Happy Thanksgiving, Roadtrippers! I hope that all of you had a tasty and warm Thanksgiving, filled with family, friends and feasting. Moreover, I want you to know how thankful I am that you’ve helped me make Roadtrip! and VickieGames better. So, thank you, playtesters! Thank you, readers! For those of you who haven’t yet seen,…
Tag: mechanics
Another week gone – new cards, two more playtests, a new game board design, and my Tips & Tricks from a Female GM article done! The New Game Board Graphics After taking into consideration the thoughtful suggestions from my playtesters, here is a sneak peak at the new game board graphic. I’m still adjusting and…
It’s been too long. I know! I admit that I love game design, even the graphics aspect. I love the thoughtfulness of it all. In turn, I tend to get a bit focused and I forget to post updates here. I admit it. So I’ve added a side column to my whiteboard organizer now which includes…
Playtests, playtests, and more playtests! Since my last update, I’ve been to many events and had Roadtrip! played another dozen times by over 30 people. Enough thanks cannot be said to those who sat down to play and provide feedback! The Playtests Celesticon’s Celetispiel: Attended all 4 days of this great event! Not only did…
I’ve only one word for you: Playtests! Ok, maybe I’ve got two words for you: Playtests and Options. Really, maybe one more word: Tightening. Essentially that’s the essence of this past two weeks. Roadtrip! remains the same at it’s core; playtests continue to be successful, ‘Fun!’ as most describe it. But, I have been up…
For the last several years, I’ve attended many game design workshops and playtest events at a variety of conventions from Gencon to Kublacon. In them I have taken notes diligently (like any proper engineer and/or Capricorn would). In hopes of finding some sage advice for new-to-the-industry designers, considerable time was spent frittering over and re-re-rereading…
A day late! But it has been a busy week… Another Playtest Event Completed! Last Thursday night I stopped by the Tabletop Thursday Game Designer Night at Hotel Durant in Berkeley, sponsored by Games of Berkeley. It was a blast and I met some great people and some fledgling designers like myself. I got two playtests…
Roadtrip!’s Game Board Kludge – When Flavor Dominates, Everyone Cries Well, I’m nothing if not obstinate. Perhaps it’s the Capricorn in me; maybe it’s because I’m the first child; possibly it’s just because I don’t like the word impossible. Whatever the reason, I recognized that it took me entirely too long to fix some of…
Roadtrip!’s Theme Mechanic – When Flavor Drives Rules To Ruin To continue the discussion from the last two posts, if you want to design more robust games and design them faster, I believe it’s crucial to analyze your game design process. I admit that the impetus to undertake this discussion arises from my program management…
Last week, I asked the Chicken and Egg question of game designers: What comes first? Mechanic? Theme? Component? Audience? In other words, I asked how do we each design. Clearly, there is no single correct answer to this inquiry. Every individual is, in fact, individual; and so everyone has his or her own style. Nevertheless, I asked…