The first decision players are confronted with in many games is "who goes first?". But the value of going first differs wildly depending on the game, with few common heuristics to
We want players to feel like they are getting stronger over the course of the game, but increasing their power level as a function of time alone feels unearned. Players want progression to
One game I am working on right now is a social deduction game with a drawing element. Players conceal subtle details in their drawings in case they are randomly selected for a secret
Effort in games should be balanced by reward. When players perform work for no reward, the game seems long, tedious, and not worth the setup. Rolling dice is work, and rolling attack dice
The most precious resource in games is player attention. There is only so much to go around, and when players run out, they feel overwhelmed. Attention burden is caused by options and passive