Week 12

This past week we were put into groups and began discussing our final project for the class. We were tasked to create a board game based off of an old book cover. To help us get on the right path we were supposed to watch a forty-minute video of Soren Johnson discussing the four notions of transparency in board game design. The four notions that were mentioned by Soren were transparent and consistent grammar, transparent and visible mechanics that increase player comfortability, transparent abstraction that focuses players on the inner game, and designed pre-luck to present interesting decisions. These four notions put together help bring a game together and makes it much more enjoyable for players of all experience levels. Along with this video of Soren Johnson explaining the four notions we were assigned to find another “Watch It Played” video that covered a board game. The video I chose from “Watch It Played” was The Princess Bride Adventure Board Game. I chose this game because it seemed inconceivable to choose anything else. I have seen the movie once and the memes many more times, but did not expect there to be an entire board game that was based off the movie. The game is quite simple in terms of cognitive demand, but it is quite easy to lose. The Princess Bride Adventure Board Game uses a few of the four transparency notions. The game consists of six different chapters that must be completed in sequence before the “grand child” interrupts the story twice. Players do not compete against one another instead they work together to make it through the game. The first thing I noticed about the game is how transparent the objectives and rules are. Just about everything you would ever need to know is written out explicitly on the game board, the reference sheet and the cards. This makes players of all experience levels comfortable with the game as they always know what they are doing and what they are trying to accomplish at all times. The grammar used throughout the game is also very consistent and helps players stay in the game without having to constantly stop for clarification. This game does not have much pre-luck that I could tell as drawing cards is the most prominent random element. The game does abstract the main story and characters of the movie quite well. This lets players experience the game as one would experience the actual movie with less detail of course. The abstraction is achieved through small “chapters” that help guide the players through the story as it is told by the grandfather. Overall, The Princess Bride Adventure Board Game is a pretty simple game that relies on the completion of challenges without relying much on randomness or any type pre-luck or post luck. The game explicitly informs the players what you must do and how to achieve success throughout the game. This makes it an easy game to pick up and play with just about anyone, but if you wanted a bit more of a challenge I would look elsewhere.