eternaltriangle
04-03-2009, 01:32 AM
Has anybody here ever made their own board games? That was always my stock project for class (in primary/high school). I disliked games where you just move around a board and answer trivia questions - I preferred ones with an element of strategy. I can remember three that I made...
One was a WWI scenario, which divided the class into the Germans and the Allies. The board was a map of France and Germany. Each had to position troops in different areas along the border (the map was subdivided into provinces), or moving some troops into their enemy's territory. They would figure this out in secret, without knowledge of what the other guys were up to. When both were done I would then figure out who broke through the front of the other and where (I think there was a defensive advantage).
Two others included a post-apocalyptic map of America (based on a story I wrote). I forget all of the details, but I know that the South seceded, and I believe you could play as Europeans coming in to restore order. The Chinese invaded the west coast. Each had special units, as well as generic ones (it was basically Axis and Allies and sort of a rip-off of Fortress America now that I think about it).
I made a computer game, which I envisioned being like Civilization. In practice though I couldn't do much in terms of graphics (I was using crappy turbo pascal). In the game, essentially you go through history as a country and make different social choices as random events occur. There were other countries, but, not being able to create a sophisticated AI I just made their actions completely random. It was supposed to have a multiplayer function, but one of the people on my team wrote his module (we divided the project up into modules) without documentation and without testing it first (I tested mine with dummy variables). As a result we had to scramble just to make sure single player was ready in time.
Finally, there was a Roman Empire game, where the empire has fallen apart and you are a general trying to take over. This one was closer to Risk, although you bought armies (provinces produced income, and in some cases special resources like slaves or wine that did something I forget).
I guess I remember less about the games I created than I thought (though they all seem like derivatives of other board games in restrospect). What sort of board games have you created? How did you manage to make concise rules? How did you balance the various sides? How might you change them now, and how might you incorporate expert knowledge of a subject into a game? Making board games seems like it would be the job of a lifetime to me.
eternaltriangle added to this post, 5 minutes and 50 seconds later...
Here is one I thought of recently. I haven't seen many (any) election board games though it seems to me like an obvious subject for a board game.
The board would have a map of the US, divided into regions, with a value equal to their electoral college value (if I used states instead of regions there would be too many).
Within each region there would be some (low) number of voters of one of four types:
A factory-worker (socially conservative, economic liberal)
A businessman (socially liberal, economic conservative)
A hippie (socially liberal, economic liberal)
A religious person (socially conservative, economic conservative)
Each player would place themselves on a 2*2 axis (economic issues on x axis, social issues on y axis). They would get +1 for all voters sharing their views, +0 for the mixed results (eg. libertarians agree with conservatives on economic, but not social issues) and -1 for the opposite ones. All voters for whom there is a candidate with a +1 would be decided supporters of the +1 candidate. All others would be undecided.
At the beginning of each news cycle (5 turns) a candidate can...
1. Ads: For $100 they can give a +1 to all of their rolls for the rest of the news cycle. For $100 they can give a -2 to their opponents rolls for the rest of the news cycle (negative ads). Negative ads have a 1/3 chance of backfiring (on a 1 or a 2 on a 10-sided die). If they backfire, the person running the ad gets -2 for the rest of the news cycle.
2. Debates: Any 2-4 candidates can agree to a debate. In a debate, each candidate is asked 2 trivia questions. Each correct answer gives them an additional spin bonus for the week. Each wrong answer gives them -1 for the week. Refusing to debate when another candidate wants to gives you -1.
3. You have to plan out your actions for the 5 turns in the news cycle (see below).
Each turn a candidate can either:
1. Campaign: campaigning means targeting one specific undecided voter in one region. You roll a 6-sided die and add any bonuses from advertising or ideology. If you get a 5 or more, they join you. If not they fail to join you. If you get a 1 (counting bonuses) or less it is a gaffe. You get -1 to all rolls attempting to sway a decided voter.
