The Game Mechanics

This series is called The Game Mechanics. It will be a series of blog posts that will focus in on a specific game mechanic and use an example game to dive in a little deeper. This is a great series of you are getting into game design or are just interested in how games work. Also we are interviewing game designers to see what makes them tick.

The Newest Posts

River Valley Glassworks: a Cozy Family Game

Today we take a look at River Valley Glassworks from Allplay. This gem of a game was designed by Adam Hill (Motor City), Ben Pinchback...

Edge Quest: a Very Sharp Game That Gets to the Point... Fun!

I was excited when I started opening up Edge Quest board game and inside there was a set of awesome poseable figures. -Board Game Preview-

Magiccon Chicago 2025 Wrapup

I have played a lot of Magic the Gathering. I played most of that in the 1990s in High School and right after. Magic to me was a fun...

Review of Flip 7: A Quick and Exciting Card Game

Flip 7 is one of the most quickly learned games that I have played in a long time. From taking it out of the box to playing it with our...

Preview of 52 Realms: Adventures

Postmark Games has been churning out print and play games since their debut game Voyages in 2021. The newest print and play game in...

Holiday Board Game Gift Guide 2024

Happy Holidays everyone. Its that time of year again and this year we are bringing you a big list of great games that you can get for...

Moonrollers: A Press Your Luck Dice Game

Moonrakers, a break out deck building game published in 2020 by IV Studios created a world where pilots recruit crews and complete...

B&N Makes Designers Names Searchable

Barnes and Noble have been selling board games for a long time. It took them until October 4th to put the game designers names in the...

Space Borne: Preview of a Strategic Dexterity Game

As one of the four ruling planets in the systemplayers must work together to find the precious crystals to power th Black Hole Limiter....

Preview: Springsign

The village of Springsign is a rough and tumble little settlement. Winters are difficult and theres only fish to eat, oh and bandits...

What is a "Rouge-Like" Board Game?

The year was 1980 and the video game Rouge was published. This is the the Rouge in "Rouge-Like". Recently I have been hearing the term...

Bert

Sep 4, 20242 min read

41 views

Strategic Allocation: Unpacking Action Points in Board Games

Welcome back to another dive into The Game Mechanics. Today we are looking at action points and what they are and how they are used....

Bert

Jun 10, 20242 min read

122 views

Artificial Intelligence in Board Games, the Good the Bad and the Ugly

Artificial Intellegence has taken the world by storm. It has started to affect the daily lives of people. People are interested in it and...

Bert

May 20, 20245 min read

122 views

Pick-up and Delivery in Board Games: Strategy and Mechanics Explained

The phrase pick-up and deliver brings to mind something in the realm of UPS or FedEx. This thought is pretty accurate when we dive into...

Bert

Jan 15, 20242 min read

203 views

Overcoming Analysis Paralysis: Tips for Getting Past the Hesitation in Board Gaming

You and your friends are sitting around the game table playing the newest game. Your friends turn is taking way longer than everyone...

Bert

Jan 8, 20243 min read

218 views

The Game Mechanics: Tile Placement

Tile placement is a board game mechanic created by the ancient Romans when they were installing the mosaics in the great bathhouses of...

Bert

Feb 17, 20233 min read

345 views

The Game Mechanics: Hand Management

Hand management is used in games to reward players for playing a sequence or series of cards from their hands. Hand management is often...

Bert

Oct 27, 20222 min read

275 views

The Game Mechanics: Hand Management

Hand management is a mechanic that rewards players for playing sequences or sets of cards. This mechanic is frequently paired with card...

Bert

Oct 17, 20222 min read

747 views

The Game Mechanics: Roll and Write

Have you ever played Yahtzee or Bingo? Then you have played a roll and write game. Roll and write is exactly as it sounds. During a roll...

Bert

Oct 3, 20223 min read

169 views

The Game Mechanics: Closed Drafting

Lets dive into the world of closed drafting. Closed drafting is defined by players selecting a game elements such as cards then passing...

Bert

Sep 26, 20222 min read

137 views

The Game Mechanics: Asymmetric-Players

Today's post is about Asymmetric players.I know what your thinking and yes the players them selves are all asymmetric. But today we are...

Bert

Jul 22, 20213 min read

75 views

The Game Mechanics: Weighted Drafting

On its surface it sounds like a fix for a broken game. I believe that this is a very intentional mechanic a designer can use to allow...

Bert

May 19, 20212 min read

117 views

The Game Mechanics: Hidden Roles

Hidden information in board games is popular mechanic and a wide scope. Games that implement this mechanic range from hidden movements,...

Bert

Mar 23, 20213 min read

354 views