Dev Log #12

"Play in an abstract strategy game often unfolds as players move pieces on the board, creating a set of ongoing puzzles for other players to thwart." - "Critical Play: Radical Game Design, Chapter Three: Board Games". by Mary Flanagan. In class, my group and I played a board game that we have never played before. We were tasked with reading the rules and acting upon them. It was hard to understand at first because a lot of the rules in the game were very complex. But as time went on we began to understand it and started to create strategies on how we can combat each other and gain the advantage.  Each member took different approaches to the game, and used different cards and tokens to gain the advantage on others. 

"Many games incorporated chance". - "Critical Play: Radical Game Design, Chapter Three: Board Games". by Mary Flanagan.  The game we played had a lot of elements of chance. There was a mountain in the middle of the board that had slopes for marbles to roll down from. The marbles can roll in different directions to a spot on the board. These marbles determine the points you can collect to win the game.  Each marble has a different value and you must collect these to win. The deck of cards you randomly collect also determine how much you can move around the board and what you can collect. 

"Game play in mancala is usually symmetric, meaning that players use the same strategy and play by the same rules in order to win".  - "Critical Play: Radical Game Design, Chapter Three: Board Games". by Mary Flanagan.  In the game we were playing, players were given the same task to win the game. Collect ores and gold.  Each player is given a random deck of cards to use in the game and create strategies on how to collect and thwart other players. Each player uses the same mechanics but the outcomes can turn out to be different.