting a roll: rhyming words and rhyming "thoughts." With the core concept in mind, I started trying to come up with a name and a board. After lots of rough drafts in my sketch book for both a title, logo and board, I finally created this:

 MC HUSTLE!

This is prototype for the board.

RULES

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MC Hustle is a game for all aspiring rappers. Each player dons the persona of an MC who is in line with (up to) four other rappers for a record deal. Each has been chosen, so now it’s just a race to get there first! Kill the other competition with your ill rhymes to have a smooth ride to the end; but watch out! Other MCs can mess with your gigs and slow you down! SO GET OUT THERE AND VIBE!

Set up: Shuffle and place the card piles next to the board. Select your MC and place the MC on START. To decide who goes first, have a rap battle or roll for the highest. 

Play: When it is your turn, you begin by either rolling the die OR performing a rap boost. There are two kinds of boosts: “Rhyme Time” and “Kill the Flo’.” 

·         Rhyme Time: Look at the word on the top most card. Rhyme as many words as you can with that word and have someone else keep track. If you take longer than 5 seconds to think of a word, someone else can yell “Steal the Mic,” ending your boost. The boosts are as follows:

o   5 words: 1x to next roll

o   10 words: 2x to next roll

o   15 words: 3x to next roll

o   20 words: 4x to next roll

·        Kill the Flo’: Look at the theme on the top most card of the pile. Rhyme together as many “complete thoughts” (this is left to the discretion of the players) based on the theme selected.  The rhyme pattern can be ABAB or AABB. Your boost ends when you mismatch a rhyme. The boosts are as follows:

o   2 “thoughts”: 2x to next roll

o   4 “thoughts”: 3x next roll

o   6 “thoughts”: 4x next roll

o   8 “thoughts”: 6x next roll

“Wack MC” cards: these are played at the beginning of an opposing MCs turn. Using this card, you gain control of the other MC when he wishes to use a boost. For Rhyme Time cards, you can pick the starting word or add twists (e.g. words ending in “-ing,” etc.). For Kill the Flo’ cards, you can pick the theme or even the beat (if you are using one). WATCH OUT! There is one card called the “Career Breaker.” This card can make or break careers. If you can rhyme 10 “thoughts” you can put another MC out of the competition. HOWEVER, mess up and it’s the end of the line for you.

The Streets: when in the Streets (the alternate coloured section of tiles), your boosts are halved, unless you have drawn the “Street Cred” card.

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This game was a load of fun for me to create and coming up with the various play ideas was more fun then I thought it would be. However, there are some rules that (after exploring more in-depth through play testing) I found didn't keep the game fair or interesting. For example, the amount of words you need for Rhyme Time boosts is a bit too high. I would've liked to lower it/modify it to something better so you can actually get more that a double boost on occasion. I'd also change the time limit before someone can yell to either 2s or if the rapper that is going stutters/pauses briefly to thinking. I would also have added more emphasis on players deciding what counts as a whole thought in Kill the Flo' modes.

Developing a game can be tough sometimes, but once the ball gets rolling, creating it can be a snap. However, even once a game is complete, it's never really finished. There's always room for tweaking and modification until you've achieved perfection.