Exploring Game MECHANICS - Designing a New Board Game

Let's talk "Mechanics" ... or "mechanisms"... Whatever! This is video #2 where I share ideas about designing and developing a board game. I'd love to hear what you think! Share any ideas/suggestions/advice down in the comments.
Enjoy!
Patreon - / newboardgamedesign
Music Credits:
"Walls" (Instrumental Version) by Icarus - Licensed through Artlist.io
"So So" (Instrumental Version)" by Roof - Licensed through EpidemicSound.com

[@geeknerd3428]

this night time idea is great but i would definitely recommend putting in a few negative outcomes as it will make any positive outcomes even more sweet

[@LemorasCards]

This video wasn't at all what I was looking for, but I'm so glad I found it. Love your ideas and passion, now I feel a new sense of excitement about hexagons.

[@haydengray2315]

The night time phase idea is GOLD! I think creating a sense of linear time adds so much to the world building.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Yes it does, brother

[@TylerAndToast]

Working on a game where you can trade or raid villages, towns, and cities. Trading gives you benefits while raiding gives you points. Raid: roll a dice (0,1,1,2,2,3) for level of settlement (village 1, city 3). Lose units equal to dice. If you have units left remove the settlement for 1,2,3 points depending on level of settlement. Trade: place unit on settlement. When you visit settlement claim number of currency or resources based on how many units are there. Resources/ currency are used to get more units and 1 time use item cards. That's the basis so far

[@RealMrTea]

That's a real solid base mechanic. I'd like to try your game ;)

[@michaeltitus8658]

Im designing a dice placement and manipulation game similar to marco polo. The archmage to the king has passed and the players are other mages of the order. They must complete contracts to aid other cities in the kingdom to win the kings favor and become the new archmage. Channels and podcasts i enjoy are "Gaming indoors" , "Think like a game designer" the "Board game insider" and "Board game design lab" are all great.

[@SnowFoxDiver]

Thanks for the advice, I'm currently working on a Cooperative business game where everyone has a role in the creation of a project, with roles like Designer to decide what they are doing, Accountant to decide if they can even do it with the budget, Artist trying to get colour combos and combinations, and the Marketer trying to gain interest for the project, all while they have to keep in mind the deadline, their declining stats like motivation and creativity, stress, and the events that play to throw curveballs.

[@gamersixtytwo5436]

That sounds cool

[@aaronegerman2485]

I'm currently designing a Euro-y worker placement game with the theme of making pottery. It's a mix of the classic "gather resources to complete contracts" type of thing, but the contracts are custom commission pieces that require a set of materials (clay, tools, glazes) to construct. The other main goal is centered around training your apprentice worker (the other worker being your master worker). Throughout the game you'll gain experience in different disciplines such as throwing and operating the kiln, so that both of your workers are more balanced and can perform different actions as efficiently as possible. There will also be special abilities to unlock, card playing, and an area majority mechanic, as each action that you take will cost you clay cubes that must be placed onto the center wheel which constantly rotates after each player's turn. I'm still pretty early on in the process but my prototype is nearing a playtest-able state. Excited to come across your channel and follow along your journey too!

[@jeromedemeyere1002]

I like the center wheel idea and teaching your apprentice.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Wow, I love your idea for this worker placement game! It's exciting that you're almost to the playtesting stage. Once its there, feel free to send me pics or info on it. I'd love to check it out! Thanks for the comment!

[@craiginzana]

This sounds like a great game! I love the theme and think it would be very fun to play with friends and replay.

[@VirenMirpuri]

I just watched my first video of your channel and you have already become my favourite KZbinr! I love your content and your commitment and your politeness. Makes me happy to join this community. Ps. I just finished designing my first card game today and I wanted to learn more about mechanics. Thank you for awesome advice!

[@PhilosophicalPawn]

Dude, I am in love with your thought process and the originality of what you came up with, definitely inspirational.

[@arandomcayote8638]

I admire he's effort on creative concepts, I mean doing or making, drawing something just to show us to understand is really efforting, and also I learned new mechAnics now at the same time!

[@guywhiteman6759]

Only has a couple videos yet video quality is amazing. Love the vids.

[@artbear6916]

It would be fun if nobody knew each others goals and you could try to put the pieces together, learn the goals of your friends and try to sabotage the other players to have a harder time achieving their goal. I don’t know if I have explained myself.

[@deanbond007]

I know I'm 2 years late but that sounds like ticket to ride lol

[@poseidonc1259]

Thanks for your hard work & diligence brother. This video is well made, & the ideas are flowing.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thanks so much!

[@TheDukeOfFall]

I’ve watched this video about 15 times now lol, these vids help me get in the right headspace for design!!

[@kimforsell8122]

Passion, focused discussion and great editing... I’ll follow along!

[@wilfredocasas9301]

Hi, just started designing my first board game today: RIVER WARS - three teams: Otters, Monkeys and Beavers are fighting for resources. Beavers can build, Monkeys can steal, Otters can kill. Who will survive?

[@heliox69]

That sounds great!

[@ShaneBurnettHOU]

Did you get this game launched?

[@wmurray003]

So have you started on the game?

[@makemaster9392]

you helped me so much! i am trying to desing a board game and this reey helped me😄

[@LegendaryTactics]

Awesome design ideas and great channel!

