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How to Design the Mechanics of Your Board Game

Brand Game Development

The core engine is what’s left when you strip a game of mechanics and obstacles. The core engine is the bare minimum set of mechanics and concepts you need to have a functioning (but not necessarily fun) game. Game mechanics are how we bring the core engine of a game to life. What are game mechanics?

Mechanics 130
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How to Play-Test the Mechanics of Your Board Game

Brand Game Development

We’re picking up where we left off last week with How to Design the Mechanics of Your Board Game , so read that if you haven’t had the chance yet. Today, we’ll be focusing on testing game mechanics after you design them. A quick recap: game mechanics are how we bring the core engine of a game to life.

Mechanics 130
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COCOON creator Jeppe Carlsen “I never compromise on playability”

PreMortem.Games

The game immerses players in a captivating odyssey across worlds within worlds, beckoning them to master the art of world-leaping mechanics to uncover a cosmic mystery. Carlsen’s vision for Cocoon sprang from a fascination with game mechanics. This prototype had many worlds, and a lot of the focus was on jumping between them.

Puzzle 257
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Parallel Experiment by Eleven Puzzles: “Put your heart into it and players will notice”

PreMortem.Games

We throw ideas around, different puzzle mechanics, narrative elements and unique interactions,” Olczyk says. We love exploring different styles of puzzles, logic, pattern recognition, environmental interactions and even experimental mechanics like cooperative dialogues.” “We never run out of puzzle ideas!

Puzzle 138
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Solo developer Voidmaw on creating Katanaut: “Done is better than perfect”

PreMortem.Games

His design process is highly iterative, starting with loose ideas and evolving through sketches, prototyping, and constant refinement. I sketch things out by hand, hang up the drafts all over my wall using tape and sit on the ideas, prototype mechanics, and just see what clicks.

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Kazakhstan-based Goodwin Games takes us on an emotional adventure in Selfloss

PreMortem.Games

The control mechanics are integral to the gameplay, allowing players to operate Kazimir and his staff both together and independently. The way you control the old man and the magical staff at the same time is a neat mechanic that I am proud of,” Khoroshavin says.

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The walls are alive with tiny people in Cyborn’s Mixed Reality game Wall Town Wonders

PreMortem.Games

Elements of Steampunk Another highlight is the airplane control mechanism. “We Cyborn experimented extensively to refine the core gameplay mechanics, such as interactions with the town’s miniature citizens and designing activities that feel natural in mixed-reality settings. But I’m happy we put it in already.”

Games 118