Top 100 Mechanisms in Board Games: 10-1
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
- Board game designer Adam Porter peeks under the box lid, and counts down his 100 favourite mechanisms in board games... plus 10 mechanisms he really doesn't like!!!
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0:00 Introduction
0:56 Tile laying: Polyominoes
2:51 Push Your Luck
4:36 Living Board
6:32 "Quarto" Mechanism
8:13 "Knizia" Scoring
10:20 Combos
11:57 Dice Rolling
15:53 Play on multiple tables
19:44 Betting
22:33 Traps
26:06 Search discard pile/deck - Ігри
I don't find a lot of company, but my six favorite board/card game mechanics would be:
1. Subtle/advanced DEDUCTION (you could also call it inference)
2. DECIPHERING (clues, codes, ciphers, riddles, texts, visuals)
3. Deep-level LOGIC (often includes a predictive dimension)
4. DECEPTION (sometimes takes the form of a traitor)
5. HIDDEN MOVEMENT (adds an air of mystery)
6. SUSPENSE (i.e. specific design features or rules that exist intentionally to intensify this feeling)
0:55 Tile laying: Polyomino
2:50 Push your luck
4:33 Living Board
6:30 "Quarto" mechanism
8:13 "Knizia" scoring
10:18 Combos
11:52 Dice rolling
14:50 Play on multiple tables
19:43 Betting
22:25 Traps
Thanks for these John.
The multi-table mechanism sounds so fun and clever.
Yeah, it’s great. Shame the game itself is a bit bland.
There it is! Combos at #5. I’ve seen it referred to as “Synergies”, but the name I know it by is “Engine Building”. Probably my favourite mechanic (strongly contested by Worker Placement, Resource Management, and Deck Building).
Play on multiple tables was an wild choice, haha. Once I tried something somewhat similar where a player could simply leave their own player board - representing their city - behind and go "live" in some other player's city.
That’s a fun idea!
Number three mechanism is really cool the idea of multiple concurrent games (potentially competing between them)
Cheers Adam for all your work behind this Top 100 list. It certainly broadened my designer vocabulary with new concepts and games while also reminding me of old mechanisms I'd long forgotten.
Great - glad it was helpful.
Interpreting Knizia scoring as “score for the most complete sets” is so much easier to explain than “score for the least”. Why did I never think of it like that before?
I go back and forth on which is the easier explanation! :)
Because that expression only makes sense when you have actual working experience about Tigris and Euphrates. Without it, it is ambiguous and wrong without explaining what is incomplete and in what sense.
You can use it when referring to is, but need to define it somewhere in the rulebook regardless.
Did you mention bluffing as a mechanism in the 100? It's so much fun, I love the game Spicy.
As for "traps", kinda makes me think of Exploding Kittens, the mechanism that everyone loves is putting the exploding kitten back in the deck, wherever you want. You can bluff and convince others they are safe or let them waste "defense" cards.
I mentioned “lying” at number 19 I think! I’m not sure what the distinction between lying and bluffing is! :) But yes, I love that style of game too.
Thanks for the video. I really like “Knizia” scoring. I recently watched a play-through of “Wendake”, which uses a version of that scoring. It’s a good way the designer can ensure each area of the game gets attention.
Researching and ranking all of these mechanisms is huge.. Amazing job!!!
Thanks Federico! :)
Inis is a game where “searching the deck” works well: it’s a game where you draft your actions from a deck. There are only 17 cards, and everyone becomes familiar with them very quickly. The presence of the “Druid” action card, which allows you to search the shared action discard, very much defines the game without bogging it down.
Agree. Cyclades has a similar mechanism. The monsters are pretty simple. I do find that the Abyss example is a bit of a slog as mentioned even if most of the locations are similar but apply to each color.
Just came across this video (haven't seen the rest of the list), but now I feel the need to find the others and figure out where flicking/dexterity falls because I was really quite surprised not to have seen it in this video.
Boy, what a wild list this last one! So many different interpretations of the term "mechanic." Some stuff that's only in one game, one type of game, one designer, or something in almost every game! I like how they are half things you enjoy and half things you enjoy but specifically want to see more of. I'll take the hint!
Yes, if anybody wants an authoritative guide to mechanisms, they should read Shalev’s and Engelstein’s book. This was a personal list, and as you say it covered a variety of “mechanisms” (some of which only loosely fit the definition, some broad, and some very specific). Glad you found it fired you up to do some design!
Re: playing on multiple boards… that sounds awesome! 🤩
The closest I’ve gotten to that is Dead of Winter’s Warring Colonies expansion, where two teams of players each play with one of the boards from the Expandalones, but compete for the same resources at the Locations. I love team games (did you mention Teams as a mechanic? Did you mentions Player Elimination?).