[@NatanelApfel]

Kind of feels like me as a viewer are on an adventure through your videos, uncovering interesting design thoughts every few minutes! :P Love the idea of choosing victory conditions at the start of the game, havent seen much/any of that before :)

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Ah, that's cool! I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. Thanks for the encouragement!

[@sonjagalyon-kamonika]

Thank you very much for some great game ideas. Congratulations on reaching your milestones.

[@hayleyandchriscarrington2897]

Very interesting and inspiring, thanks.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thanks for watching!

[@AH-gt2lq]

Weirdest thing.. Literally the last aspect of a game that I just worked on before I stumbled onto your channel serendipitously was a night phase, dictated by a die roll. Also with the idea of a loose moon phase (and also basically just for the occasional fullmoonlit nighttime bonus exploration), and the chance of inclement weather. My night phase idea included some campfire/relaxation time to unwind, eat, (maybe cook what was gathered that day) sing a song, etc. I hopped on youtube RIGHT after working on this, clicked this video, and have been tripping out on some of the similarities in our game design approaches. Great video, regardless of our creative overlap! I'm excited to check out your other content and see what else we have in common, and what I haven't thought of yet I'm sure! Thanks for sharing mate, inspires me to finally get a channel together here at some point. Cheers!

[@Khronos06]

Your game is going to be amazing!

[@jeromedemeyere1002]

I like where this is going. I'm getting a discover lands unknown vibe. I'm thinking that player's goals will become apparent by the tiles they discover. For example if I find a lot of plants on my path I'll be inclined to go for a 'plant' goal or adventure. Keep up the good work!

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thank you! I like your plant goal idea. This could work similar with a variety of terrain types of tile icons a player discovers throughout the game.

[@beardedgladiator8576]

I really love the way you are breaking down your ideas, it is really making me consider ways to document my progress. Also game sounds like a ton of fun and it is a really cool idea that I could see being a really unique experience every time you play. The game that I am currently working on is a survival card game focused on fighting back threats and balancing your use of force to avoid drawing too much attention from enemies well also making sure that you are not overrun.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thanks Gladiator! I've seen your comments on my other videos and I seriously appreciate your engagement and thoughts. I hope to keep you around with my future videos! Your game sounds cool! Although I don't play a lot of card games (mostly because I gravitate towards games with dice and boards), I'm getting more and more curious about how card games work. One day, I'm sure I'll try to design a card. Just gotta find a good theme and "feeling" to aim for. Cheers!

[@beardedgladiator8576]

@@NewBoardGameDesign I generally prefer boards as well I just thought for my first game it might be a little easier to get started with a card game. Though I may end up adding a board in the future if it makes sense to do so it just depends on where my game goes. Boardgame creation is so interesting to learn I am excited to try out different types of projects after I complete this one.

[@jperry722]

Your game sounds like it will be so much fun! I really like the idea of choosing different win conditions-especially the retiring one! I’m working on a game currently that has you searching in different parts of the ocean to build an army of fish and sharks to defeat a monster (kraken, fisherman, etc!)

[@Elfos64]

A board game idea I had is... I got to thinking about the relationship between randomness and strategy. Strategy games are terrible party games because different people at the party are going to have different levels of proficiency in strategizing, and whomever is best at strategizing will win consistently- no fun for everyone else. This is especially an issue when the players are different ages, kids and adults playing the same round. But you don't want too much randomness or else you get something like Candyland that's pure luck of the draw, no player agency whatsoever. So, you need some strategy and some randomness to balance things out. How to achieve randomness? Well, there's dice, card decks, spinner-boards, tile draw bags, but I feel there's other forms of randomness that have been underutilized. You know how Clue is really annoying because you can only make suspicions about rooms you're in, and if players want to be mean they can keep you in a perpetual loop of getting re-summoned to the same room over and over again when you're just trying to get to one specific different room? What if the whole game revolved around that, your location on the board being outside your control and you just have to be at its mercy, working within its restriction best you can. So far, I'm thinking of something like various demons that keep getting summoned to various summoer circles and players are both the demons and the summoners and have to do... something. Still workshopping the premise.

[@altonfamily4760]

Very inspiring i think I'll go and make a great game right now. Thank you.

[@gabylong3897]

I do not consider myself a board game player, but I am completely intrigued by your concept and anxious to see where this goes in the future! Waiting for Episode 4 now.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Gaby!!! I just realized this was YOU!!! Lol I’m sorry! Thank you for the comment and I’m glad you’re excited for the next video.

[@RealMrTea]

Whoa, your ideas are so much better than mines ! For example, I've come to the "choose your RPG type wining conditions" but I struggle to find variety or interesting idea of goals. The climb a mountain or go end your career into the woods are just awesome ;)

[@BorrisChan]

Working on a multiplayer, pseudo co-op game where you and three friends play witches/wizards, each elected by their own towns to defend against a powerful antagonist. It’s a race against the clock as the moon rises little by little, nearing the sun above. Beneath it: a dark, monolithic Pillar, which (if the lunar eclipse is fulfilled) will be imbued with a great and destructive power - unless you and the others successfully encircle the Pillar with unique, magic stones given to you by your village. If you fail, the antagonist will seek to bring about all manners of evils. Will he destroy the towns? Take them all hostage? Or even offer you all power to turn on his side? If/when the moon meets the sun, it will activate a lighting round, where any of these ‘Endings’ could be attempted - and create very real consequences which could even affect future play-throughs.

