Board & Card Games Stack Exchange
Board & Card Games Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [mechanics]

Mechanics are the way in which a particular game process is carried out. Questions with this tag are game development questions or deal with a comparison of (game-independent) mechanics.

Examples of game mechanics include

  • drafting, where players take turns making selections from a common pool
  • press your luck, where players can choose to stop and save their progress, or can try for more at the risk of losing progress
  • dice rolling, where players use dice to determine outcomes
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What aspects of a game are not protected under copyright?

Certain aspects of a game are protected by copyright, while others are not. You certainly cannot copy the particular expression of the rules, but the mechanics themselves aren't copyrightable. For example, why does the d20 Open Gaming License exist…
user1873
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Handling multiple "timers" on the board and player mat

The game I'm working on might feature a number of "timed" events, such as: a big ability requiring a cooldown before it can be used again a summoned or undead unit decaying over time a bomb timing down until explosion mines and factories generating…
Hypergardens
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Do Collectible Card Games without shuffling exist?

All Collectible Card Games (like Magic the Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh!) I know require the players to shuffle their decks before the game begins. Also, the deck's card order is unbeknown to the players. For the game I'm currently designing I thought…
user1478302
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Board Game Mechanics

I find myself always purchasing games that have similar game mechanics. I prefer worker-placement games, and railroad tycoon type games. All of these games borrow from each other in terms of how the game plays. I find this type of game suits my…
Codemwnci
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System for secretly choosing between two options?

I have a graphics project for school and the task is to design a board game. I need to work out a system by which two players can simultaneously make a secret choice between two options and then present their choice at the same time. I have thought…
SeriousSamP
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Other "network building" style games, like Hackers and Illuminati?

In these games (both from Steve Jackson Games) you build a network of cards you "control" over the course of the game. The main difference between the two is that in Hacker's, the "card network" is shared and in Illuminati each player has one…
Kevin Montrose
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Is there a method that gets beneficial diminishing returns when adding more dice, yet stays random?

Short Story: I want to find a dice system where multiple dice are rolled and compared at once, but rolling more dice is only slightly more effective than rolling fewer dice, while still being fairly chaotic no matter how many dice are rolled. Long…
Man_Over_Game
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What set of attributes can be used to describe, compare and contrast various board games?

A recent question about a good mix of board games got me thinking about how one could even objectively define "a good mix". My idea is to try and define a set of attributes that could describe, compare, and contrast various board games. I hope this…
Adam Wuerl
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Mechanic for secret actions in a card game

Is there a good mechanic for taking an anonymous action in a card game, specifically one that still moves resources? For context, in one phase of this game, each player will give the target player a card. These are shuffled face-down and given to…
Cain
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Improved wording for dealing out cards

I'm writing up the manual for a new game, and this one bit is giving me trouble. Here's what you do in this part: Shuffle the cards. As long there are enough cards left for each player to take one, each player takes one. Once there are fewer cards…
Joe
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If damage is redirected infinitely, does the game end in a draw?

I have a creature enchanted with Pariah: All damage that would be dealt to you is dealt to enchanted creature instead. I then play Blood of the Martyr: Until end of turn, if damage would be dealt to any creature, you may have that damage…
Tony
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What is the purpose of minimum points required for initial meld?

In Canasta and several variants of Contract-Rummy, like Rummikub and Kaluki, there is an "initial meld" rule: The first melds put down by a player must consist of cards to a total value of at least X points. From a game design perspective, what does…
Dave Butler
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Does this dice mechanic exist in other games and does it have any drawbacks?

Forgive me if this is an obvious question: I've only just started looking at board game design, so I'm still learning of the different game mechanics. I have a concept for a dice mechanic and I as hoping to find out if it's used in any other games…
Dre
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Is there a term for games that use kinetics?

Is there a particular name for categorizing board games that have some kinetics? Some of the examples are Fireball Island (monster throwing fireballs), Monopoly Jackpot (push button spinner) etc.
Akanksha Vishwakarma
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Is there a quantification of how much skill a game requires?

For example, if you play a round of cribbage mathematically perfectly, someone will win because they got better cards on average. But if that difference in scores comes down to 10 points, that could come down to imperfect play or even gambling on a…
Æzor Æhai -him-
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