Report 1
I was a little over ambitious with my first idea. The players would create a board for the other player to solve. The theme overall was going to be circuitry. Each player would draw out a circuit for the other to solve with a set of given symbols. However, this required players to be well versed in circuitry in order to ensure they produced a solvable board. I worked with my partner to simplify it enough where anyone can play it, but still retain some of the original aspects I had in mind for the circuitry version: Moving on a board, player input, a race to a goal.
Starting Rules:
Board: Each player has their own 0 - 100 large index card
Movement: 6 cards with a different die on each, 4 cards with a different direction on each
Dice: D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20
Directions: Up, down, left, right
Each player has their own board. The left side 0 and the right side 100. The goal is to move from 0 to 100. As you move, you draw a line from where you were, to your next movement. Each set of cards are shuffled. On a players turn, they turn over 1 of each. Sample turn: Player 1 draws an up direction, and a D12 card. Player 1 rolls an 8. Player 1 is no further or closer than the right side of the card. A lot of issues surfaced immediately. What if they player fell off the board? What if the player got a left direction? How would the layer know where they were if they went back into a line they drew? How does the player know how far they went? Every move my partner and I made we asked these questions. Several rules surfaced:
Added Rules:
Movement: The player cannot move off the board. The player moves no further than the edge.
Movement: Whenever a player moves, they draw a line to their next spot. If they player ends up on a path they already drew, they mark it with a dot.
Movement: The player writes the number they moved under/next to the line they drew.
At the end of this session, many initial issues were alleviated, while many more questions arose, along with some aesthetic issues. The dice and movement cards are so few, they should be represented each with a dice of their own. A D6 would determine which die the player rolls for their movements, and a D4 would determine which direction the players moves.
Appealing aspects of this iteration: The player drawing their own path - once the game ends the drawn path is unique to that game.
Unappealing aspects: All random without any player choices.
Report 2
Starting Rules:
Board: Each player has their own 0 - 50 large index card
Movement: 6 dice and 4 directions
Movement: A D6 rolls to determine which dice to roll for movement, the result being the die as depicted by the number next to the die.
Movement: A D4 rolls to determine which direction the player move, the result being the direction as depicted by the numbers next to each direction
Dice: 1-D4, 2-D6, 3-D8,4- D10, 5-D12, 6-D20
Directions: 1-Up, 2-down, 3-left, 4-right
Movement: In the event a player has a movement outside the boundaries, the player goes no further than the edge.
In the second play session I brought in the developed set of rules. This more structured game allowed less time going "what happens if this happens?" and more experiencing the game itself. That experience though gave a lot of feedback on its own as to what should be changed. The person I played with noted that even with the end goal being brought down to 50, potentially the game could still last quite a long time as the player only has a 1 in 4 chance of getting a 'right' direction, and even then the amount of chance in the die rolls may only take you a couple steps. Here, I proposed a ruling that would give some control the the player.
The first player chooses which 'Movement' each person gets to choose without rolling - either the direction or the die. Subsequent turns will not be chosen and instead alternate. Sample: Player 1 chooses direction without needing to roll in the first round. Both player 1 and 2 choose which direction they want to move for their turns and a D6 is still rolled for number of places moved. After their turns are over, Round 2 commences and this round players choose which die they want to roll for spaces moved, while they roll a D4 for a random direction. This allows the player to have some steering capability. We also decided to give some meaning to the up and down directions, and the win goal is no longer just get to the other side, but to get to the other side no further up or down than the 50 marker. So, if you get to the end 5 above the 100, you'll need to roll a 5 down to win.
Despite adding in player choice, chance still allows backtracking and colliding back into/through previous lines. Negative numbers and arrows work to some degree, but adding more structure to the board itself can solve this issue entirely. Graph paper or grid lines can be used as a guide for the player as well as a predetermined amount of space between each point of movement. The predetermined points on the paper make it easier to visualize player movement, as well as occupied space. Each player would also get a token to mark their place instead of drawing it out every turn.
At the end of the session, the movement changes seemed to work out. However, the player is still at odds with... well the odds of getting high rolling movement dice. You have a 1 in 6 chances to get a D20, and then a 1 in 20 chance to roll a 20. Even with alternating rounds letting the player choose direction/die, a game could end with players having a series of low rolls in opposite directions.
Report 3
Starting Rules:
Goal: Reach the end of the board
Board: Each player has their own 0 - 50 grid lined graph paper
Movement: 6 dice and 4 directions
Movement: A D6 rolls to determine which dice to roll for movement, the result being the die as depicted by the number next to the die.
Movement: A D4 rolls to determine which direction the player move, the result being the direction as depicted by the numbers next to each direction
Dice: 1-D4, 2-D6, 3-D8,4- D10, 5-D12, 6-D20
Directions: 1-Up, 2-down, 3-left, 4-right
Movement: In the event a player has a movement outside the boundaries, the player goes no further than the edge.
Movement: Game rounds alternate between a chosen movement, and a random movement. Player 1 picks which is chosen for the first round.
Having some player input reduced the amount of rolls needed to win the game. Having grid lines gave the player a proper sense of space when moving their token. Moving up and down still felt meaningless even with using it to determine the win. Winning doesn't need an up or down direction unless you go off the horizontal path making those direction simply an annoyance rather than something to consider. What if I changed that to make up and down NEEDED directions to win?
I decided to change the board layout. Going from left to right, 0 to 50, makes the directions up and down unnecessary. The new board is essentially an x,y coordinate plane ranging from -20,-20 to 20,20. The goal is no longer get to the other side, it is now 'land on random x,y point'. Now, every direction has meaning, and on rounds where the die is chosen, choosing a lower sided die will be considered for nearing the point. The board is now smaller, but with the introduction to Y coordinates, there will still be a few rounds of movement needed. An extremely lucky player could simply could get to a win point in just 2 rounds - essentially moving in the x-axis the amount required, then in the y-axis the amount required to get to that winning x,y. This also leaves an extremely unlucky player having to continuously roll if they overshoot their win points, as you are required to land DIRECTLY on the point.
