Obsolescence Strengthens Progression
One goal of game design is to make players feel they have made progress by the end of the game. A game where the end feels the same as the beginning has an
Sticky Choices Increase Replayability
Some choices are reversible, such as moving armies around a board in Risk or discarding a power card in Spirit Island. Others are permanent, such as constructing a building in Catan or earning
Hoarding Is a Degenerate Strategy
If you have played a video game RPG, you may be familiar with the frustration of a full inventory. You explore and gather items, then suddenly run into a wall and must decide
The Best Experiments Are Functional
In games of logical induction, players perform experiments to learn how the game works. These create the reward of feeling clever for figuring out secrets, but it can be frustrating when an experiment
Designing Games That Balance Themselves
Balance is not as important as some people might believe. While it matters in contexts like games with a strong tournament focus, in most situations it does not matter if a game is