[@jazminewhite6291]

nice video! Thanking about writing for video games.

[@sunnydelight4253]

You're gonna be big, great editing and very informative. Keep up the great work!

[@invaderjay]

Working on a tactics game where players choose a faction with unique characters, buy weapons and skills for those characters, choose to work together or not, and then build a map using hex tiles and an objective card. The theme is that the factions are all composed of villain types within a broken city, similar to Gotham City, each hired by the same Illuminati type company that wants to watch the world burn. There's also a betrayal mechanic allowing, and sometimes even encouraging these temporary alliances to corrode midgame. First game ever, have other ideas written down as well. Not even sure if anything will ever come of it, but I definitely have learned a lot just working on this one.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Sounds like an interesting idea for a game. I often feel the same about my games. "Will this game every turn into anything?" But I think the process designing, prototyping, and playtesting naturally tells us what we need to know about our games. Its all about committing to the long journey. Some of the best games take YEARS to design.

[@barthdry]

I just done that when i was in 3rd to 6th grade. Tried to make dice based board games. I took in aspects like go to inspired from snake and ladder, stop no. means you can escape that lock if you put that number. I also made a checker inspired board game mixed with such aspect it is very interesting. (First time watching your video). Even several more forgotten over time. Also a game which is linear but with shortcuts and space theme etc.. just reminds me of past. Using a paper and pencil.

[@TheMagzim]

Again, great video! I'm working on an escape-room-in-a-box type of game for a local publisher (based on a local IP). And i've finished and tested an early prototype for a light tile laying game where you collect and place different toppings for your waffle. Every player also has a coffee cup that works as a timer (not real-time) but also determines the tile placement. The first couple of playtests were good, everything works mechanically, but I'm struggling to introduce more tension (fiero). I''ve been fiddling with scoring conditions to make it work. I'm curious to see how you'll cope with this in your design!

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Maxime, thanks for this comment and your previous one that proved to be so helpful! Your designs sound awesome! I'm definitely jealous of how far you've made it in those designs. Its sometimes overwhelming to think how much effort it will require to get a fresh game idea to completion. But hopefully the journey is enjoyable! I'll be watching out for those same moments in my design where I think, "But where's the "fiero?!?!"

[@wipeguy]

Hey, just found your channel. Great stuff. Keep it up! I'd like to add something to your "Night Time Die" idea. When rolling a die an immediate reaction from the player is always best. We don't want players not knowing what they get and having to check the result sheet after every roll. I do not mean specific result but more generally if it is positive or negative. It might be best to allocate roll results in a way that positive outcomes match higher rolls and negative outcomes match lower rolls. This way even by not knowing the exact result outcome of the die after rolling an 11 the player will know it is something positive. You might as well use a D6. If you insist on using a D12 you might want to couple the results by consecutive order. Not 1/7, 2/8 etc. But rather 1/2, 3/4 etc. This is more structurally sound for remembering when playing. I am working on my own prototypes as well and agree that dice, when used right, do not make a game too swingy and luck-dependent. Good luck!

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Love the comment and suggestion! Thank you. I agree about the dice. I’m working on better ways to ingrate this mechanism. Keep the ideas coming! Glad to have you along

[@BillyIndiana]

I like your "layered" exploration ideas (i.e. interconnected caves). Perhaps while the tiles reveal a small detail there is a map book to further explore those layers. Could be tricky to do with multiple players needing the book, but just brainstorming. I love your night phase idea. Many games have a night phase, but they're typically just a cleanup of sorts. I like the implementation of the dice bringing some randomness & adventure to the night experience. Your ideas on variable end game or win conditions are very clever! I don't know if you've played Forgotten Waters, but while they play cooperatively primarily, each player pursues various skill advancements to create their own ending. They track their own skills and achievements on player sheets. I wonder if something like that could facilitate your idea. If each player had a personal map they were developing & tracking their progress on? I really enjoy your videos & listening to your creative process. Keep it up!

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thanks for the comment and suggestion, Billy! I haven’t heard of Forgotten Waters, so I’ll definitely be checking it out soon. Thanks for the tip!

[@arjunheart5859]

I'm working on a hex-based tile adventure game too. I'm using catan-sized hexes. I'm taking inspiration from Betrayal: House on the Hill for the deck drawing (i.e. a city tile draws a city card when you first reveal it). Additionally, there are 3 types of roads: stone, dirt, and bridge. When you explore a new tile, you draw tiles until you find one with a matching path. Then you play the matching path and shuffle the rest back to the bottom of the tile stack. It also uses the "legacy" mechanic of a non-shuffled deck that you draw certain cards from in certain cases (like the demon lord or legendary sword, which have special conditions to show up)

[@sebastianhuschina3709]

Hi, I'm designing a tactical game with an open world for Exploration. My idea was to have cards that show you where you are, what is there and where you can go from there. When you leave the area in one direction you put the Card back and search for the card which represents the area that is connected in the choosen direction. That is done by searching for a abstract code in a Deck, which gives no clue one which areas are connected two each other. For my exploration was always about not seeing what lies ahead but the possibility to explore it and find things you would never have Expected.