2. Hold Fundraiser: Go to a state and roll a die. If 7 or greater you successfully fundraise. All supporters in that state give you $20, except businessmen, who give $40 (there are fewer of them though) and workers who give $10. (NB: not affected by spin cycle score)
3. Go on a talk-show: Answer a trivia question. If right you get +1 to your spin for the rest of the week. If wrong, you get -1.
4. Flip flop: you can change positions on the ideological chart (gaining the requisite bonuses and penalties. This temporarily gives you a penalty of -2 for the remainder of the week.
NB: players can only move to adjacent regions
On election day (comes after 10 news cycles) tabulate who has more support in each region. That person wins the state and all of its electoral colleges.
Regions in the game:
Pacific Northwest (Alaska, Oregon, Hawaii and Washington)
EV: 25
Voters: 2 hippies, 2 workers, 1 businessman.
California
EV: 55
Voters: 5 hippies, 3 businessmen, 1 worker, 1 religious
Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Utah)
EV: 34
Voters: 2 religious, 2 hippies, 1 worker, 1 businessman
West (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota)
EV: 16
Voters: 1 religious, 2 worker
Heartland (Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma)
EV: 29
Voters: 3 workers 2 religious
Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois)
EV: 41
Voters: 3 workers 3 hippies 1 businessman 1 religious
Rust belt (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania)
EV: 69
Voters: 6 workers 3 religious 3 hippies 1 businessman
Mid-Atlantic (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, DC)
EV: 62
Voters: 4 businessmen 4 hippies 3 workers 1 religious
New England (Vermont, NH, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island)
EV: 34
Voters: 4 hippies 2 businessmen
Southeast (Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina)
EV: 78
6 religious 2 businessman 5 workers 2 hippies
Appalachia (Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia)
EV: 24
3 workers 2 religious
Deep South (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas)
EV: 30
3 religious 3 workers
Texas
EV: 34
3 religious 2 workers 1 businessman
Total:
Religious: 25
Workers: 34
Hippies: 25
Businessmen: 16
************************************************** ********
How to win:
If anybody ends the 10th news cycle with 270 or more electoral college votes they win. If no player has a clear majority, then the top two players duke it out in a sudden death trivia contest (simulating the supreme court and or congressional battle).
************************************************** ********
Example starting positions:
So if a conservative were running against a liberal, at the start of the game, the Conservative would be winning where there were more religious than hippies, the liberal, where there were more hippies than religious.
Conservative would start at 211 EV's
Liberal at: 224
Libertarian vs. Labour (but labour would have problems fundraising)
Libertarian: 151
Labour: 387
1992 (Conservative vs. Liberal vs. Labour)
Bush Sr: 112
Clinton: 151
Perot: 138
Undecided: 137
************************************************** ********
Optional rules
You can also have candidates pick an advantage and a drawback to add to the game.
Advantages:
Good at town halls: after a successful barnstorming roll, you can choose to answer a trivia question. If correct, you may barnstorm again this turn. If incorrect you lose the original convert.
Common touch: +1 to barnstorming workers. Additionally when fundraising, workers raise $10 instead of $0.
Billionaire: start game with $1000
Good at online fundraising: At start of each news cycle get $5 for each member of your "base" (folks you get an inherent +1 for). Get $10 if your base is businessmen.
Charismatic: get a bonus +1 to the media cycle for successful debate and interview answers.
Drawbacks:
Gaffe-prone: whenever a trivia question (or set of trivia questions) is asked to you, add an extra question. Give an additional -1 to media cycle score if answered incorrectly.
Sleazy: Negative ads give an additional -1
Lousy fundraiser: need a 7 or greater to successfully fundraise
Elitist: -1 to targeting workers
Crazy: When barnstorming, you pick the state. Your opponent determines which voter you target.