For me, they combine the “working with people” element of Co-Op games, with the thrill of defeating an opponent. Articulate, Code Names, and Warring Colonies are all some of my most favourite games.
I’ve just discovered this channel. Great content! Thanks.
Thanks David - hope you enjoy going through the back catalogue of videos!
What a great top 100. I must admit, I wondered a little if you would "pull it off", when I started watching this series. But I must say that you absolutely did! Awesome work! I gave me a lot of insight and enjoyment. Thanks!
Thanks Sven - really glad you enjoyed the series!
Great video! I love watching your stuff. Will try to incorporate some traps into my next game design :)
Love trap mechanics too. Skull stands out to me. I get a similar feeling from Resistance, but Skull is distilled press your luck and traps.
GREAT Value, that´s a full course in Game Design. I don´t konw how I can compensate you for giving us such a a wonderfull class. Heaven will recompensate you. Thank you for your existence.
Just finished the full series! So interesting. Thanks for the work 😊
I really like setting some traps in Neuroshima Hex which was my first 'geek' board game and continues to be one of my favourites up to this day. You can calculate all the damage that could be done or received IF someone starts a battle, then try to prepare for it, block some potential attacks, try to outspeed your opponent... ok, we're safe, time for the opponent's turn, but UH OH! Here comes an instant action tile! and your best unit dies because they sniper shot it! or worse, a massive 7-hex bomb just clears the board of a lot of units becuase you ddn't see it coming and have put way too many units too close to each other... Well, you always can see what (if any) direct damage instant tiles are in your opponent's army, look at their discard pile to see if they can still have any of those left, but maybe, just maaaaybeee they won't draw such a tile soon and you'll be quicker than them... ;)
I haven’t played Neuroshima Hex, but this makes me want to!
@@AdaminWales There's an app for it.
So great to hear that you love traps in games! There is something so delicious about pulling off a good trap. I've designed a 2-player asymmetrical game which includes traps and all the mind games that come with them, themed around a shark hunting an octopus. It will be coming from the publisher Wonderbow later in the year, if you want to know more! I'd love to show it to you sometime.
Thanks for all the insightful, entertaining videos!
I haven’t come across Wonderbow but I just checked out their website & the games are nicely illustrated! Let me know when your game releases, and I’ll check it out :)
Really interesting and thought-provoking list.
I’m currently working on a game that relies too heavily on chance, so I will look back over your videos to see how I can employ some mechanisms to make my project more engaging.
Great - I’m really pleased if it helps you with your design.
I've always thought that being able to adjust results slightly of chance based elements is a good way to go. For example if the game is reliant on die rolls, perhaps players could have a set of cards numbered 1-6 that they can use as a one-time only which can add or subtract from that total. I'm not sure if this would help with you particular game without knowing more details but its an idea.
interesting. I didn't realize there were 100+
My top ten would be quite different but each person can choose their own favorites making it an interesting discussion. Thanks!
Thanks for making this list, its been very insightful.
I definitely appreciate this series! I had an idea for a board game and while it prolly won't ultimately go anywhere, this series gave me a lot to think about in actually trying something, even for just personal use! Not only different mechanics I didn't know about, but also examples of games that I can look at for inspiration. Thank you!
Thanks for watching. Glad you found it helpful.
Great series Adam! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and insights
Thanks Tim. Glad you enjoyed it.
"Tuck it under the insert!" Haha!
Didn't expect your Number 1 favourite mechansim at all. The 2-player Kosmos card game Dracula has good opportunities for trap-making.
A 15-player game of FF's "FFF" ?! One of these days I genuinely hope you come to one of my Malvern Board Game weekends (at The Dell Guest house) - my friends would totally be up for this.
Do you still rate Dice Town? I love Las Vegas, and wonder if DT is too similar. Box looks a bit on the large size too.
Thanks for all your hard work creating these hugely entertaining vids - your output and quality is second to none.
Oh great, I’ll look up Dracula!
Yes, I really rate Dice Town. It’s nothing like Las Vegas - much more chaotic, and silly. Lots of take that & unfair negotiation and targeting. It’s loud and matches its setting really well. Everyone involved all the time, but make sure noone is going to take offence!
Thanks for your continued enthusiasm for the channel!
Btw, I love Kompromat! I always bring it when I travel (because it is small and fits easy in my luggage) and always have a great time with it!
Great video. I love Stratego precisely because the bluffing and the traps. The best game for me that uses this mechanism is Android: Netrunner. Being a corp and setup a trap just for the runner to fall into it... just the best feeling.
Yeah, I played Android Netrunner once or twice, but it was too complex and confusing for me to get into - I'd have to really spend some time learning that game. But the traps were absolutely central to that game - and pivotal to the theme. It was very well done.
