Design

The Appeal of 18-Card Games I’ve been really interested in building an 18-card game ever since I learned about “wallet games,” which I most notably associate with Button Shy Games. Constraints often breed creativity, as limited space requires unique solutions. You can’t simply add more cards, components, or pieces to accomplish your goal. Limiting scope when building software—whether that’s enterprise applications or video games—often leads to faster delivery, as it simply requires less work. I assumed the same principle would apply to board games, or in this case, a card game. Limit the scope, invent something simple, and boom, I have a game! Spoiler alert… this is not true. ...

I found my push-your-luck, dice-rolling, poker game to be in relatively good shape. The game flowed well, was pretty easy to teach, and, most importantly, we had fun playing it. Now, I needed to write the rules. I originally thought writing rules would be easy. I don’t know why—I have no excuse for such a naive thought. Even games from established publishers often have rulebooks with gaps, missing edge cases, or confusing instructions. ...

In my last design diary, I talked about the invaluable insights from playtesting—how feedback helped me rethink parts of the game, refine its mechanics, and let go of ideas that weren’t quite working. Since then, I’ve made some changes, and I wanted to share the thought process behind them. Design Diary #3: Playtesting and FeedbackRefining a game comes with exciting ups and downs. One change can ruin the game, while another can turn a mediocre experience into something special. … Big Dewlap - Blog I’m trying a new format for this design diary. Let me know your thoughts on if it works or not! ...

Refining a game comes with exciting ups and downs. One change can ruin the game, while another can turn a mediocre experience into something special. It’s important not to get discouraged by setbacks and to let the triumphs motivate you to keep going.

While far from perfect, the core mechanic—pushing our luck to roll for better cards—was so much fun that it was clear there was a real game here.

Let me tell you about a room with eight people arguing over whether the word “save” or “commit” is better.