************************************************** *********
Examples of combinations:
Barack Obama: charismatic, elitist
John McCain: good at town halls, lousy fundraiser
George W. Bush: Common touch, gaffe prone
Bill Clinton: Common touch, sleazy
Ross Perot: billionaire, crazy
Ron Paul: good at online fundraising, crazy
One was a WWI scenario, which divided the class into the Germans and the Allies. The board was a map of France and Germany. Each had to position troops in different areas along the border (the map was subdivided into provinces), or moving some troops into their enemy's territory. They would figure this out in secret, without knowledge of what the other guys were up to. When both were done I would then figure out who broke through the front of the other and where (I think there was a defensive advantage).
Two others included a post-apocalyptic map of America (based on a story I wrote). I forget all of the details, but I know that the South seceded, and I believe you could play as Europeans coming in to restore order. The Chinese invaded the west coast. Each had special units, as well as generic ones (it was basically Axis and Allies and sort of a rip-off of Fortress America now that I think about it).
I made a computer game, which I envisioned being like Civilization. In practice though I couldn't do much in terms of graphics (I was using crappy turbo pascal). In the game, essentially you go through history as a country and make different social choices as random events occur. There were other countries, but, not being able to create a sophisticated AI I just made their actions completely random. It was supposed to have a multiplayer function, but one of the people on my team wrote his module (we divided the project up into modules) without documentation and without testing it first (I tested mine with dummy variables). As a result we had to scramble just to make sure single player was ready in time.
Finally, there was a Roman Empire game, where the empire has fallen apart and you are a general trying to take over. This one was closer to Risk, although you bought armies (provinces produced income, and in some cases special resources like slaves or wine that did something I forget).
I guess I remember less about the games I created than I thought (though they all seem like derivatives of other board games in restrospect). What sort of board games have you created? How did you manage to make concise rules? How did you balance the various sides? How might you change them now, and how might you incorporate expert knowledge of a subject into a game? Making board games seems like it would be the job of a lifetime to me.
eternaltriangle added to this post, 5 minutes and 50 seconds later...
Here is one I thought of recently. I haven't seen many (any) election board games though it seems to me like an obvious subject for a board game.
The board would have a map of the US, divided into regions, with a value equal to their electoral college value (if I used states instead of regions there would be too many).
Within each region there would be some (low) number of voters of one of four types:
A factory-worker (socially conservative, economic liberal)
A businessman (socially liberal, economic conservative)
A hippie (socially liberal, economic liberal)
A religious person (socially conservative, economic conservative)
Each player would place themselves on a 2*2 axis (economic issues on x axis, social issues on y axis). They would get +1 for all voters sharing their views, +0 for the mixed results (eg. libertarians agree with conservatives on economic, but not social issues) and -1 for the opposite ones. All voters for whom there is a candidate with a +1 would be decided supporters of the +1 candidate. All others would be undecided.
At the beginning of each news cycle (5 turns) a candidate can...
1. Ads: For $100 they can give a +1 to all of their rolls for the rest of the news cycle. For $100 they can give a -2 to their opponents rolls for the rest of the news cycle (negative ads). Negative ads have a 1/3 chance of backfiring (on a 1 or a 2 on a 10-sided die). If they backfire, the person running the ad gets -2 for the rest of the news cycle.
2. Debates: Any 2-4 candidates can agree to a debate. In a debate, each candidate is asked 2 trivia questions. Each correct answer gives them an additional spin bonus for the week. Each wrong answer gives them -1 for the week. Refusing to debate when another candidate wants to gives you -1.
3. You have to plan out your actions for the 5 turns in the news cycle (see below).
Each turn a candidate can either:
1. Campaign: campaigning means targeting one specific undecided voter in one region. You roll a 6-sided die and add any bonuses from advertising or ideology. If you get a 5 or more, they join you. If not they fail to join you. If you get a 1 (counting bonuses) or less it is a gaffe. You get -1 to all rolls attempting to sway a decided voter.