[@shawnreuter4452]

Hi, I have started designing a cooperative board game based on a rare disease that I have called Cystinosis. I want the board game to be an experience into the life of a person with cystinosis. The players will play as family members trying to help their son, daughter , brother or sister survive dealing with the hardships that you can experience living with the disease. I plan to implement my theme through the use of event cards which some events players would have to contribute cards with a value to make the event a success. Similar to battle star galactic but obviously it will not be as brutal as that’ game is. You should start a discord I would love to discuss ideas with other designers. I am far from creating my game since I am in college going for a computer science degree but nonetheless I am excited about thinking of cool mechanics that I could introduce into my game.

[@erichorner8336]

Just saw your fast travel cave idea and thought I’d mention a potential problem you would have to overcome. If you fast travel from cave A to cave B, B would already have been discovered, potentially all the hexes around B will also have been discovered.... which means players will need to gain a benefit from going to already discovered tiles and not just gain a benefit when they discover a tile. And if players gain benefits from already discovered tiles, the benefits need to not be so great that it discourages discovery... “if I can just go between these 3 tiles to get all I need to win, I don’t need to explore”.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

These are the comments I live for! Thanks Eric! You’re right and I agree. There is a balance there. Luckily I do want tiles that have already been flipped over to still have value for players who haven’t traveled there yet. Still working that out. Send me your thoughts.

[@eduwoodentoysgrace4077]

Really Fantastic to see the new design Games,We are Board Game Manufacture,Good at produce printed nice box,board,rules,brochures,wooden pawns,dice...

[@sea_triscuit7980]

I got a wizard Summoning Wars thing going on. One wizard with a band of 3 adventurers to assist them in obtaining a relic. Another wizard shows up with his own band of warriors to obtain it for themselves. The players can Duke it out and each turn they can use magic to gain an edge in battle. (Undead vs Elves for example. The undead wizard can summon cheap units on the field to mob whereas the elves have a limited number of units but they're more mobile and use bows/healing to gain an edge instead. I won't go too much into detail but it's a king of the hill type of situation for a standard game)

[@militarygradepotato]

Awesome video! I played a few exploration games while doing so I thought about a cool mechanic that I am going to base my game off of. So exploration in games( video games and board games) sometimes has a feeling of cheating you if other players gain great things exploring and you unearth a pile of junk. My idea is that before exploring you can choose how many turns or how long you will explore and the more turns you explore the greater the rewards will be example ; you could spend 1 turn to explore and draw from a pile of hexes that has asteroids, ice moon or dead star or you could spend 3 turns and draw from a pile of hexes that has new terra, minor government, abandoned battle fleet etc. You would still not know what you would find but you are guaranteed to find something good if you send your explorers out for a while . This makes sense to me in a space theme as the universe is so big if you send out expeditions for a long time they are bound to find something of interest. Helpfully this makes sense if anyone thinks this is interesting please feel free to use it.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Love the comment and game ideas! You're right, the turns function in your game makes sense for the expansiveness of space. The longer you take, the better reward you will get. I also hear your warning. If my game allows for 2 players to take the same amount of time exploring, and 1 of them CLEARLY has better luck in what they find, then I've failed to create a good experience. I'll have to keep thinking about this function of the game, but I think it will have something to do with including various other mechanics (not just exploration) where players have several things to do in front of them, and winning the game requires being smarter about the actions to choose between each turn. See!!! You got me thinking! Thanks

[@militarygradepotato]

@@NewBoardGameDesign thanks and and again great video!

[@justingolden21]

Great ideas. I'd say choose only one icon per tile. I think a very important part of game design is emotion, you want to evoke emotion, something is important, risky, rewarding, fun, bizarre, funny, etc. I was just talking about the idea of choosing goals at the beginning of the game with my dad; he mentioned Careers where you secretly choose your goals at the start. The die with semi random events reminds me of Takenoko, that's a really well designed game, also has hex tiles.

[@Foxuniverso]

i started work on a Dungeon Crawler, 2v2 is the preferred player count, still a fresh concept, but i like the ideas, up to this point an idea i have is any player can set up a trap and to disarm the trap you have to skip a turn on or next to the trap, if you're on the trap and don't want to fix it, you pick a trap card... dk if ima do it yet, but i think its neat! My advice to join communities is get in Reddit dude, that place has a few table top game building subs and they're full of people, from noobs to pros

[@joashchipping-jarrold6518]

I'm currently working on game about Pharaohs who have died, gone to the afterlife and now have to prove which one of them has the most right to rule, and so become a god. I'm never sure exactly what the right descriptors are, but there's strategy/war/kind of worker placement /portfolio + economy management. Big part of the game is that it takes place in the Ancient Egyptian paradisaical realm of Aaru, the Field of Reeds, a sort of idealised heavenly version of the Nile Valley, with islands dotted about everywhere. So I use Hex Tiles to create random maps every time the game is played (meeting certain conditions like number of islands, size of islands, tile composition etc.) I love the idea of new worlds creating new gameplay. And a shifting heavenly realm seemed appropriate for that. Players have got to take actions such as worshipping at temples, building monuments and battling one another to progress each of the 3 rounds. At the end of each round you score Right to Rule based on your performance, after the final round, winner is the player with the most right to rule.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

I love the game idea! I'm not familiar with Ancient Egyptian culture and history, but I can imagine your clear theme from what you've described. Sounds like a great starting point. How far have you gotten in your design? Thanks for the comment! I love reading about people's designs!

