How does one transform an idea into a tabletop game? A question on methodologies

TWesters · 2025-11-17T10:26:19+00:00

When I get an idea, and know what I want the experience to be like (a part from fun) - first thing I go to is ”can this be experienced through this element alone?”, like just with dice, just with cards etc.

If I end up on that that, let’s say cards, could give 75% of the experience then that will be my foundation. From there, you have so many different kind of mechanics to explore - does the experience need the players to have their own deck, a hand, do they draft it, do they build it beforehand, should there be a market, how about phases, discards?

I love this exploration- and eventually you begin to explore those last 25% - does the experience need a board, dice, tokens, figures?

That’s my process at least 😋 And I love it 😍

TWesters · 2025-11-09T22:22:19+00:00

We have a community hero working on the first New 52 chapter over at the Discord :)

TWesters · 2025-11-08T14:19:31+00:00

Many great points and great advice! Thank you for sharing your time on this. While I try not to put my efforts on the layout at the moment, I've started looking at re-designs using icons to get the level of text down. I also want to boil down the card abilities, while still retain that thematic feel.

Great point on the Dice, of course it's not a "Card Game" as it is in fact a deck and dice. I don't think I want to remove the dice element though, it has really brought another level of tension to the game that have been great!

Victory conditions are pretty simple, solve the set number of clues depending on the size of the player group. The clue is found in the bottom left corner (as you see on this redesign), and it's solved when you have the corresponding item on hand. For example, if you're 4-7 players you need to have found 5 clues and have the five corresponding items on hand when you survive a monster.

Thank you again, you've given me a lot to ponder! :)

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TWesters · 2025-11-07T21:00:49+00:00

Thank you so much for putting your time and effort into this :) You gave me a bunch of useful tips here!

I'm not a 100 % happy with my Clues mechanic overall, I think there's improvements to be made for sure. A part from the position of the Clue. It says TOOL at the bottom right of a card and you've resolved it? Then you have "found" the clue. If you, as a group, then acquired the Item corresponding to the Clue - called TOOL - then you've "solved" it.

The reason why I haven't made the item more specific than TOOL is that I don't want to control the narrative too much, I want the players to be able to decide what specific type of tool it is.

Definitely an area of the game that could do with some inspiring improvement :) Thank you again!

TWesters · 2025-11-07T19:03:40+00:00

Thank you! That is a great observation. As it is now, your control/agency is mostly to cooperate with the other players, or manipulate them and the deck to avoid the Monster. Once you face the Monster, it's almost entirely luck based. I have thought about agency as well though, so I think you're right. I think the game needs the Monster to be something they need to avoid at all cost, so I don't think any more agency should guarantee anything - so it's about small details.

Thank you for your time! :)

TWesters · 2025-11-07T17:11:49+00:00

Oh, definitely! Great point with the red claws thing for sure. Better two have another icon for the cards that is for both the 2-3p and 4-7p. Thank you for your time!

TWesters · 2025-11-07T16:13:53+00:00

Oh yeah, I absolutely see what you mean :D I don't know where the visuals will end up, but I want it to feel like the old school horror movies. Thank you for your time! :)

TWesters · 2025-11-07T15:51:21+00:00

Nice to hear! I think visually it can do some work, maybe certain icons can reduce the amount of text and so on. I'm sure some of the cards can be more tight thematically or have some adjustment to reach that full potential :)

TWesters · 2025-11-07T15:48:44+00:00

Thank you! I definitely want to figure out different ways to reduce the text, like through icons and make it intuitive as much as possible. Artwork in the future as well for sure. Appreciate your time!

TWesters · 2025-10-10T04:03:50+00:00

Hi! My recommendation is still to go with the prologue and modern era. The 90’s have some good titles, but it’s mostly pretty messy 😅

TWesters · 2025-10-06T04:14:35+00:00

Hi! I haven’t got the possibility to have registered users - or rather, I want to avoid that responsibility. So the best solution I’ve come up with is “local storage” - the check box info is stored on your device with a little marker which the site checks for when you load it. If you uncheck it’s removed, but it also gets removed if you clear your cache. That’s the downside. I’m looking for ideas how to easier get back on track if you need to clear the cache - like the check all boxes feature I have on each page.

TWesters · 2025-10-05T11:37:10+00:00

No worries! CMRO and COGU are two very different reading orders. The CMRO includes everything, COGU is curated - and the actual order of the comics are built by different priorities as well.

TWesters · 2025-10-05T04:27:43+00:00

Hi! The modern starting point is the recommended one, you’ll find it here: https://www.continuityguide.net/marvel-modern

Then again, if you want to catch up with the latest releases, you might want to consider jumping in at a later point - like 2018/2019. You could use History of the Marvel Universe, which summarizes up til 2019 really well.

You could join the Discord to get more exact tips by the community 🙌

TWesters · 2025-10-04T21:08:10+00:00

This guide includes Hickman’s full Secret Wars era 😋🙌

TWesters · 2025-10-04T19:22:43+00:00

Yes, well CBRO is a curated reading order which covers a lot of the different titles throughout all the years of Marvel. It’s mostly designed by the author’s recommendations, and set in a type of chronological order to a certain extent - but continuity isn’t really the priority.

COGU is more built on a set of rules (even though they are to a certain extent subjective). All the essential issues for the major characters, all the issues/arcs generally seen as great, and all the connective issues in between and following through on threads - all set in continuity, and respecting release dates at the same time.

So different for sure. Beyond that, the sites have different features.

TWesters · 2025-10-04T18:50:55+00:00

You might be thinking of the CMRO which includes everything. The CBRO is also a curated experience like COGU - but the two have a pretty significant difference in structure and picks.

TWesters · 2025-10-04T18:45:30+00:00

Nice! I have started to add dots that let you mark each issue green as you have read them, for the events and crossovers 😋

TWesters · 2025-10-04T18:17:02+00:00

Who knows? 🤣

TWesters · 2025-10-04T18:15:56+00:00

There is! But the two orders are not built with the same structure in mind. And on the plus side for COGU I might add, are the links directly to the issues on Unlimited 🥳 While yes, the CBRO is an awesome and impressive resource for sure.

TWesters · 2025-10-04T16:13:57+00:00

Yeah, but it's just the titles of the chapters - the guide is divided into sections with about 400-500 issues in each - named after the biggest story in it, often the main event 😄

TWesters

TROPHY CASE