2. Hold Fundraiser: Go to a state and roll a die. If 7 or greater you successfully fundraise. All supporters in that state give you $20, except businessmen, who give $40 (there are fewer of them though) and workers who give $10. (NB: not affected by spin cycle score)
3. Go on a talk-show: Answer a trivia question. If right you get +1 to your spin for the rest of the week. If wrong, you get -1.
4. Flip flop: you can change positions on the ideological chart (gaining the requisite bonuses and penalties. This temporarily gives you a penalty of -2 for the remainder of the week.
NB: players can only move to adjacent regions
On election day (comes after 10 news cycles) tabulate who has more support in each region. That person wins the state and all of its electoral colleges.
Regions in the game:
Pacific Northwest (Alaska, Oregon, Hawaii and Washington)
EV: 25
Voters: 2 hippies, 2 workers, 1 businessman.
California
EV: 55
Voters: 5 hippies, 3 businessmen, 1 worker, 1 religious
Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Utah)
EV: 34
Voters: 2 religious, 2 hippies, 1 worker, 1 businessman
West (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota)
EV: 16
Voters: 1 religious, 2 worker
Heartland (Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma)
EV: 29
Voters: 3 workers 2 religious
Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois)
EV: 41
Voters: 3 workers 3 hippies 1 businessman 1 religious
Rust belt (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania)
EV: 69
Voters: 6 workers 3 religious 3 hippies 1 businessman
Mid-Atlantic (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, DC)
EV: 62
Voters: 4 businessmen 4 hippies 3 workers 1 religious
New England (Vermont, NH, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island)
EV: 34
Voters: 4 hippies 2 businessmen
Southeast (Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina)
EV: 78
6 religious 2 businessman 5 workers 2 hippies
Appalachia (Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia)
EV: 24
3 workers 2 religious
Deep South (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas)
EV: 30
3 religious 3 workers
Texas
EV: 34
3 religious 2 workers 1 businessman
Total:
Religious: 25
Workers: 34
Hippies: 25
Businessmen: 16
************************************************** ********
How to win:
If anybody ends the 10th news cycle with 270 or more electoral college votes they win. If no player has a clear majority, then the top two players duke it out in a sudden death trivia contest (simulating the supreme court and or congressional battle).
************************************************** ********
Example starting positions:
So if a conservative were running against a liberal, at the start of the game, the Conservative would be winning where there were more religious than hippies, the liberal, where there were more hippies than religious.
Conservative would start at 211 EV's
Liberal at: 224
Libertarian vs. Labour (but labour would have problems fundraising)
Libertarian: 151
Labour: 387
1992 (Conservative vs. Liberal vs. Labour)
Bush Sr: 112
Clinton: 151
Perot: 138
Undecided: 137
************************************************** ********
Optional rules
You can also have candidates pick an advantage and a drawback to add to the game.
Advantages:
Good at town halls: after a successful barnstorming roll, you can choose to answer a trivia question. If correct, you may barnstorm again this turn. If incorrect you lose the original convert.
Common touch: +1 to barnstorming workers. Additionally when fundraising, workers raise $10 instead of $0.
Billionaire: start game with $1000
Good at online fundraising: At start of each news cycle get $5 for each member of your "base" (folks you get an inherent +1 for). Get $10 if your base is businessmen.
Charismatic: get a bonus +1 to the media cycle for successful debate and interview answers.
Drawbacks:
Gaffe-prone: whenever a trivia question (or set of trivia questions) is asked to you, add an extra question. Give an additional -1 to media cycle score if answered incorrectly.
Sleazy: Negative ads give an additional -1
Lousy fundraiser: need a 7 or greater to successfully fundraise
Elitist: -1 to targeting workers
Crazy: When barnstorming, you pick the state. Your opponent determines which voter you target.
************************************************** *********
Examples of combinations:
Barack Obama: charismatic, elitist
John McCain: good at town halls, lousy fundraiser
George W. Bush: Common touch, gaffe prone
Bill Clinton: Common touch, sleazy
Ross Perot: billionaire, crazy
Ron Paul: good at online fundraising, crazy