the thrill of narrow wins in slay the spire and mario kart
You know that moment in a movie when the hero is certainly doomed but pulls himself through at the very last second? From Indiana Jones’ evasion of a rolling boulder to Jack Sparrow’s escape from the gallows, some of the…
on slay the spire, progression, and making games more loser-friendly
When we think of what makes games fun, we often think about winning. Conquering a tough level, solving a difficult puzzle, getting to 100% completion or defeating a fearsome boss forms much of our narrative when we talk about why…
the problem with cards against humanity
Cards Against Humanity is a social card game that was released in 2011, and became very popular as a staple party game. This is how the game developers describe it on their website: Basically, the person who asks the question…
legends of runeterra review: player agency in card games
Riot Games’ new collectible card game Legends of Runeterra is, in a word, frustrating. This is a game with high production value – polished graphics, animations and sound design as expected from the creators of League of Legends. And yet,…
hero power creep in hearthstone’s new demon hunter class (part 2)
Last time, I talked about the game design challenges of releasing the first new class to the online card game Hearthstone. As a refresher, the Demon Hunter class was so powerful, and therefore problematic, that Hearthstone developers nerfed several new…
the rapid rise and fall of hearthstone’s new demon hunter class (part 1)
Let’s face it, Hearthstone’s new Demon Hunter class was always going to be trouble. In its biggest update since Hearthstone’s release in 2014, the popular online card game added the first new class ever to its roster of playable heroes…
3 time zones, 1 board game: gaming together in a time of social distancing
My first thought about playing a board game online was that it was never going to work. Nowadays, getting a group of friends together is almost impossible without weeks of notice, and even then, at least one person is bound…
how to make board games less painful: a game of thrones case study
On a snowy evening when winter was coming, I sat down to play A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (second edition) by Fantasy Flight Games, introduced to me with much excitement by my friend Emily. And then, as with…
safeway monopoly and game design for collectors
From February to April this year, Safeway ran its Monopoly promotion. I had to do the shopping for a couple of big events, so at the cash register after some large purchases I was given stacks of Safeway Monopoly tickets,…