I haven't got Stratego but I have a game called Lord of the Rings: Confrontation which basically sounds similar. The rules are a little confusing so it doesn't get out of the cupboard to often (also the fact its a 2 player game and we tend to play with 3+ players now). But it also has cards which you can use to alter the battles between 2 pieces
Thanks for those great videos. :)
Hi Adam, about the Quarto mechanism you may be interested in the game "Carnac" if you don't know it already.
Your opponent places his stones and you can say if he can continues or if you stop him and let the stone fall over and then its your turn
22:39 That concept sounds exactly like a Chinese game I played called "陆军棋"(or Army Chess), which originated from a French game called "L'Attaque" published in 1909.
Valuable information. Thank you!
You’re welcome. Glad it was helpful.
A mechanism that I many times associate with traps is hidden movement. I really like the feeling of pursuing someone and trying to trap them into a corner or something like that.
Yeah absolutely, hidden movement works really well for that stuff.
So I finally finished watching all the videos in this series and I want to say well done Adam for making such an intriguing and educational list. I especially like the fact you threw in your top 10 WORST mechanics. Hearing your top most hated mechanic is the 'search deck/discard' is in some ways music to my ears. I'm about to start my second set of playtesting but before I do I know I need to change one or two mechanics and also a few card effects. Several cards have a similar effect to what you have mentioned and now I definitely will be looking at changing these - for the exact point you made about player turn time. My average game time is about 75 minutes (2 players) and I want to try and get this closer to 60 minutes and this will definitely help. I'm also glad to see that 2 of the main mechanics in the game I'm creating haven't been mentioned in your top 100 list so I hope these are as unique as I think they are :) Keep up the good work with these videos!
Oh and I forgot to mention that I've been looking at making ABYSS the next game in my collection so it's nice to hear it's probably your second favourite game. PS what is your top game then?
My favourite game is Evolution. Abyss is a close second :)
Glad you found the list helpful.
The other meaning of the word "trap" makes the last bit a lot funnier than expected.
Thank you...great channel!
Thanks Daniel - glad you're enjoying the channel.
Wingspan has a search the discard pile in the Oceania expansion, but it's the "Bin Chicken" white Ibis so it's flavour and funny as heck
Hmmm. I’ll need to find that card and bury it beneath the insert… ;)
Thanks for making this awesome series!! I really do enjoy the randomness that dice-rolling can bring (if kept within a certain threshold), and I've never thought about it, but I do quite dislike searching deck/discard cards as well! I'm often a very indecisive person and I start to feel the clock ticking and everyone waiting on me when I have one of those. I may have to employ your idea of tucking those cards away 😂 Polyominoes are always a refreshingly fun aspect for me, also. Can't say I've seen many tabletop games with traps, aside from the obvious Mouse Trap.
Does luring someone to check your pouch despite everything being above board in Sheriff of Nottingham count as a trap? 😈
Thanks for watching - glad you enjoyed it!
That definitely does feel like a trap! It’s one of my favourite features of the game!
In Quarto I try setting up traps for my opponent, but I must be careful not to fall into my own traps when placing my piece or giving a piece to my opponent. New players are always surprised when they learn that they don't own all the pieces of a given colour, and in my experience the "same colour line" is the easiest to see for any player.
I played Quarto this afternoon and I was terrible at it - made all sorts of mistakes and lost badly!!! :D
I haven't seen the multi-table mechanism in standalone games, but in the Arkham Horror LCG, there are numerous standalone scenarios that are designed around "Epic Multiplayer Mode", which allows groups of players playing their own copy of the same scenario to interact with each other/contribute towards the same object/help the other groups/etc.
Yes, a friend was telling me about that last night. I’m not sure it’s a game I’ll ever play, but I’m glad others are experimenting with the same concept.
It's certainly kind of a lifestyle game, and not for everyone! I think what's interesting with that implementation is that it's easier for people to "buy in" to playing a game like that, where you're interacting with other "games" of the same scenario, because the game attracts people who are already very into the game, and have sunk perhaps dozens of hours and hundreds of dollars into it already; whereas with a standalone game of that nature it may feel daunting to have to learn everything up front, including how the game works and all the interactions that can arise from there being multiple instances of the game.
Thanks for the video, love the content!
No sure what was going on with the Audio in these clips, but this clip’s audio was clearer and louder, and thus much easier to listen to. 🙃💙👍
Sorry - yeah, the audio was a mess in these videos. I think I have it sorted for future videos.
There's a few abstracts that have used the "quarto" mechanism. In my opinion, Kamisado is far and away the best, as it's my favorite abstract of all time.