[@didjargo]

I'm working on a TTRPG with a focus on befriending mystical creatures that transform into enchanted weapons and armor, which you wield during battle. I'm still in the early stages of brainstorming the battle and roleplay mechanics. Though my intention is to make the battles snappy "theater of the mind" affairs with dynamic player-driven turn order and an emphasis on cooperation

[@anatomicallycorrectmuppets8180]

I got lost counting all his freckles.. now I have to start over 🥺

[@PrinceRezlock]

Dark Fantasy, D&D-esque tabletop: Weapons vs. Plate Armor, slashing weapons have their damage reduced by the armor's "armor" number, piercing weapons ignore armor value but deals only half damage, and bludgeoning weapons deal their full damage to the armor, with any excess damage going to the armor's wearer. I'm really into designing tabletop systems that are intended to be played on a virtual tabletop (like Roll20 or Foundry), because in the areas that the program takes care of, it can be as complicated as it needs to be. Much like a video game, the players don't need to learn those mechanics. But where the players interact with the system (like character creation and play) I can make sure it's as simple as possible. I also like to have all of the player's options be 'words' as opposed to 'numbers'.

[@ToughButtons]

I am designing a fantasy BG that played like FTL. Cooperative, fast, thematic and brutal.

[@xandermichael78]

I love the idea of choosing your own win conditions, but the challenge there is balancing them all. Would it be easier to retire in the woods vs. climb the mountain? Love watching your videos as I'm also working on designing my first game.

[@Tysto]

8:48 So only good things happen at night? That's not very in keeping with a wilderness exploration theme. “Hooray! bad weather!”

[@jemtaylor3738]

I know im late but I am making a winter themed survival exploration game where the players need fire both to stay warm and see the otherwise blacked out tiles, that are flipped over in the light players have to search for train parts to repair the cargo train they crashed on

[@docbun]

I'm curious to see where this is going to go, at what kind of pace, and how. I'm not in the target audience (I've always felt no interest in survival-mechanisms, and I'm definitely more randomness-averse than most players I talk to - this doesn't have to say or influence anything about this game, though, as there is no one game to rule us all players ;) but your videos have got me curious. I am also very much in favor of more videos about board game design in general. So I'll tag along for the ride!

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Make no mistake, this channel is for YOU and any other person into board game design. I completely respect your preferences, and I'll aim to deliver good enough dialogue on the design process to keep you interested. Thanks for the comment!

[@Boxy005]

Started designing my own version of a Game of thrones board game. Rather than being based on one specific thing, I'd like to have a blend of factors such as strategy, intrigue etc.

[@bibleboardgames5199]

Interesting to hear how other designers think. I usually like to start with a story element, theme, and feel. Then pick out mechanics that will work with that. If you are going for RGP or Adventure, then hexes can make sense as they have a bit more organic feel than squares.

[@arandomcayote8638]

Working on a gAme where it sets on a place like an abandoned airfield and the artsyle is like Cartoon Network's Clarance and adventuretime togheter. It's where you just have fun hanging or playing around, like basketball on a hoop board made from a ww2 plane landing gear, play tag with mArshmallow creatures, or drive an old crappy aircraft's tanker truck on the runway and how far can you can go? Each time u roll the dice, thats called a distance, just dont roll 6 or youll end your run

[@arandomcayote8638]

I just want to create something like an attraction place where you wont get bored

[@antoniusmaximus3174]

So I have been milling over a card based Tabletop RPG in the kin to D&D or Pathfinder. Yes I know that there is already a Pathfinder card game out there however Ive been trying to meld the story telling with the gameplay. I have made person place and thing cards via paint.net what I am trying to experiment with is 1 v 6 gameplay. GM VS players kind of thing, basically I wanted to see if I can do something like drop person place and thing cards on the fly that would randomly tell the story for the players. Or the gm can draw cards in advance and make up an even better story. Then as the cards drop, the players would be able to create a character of their choosing just like in D&D or whatever. However they get to pick equipment, skills and magic cards to complete their characters, making them all unique. As they go through the story I figured I would make a card game system that would determine the choices, social encounters and combat. And that is what I seem to be stuck on so far. I tried a blackjack style card game, as in player hit / stay vs opponent hit stay seems to be a logical step. I also tried poker like hands that you would try to beat each the GM in your hand. Then I assigned the Ace, King, Queen, Jack special powers. Also Burn 2 or more of the same suits to be able to use special skills at the price of possibly having a nice hand. But thats where im kind of stuck. Anyone have any suggestions on card mechanics that would meld well with this? The Story Telling cards seems to work pretty well. Especially if you draw them in advance. But the card game aspect is where Im kinda stuck.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

First of all, I love this idea because I’m currently trying to design a lite D&D campaign-inspired hex crawler that you can take to the pub and fool around with while your having a drink. This card idea is right up the same alley. I’ve been playing around with the idea of having cards representing each “act” or “chapter” the players are entering. These ACT cards always have two objectives on them - either players complete 1 objective or the other. They cannot do both. This forces the players to choose what they want to focus on together, but it also means once they accomplish 1 objective, they move onto the next ACT (card) with more choices. These choices have a permanent impact on the game, and it determines the story and setting changes the players will interact with later in the game. Maybe adding CHOICES to some of your cards can simulate the diverging paths they can take as a party. Thanks for sharing your design ideas!!! Good luck.

