What are the Chances?

This game is simple yet, entertaining and allows players to interfere with their opponents game play. It is best to play with 3 or more people from ages 7+. In order to finish the game you must receive a chance card, which will reveal how many colour chips you need to collect. The first person to collect all the required chips wins the game.

One of the positives about this game is the fact that it isn’t limited to just one genre. It is abstract in the fact that it requires tactical thinking and has many possible outcomes that can change at any time through the use of player’s advantage cards. The game is also in the family genre as it’s one that all families members are able to play together. It is fast paced, engaging and easy to follow.

I have created this prototype with a number of everyday materials. 4 pieces of paper to give a board layout, dice and player figurines from other board games and the cards and colour chips were made from paper as well. It was all that was needed in order to play the game accurately.

I have been play testing the game with my family and friends over the last week and have made minor adjustments to improve and make it more engaging and challenging. I found that having multiple chance squares on the board isn’t such a great idea, as all players will go after the box that is closest to them. So I have altered it to only have two chance card boxes on the board both equally as far away as the starting point, that way all players aren’t going in the same direction and can slightly split up. Also, to make it a little more interesting I implemented a rule that only one person can be on a square at a time, which was a challenge for the players when it came to opponents disrupting their path.

The size of the board and number of squares worked well, there was sufficient organisation with the colour chips and cards and it was easy for everyone to follow on quickly without having to read instructions for 10 minutes prior. Players seemed to get really excited and enthusiastic when they picked up a colour chip that had the advantage card symbol on it.

Usually players held onto it for a few turns until implementing a twist to the game, which was a favourable touch to the game and encouraged the players to interact with one another. Another positive about the game was the fact that players were only aware of their own objectives, so no one knew what was going to happen next or when the game was going to end.

I would heavily rely on social media to advertise my game, I’d begin with a Facebook page and then potentially move to different platforms such as instagram and twitter to gain audience attention and generate some interest. In terms of cost of production and distribution, I would create the game on gamecrafter.com, which would come to around $15 for one unit before shipping. From there I would seek major publishers such as Hasbro that would potentially buy my game. Although I’d be sacrificing my rights, it would mean that this company would take care of production/distribution and sell it in major stores.

 

 

 

Board Game Pitch

The board game I am going to create is simple, yet entertaining and allows you to interfere with others game play. It’s best to play with over three people and is aimed at ages 7+.

Core Mechanic:

In order to win, you must receive a chance card, which will reveal how many colour chips you need to collect. Once you have collected all the required chips, you win the game.

Layout & Materials:

The game will be conducted on a board with 100 squares. Each square will represent a blue, red or green colour chip or a chance card. The game requires a dice, and player figures to monitor what square everyone is on. There will be a deck of chance cards, advantage cards with the gems beside them; these will have a designated area to be placed on the board.

Game Twist:

Several colour chips from each colour group will have a card symbol on them, when a player collects a chip with this special feature they have the choice to pick a card from the advantage card pile. The back of these cards will display advantages players can use during anytime of the game as long as it is their turn. Players must keep these cards to themselves until they are used.

These advantages could include:

• Ability to roll twice in one play
• You may take one RED chip from another player of your choice
• Ability to change the game to counter clockwise
• Ability to take double the amount of chips during your next play

When you use your advantage you must sacrifice your card and put it at the bottom of the deck.

Game States:

Beginning – All players begin on the first box in the bottom left corner. The player with the most recent birthday rolls the dice first and moves in any direction (except diagonal) depending on what number they rolled. Whatever colour chip they land on they must pick up and place in their play area. The game moves in a clockwise direction, so the next player will roll the dice and repeat the same rules. The aim is to move toward the chance card squares.

Middle – Players continue to have their turn collecting colour chips and making tactical decisions in order to get closer to the chance card boxes. Players continue to collect colour chips, some allowing them to receive an advantage card. Players utilise these advantages if they wish during game play as a way to get closer to winning by distracting opposing players. Once a player lands on a chance card they must choose a card from the deck and follow the rules stated on the back to win the game. Every chance card has an individual rule and therefore players aren’t aware of anyone’s objectives but their own.

End – The chance card rules are generally fairly simple, for example one may say “In order to win you must collect: 7 red chips, 9 blue chips and 15 green”. Another may say: “In order to win you must collect: 16 red chips, 3 blue chips and 11 green”. All equal to the same amount of chips, but the players are after different colours. Not to mention, players must be continuously mindful of the advantage cards that can be used at any time, which can change the gameplay instantly. The first player that collects all the necessary chips first wins. You do not need to use all your advantage cards to complete the game.

Splendour – Board Game Review

Over the last three weeks during DIGC301 tutorials we have all been learning the mechanics of various board games. I chose ‘Splendor’ a engine building board game designed to challenge the mind and make you think fast.

Splendor is a multiplayer board game created by Marc André and first published 2014 by Space Cowboy (Geekdo, 2015). Splendor is a resource management game in which two to four players compete against each other to collect the most points. The game contains the following:

– 40 gems – seven each of emerald, sapphire, ruby, diamond, onyx, and five gold (joker).

– 90 development cards

– 10 Noble tiles

On your turn, you have three options:

1. Collect chips or gems.
2. Buy and build a card.
3. Reserve one card.

If you decide to take the chips, you either take three different kinds of chips or two of the same chips. If you buy a card, you pay in chips and add it to the area where the rest of your cards and chips are. To reserve a card in order to stop your opponents from potentially taking it, you place it in front of you face down so you can buy it later on in the game, whenever this happens is up to the player. However this will cost you an entire turn, but you also get a gold joker chip, which you can use as any gem and that will come in handy when it comes to buying the card.

So there were pretty much three main things that attracted me to this game.

Firstly, the game play of Splendor is fairly straightforward. It’s quick and easy for new players to catch on. Players simply take gemstones and buy development cards in the hope of gaining the most points to win the game. The cards you buy also give you the potential to get greater value cards later on.

Secondly, the game can be fairly tactical; by having 12 development cards visible to purchase you don’t have many options. In the beginning, players will generally focus on buying the cards in the first level or maybe even the second. They start by taking gems that will eventually allow them to purchase the less valuable cards.

And thirdly, the game moves quite quickly. On each turn, players get to choose to either take gems or buy a card. With only a couple of options to do on a turn, there isn’t much time between each turn, so you must think quickly. A player wins when they reach 15 or more points with their cards so the game is usually finished under approximately 30 minutes depending on how experienced the players are.

The materials Splendor consists of really make a difference to the game play experience. The chips feel valuable and are somewhat fun to play with whilst thinking of your next move. The presentation of Splendor is at a high standard, the colours, especially on the cards are vibrant and bright keeping you constantly stimulated as you wait for the next card to be revealed. Not to mention the art of the characters on the cards and the box, each is carefully detailed in design with a painted looking theme. I found myself constantly admiring the man on the front of the box and his detailed features; the art is a pleasant addition to the game, making it aesthetically pleasing.

Splendor is a very open game with a lot of potential outcomes, anything can change at any second. Players can see what chips the other players have and can easily make their own guesses as to what card they are after next. If you believe your guess is right, then you can use your turn to reserve that card, by denying your opponent the card you know they’ve been saving up a few turns for it can really throw them off their game. This is where the game gets fairly competitive but that’s what makes it interesting.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend Splendor as a game for family, friends, or really anyone! It’s easy yet challenging, stimulating and most of all enjoyable and quite cheap too only being around $35 this will keep you entertained for hours.

Reference:

Geekdo, 2015, Splendor, BoardGameGeek, viewed 10th March 2017, <https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/148228/splendor&gt;