Konig
2007-06-16, 05:48 PM
I help moderate a magic cards website, and I'm looking to find, modify or create an existing board/card game for forum use, to expand the site's horizons.
Playing a game on a forum is tricky, because a few problems present themselves immediately.
You can't see the opponent's hands or guarantee a given dice roll or coin flip.
Play time is also an issue, because you have to account for the time it takes to refresh & respond to a given post.
Management also poses a problem, because even a game as simple as Chess might require someone to read the latest response, download/copy the image, move the piece(s), upload the image and post it.
In the past, I created many games for my site. My first was tactical; a board game where players posted daily to command one of forty distinct fantasy races. Each evening, all their actions were carried out simultaneously. Empires were built, armies went to war, technologies, spells and religions were researched and they defeated one another in turn. It was fun and successful, but the problem of Management became a serious problem. Even with the popularity of the game, it still required at least a half hour to update nightly, sometimes five times that, which gets problematic when the game runs for 15-50 days.
I've run other games as well - problem solving with dungeon exploration, a 'sims' game where the community built a village, an urban dead adventure where players escaped from zombies. Many more flopped even before they started, ideas that didn't gain steam.
So, what I'm asking for are tips. Ideas of games you know which might be ideal for this setting. Options include...
An existing but lesser known game. People have preconceptions about games like Chess and Chinese Checkers, so I'm looking for something a smidge fresher. I'm open to suggestions.
Taking an existing idea and expanding it. Player vs. Player Sudoku, for example. Chess where players can select their own pieces.
Inspiration for a more fast paced card game that can be played inside of an hour.
I'm trying to think of ideas which take easy cheating, extended play times and the difficulty of management out of the game. Something relatively fast paced that players can run themselves (with the rules on hand), which doesn't necessarily rely on chance or randomness.
Suggestions are welcomed and much appreciated.
Playing a game on a forum is tricky, because a few problems present themselves immediately.
You can't see the opponent's hands or guarantee a given dice roll or coin flip.
Play time is also an issue, because you have to account for the time it takes to refresh & respond to a given post.
Management also poses a problem, because even a game as simple as Chess might require someone to read the latest response, download/copy the image, move the piece(s), upload the image and post it.
In the past, I created many games for my site. My first was tactical; a board game where players posted daily to command one of forty distinct fantasy races. Each evening, all their actions were carried out simultaneously. Empires were built, armies went to war, technologies, spells and religions were researched and they defeated one another in turn. It was fun and successful, but the problem of Management became a serious problem. Even with the popularity of the game, it still required at least a half hour to update nightly, sometimes five times that, which gets problematic when the game runs for 15-50 days.
I've run other games as well - problem solving with dungeon exploration, a 'sims' game where the community built a village, an urban dead adventure where players escaped from zombies. Many more flopped even before they started, ideas that didn't gain steam.
So, what I'm asking for are tips. Ideas of games you know which might be ideal for this setting. Options include...
An existing but lesser known game. People have preconceptions about games like Chess and Chinese Checkers, so I'm looking for something a smidge fresher. I'm open to suggestions.
Taking an existing idea and expanding it. Player vs. Player Sudoku, for example. Chess where players can select their own pieces.
Inspiration for a more fast paced card game that can be played inside of an hour.
I'm trying to think of ideas which take easy cheating, extended play times and the difficulty of management out of the game. Something relatively fast paced that players can run themselves (with the rules on hand), which doesn't necessarily rely on chance or randomness.
Suggestions are welcomed and much appreciated.