[@antoniusmaximus3174]

@@NewBoardGameDesign Thank you So an update i've been developing the card game aspect of it and have been working on like possibly a strategy based game.

[@abishek98xxx]

I'm using hex tiles in my game too! How did you prototype your tiles if i may ask?

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Awesome! Good luck with your design. First, I cut out hexes from cardboard and drew the terrains. If you print out different sizes of hex shapes on a sheet of paper, then you can choose a template to use for cutting out many more.

[@Tacoskillzzz_VR]

While watching this you have me an idea of You explore and land on different hexes BUT as you explore you find place a hex and you can grab a flipped hex and flip it over and place it down then there can be place two hexes and so on. The goal is to build a good land but if you over 10 bad spaces on your land you must start over Do you like it

[@kurzyorze7586]

I want to make a hexagonal tile placing boardgame. What software can i use to make good graphics for my tiles? Preferably with ready to place pieces like trees bushes hills ruins etc because im not that good with drawing by hand personally

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Maybe use Canva.com They have LOTS of clip art to use. Might be the easiest website for minimal effort.

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

I'm currently designing an war game/area control related to the RPG book I published last year. I intend on releasing it next year throu crowd funding, as I did with the book. The game is pretty much finished, I'm starting to test expansions that will be the extra goals of the campaing hehe Unfortunatly the game is all in portuguese so far. But I intend on making it language independent outside of the rulebook, wich will be translated.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Congrats on getting so far in your design! If you’re working on expansions already then you’re pretty far in the development process. Thanks for comment, and good luck with launching the game!

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

@@NewBoardGameDesign Yeah, I'm developing it since the begining of the year as my full time job, alongside my next RPG book hehe

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

@@NewBoardGameDesign As I said, the game is only in portuguese for now, but in case you wanna take a look: tabletopia.com/playground/cronicas-de-sangue-e-gloria-6ezi94/play-now

[@FragRevel]

On winning condition, the game Pax Renaissance is very intresting

[@jessesamuelanderson9587]

Your game sounds fun.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thank you!

[@Elfos64]

Your Night Time Die reminds me of the game Vampire Hunter. To those unfamiliar, it's a game that revolves around the day/night mechanic signified by the light tower's orange and blue modes. The board, tiles, cards, and dice are marked with colored ink that is only visible under either the orange or blue lights. The difference it makes is that the insta-lose countdown gets closer to triggering in the day, but the movement die rolls higher and the combat die has higher chance of success. Whereas during the night, you're more likely to encounter enemies you have to fight and you have booby-traps to worry about. Also, there's shortcut portals that change location between day and night. The light mechanic is fascinating, but I don't feel the game uses it to its full potential. I tried messaging the publisher, Hasbro, about it, but they said the game is out of print and they have no plans for it until further notice.

[@Luchiop]

Great video... wish i could show you what I´m working on... hard to find people to playtest with or to show for feedback.

[@stephendefalco5081]

I know people have mentioned parks but maybe check out ‘Trekking the World’ for other fun exploration ideas 😃

[@user-bb3kw8gx1n]

Your videos are edited so well do you make them?

[@Azihayya]

Thoughts: First I thought, a goal to do something specific, and arduous, like climbing a mountain, would be contrary to a goal that relies on discovery--but, then I thought, what if when you get to the top of the mountain, you get to turn over a leaf and discover something on the map. I personally really like the idea of draft mechanics in board games, which is what my design relies heavily on--and I think this would be a really good candidate for a game idea that relies heavily on draft mechanics; having players draft not only goals--but by having players draft elements of the game board, you can actually induce a sort of randomized fairness by having players procedurally generate elements on the map competitively. How do you have players choose where to place game elements? Does it matter if you have all of those tiles where things can be discovered, if the procedure for placing them is generic or predictable? How do you create a procedure that is effective at placing contents on the game board in a way that is meaningful?--I think for a free-for-all competitive, goal-oriented game like this, that having a drafting process is the most effective solution. Players start to think, "Okay... Well, I can't rely on getting all of these goals together... So it may be for the best if I don't place all of these tokens together... In fact--it might even be better for me to place these tokens farther apart."; then, there's strategy in drafting the goals. It might be better if players don't know who will be drafting the first role. But you start thinking, "Well, they made achieving this goal very punishing--but some of these other goals might be more achievable."--and it really pits players thinking not only against each other, but for themselves. That's where there's a really nice tug-of-war of balance going for a drafting process in a game like this.

[@martinjoseferreyra1961]

I'm really new in this thing of designing games. I'm thinking of doing one about castles and sieges, very centered in the parts of the castle. The other one is a faster game to play with many friends in which you have to survive and/or kill so as to win, with different medieval army units hidden to the others, one card per player. If anyone could give any piece of advice related to initiating in this world of game design and mechanics (maybe some book, pdf or KZbin channel) I would be very grateful. Lovely channel man, greetings from Argentina!

