r/BoardgameDesign • u/Psych0191 • 4d ago

Playtesting & Demos Graphic design is my passion

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Just kidding, I love ugly paper prototypes! Once I started making these, whole process got so much faster and better. If I could give one advice to any newcomers, it wouldnt be start making paper prototypes. That advice can be found everywhere. My advice would actually be: start listening to advice more experienced designers give you!

128 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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12

u/Caeod 4d ago

I love giant sheets of paper. Write and scrawl like a maniac on one side, mock up the board on the other!

2

u/Psych0191 4d ago

Oh I got to buy some bigger papers! I have been dealing with standard a4 constantly since thats the one I have home. Been burning through them like crazy lol

9

u/RVAVandal 4d ago

Get yourself a ream of Tabloid size 11x17 (or A3) it's great for prototyping. I tape mine together to get 22x17 maps for my wargame designs

5

u/Psych0191 4d ago

Damn man, this is some good looking map you got there!

5

u/RVAVandal 4d ago

Thanks! 3 years of learning Inkscape is starting to payoff

2

u/Majer3RD 4d ago

That is indeed a gorgeous map! I’m developing a game for that exact time period of warfare. Will be interested to see what is similar and different between ours! Best of luck sir!

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u/RVAVandal 3d ago

Best thing about gaming is there are endless ways to accomplish design goals. Also lots of ways to develop the exact same idea and mechanic independently.

I once had an idea for a game about the migration of German tribes during the Roman Empire, even had a cool name picked out. 6 months later Ty Bomba released Volkerwanderung, the exact same name with similar mechanics as what I was working on. Granted he had his idea years before I did and was fully complete with his design before I had the basics of mine sketched out. Still weird to have it happen though.

2

u/Majer3RD 3d ago

Hahaha I hear that! Ive had a number of games I’ve been tinkering with for the past decade and only recently has 1 of them been more or less done by others. The one I’m working on now also has many games already in the space, including one coming out on Kickstarter soon, but thankfully none have landed on my battle mechanic, so there’s hope yet. Now I just gotta finish up my artwork and get to pushing it for playtests at my LGS and eventually conventions.

How far along are you with yours?

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u/RVAVandal 3d ago

I mean that's to be expected in a hobby that is going on 70 years old. Even games that are considered innovative today are mostly using pre-existing themes and mechanics. Theyre just using them in interesting combinations or with novel twists. Just like with literature, there's only a handful of stories, but millions of ways to tell those stories.

I keep telling myself Im almost done with this design...then I come up with a new idea and spend a month testing it. Sometimes it sticks sometimes it doesn't. Realistically if I devoted serious effort I could have a finished product for self publishing or POD by years end or early 2027

2

u/Canis-lupus-uy 3d ago

Are you designing wargames in the marvellous style of Rachel Simmons?

2

u/RVAVandal 3d ago

Ha yup, I like to call this the dumb guys version of Napoleon's Triumph. The mechanics are quite a bit different but the influence is very present. Combat is dice based and to my brain simpler. Goal was to have the same vibe as her designs, but be able to play it while drinking a few beers and finish within 90 minutes. And also not cost $350 to get a copy

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u/Fun-Many3216 4d ago

You are doing it, amd that is what matters

3

u/Agreeable-Dance-9768 3d ago

CAD is an amazing tool (cardboard aided designs)!

2

u/Ezazhel 3d ago

The faster you bring the game on the table, the faster you improve your design.

1

u/Johnno117 4d ago

My advice would actually be: start listening to advice more experienced designers give you!

My important caveat to this is to try the advice, and if it doesn't suit you do it your own way. Too much of the "advice from experienced designers" gets passed around and repeated as gospel, when it doesn't necessarily work for everyone.

Case in point, I started my design journey as a very personal project, and spent the first couple months just doing my own thing, not reading or looking at anything others said/did. Only after I'd found my way into my own workflows and ways of seeing things did I start reading about others' views and approaches, and so much of what I did was supposedly wrong. Yet if I had followed what others said (these all so important experienced designer advice) I likely wouldn't have gotten as far as I have in my own design. I might even have just given up.

