Tabletop Game Mechanics

1) Taking Turns (Football, Baseball, Volleyball have turns, Soccer doesn't) Chess vs. D&D
    Significance of Turn Order
Older games - few long turns. More modern games - many short turns.

With longer turns, make sure players have enough info to make plans when it is not their turn.
Less ability to play means more ability to socialize

2) Racing
Speed vs. Slow and Steady
Maximize your resources - use everything up
Victory point games are also race games.

A race - to test how well players can calculate efficiency

With races you need to allow the behind players to FEEL like they are catching up.
Positional Heuristics - hanging back to rubber-band in front at the end etc.

Give players ability to risk more for greater reward. Adds excitement, keeps ppl engaged.

3) The Rondel - can do some things but not all things each turn. Adds Cycles to the game.
Seasons, storms, traveling merchants, changing roles, etc.

How can I line up what I have with the movement of the Rondel / options available to me.

Shift your play or shift the Rondel to match up with your resources / capabilities

4) Gambling
Know what the odds are.

5) Rock Paper Scissors
Elephant beats Lion beats Hyena beats Dog Beats Cat beats Mouse beats Elephant
Sword >Axe>Spear>Sword

open or hidden. (send a scout etc.)

Too many items adds complexity, difficulty

Shell Game - hidden items - Stratego

Memorize the elements to win.

6) Surprise Events
Pandemic, etc.
Good to spice up a linear / boring / routine game.

Injects randomness - keeps the game close - provides catch up mechanism
Increases replayability.

random cards

7) Drafting
nfl, kickball, ticket to ride
evaluate the value correctly, both for you and your opponent - denying them
order is important

types: all see and pick (rochester)
settlers - one way then reverse
kickball - 1st pick, then 2nd and 3rd pick together
magic

drafts are good when there are resources which values are not obvious.

worker placement - draft of the jobs (puerto rico, colonization) - priority 1 = get more workers
more draft picks. More card draws.

Auctions - similar to drafting.  (open bidding, closed, once around, silent auction)

Key - learn to value things in relation to other things.

Puerto Rico - early game, doubloons are worth several victory points, late game - less than a point.

Get good at evaluation - you win.

8) Voting - vote who wins
chip taking game -
can become very political
War games with more than 2 teams where players can directly challenge eachother.
Mafia / Werewolf
Diplomacy
Good for party games.
A&A solves the Risk problem by eliminating politics

9) Trading - helping each other at expense of the rest.
Settlers
Bonanza, Genoa
need incentive for players to trade.
High lvl settlers tournaments, nobody trades because it's always better for one or the other.

10) Chicken - Brinkmanship.
Stopping others / everyone from winning.
Warren's block stacking game.
Helps prevent snowballing.
Forces an escalation of mechanics -

11) Tile games. - Making a board, setting up assets etc.


12) Trick taking - Hearts, Rook, Euchre, Spades
 (sort of like auctions)

add trick taking to other games for good flavor.
Spells. Initiative.

13) Dexterity Test
game becomes  a sport.
flicking a paper football etc.
clicking, punchout
party games - spoons, etc.

14) Alliances - related to voting, but cooperative winning. Think of it like voting.
political

A&A,

15) Traitors - cylon, mordred, werewolf, hitler
Must restrict communication to allow this mechanic to not be too obvious.
Tends to dominate the game.

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Genres vs. Mechanisms - broad vs. narrow
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Top 5 worst mechanisms:

5. Roll and Move - encompasses bad traits of old games. cheap easy cop-out. Candyland. Trouble, Parcheesi, Monopoly.

4. Player Elimination - Mafia / Werewolf; King of Tokyo (but it's fast); Settlers (defacto when you are too far behind.) Should have something you can do even if you are losing / eliminated.

3. Pick up and Deliver - lots of Euro games; train games; copout for real business and creativity.

2. Blind Bidding - simultaneous revealing - punishes those that are not good at reading people etc.

1. Storytelling - Once upon a time, making up nonsense for no reason; not enough structure. Like Role-playing without systems / rules.


Top 5 best mechanisms:

5. Worker Placement

4. Cards that have multiple uses - Multiuse cards (Emperial Settlers)
versatility, different paths, complexity simplified, freedom

3. Hidden Roles / Hidden Goals - different alignment, roles, motivations

2. Thematic Choices - Lots of choices with significant consequences to make throughout the game
Tech trees etc, alignments,

1. Deck Building - Variety, complexity,
Heart of Crowns* find