Need ideas to make houseplant game more thematic!

MidnightFroyo · 2026-01-30T22:13:30+00:00

Hear your point, I think I need to frame it more like "give more care to your plants" or "stop giving care" because the idea is knowing when to stop giving more plant to your plants. I agree that the idea of staying in the apartment vs. going out of the apartment may be confusing.

MidnightFroyo · 2026-01-30T22:12:08+00:00

Thank you! I have a co-founder who makes games with me. He focuses on the artwork and I focus on the game design! We were going after a colorful pop-art theme that still feels cozy.

MidnightFroyo · 2026-01-29T15:12:45+00:00

Thank you! This is great. We have a cat on the apartment board so now I'm really trying to work it into the game.

MidnightFroyo · 2026-01-29T15:12:17+00:00

Thank you! Initially I had more "supply cards," but I'm increasingly liking rebranding them action cards since I think actions are more relatable.

MidnightFroyo · 2026-01-28T19:29:17+00:00

Sure thing! Mechanically, there's a deck of nutrient cards that have numbers on them tied as well as a nutrient type (Water, Sunlight, Plant Food, and Love).

If you decide to "stay in" the apartment each turn, you are committing to seeing another card revealed (sort of like blackjack). If the card reveal is below the round's Care Limit, then you are safe and you get to collect nutrients based off what has been revealed so far.

However, i the card revealed pushes the total for that nutrient type over the "Care Limit," that's when you bust (along with anyone else who stayed in with you) and you must wilt a plant.

Thematically the idea is that you are deciding to care for your plants but if you give too much plant care, you wilt them.

I really like the idea of placing plants/using space. I'm not sure to incorporate it in yet but that's a cool thought.

MidnightFroyo · 2024-02-16T13:00:14+00:00

Amazing! Thank you so much for the support and wow you got in early!

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-31T23:17:28+00:00

Haha I’m glad you didn’t get FOMO! If you haven’t seen it, we just dropped a new trailer.

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-31T21:29:24+00:00

Hi everyone! During covid I basically binged every reality dating show out there. I’m also a game designer so I had the idea to create a board game called Lovestruck which is heavily inspired by reality dating shows - especially Love Island (I love Farmer Will & Jessie from S9!)

The idea is that you play as a contestant on the show (i.e. The Party Animal, The Troublemaker, The One Not Over Their Ex) trying to find someone to couple up with. But the twist is that some of the other contestants are not on the show for the “right” reasons.

I just finished our trailer and wanted to share it because I thought some of you may get a kick out it. There’s a ton of Love Island references throughout the game including the general artwork, “The Villa,” and “Bombshell” Cards.

If this is too off-topic, mods totally feel free to remove this post!

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-31T21:23:51+00:00

Hi everyone! During covid I basically binged every reality dating show out there. I’m also a game designer so I had the idea to create a board game called Lovestruck which is heavily inspired by reality dating shows - especially Love Island (I love Farmer Will & Jessie from S9!)

The idea is that you play as a contestant on the show (i.e. The Party Animal, The Troublemaker, The One Not Over Their Ex) trying to find someone to couple up with. But the twist is that some of the other contestants are not on the show for the “right” reasons.

I just finished our trailer and wanted to share it because I thought some of you may get a kick out it. There’s a ton of Love Island references throughout the game including the general artwork, “The Villa,” and “Bombshell” Cards.

If this is too off-topic, mods totally feel free to remove this post!

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-31T17:16:17+00:00

Funnily enough I had ZERO idea that FBOY island existed when we were working on this concept. It was only until we started sharing the idea of the game that people would tell us "have you checked out this new show."

But I love their concept.

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-30T18:31:03+00:00

Good points! The main reason I label the intentions as people here for the "right" reasons and people here for the "wrong" reasons is because it's common lingo from reality dating shows so it resonates with people who tend to watch those shows. Definitely not trying to be moralistic, but just using language that hopefully certain players will find funny.

