Tom Francis

MAY 27, 2023

And their mounted Bishop grabs the Flame: like Frost, but ignites tiles: units on burning tiles must move or die at the end of their turn. Enemies can move onto (but not through) empty fortified tiles to clear them, but they can’t enter occupied fortified tiles. Friends can move freely through them.

Playtesting 52

Playtesting Tile Balance Code 52

Brand Game Development

JULY 22, 2019

There is also an escalation in strategy as the players fill up their boards by acquiring more and more Leader tiles. Each Leader tile provides an additional goal for how to maximize the “satisfaction” of their monster. They have just a single Leader tile and their monster’s unique “personal craving.” The Race to the Finish.

Tile 130

Tile Games Playtesting Balance 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 15, 2019

Players weren’t just drafting which tile they wanted most; they were also picking their turn order for the next round. Is it worth taking that better tile at the expense of picking last next round? It is much more interesting than if it was simply “which tile do you want most?” Cathala leveraged a simple twist.

Tile 130

Tile Mechanics Games Puzzle 130

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

In Tasty Humans , points are earned by monsters for eating people and arranging their body part tiles in certain ways in the monster’s stomach. There are limits to exactly how you can place tiles, and you don’t always get what you want. If you hate the game you’re playtesting, do something different.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Tile Games 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 2, 2018

Drapple is an abstract, tile-laying gardening game. Every iteration of each game has to be created somehow and there are A LOT of iterations – usually a new one after each playtest, especially in the beginning. I also try to go to as many conventions as I can and playtest as much as possible.

Playtesting 130

Playtesting Games Advertising Prototyping 130

Brand Game Development

MAY 18, 2020

Shuffling decks, dealing tiles, and assigning first player at a push of a button is very useful. Tabletop Simulator doesn’t just let people play before pledging, it’s also a great place to design and playtest games. Tabletop Simulator allows you to script functions within the game.

Simulation 130

Simulation Games Demo Playtesting 130

Interesting Choices

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Not long after that I started working on a game (then called City Draft) that would be strongly inspired by a few key influences: 7 Wonders for the mechanics and structure, Carcassonne for the idea of placing tiles in a grid, and SimCity for the theme. Science is purely all or nothing. Few viable paths to victory.

Build 40

Build Tile Point and Click Games 40