The local authorities boards used in Playtests 1 (top) and 2 (bottom). Between playtests, the local authorities were expanded from one board to four, one of which was the Mayor’s office, handling all financial matters and receiving instructions from the Regional Council. In this post, I’ll discuss the local authorities boards, which expanded quite a …

Fortsätt läsa Picking up the trash: the local authorities’ boards

The previous post gave a rough description of the population boards, and in this post we’ll have a look at the companies, all but one of which are involved in making sure the population has all the energy they need (and can pay for). This part of the game changed quite a bit between versions: …

Fortsätt läsa Service and profits: the company boards

Setup for Playtests 1 (top) and 2 (bottom), comprising 12 and 19 players, respectively. Since my last post, we’ve run both the first and second playtests of the game and I didn’t hold my promise of discussing how to write a rules document was written – as there was none. Going into the game design …

Fortsätt läsa Heart of the game: the population boards

The past week I’ve done a lot of designing (and redesigning) of game pieces. In this post, I’ll discuss how the design of game pieces in a megagame may impact players’ movement in the game room (and possibly destroy the game experience). One of the major concerns of a megagame designer, Wallman argues, is keeping …

Fortsätt läsa Minimising movement: using a steady-state game system

After a few weeks discussing what this game is really about, it’s time to realise what’s in my head and playtest it on October 20 at Linköping University (sign up here to join us – it’s played the old-fashioned way, i.e. on-site and face-to-face). In this post, I’ll tell you a little bit more about …

Fortsätt läsa Realising ideas: creating game pieces

In this post I’ll first deal with the three design directions that I outlined in an earlier post and then go on to an attempt at formulating the main real-world issue that I believe we’re trying to get at with the game. This is surely not the final wording, but it may be enough to …

Fortsätt läsa Defining the real-world issue: what is it all about?

With all the games I’ve designed so far, there has come a moment when all (or at least some) of the basic tenets of the game suddenly become utterly clear. This may sound suspiciously like an epiphany, but I would say that it is more of a decision, reached through hours and days of sifting …

Fortsätt läsa Basic tenets: what will the game be about?