Guidelines for Strategy Game Design
§ 5.7 - Design communicates strategy.
A game should let players know what they ought to be doing at each step of the way.
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§ 5.6 - Component motions are intuitive.
Pieces should move in a pleasant and intuitive way, without a lot of counting or fiddliness.
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§ 5.5 - Setup is pleasant and intuitive.
The game should be set up without requiring understanding of its play.
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§ 5.4 - One core loop drives gameplay.
In general, a game should have one central loop of actions.
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§ 5.3 - Play is communicated graphically.
Wherever possible, communicate your gameplay with diagrams to ensure players understand how to play correctly.
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§ 5.2+ - Instructions are simple.
An instruction (as we’ll call it here) is anything that the game instructs players to do outside the ordinary flow of rules.
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§ 5.1 - The audience is clearly defined.
Players are the most important part of a game, so choose them with as much care as any other component.
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§ 5.0 - Accessible to its audience.
Accessibility is of paramount importance. If a game can’t be played, it can’t be enjoyed, and so it can’t fulfill its purpose.
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§ 4.4 - Play ends when the outcome is apparent.
At some point, a winner will be clear. Someone’s engine comes online or pulls ahead, or someone starts to generate points quickly enough that the rest of the players can’t hope to catch up.
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§ 4.3 - Play begins when decisions begin.
In any game, there is a moment where the player’s decisions start contributing to their victory.
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§ 4.2 - Strategies form by approximation.
If the game allows it, Players will form strategies. These strategies should not require excessive calculation to understand or evaluate.
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§ 4.1 - Destructive choices are prevented.
A destructive choice is one that damages the player or the game in such a way that it can no longer continue normally.
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