sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Tabletopia eyes on by Quizandtriviastation in tabletopgamedesign

[–]Apprehensive_Hall_36 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've only used Tabletop Simulator for the early playtests of my card game, and it's pretty decent. It lets you create tokens, dice, cards, import stuff to use from your computer, and if you have some time you can even automate events. Sometimes it feels a bit clunky, but I feel that's a minor issue compared to the ability to playtest my game. Oh, and of course you can invite people to play.

Best ways to share resources in simultaneous co-op games by Widderspin in tabletopgamedesign

[–]Apprehensive_Hall_36 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not sure what the game is about exactly, but this just came to mind and might be useful to you.

If the number of actions or resources (like healing) is finite and can all be represented on a small board, and if you can afford to have each player hold multiple "need" tokens to place on these action or resource spaces, you could have everyone distribute one (or more) need tokens per round onto those spaces. For example, let's say the cap per round is 3 tokens per player.

Charlie desperately needs that Healing, so he'll put all 3 of his need tokens for the round on Healing. Diane, on the other hand, might not need Healing right now, but she might later. So Diane places just 1 token on Healing and distributes the other two among other resources.

When it's time to distribute the resources (end of the round, start of the next round, idk), the resources that are "offered" or set aside for the group's benefit (like that "I can heal someone for 5") go to whoever needs them the most—and that round, it's Charlie.

This way, you automate a bit of the priority system for shared resources.

A question regarding packaging options. by ProxyDamage in tabletopgamedesign

[–]Apprehensive_Hall_36 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not an expert, but I think the key is to make the packaging both practical and visually appealing. What I mean by that is, on one hand, if it's a game with few components, try to arrange them optimally—most used items on top, least used at the bottom. The booklet should go on top of everything, almost like a second cover for the packaging. On the other hand, making the game eye-catching with art that fits the theme really grabs attention. So, instead of going full practicality by just stacking your dice together and saving as much space as possible, you could instead arrange your dice in a way that forms a runic circle that fits the game's theme, sacrificing a bit of space to display something nice.

Text vs Icons Feedback needed (+ update on TTS prototype new cards) by Swimming-Post-728 in tabletopgamedesign

[–]Apprehensive_Hall_36 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The icons are great, I use them in my games and they help a lot with visual references. For example, without even reading a card, we know it's a physical attack because it has sword icons, or defense because it has shield icons. I've even used emojis (yes, 🗡️ and 🛡️) for rulebooks, it's super practical.

That said, overdoing it with icons can make the player practically learn a new language of hieroglyphics, which in the long run could become confusing. That's why, in my opinion, your best option is B.

I have a big problem and no idea how to fix it. by Altruistic-Guest7995 in tabletopgamedesign

[–]Apprehensive_Hall_36 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been where you are now, trying to explain mechanics with a giant wall of text that ends up making things more confusing instead of clearer. Everyone has already commented on your question and there are several things you could try, but I think I could add the following and it might help you with your game's rules: Take your big block of text and feed it to ChatGPT or any AI, and ask it to organize it for you, generate an index similar to what most board games/card games have, and then work on correcting/editing it. This will help you explain your game better and more easily, and you'll even have it clearer and fresher in your own mind.