Variable Player Powers Encourage Exploration

As game designers, we want our players to fully explore the games we create. But they sometimes ignore aspects of our games. In my game Sprocketforge, for instance, I often see new players ignoring the mechanics of trashing their gears and petitioning noble houses. Players don't need to interact with everything immediately, but you want them to get there eventually. This is where variable player powers shine: giving players a unique advantage in one area encourages them to explore that aspect and discover things they might otherwise have missed.

I, like many others, have been playing Slay the Spire 2 lately. One thing that stood out to me immediately is how each of the classes in the game focuses on a common mechanic it shares with other classes:

• Ironclad - Exhaust (temporarily remove a card from your deck after playing it)
• Silent - Card Draw
• Regent - Colorless Cards/Card Creation
• Necrobinder - Ethereal (temporarily remove a card from your deck if you don't play it)
• Defect - Power Cards

In the past, I avoided ethereal cards because the idea of having to use them or lose them seemed bad. After playing the Necrobinder's abilities that reward ethereal card play, I learned there are advantages to cards that trash themselves if unused. If you face an enemy the card doesn't help against, you can get rid of it for free. The different character specializations help players climb the heuristic tree faster by encouraging experimentation.

It is common in board games these days for players to start with some degree of specialization. In Eclipse, each race excels at one aspect of the game and is mediocre at the rest. The Hydran Progress gets double research actions, so they focus on research; the Orion Hegemony has ships with bonus initiative and energy, so they focus on combat. Starting with a unique advantage gives players a clear direction to explore, which changes in the next game when they play a different faction.

I apply this in my own games. In Sprocketforge, advanced mode introduces different factions, each with its own focus. The Singing Stone faction has abilities that encourage storing mana and disenchanting gears, while Golden Bastion has strong incentives to keep their exhaust low and petition noble houses. Even when players miss these mechanics in the basic game, they learn the importance of disenchantment and petitioning once they play advanced mode.

We often see variable player powers as a way to create replayability by giving players a new perspective each time they play, and they do accomplish that. But I think the greatest benefit of variable player powers is not how they make gameplay unique, but rather how they teach players lessons that apply regardless of the faction they play.