In Kamisado you each have 8 pieces of 8 different colors, and you move your piece onto a colored space on the board and your opponent must move their piece of that color. (So if you define the "quarto" mechanism as "choosing the piece your opponent must use" then this game fits)
I love Kamisado. I hadn’t made the connection with Quarto, but you’re quite right. It’s the same concept.
Well, that search through the deck or the discard pile really worked in MtG. Traps better than polyomino tilelaying games? Nah.
Great video as usual, although I was surprised you put the very worst board game mechanism at the start instead of the end :)
You don’t like Polyominoes, Deborah? :)
@@AdaminWales I think she means its was kind of a bummer to end the video on 'THIS IS THE WORST MECHANIC' rather than THIS IS THE BEST MECHANIC. I did think the same thing myself although it would also annoy me and my OCD if you didn't lay out the video in the same way as all the others
ooh my, Poliominoes stresses me out so much! I can't stand polyominoes games. I don't like dice rolling at all. My favorite mechanics is Area Majority. So good! (but not area control which is more associated with dudes on a map). And also love Multi-use cards. So good!
cool machanics
I'd be curious to know what your thoughts are on a game like Cubitos: mix of Dice Rolling, Push your Luck, Combos and Racing
I haven’t played it, but it sounds up my street! :)
Oh, man, I want that European copy of 'Diamant' so much!! Gotta see if I can order that somewhere. And what is this Auf Teufel Komm Raus game??? Is there an English version coming out?? I want that, too!!
I’d love to see Auf Teufel Komm Raus get wider distribution. I’ll keep promoting it! :)
Hey Adam - just discovered your channel and really enjoying the info etc. Just wondering what your thoughts were on the balance of winning a game and gaining a new card/piece to play in the next game (whether the same game or different like the example you gave of yinsh/dvonn etc). It almost feels like the loser should gain the piece to balance it up rather than the winner having an extra advantage in the next game having already won the previous!? (Just a thought - disclaimer never played any GIPF games) Thanks in advance for any response!
Hi Jonathan - I’ve never played GIPF in this way, and I butchered the explanation in this video (got it totally wrong) - so I can’t really judge how GIPF handles it. But you’re right, in principle the loser should get an advantage in the next game (or the winner should get a handicap) to ensure there is no snowball effect. YINSH does this really well. It has one of the best catch up mechanisms I’ve seen. When you win a round, you lose a playing piece for the next round. This is huge in a focused abstract game like that, so it keeps the game tight.
Having you cover one mechanic you don’t like in each vid has made the build up to this vid to be quite exciting. Are my favourite mechanics going to be in your Too Ten? Or will they make an appearance in your most disliked mechanic. 🤔🤩🤓
Glad you enjoyed the videos Razorgirl. After your previous comment about “contract” trick taking games - and removing the gambling connotations - I thought…. You’re going to be disappointed with my Top 5! 😉 Thanks for sticking with it. Did your favourite mechanisms make the list?
@@AdaminWalesYes… I have to say I had mixed feelings about your Top Ten. 😅
Different tastes I guess. I’m incredibly unlucky, but more than that, I lived with a close mate while he struggled with a gambling addiction, which has coloured my perception on board games that have gambling elements. Especially those that could be played by kids. Adults, fine. Each to their own. But kids? 😖😤
As I mentioned below, my favourite did indeed make your list. Combos at #5. 😍
Tutors, your least favorite mechanic, really only have a place in deckbuilders or constructed deck games(I.E. magic). There they act as a deck thinner, allowing the player to more easily play the combos that they've set up.
Agree they work well there. Largely avoid the time sink since hopefully the player knows what cards they have and what they do. Maybe half or so of the cards in a Pokemon deck are search cards.
Is "Quarto mechanism" related to "I cut, you choose?" Have you covered the latter?
“I split; you choose” was my number 77.
I think they’re definitely related.
In “I split; you choose” your opponent usually gets a choice of two or more items or sets dictated by you - a neat decision - but that’s usually where the decision ends. It’s usually set-collection.
In Quarto your player only gives you one piece - you have no choice about which piece to use - your decision is HOW to use it.
They definitely have a similar feel.
Gwent - Oneiromancy Hate it. It's the "I've not been paying attentiion to your play style and tricks, and I need a " get-out-of-jail-free" card
I don’t know what this refers to! I’m guessing it’s a specific card that you dislike? What game?
Searching only works in mtg and other tcg's since it's your own deck and you should already know what's in it
Good point - that makes the mechanism more bearable! 😂
@@AdaminWales I've still seen plenty of searching salt amongst players, it's one reason why they stopped printing competitive level cards that search the whole deck
first xD
now, lets watch
Ha, push-your-luck is my #1 least favorite mechanism.
Wow - I love it! :) We’re all wired differently I guess.
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