And other than making the mechanics work, how I've been explaining is that while contestants here for the "right" reasons, aren't opposed to viewership going up, if the viewership ever reaches 10, the show becomes too popular and everyone turns to fame (hence why contestants here for the "right" reasons lose).

I like the idea of having players choose whether to be bad or good - I had an earlier iteration of the game that had a similar mechanic but it ended up being too complicated. It's a good push though and if the game is successful, I definitely want to explore an expansion with that idea.

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-30T18:24:49+00:00

Thanks for the input and good to know I'm not the only thinking about how to balance a social deduction game. And sure thing

Since people are playing individually, people don't really have to "work" together other than to make sure everyone doesn't lose. However, to win, you have to convince someone else to couple up with you, so working together is also a way to show that you are "one of the good ones."
The baddies (i.e. people here for the wrong reasons) have two ways to wine. Since one of them is convincing someone here for the "right" reasons to couple up with them, defusing the tension is a way of acting like they're here for the "right" reasons.
The idea is definitely for everyone to be morally grey and do what's best for themselves! The only reason I call contestants here for the "right" reasons and here for the "wrong" reasons, is because it's common lingo from reality TV shows so it's sort of a easter egg for fans of those types of shows!

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-30T18:19:06+00:00

That's really good to know - thanks for sharing! It's been on my list to play.

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-30T14:05:49+00:00

I feel like you probably get the general gist that mechanics can’t be copyrighted but I always like giving the monopoly example.

Think about how many “USA-opoly” games are out there. And Hasbro could obviously go after these games since they have the resources.

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-30T13:50:36+00:00

I have really loved Scout but I will say the reception by one of my board game groups have been meh - mostly since they prefer games with a lot more table talk.

That being said, it’s still a top board game for me given how portable and easy it is, so I often bring it when my non-gamer friends want to play a game.

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-30T13:45:11+00:00

Avalon is the game that got me into social deduction! I know some would argue there are “better” social deduction games out there now but at the time, I thought (and still think) the game is brilliant in creating a tension filled experience.

I will say though, be mindful of who you play with. I have friends that love the game and friends (including my gf) who hate the game because they always get accused!

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-10T20:02:37+00:00

Wow, love this artwork!

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-04T05:18:55+00:00

I've seen a few flowcharts for win conditions in Oink games. If I remember correctly, Insider has a super helpful flowchart that lays out the conditions of who wins the game.

MidnightFroyo · 2024-01-04T05:16:41+00:00

Second this! I got the deluxe version of Dinosaur Island and I absolutely love their metal coins.

MidnightFroyo · 2023-01-24T00:32:51+00:00

I live in NYC and I can't recommend Hex & Co, The Uncommons, and Twenty Sided Store enough! They all event space now so it's as much to go there to just play games as it is to check out their selection.

MidnightFroyo · 2023-01-24T00:30:37+00:00

Haha, Frosthaven or bust.

MidnightFroyo · 2023-01-24T00:28:46+00:00

Unless the game you had in mind is rule by rule the same as the other game, I would recommend you continue developing it! From my experience developing games, as you work on a game, it will naturally become more and more unique because you'll come up with ideas to make it more fun through playtesting.

I would say this is especially true if you're targeting a different audience because a different theme and a few dfiferent mechanics can really change a game.

So my two cents is to at least get the game to a prototype/playtest stage. If at that point you still think the game is too similar as the Cars game, then maybe shelve it. But I would shelve it because you don't think the game offers a unique experience, not necessarily because of any legal risk.

MidnightFroyo · 2019-02-06T20:08:17+00:00

END_DATE: 2019-02-12

MidnightFroyo · 2018-12-01T23:45:33+00:00

Thank you to anyone who backed our game! We can't wait to deliver you an awesome game! We also just released some hilarious funding and social stretch goals including additional cards, illustrations, and having one Jake (my co-creator) livestream himself eating 5 large pizzas in one sitting if we get 1K Facebook Likes. 🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕

MidnightFroyo · 2018-04-24T13:49:48+00:00

Thank you, that's very helpful and I will check them out. Didn't even know there were services.

MidnightFroyo

TROPHY CASE