Building a Game - III

And further on.

As said last time, first we need a basic structure. For this, we shall structure the base game turn. Usually, I do this by creating a certain flow in how a turn is supposed to happen. Like that:

1. Turn Start

a. If current active player is start player, shuffle all event cards into deck, unless Turn 1

2. Draw event card

a. Choose event card resolution

I. Resolve event card event , starting with negative consequences, followed by positive consequences

II. If resolved no event, use card value to activate character actions

c. Once event card resolution is done, continue with current card to next phase

3. Visitors and Un- and Happiness

a. Add visitors equal to card value to game board

I. Each player places one , with no two visitors to be placed in same space

II. Increase treasury by card value

b. Move number of visitors equal to card value one space. No visitor marker may be moved twice

c. Add 1 Unhappiness in every area that has it´s threshold exceeded by at least one visitor marker

d. Add 1 treasury point for every visitor in treasury area

e. If Event Card Event was resolved, all players may move their character marker by 1 space

4. Draw second event cards

a. Resolve random event by using card value as event number chosen, current active player chooses order

b. Once random event has been resolved, discard both event cards

5. End of Turn

a. Give Active Player Token to next player in clockwise order 

b. If current turn is 8, players may, by simple majority, decide whom to award Active Player Token instead

c. If current Turn is 9, end game, otherwise advance turn maker to next turn

At first this looks daunting and complex, but we shall go through this piece by piece and you´lll see how easy it actually is. If I were to compact describing gameplay, it goes like this:

(Shuffle Cards/Draw and Use Card/Visitors and Happiness/Draw 2nd Card for Random Event/End of Turn)

Doesn´t look as complex now, does it? It´all in how far down we can break the sequence. And actually, the 1st and 5th Phase more or less are cleanup phases, designed to lighten and quicken gaming pace for the central play phases, which are the 2nd and 3rd, while the 4th is more of a randomizer element to account for the unaccountable.

To delve deeper into what is written up.

At the start of the turn, we first check if the current active player, a status which we determine at the start of the game and at the end of every turn, is the same player, that the game started with, and if he therefore is the one with the Starting Player Token. If so, the whole event card deck is back reshuffled into one, unless it´s the first turn, in which we case we can ignore this whole shebang. 

Why do this? Simple, it increases replayability and the chance to meet every event again or every card increases tension for gameplay. And it´s a compromise between making players know the cards and increasing the randomisation occuring with each reshuffle, of which you will have exactly two.

In the next phase we come to the meat of the game, as during this and the following phases most of the action happens. First, we draw from the event card deck and determine which card we have drawn. It will have a number between 1 to 6 as card value as well as a picture and a positive and negative consequences.

Now the current active player may decide if the takes the card for the event. If he does, he get´s a unique event with positive and negative outcomes which he mus resolve. If he did, that´s it for this phase and we continue on. If, however he decides that his abilities are more important or have a more longlasting effect on the current situation, he may instead decide to use the card for it´s value as an action point value to pay for his characters ability. Once he has done so, we move onto the next phase. And we discuss that one, next time.