Search results

Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Simplify, Don’t Add When I'm referencing "simple games" I'm specifically discussing games that are simple, but have some depth to them. I prefer to design simple games - games that are fundamentally simple in rules, though not in strategies. That said, simple...

Now that we’ve established the basics of simplifying a game, let’s work through how to make a game simple. Picture courtesy of Pixabay. The Simplification Checklist Simplicity in games consists of several tenets, which we’ll discuss in order. Remove trivial decisions: Trivial doesn’t mean...

Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Does anyone stick with a game anymore? As games have proliferated and entertainment options have become more numerous, it’s increasingly hard to get an audience to truly dedicate their time and effort to the game. This is important, because games rely on people...

Mercenary units were common in the pre-gunpowder era, and we hear their stories in some modern science fiction. Wouldn’t they show up in RPGs? Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Meet Your Merc Mercenary companies usually originated with troops from a specific region, but recruiting was typically a...

The longer the campaign, the more likely PCs become military strategists. Here’s the basics. Picture by RGodforest - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, File:Fire and movement.svg - Wikimedia Commons Welcome to the Big Leagues As an RPG campaign gets longer and longer, characters tend to become important...

Are there too many magic items in your campaign? Picture courtesy of Pixabay. “…and a +5 Sword” The nature of fantasy adventure gaming, as set out by the original Dungeons & Dragons, is that the collection of treasure meant acquiring magic items. In earlier versions of D&D, magic items were...

There are lots of books about playing tabletop role-playing games, but what makes a great book about designing one? Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing Nonfiction books aren’t what they used to be. My generation saw books as a treasure-trove of information, organized...

Fantasy worlds tend to remind us of medieval Europe in culture, rulership, even geography. Why? Map courtesy of Lew Pulsipher A Long Tradition Tabletop role-playing games have a long traditional of European medieval fantasy, starting with Dungeons & Dragons. While there were occasional nods to...

Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Maps Are Not Destiny Maps are important to games, and sometimes important to novels, although there are novelists like Glenn Cook who feel that maps restrict their freedom of action too much. I’m a big fan of maps, with a bookshelf full of (mostly historical)...

People play games to be entertained, and most people don’t like to work for their entertainment. But one person’s work can be another person’s pleasure. Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Checkmate When I was 15, I decided to “retire” (as I like to say) from playing chess. Not that I was an...

As a continuing and ultimately patient activity, spying isn’t a good fit for typical fantasy or sci-fi RPGs. Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Tinker, Tailor, Caster, Spy Spies are an often long-term, frequently large-scale, speculative, form of reconnaissance. Spying is a different form of...

Modern archery is more complex than archery in the days of melee battles, with many kinds of bows and shooting aids, but still, in the end, it’s pretty straightforward. Picture courtesy of Pixabay. My wife, a senior citizen as you might expect, recently took up archery as a hobby! This got...

Countries were originally characterized as progressing through several states to “civilized.” This is not in favor today. Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Though not common today, in the 19th century and earlier, scholars and philosophers sometimes proposed stages that every country “naturally”...

Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Can an overemphasis on attractive art, components, and hardcovers price gamers out of the market? High Quality As the gamer market has matured, we've begun to see board games that are priced at over 60 U.S. dollars or higher. These are luxury products, with more...

Picture courtesy of Pixabay. The Mages of Reality Recently I was re-reading the fictional series Pillars of Reality by Jack Campbell. I classify it as a “young adult” series of six books that’s most science fiction with a little fantasy (mage prophecy) thrown in. I like it a lot if, enough to...

Picture courtesy of Pixabay. We previously discussed the difference between three common ways of playing RPGs; let's explore each in detail. One-Shots (One-Offs) This term may vary depending on your region: American tends to use “one shot” while Brits my more commonly refer to these games as...

Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Play of the same RPG rules can turn out quite differently, depending on whether it’s within a one-shot adventure, a sequence, or a campaign. What’s in a Game? Most RPGs were originally designed for long campaigns, not one-off (one-shot) adventures or a shortish...

Picture couresty of Pixabay. What Flavor of God? Are your fantasy role-playing game gods all-powerful, and are they omniscient (they know everything, which implies they are omnipresent as well)? Monotheistic religions tend to have one deity along these lines, but that's not how many of the...

Game designers of tabletop fantasy role-playing games know that spellcasting is a key part of both the game’s mechanics and the world setting. Which is why it’s important to understand a simple but critical concept in a fantasy world: the noticeability of spellcasting. Not many RPG rulesets...

Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Every world has an ecology; if you want your fantasy world to be believable, you’ll need to pay attention to how it works: how does each living group fit with all the others and with the world? What might your world design goals be in general? What’s an Ecology...