Game designers often talk about two types of randomness, input randomness and output randomness. In this post, I’d like to critique this polar model of randomness and introduce some new thinking about it that designers should consider. First, a quick summary for those new to the concepts: The distinction between input and output randomness in »more
Author Archives: Isaac Shalev
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The Digital Difference
by Marlene Rivers There is an ongoing trend of classic board games being ported to digital platforms. For instance, the popular tabletop wargame Ogre by Steve Jackson was revived last year through a video game adaptation. Some studios are even pushing the envelope, like Asmodee Digital, who is bringing classic board games to virtual reality. »more
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Design Pattern: Leveraging Luck
In a recent appearance on Gabe Barret’s Boardgame Design Lab podcast, Richard Garfield, designer of Magic: The Gathering, spoke about the interplay between luck and skill in a game. Garfield made the point that luck appears in many games we normally see as purely contests of skill. The argument goes like this. Chess is a »more
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Design Patterns: A Rich Victory
From Monopoly to Food Chain Magnate, and many games in between, players earn the victory by becoming the wealthiest by game end. Given that so many games are economic simulations, perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. What might surprise us is how many games, even economic games, are not won by becoming the richest player. I »more
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Design Patterns: Triangular Scoring
A quick note before we get into today’s post. I recently appeared on the fantastic Ludology podcast, hosted by Geoff Engelstein and Gil Hova, where I talked about this series of design patterns. Some of you may be reading this now because you heard that episode. Welcome! If you’re a regular and want to listen, »more
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Blind Remote Playtesting In 10 Easy Steps
Blind playtesting, where players encounter your game as a consumer might, and must learn how to play from the written rules, is a critical part of the game design process. Some designers reserve blind testing towards the end of their process, and primarily use it to refine rules. Others start much earlier, sometimes relying on »more
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Guest Post, JR Honeycutt: Make Choices, Feel Things
JR Honeycutt is a developer and designer who is known throughout the industry for his work on legacy games from Seafall to Charterstone to the upcoming Betrayal Legacy. In the past, JR has worked with Dirk Knemeyer on the Tesla vs Edison franchise, and with Daryl Andrews on the Fantasy Fantasy sports franchise. JR, in »more
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Design Patterns: Asymmetry and Player Interaction
We’ve spent the last few weeks talking about various ways in which games start with asymmetry, or introduce it along the way, in order to reach the ultimate asymmetric outcome of winning and losing. Today, we’ll close our series on asymmetry by talking about player interaction. Broadly speaking, nearly every competitive game can be reduced »more
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Design Patterns: Asymmetry And Opacity
Welcome back! This is the third part of the asymmetry series. You can catch up here, or just keep reading. No prior knowledge required! Well… except this bit. Last week I said: I am not addressing the asymmetry that arises based on the natural outcome of non-mirrored gameplay. Players take turns and make decisions and »more
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Design Patterns: Asymmetry (Part 2)
Last week I introduced the topic of asymmetry, and wondered out loud about all the different ways we use the term. Is there any hope of putting some order to all the chaos we uncovered? Probably not. But we’ll try anyway! It might help to identify different categories of asymmetry. I’m going to try out »more