[@manhogbear1086]

What if there were wild animals and conflicting winning conditions where a hunter would be hunting and killing/collecting animals and photographer would be attempting to photograph live animals (and other beautiful sites)? thanks for continuing with videos, cool to see you're over 233!! this subscriber watches with son so you have even more views than you know. We like El Dorado and the National Park "Parks" game which this is reminding me of the most so far.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thanks again for the encouraging comment! I love that your son watches these videos. Maybe he'll design a game soon, and I'll get to play it! Your idea about the different player professions is interesting. This would be a good route to take if I wanted to add asymmetry to the player abilities. Great thought!

[@JosephLachh]

This was a year ago and he passed 100 subs...He now has 1.55K. Blows my mind.

[@CrymeScene]

i play ALOT of yugioh and rpg. i have an idea for a tabletop that utilizes both card and quest mechanics, including boss fights, silly missions, and combat. also, i want to play your game you described in this video. it seems very interesting, my boys and i would have a great time campaigning throughout :)

[@clintj]

The Night time dice is a great addition. Yes the inclusion of dice might introduce luck.. BUT it plays to the factor of weather and night... you CANNOT control this, so it is in essence luck

[@jessicayoung8754]

I'm currently brainstorming on a deck building board game where you're stuck in prison and to win you have to escape. I'm still working through the starting process of developing the structure of the game and I need a few ideas for end-of-round goals (btw I liked your idea where you choose your own goal, could I use that?) and to build your deck up, you have to get to other squares on the board that give you new cards. But as you can see, and I can to, this game isn't fully developed and the ideas are all over the place, so I'm open to suggestions!

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thanks for sharing your design ideas, Jessica! Cool idea for a deck builder. And of course! You can use the idea of choosing goals. I don’t consider it “mine” as much as it is a wish I hope my game can fulfill. Maybe you’ll actually be able to implement it!

[@comfixit]

If you are willing to receive and share some ideas let me know. I have a Roll and Write I am trying to work on with a Ground Hogs Day sort of repeatability factor. When you say end of round, what is a round in your game, how many rounds are there? Sounds like a cool theme/idea.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

@@comfixit I’m always open! Right now, I’m not sure how many rounds the game will have. The game is constantly changing so I don’t have a clear answer for you. I will say that I’m moving closer to using a day/night schedule for a round structure. But in a single day, players will have lots of actions.

[@billbooth2577]

Sounds interesting, for the Victory situation what if instead of just picking there own victory scenario each player picks one and then each player earns victory points for completing any objective and it's the first player to reach the max number of victories that actually wins, ie if there are 5 players the max victory points is 5, so first to reach 5 points wins 🤔🙂

[@dannymccrea9642]

Unoriginal I know but I’m making a zombie themed board game, To create a little replayability and a feeling of exploration I’m making a randomly generated map to play on and I’m aiming to include some pretty wacky weapons which each slightly change how the game is played in their own special way. That and a constantly escalating sense of dread at the shear size of the hoard.

[@MrSwedisBit]

A hexagon grid war game

[@Kommaer]

"You came up with" ? sorry, mate! i dont want to steal your mechanics. lol. i would love to make a explorational trading logistics game but obviously it is hard to imagine that kind of game with some looting and need for a mercenaries etc. And second one would be football(soccer) board game based on Hattrick football manager game. At this point i have designed few wooden educational games.

[@garrettbollig761]

are you on twitter yet? get a twitter handle, rock a few hashtags, tweet everyday, retweet and comment on friendly and benign posts... also, how about hosting a twitch stream on weekends to literally brainstorm with an audience: submit a few questions to be answered by the mob, compare themes to mechanics, even direct the mob to help the audience with some brainstorming somehow! new follow, keep it up!

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Garrett, you’re right. Twitter could be an awesome way to engage and create more dialogue. Right now, I don’t have the bandwidth to do it. Hopefully I can break into it this fall

[@chefjbr]

Hi, thanks for the knowledge you are sharing, your passion for game design shows. Can I pay you to discuss a game I’m working on and get some feedback on it?

[@josedariothenmarinez8646]

hi excelent video. I am building a board game where the central idea revolves around people with skills and equipment that will ultimately serve as a purpose of saving the world from gods of destruction

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Holy cow. Sounds epic! Good luck with your designs!

[@ivanbarbir9951]

I'm attempting to make a ww2 stile wargame on a hexagon map and need tips

[@jonydude]

Play Tokaido. Like, drop everything you’re doing and go play. This game has already achieved the feeling you’re trying to create. If you don’t play it, you’ll likely end up creating a game near identical to it without realising. I know, it doesn’t have hexes or tiles, but I promise you that is the only difference.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thanks for the comment Jonathan! I have played Tokaido. And I think I know how it could be similar to the game I’m creating. But if I achieve what I’m aiming for, then my game won’t feel like Tokaido. How do you see the similarities? This might help me

[@jonydude]

Tokaido is about trying to have an amazing holiday rather than merely a good one. Your game is about having an amazing time exploring rather than merely a good time. They also have the same pacing, and I expect they’ll be the same weight.

