Oh boy, a rabbit hole. Being busy with loads of board games also means that you see flaws and defects in games. Next to that, I am also a really busy little (?) fellow and love to think about stuff. This means, that the inevitable happens sooner than later. Game design. That is my Itch I NEED to scratch.
So many games that get it right… ish.
The sea of games is ever expanding. For every game that disappears, two more pop up and not all are good. Some of them, like Eldfall Chronicles gets it 99% right. Games release with brilliant ideas, but the wrong time and place to release them, like Godtear. Games that disappear into the void of many games that should not be there. Every game gets something right, but there are also flaws in every game. Godtear is not gone by the way, it’s just not acknowledged enough to stay mainstream and that’s a pity. It’s superb! You just can’t predict something like Covid!
There are too many players that play too many games, meaning that everyone can find something to complain about in all the games available. Luckily, we are not here to talk about the flaws in our board and wargames lately, but ideas that I have to make the best game possible that I would love to see happening. My opinion of course, but your own ideas are always the best in your opinion.
My first go at games design
So, I believe it was in 2017, that I went to KS to try to put Battletiles on the map. It was a living map tile system. Depending what was on the map, it would give perks to the defending and attacking player of the map tile.
It had many different MDF tiles, ranging from forests to towns and just blank “desert” or “waste” tiles. They would visualize the regular battles and more epic battles. It had options to attack with more armies (players) and it gave the option to defend with more armies. Heck, I even had YouTubers reviewing the product and all were pretty excited.
The day finally arrived and it was time to go live with the system. Everything was already tried and tested and all the product was already designed, ready to produce and send to customers….
Before the KS ended, the first couple of cheaper 3d printers arrived and it all went down the drain. The KS eventually failed because MDF was not desirable anymore for this cause. Soon after, one of the biggest campaigns came to be that (what I thought then) should have been my success… They made what I envisioned and that marked the end of my game design shenanigans… Hexton Hills.
Then, along came friends
Friends that made a game with Hot Wheels cars and I am not talking about Gaslands. He showed me “the way” that is better called the Itch you can’t scratch unless you start writing. From there, I have written a couple of ideas on what I think I call “realistic” wargames. “Realistic” being applicable realism towards the setting.
Some examples of games
It never stays with just one idea, but all of them share the same premise more or less. Realism in some form or way. I love the fact that there is a hidden element that starts working when the actual “game” starts. I will explain in the below themes.
War
the first idea resolved around a 2-4 model per side army tactics wargame, where individual emotions play a big part of the success of the game. What happens when you see a colleague blow up by stepping on a landmine. In realistic settings, no-one just “continues” what they would do when this didn’t happen. One could enter a shocked state for a round, trying to grip its emotions or just starts puking at the site of death and gore, slowly going insane by the act of war. Certainly dice heavy, but not stat heavy.
The realism here, is that the models were (are) planned in a bigger scale. This means that you have to spend time with your toy soldiers, growing fond of them and doing your best to paint them the best you can. In-game, the game makes is terribly clear that the true enemy is war itself, not the soldiers doing the bidding of the ones that stay safe in barricaded homes.
1v1 Multiplayer
Another one is one that is basically a 1v1 multiplayer game, played at the same time but one different boards by different people. Each board represents a different time frame in the same world where a unit of models jumped to. When one objective in the earliest time period is completed, the objective is removed on the later period boards.
An example of this would be a bunker that is impossible to enter in board 2 and 3, but there is something that board 3 needs in order to continue their mission. Board 1 players mission is to open the bunker, board 2 is to locate the contents of the bunker and open a something that board 3 will use to win the complete game. a 1v1 multiplayer game, where all players are dependent on the success of the previous players in the timeframe. Game nights evolved so to speak.
Not realistic in any way (yet it seems) when you look at the concept of time travel, but realistic in a way that it alters the boards of the timeline that comes after the change. When board 3 alters something, nothing happens. When board 1 changes something, it ripples into board 2 and 3.
Mechs
The most recent one is where thinking of a mech type game with 28mm bigger mech models that the opponent needs to “read” before actually knowing what they are up against. Besides that, there are different mech types that are the same for each player, apart from the loadout of said mechs. Equal playing field, different every time. Think of it as the cards in a magic deck.
You can choose a certain amount of cards to utilize the deck (mechs) and which ones you choose are responsible for the win or not. This not only makes the game unique every time, but the different mechs and the element of surprise make the game also fun to play. At least, that’s what I think of it.
Realism here, is that in a time when big robots dominate the battlefields, technology has some so far that a “miss” with technology driven machinery is a thing of the past. Every shot becomes a hit, but the loadout of the mechs is where the fate of the hit is being decided. Technology is where the hit actually lands. Next to that, the match starts out with “blips” rather than mechs. It’s up to the opponent to find out what mech is what blip.
Realism is not knowing what the enemy (to a certain extent) is going to use to get the job done and this game concept leans heavily on it.
So, what now?
This is not only a rant of the roach, but also one to see if there is actual interest in games like that. They still flow nicely, but every game tries to offer something new that no-one has seen before in a wargame. Should I continue or let the concepts wither in the void of many games I spoke about earlier?
Should I start testing them out (the first and last are pretty far in already) to see if they are interesting to release officially? Would you look forward to getting them via a crowdfunding platform and if so, would you like to see models for them?
Would you be interested in helping to make these concepts a playable product? Stay tuned for more or respond to the call!
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