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The qualities of Fun
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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I was playing with a game design a few weeks ago and had an unfortunate revelation. “Once I work out the balance issues with this will it actually be fun…?” It made me start thinking about what are the qualities of a game that make it fun and why. I’m sure I’m missing several so chime in if you wish. Here’s what I’ve got so far...
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Posted Tue Oct 19, 2004 6:27 pm
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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Evolving strategy
Evo, St. Petersburg, San Juan. The satisfaction of nursing a plan and opportunism for the big payoff
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2.
Board Game: Hive
[Average Rating:7.38 Overall Rank:85]
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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Tactian
Dia de los muertes, Hive, Wings of War, The pleasure of outmanuvering your opponent. A lot of abstract, trick taking and wargames fall into this catagory
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3.
Board Game: Bang!
[Average Rating:6.82 Overall Rank:336]
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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Take That!
The joy of putting your opponent in dire straights and avoiding them yourself
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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Doublecross
The malicious zeal of Take That! with the trickery of bluffing.
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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the Deal
Settlers, modern art. May the best negotiator win.
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6.
Board Game: Java
[Average Rating:7.08 Overall Rank:230]
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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Building, building, built
Satisfacton comes from accumulation. (or its inverse going, going, gone)
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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Nimble Fingers
Jenga, Pitchcar, X-bugs. Pleasure is gained from the accomplishment of dextrious ledgermain.
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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RPG factor
Simulation is the best form of flattery…
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Stephen Avery
United States
Suwanee
Georgia
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The Bluff
A favorite of mischevious players everywhere.
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Ben Vögel
United States
Golden Valley
Minnesota
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Efficiency
St. Pete is all about maximizing and cost/benefit analysis. For those of us who enjoy that exercise this is a great game with good replay value, for others who don't, they often consider this game overrated.
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11.
Board Game: Clans
[Average Rating:6.60 Overall Rank:532]
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Ben Vögel
United States
Golden Valley
Minnesota
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The Hidden Agenda
Concealing your clan's color as long as possible.
Hiding the strength and exact disposition of your forces in Columbia's block games.
The joy of the element of surprise and the delicious agony of the fog of war.
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Stven Carlberg
United States
Atlanta
Georgia
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The dramatic moment.
One thing that can make a game fun is when a lot of little activities precede one key event upon which everyone's fortunes will turn. I've chosen Viva Pamplona! as a prime example of this, where everybody does their dice rolls and their maneuvering based on what they think El Torro might do, and then there's that wonderful make-or-break moment where the turn of the card for El Torro gets all the cheers and boos at the table. It's not a heavy strategic game, but the dramatic moment makes it fun.
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Thi Nguyen
United States
Los Angeles
California
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Telepathy
When you figure out exactly what your opponents are going to do, their intentions, and act precisely to block them.
Obviously, all variants of simulataneous rock-paper-scissor - like Edel Stein Reich - have this. It's also hella fun in all the wheel-selection in El Grande and Maharaja (though I find my telepathy skills are quite low in Maharaja.)
Shows up in all the hidden-goal geographic games, like Wilderness Adventure and Expedition.
Shows up also once you start playing LOTR: The Confrontation a *lot* with one guy. Sometimes you can just *know* where he's hiding Frodo, and come up with some bizarre plan that can nail him, way back near the back, with your dark rider.
I find that this happens in the games with some hidden information but plenty, plenty, plenty of on-board information (El Grande). Or hidden information with very channelized combinations (LOTR: The Confrontation). It's a rare thing, a game that encourages telepathy. They are to be found, loved, cherished, and encouraged to breed.
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Joe Gola
United States
Redding
Connecticut
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Immersion
I love games which are bursting with different factors to ponder and dizzying with player interaction. El Grande, Liberte, Princes of the Renaissance, Taj Mahal...there are no optimal moves, perfect strategies or easy answers. After a while, you don't know where you are or what time it is, and suddenly there's a low thrum coming from the back of your head as your subconscious kicks in to take up some of the work load. Strange messages in unfamiliar handwriting are sent up to the front office: "TWENTY-THREE MARKS IS TOO MUCH TO PAY FOR THE CRANBERRIES!" and "ATTACK PORTUGAL NOW! ATAAAAACK PORTUGAAAAL!!!" Now you're kind of sweating a little, and your back is beginning to hurt. Will Trevor notice that you have four planes in Dallas? Has Catherine been holding the Tort Reform card all this time? Can you get away with a plan so inconceivably fiendish that it may just make Gaming History?
Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance...he's gone away....
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Peter Domeij
Sweden
Sundbyberg
Unspecified
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Balance Act
In this game you must balance between move to discover lucrative trade routes, and stop move to make the trades to get money. Speed/momentum are one key, stopping to make business the other key. The balancing between those two makes this AH-game really fun to play. Something that I cannot say about the other old AH-games I have.
There must be other games with balance act, but MoV is a good example.
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Peter Domeij
Sweden
Sundbyberg
Unspecified
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Generic Outfit/Components
If this game would have been adapted for the Mid-west America only, the long term fun-factor would have been lower. But this game can be set anywhere/anytime in the world. Power Grid and Ticket to Ride are good examples for being board-generic. Wargames with plastic miniatures are also good for designer-wannabies like me. I have a lot of fun making an A&A:Risk.
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17.
Board Game: Pueblo
[Average Rating:6.90 Overall Rank:359]
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The Comeback
There are the rare games that give you a huge rush when you play from behind. There is the thrill of knowing that you are setting yourself up for the win, putting the pieces into place, and yet slowly but surely falling further and further behind your opponents. The adrenaline kicks in when the final piece of your plan falls into place, you see minutes ahead into the future, and you know that your victory is assured IF your clairvoyance was accurate and your planning was flawless. Slowly, steadily, like an onrushing tide, the gap between you and your opponents shrinks like a grape in the scorching sun. The little gremlin in your head squeaks his little cry of joy as your score surpasses the fool who believed that he had the game in hand. The warm, glowing feeling of Hannibal Smith's proverbial "I love it when a plan comes together" comes over you as the final turn ends, and you emerge, triumphant, in yet another comeback win.
(Applies also to: The Princes of Florence, Magic: the Gathering, Um Reifenbreite, Power Grid, Daytona 500)
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Joan Wendland
United States
Unspecified
Unspecified
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Creativity - I managed to make a teleporter out of dry ice and socks!
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Posted Tue Oct 19, 2004 6:27 pm
Midway and 30 Years War Quad (Decision) have this quality for instance.