[@dantexas4571]

A Hexploration game?

[@erichorner8336]

Dice work when all players gain the same thing. Just don’t do roll and move! :/

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

You’re absolutely right

[@Ssssssnakeisone]

Came for additional perspective on game mechanics in general, so my following comments probably stem from the disappointment in learning it was a video of not-that. A few points here: A five-second segue into and out of a related topic (gaming that happens on video rather than tabletop) is not a "rabbit hole". It's not even a bellybutton. There's a lot of unsure language in the video; "Maybe, might, what if, it may, could be...", etc. This tells me two things as a new viewer: You don't know what you're making, and you don't know what you're telling me. Related to that, you put more into the video editing than design notes (as of now), and that again tells me two things: You don't know what you're making, and yet you're trying to sell me your channel. It seemed after the third or fourth time it was repeated that you sincerely believe the singular of "dice" to be "dice". It is "die". As you were rolling a single 12-sided die, the use of "dice" tells me two things: You aren't a tabletop gamer, and are working on a pet project rather than something with serious research behind it. Your face is too close to the camera throughout the video. Do not sell me your face. Do not sell me your personality. Sell me game mechanics, the ones I was promised in the video title. Speaking of which, why are you blatantly trying to poach MY mechanics at the end of the video? Many games rely on a single gimmick for their sales pitch. Now here you are baldly demanding I hand over my meal tickets. No, sir. You get nothing. By the same token, if you have great mechanics that your game revolves around, you'd do well to keep them to yourself. And here's the praise: (...!) You're working on designing a game. Games are great! You're hands-down one of the best-edited presenters I've seen talking about game design. That will help deliver information (once you have it) in palatable, concise fashion and create a strong brand for you. You have a very good idea in creating a game that de-stresses player elimination, is thematically persuasive and consistent, and removes RNG from punishing results that can leave one (or more) players feeling averse to the experience. Exploration, mutually beneficial events, and game depth in the form of location names (and potentially backstory) or characters with unique motivations all serve to bolster the player experience and provide more fun and replay value. You're obviously interacting with (and thankful for) a community, however small or large, and take the time to acknowledge people in ways that aren't perfunctory or trite. Well done. Keep on. You seem earnest and positive, as well as a comfortable speaker, which offsets a lot of gaffes. Experience abets ease of design and description thereof, but the rest is harder to come by. And yes, I am working on a game. It makes "Twilight Imperium" seem like "Candyland".

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Thanks for the feedback. I hope you see that I’m trying my best right now. I’m VERY new to KZbin and game design. What I offer here is all I have to offer, for now. Thanks for watching. I hope to keep improving.

[@AngryKaren647]

I'm not into the fantasy type board game, I want to design a naval war or just trench warfare type of game. If someone has maybe a youtube video or just advice that could help me out, it would be great. PD: nice video

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Sounds cool. What is it about warfare that you’re trying to capture in a board game? What’s the “feeling” that you want players to leave with? Also, how will your game use mechanisms in a unique way from other skirmish/war games? Just curious questions to help you think. Good luck on your design!

[@AngryKaren647]

@@NewBoardGameDesign IDK if you are familiar with games like Hoi4, VictoriaII, or EU4. I would like to do something like that or reduce it to just one part of the game (like naval combat) The game mechanic that I would use is rolling dices but I don't know if that would capture how it happens IRL. I want people to feel like making a decision can change the course of the battle, and how it can change by adding (for example) a carrier to your fleet. Also, one thing that is almost impossible to capture from these games is industry and/or production.

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

@@AngryKaren647 Very cool! I'm not familiar with those games, but I think that's very possible for you to use elements from those games and make it your own. Also, I actually there could be ways to integrate industry and production in a war game. What comes to mind is a way to allow players to build a production line or war engine on the side of the board (off the war grounds) as players are preparing to use their forces in the battle. I imagine there could be great ways to challenge players in how efficient they are developing their forces versus the battle presence on the board. Just a thought!

[@AngryKaren647]

@@NewBoardGameDesign that could actually work thanks!!

[@adamchurvis1]

Forgive me, as I am new to this, but how is this a video on game mechanics? It's probably just me and my inexperience talking, and if so please correct me (I could really use the help!), but this seemed to be talking about EVERYTHING having to do with board game design in an unorganized stick-and-move kind of way; it was not specifically about game mechanics, which I was trying to learn. Would some kind soul out there please correct my misunderstanding?

[@ActionHero2Go]

Balance might be an issue on some of these themes if you are doing a competitive game. Check out this video and see if it helps. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hImnaYyHbM-Sh80

[@captainiceberg8637]

You should come back to KZbin

[@xProjectKaos]

Dude what happened, where’d you go?

[@NewBoardGameDesign]

Haha, had to take an extended break to focus on work and life. Sorry for the extreme delay in posts. Will be posting again sometime this year though

[@xProjectKaos]

@@NewBoardGameDesign I will be waiting! You’re work is amazing!

[@shotdoctor5869]

Is this entire video an intro?

[@chimster1234]

L

[@Big_Dai]

The title is just wrong and dubious .. it's designing YOUR game, and not a game in general.

[@haydengray2315]

First

[@jowlpagyow4496]

This knowledge is illegal