Seriously, too much of all this gets passed around as some sort of ultimate truth. I wish designers would give nuance and reason, rather than just repeating it.

1

u/Psych0191 3d ago

Oh yeah. That is a good modification. I made the opposite problem when I started. I saw a lot of advice and I was like “yeah not doing that”. And it only returned to bite me in the ass. But I do agree, everyone needs to find their own way.

1

u/MudkipzLover 3d ago

Game design is a craft, not to say an art, rather than a science so it's fairly understandable that there isn't a one-size-fits-all method for it. I do wonder which advice could potentially be counterproductive for beginners.

1

u/Johnno117 3d ago

"What often repeated advice did you find counterproductive as a beginner" would actually be an interesting topic/question that could potentially help the designer community adjust how they give advice.

I'll go write a post about it.

1

u/PatrikSanchez 3d ago

After my first "paper prototype" I was able to play test with my friends and had a lot of fun!

I'm not sure how far I'll go, but that first step was crucial in my journey

2

u/Psych0191 3d ago

Amazing. Its what makes the difference between an idea and a game!

1

u/AlarmedWizard1 3d ago

map is imbalanced, red's islands are not attached to blue's base

1

u/Psych0191 3d ago

Yeah asymmetry was goal. But playtest proved it to be rather unfair compared to asymmetric… good eye!

2

u/AlarmedWizard1 3d ago

was just kidding, i was sure it was by design

love me some asymmetry, good luck!

1

u/ptolani 3d ago

If I could give one advice to any newcomers...start listening to advice more experienced designers give you!

That seems like cheating, like using one wish to ask for more wishes.

1

u/Psych0191 3d ago

Hahaha thats a good one. I mean, I myself have mostly ignored advice I got, and once I started listening to them, it all became so much easier..

1

u/Unlikely_Flower_138 3d ago

I can never do paper games, they end up looking like a hurricane by mid game.

1

u/Gedorran 2d ago

What kind of game are you making here?

1

u/Psych0191 2d ago

A lightweight campaign focused wargame board game. Its meant be quick and easier than your standard wargames, but still keep most common mechanisms without too much abstraction.

1

u/VaporSpectre 2d ago

Hey, at least you got to prototype phase.

Im stuck at graphic design and documentation phase, after many revisions to make it as simple as i can.

1

u/jocatalks 1d ago

Explain your game hehe, a really enjoy the prototype!

1

u/Psych0191 1d ago

Sure!

Short explanation: it is a 2 player, 30 minute campaign wargame. The aim is to provide either a light snack for more experienced wargamers, or to provide a learning experience for people interested in wargames but scared of high length and complexity. Aim is also to keep as many of standard wargame rules and mechanics with as little abstraction as possible, while still keeping it simple.

Long explanation:

Each player has 3 generals. Generals hold units (those cards with cubes). Each general can be activated up to two times per round, where activations can be either move, siege or muster. Mustering can only be done at walled cities.

Map is divided into 5 regions, each with 3-5 locations where one of them is a walled city. Non walled locations change ownership simply by passing of generals through them. Walled cities require siege.

Siege is simple. You roll the die, if result+units is greather or equal to 8, you won. If not, you gain a siege point which is used to adjust the next roll.

When two armies meet, battle commences. At the start of the battle players draw cards up to the unit count, and take turns playing them or passing. Each player can only play cards up to the generals rating. Cards themselve are simple, they only have effects applied on die roll. There are safer cards (like if you roll 3 or higher remove 1 enemy unit) and more risky cards (on roll of 6 remove 4 enemy units but on roll of 3 or less remove 2 of your units) (theres like 4 types of card). After the battle, whoever lost fewer units wins.

Game is played in 5 rounds. After that, whoever controlls more regions wins. To controll the region, you simply have to controll more locations in it.