How to design a PARTY game *Board Game Design*
Vložit
- čas přidán 6. 06. 2023
- On this channel, I like to dip into specific genres - worker placement, polyominoes, tableau-building, roll & writes - and try to pinpoint the specific elements frequently used in these games. It’s a tool box for you as a game designer. Which common mechanisms do you want to employ in your own party game? Which aspects could you subvert? And crucially, which mechanisms spring to mind which haven’t yet been utilised? Is there space for innovation here?
In this video, we’ll be looking at 12 different considerations for designers of party games. - Hry
This is the most comprehensive breakdown of a party game's key features that we've ever seen. Really helpful for designing our own party game. Thanks for sharing this, Adam!
What a deep dive into party game design. Appreciate all the value you share in these videos. I've been working on a party game and received positive feedback from a protospiel event and the Geekway to the West convention last month. You've been a great guide through this fun process. Thanks!
Thanks Justin. Good luck with your project!
1. Original or traditional? (4:34 )
2. Humour (7:18)
3. Creativity (9:10)
4. Competitive, team-based or cooperative (11:34)
5. Scoring (13:24)
6. Adaptability (16:49)
7. Time pressure (18:34)
8. Performing / guessing (19:35)
9. Wordplay (21:05)
10. Trivia (22:48)
11. Games of chance (24:34)
12. Social interaction (26:16)
Questions (29:50)
A nice overview/catalogue of notable games. Thanks for the shout-outs to Yogi and AGAWWCATTITASMN!
P for Pizza was actually inspired by Categorickell (one of the ELL deck games) which is why my name and Tom Coldron's appear on the box.
Your scenario of folk laughing so much they can't continue sounds ideal, but I can't imagine that happening.
I have been feeling like I don't have any more party game ideas recently, but it's nice to be reminded that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. And maybe focusing on one of these categories will help.
As always, a worthwhile watch.
Thank you for this amazing video! I'm currently working on a party game and was just trying anything and to be honest, I felt like I'd hit a wall. This gave some guide to me! Thank you so much!
Glad it helped :)
Death by coconuts is a fun and surprising trivia game we picked up at UKGE this year. All about betting on which of 3 options has killed more people and progressing along a track to victory. Falling coconuts worldwide ever, the great fire of London 1666, or faulty electrical appliances in the USA from 1978 to 1990. The time periods and locations make you second guess everything!
I’ve got a fun idea for a trivia game (I think) but I can’t bring myself to formulate the enormous number of questions required! Seems like the most tedious type of game to design!! 😂
@@AdaminWales And you risk replayability unless you have loads of questions
you know it's a good day when Adam releases a new video and this was a really great one
Thanks - really glad you enjoyed it.
Great video! I just discovered your channel. I wish I found it earlier, would have saved a lot of time! Watching these videos could really accelerate one's learning process. I particularly appreciate your emphasis on good product design and having a good hook. I used to think games just needed a unique element but have switched to product and hook focused games in the last few years and it's been making a difference. This particular video was a great look at party games. Thanks for the great content!
Thanks Jason, glad you’re finding the channel useful.
We almost always play Just One competitively. Mainly because you can play up to 14 players that way, but also because the cooperative version doesn't really have a win condition so it's a sour ending for most non-gamers.
Interesting. What's the ruleset?
@@AdaminWales there's not really any rule change. You just split into teams and try to outscore the other team. Teams take turns and you go around the table twice
It's just nice when you have a group of 8+
Am confused by the spelling of the channel. Shouldn't it be "Jonah in Whales"? 😉
Great break down, Adam! I got to play a great game called Hard to get by a Danish publisher, that simplifies a Codenames. One word is right and the clue giver gets prompts to act on: is the word Hot or Cold, or Light or Dark. Codenames meets Wavelength, sortof!
Sounds good. I’ll look it up!
Top video, Adam. As perceptive and clear as ever. I also dislike "funny" cards and people voting on who's the funniest. I love So Clover - never fails to delight a group, and a Dixit variant we call "Traitor Dixit", which is sold as "Detective Club". Another great Dixit variant is "Stella".
You're correct in that Codenames, whilst very good, isn’t really a party game...too much intense silence!
At my regular Malvern games weekends we have parlour games on Saturday night. The hat game (celebrities) usually makes an appearance.
Yes, I’d like to play some more of the Dixit inspired games. I’ve only really explored Mysterium and Muse - but Stellar and Detective Club are certainly on my radar as others to try (along with Obscurio, One Key and Shadows:Amsterdam).
The problem you expressed in the scoring system of Snake Oil really gets to a problem I’ve had in my own party game design for more than a decade. Any scoring system that boils down to players saying “I like this” is flawed because of the social dynamics of games. I haven’t found a solution yet, but I’m still searching.
I don’t know whether the “player judge” mechanism is flawed as such - Snake Oil, Apples to Apples, and CAH have sold millions - but it’s certainly not to everyone’s taste. And I think it can be jarring if it doesn’t suit the game mechanisms. The key thing in the three examples above is that there is really no “game” - no strategy & minimal mechanisms. So the entire experience is focused on trying to impress the judge. It is less satisfying when the player judge features as part of a bigger experience, undermining the other aspects of gameplay & highlighting how arbitrary the scoring is.
That said, I don’t enjoy the player judge mechanism in general so I’m pretty biased!!
NIce to meet you on the weekend (however briefly!)
Thanks for saying Hi, Tim. Hope you enjoyed the expo!
Wow, thanks for the mention Adam!! Appreciate you putting Launch Tabletop on my radar (I’ll be using them again) and all the fantastic content. This is a hell of an overview of the party game genre! 🙌
Good luck with your party game!
@@AdaminWales Thanks Adam!
Have you considered making videos critiquing Mario Party games? First, it would likely net a LOT of views and bring people to your channel that otherwise would not. In fact, it was from looking up something about Mario Party games that I eventually found your channel, and after being frustrated with the design choices my interest in board game design has blossomed. Second, they are poorly designed in a number of ways, from boards to items. No version of the game can really seem to nail all of the mechanics in a single iteration. The people reviewing and critiquing these games are NOT designers of board games... that kind of insight would be valuable. At best, we have critique from people who make video games... so not much focus on the board game aspects.
Lastly, everyone interested in the series who debates about which one is best would LOVE to hear an expert opinion on the matter.... especially how the games could be made better. Maybe it would be low hanging fruit for you (maybe you would ignore the mini games and just focus on board and item design), but the community that plays it obsesses over these mechanics and the differences between entries. These people are interested in board game design... they just don't know it yet.
I think you could get some of them interested in MAKING their own game (even if on paper), and many like myself are already interested in the design of video games. A party board game with mini games could be doable for indie designers... after all the mini games are like making a number of small prototypes which happens to be the no. 1 recommended way to learn... so this would be a great fit for even new game designers. What they would lack is insight into making a good board game.. that is the missing piece.
I think there is potential in the indie space for experimentation, because so far in video games it is only really digital versions of existing, old board games like Monopoly, Mario Party as the de facto "party board game" and then a number of poor imitations of Mario Party. THAT'S IT. I smell blood in the water with a single franchise that has become lazy and complacent, even failing to deliver on outdated mechanics.
Even better, what if someone made a video game that was like Mario Maker but for a party board game? This is a smart decision for devs because the PLAYERS create additional content, and it would allow people to take a shot at designing a board game who otherwise would not. There is a lot of potential here, and a ton of overlap you could exploit for financial gain haha.
This video is all about asking.but no answers.
Explaining WHY something works is way more informative than asking "is your game fun(ny)?"
Thanks for the feedback. Sorry the format didn’t work for you.