Creating a board game is as much an exercise in creativity as it is in organization. It’s a path filled with imagination and challenges that will lead you to create a game that can be played and enjoyed. Although a lot of us have our own thoughts about what makes a game fun, the trick is to find a way to make these ideas become reality. The first step to creating a game that people can play and enjoy is to understand how to get from an idea to a playable prototype.
The Idea
Like all products and services, a board game starts with an idea. A game’s idea could start from a theme, a game mechanic, a storyline, or even what kind of experience you want your players to have.
Most great ideas are simple at the beginning. It is best to leave all the details aside at first and ask yourself what kind of experience you want to have. What are the players supposed to do during the game. The main idea will be the guiding light for all the other steps you take to create the game. The stronger a game’s main concept is, the stronger its foundation will be.
Game Mechanics
Game mechanics are the rules and systems you will use to create your game. These are the tools you’ll use to make your players work through obstacles to achieve victory in your game.
Most of the time, simpler is better. Having a small set of rules and systems you use to create engaging mechanics will make it easier for your players to learn and enjoy your game. It also helps you create a better game since all of your decisions can be made with the end goal in mind. Whenever possible, make sure your game’s mechanics compliment your game’s theme and experience.
The Player Experience
It isn’t just about what rules and mechanics you create for your game, but how your players feel when playing it. Do you want to make a game where your players have to work together cooperatively? Or do you want your players to compete with each other for supremacy? Is your game about strategy or is there more of an emphasis on creativity?
At this point, think about what kind of experience you want your players to have. Will you make your game fun by creating tension or chaos? What feeling or feeling do you want your players to experience? Knowing the type of experience you want your players to have will help inform your decisions as you progress with game design. The best games offer enjoyable and consistent experiences.
Building the Prototype
A playable prototype of a game is the best place to start when you want to create a prototype of a game. When making a prototype, you don’t need to have high quality components or professional artistic design. You just need to have a working version of your game to test your ideas.
Most board game designers start using paper, cards, and tokens as placeholders for all of their game components, and hand-written notes instead of printed rules when creating their first prototypes. Creating a prototype is the best way to determine what needs improvement before committing your time and energy to make a final product. Keep in mind, though, a prototype should focus more on functionality over aesthetics.
Playtesting and Feedback
Playtesting and feedback is an essential component to the game design process. During playtesting you will observe how players interact with your game and how your game works. This is where you get feedback that will inform you of what works and what doesn’t.
When testing your game, make sure to look out for players that seem confused. Take note of how players make their decisions and which moments in the game generate the most excitement. Feedback allows you to determine the problems with your game that you weren’t able to think of on your own. Effective playtesting allows you to gather information and improve the game, not to defend your design decisions.
Balancing and Polishing
During the process of playtesting and receiving feedback, you may find it necessary to make adjustments to your game’s mechanics, rules, and components. Some games have a lot of components that are easy to balance with each other because they’re easy to use in many different situations. Others need careful design and balancing so there are no unfair advantages to winning. This often means multiple rounds of testing and revision for each game.
Balance does not mean giving every option in a game an equal chance of winning. It means making sure every option is worth making while also not giving one option such an advantage that the other options are left in a weak situation. Most of today’s best games have gone through at least dozens of revisions before making them the way they are today.
Final Development
Once you have created a game that is fun to play and balanced, it is time for you to start looking into how you could present your game to the world. This may include adding a designer and illustrator to your team. This is also the stage where you think about how you want your final product to be, including the art, packaging, components, and rules. Having a strong presentation of your game is the only way your ideas will be effectively conveyed to an audience. Keep in mind, though, that a game’s gameplay is still the most important part.
Conclusion
Making a board game is just like any other process where you are experimenting and learning what works and what doesn’t. Starting with a good idea and testing through playtesting and feedback is the best way you can take any concept and turn it into a good board game. Keep at it with some passion and you can take the simplest idea and make it the best game people can play.