Mathematics & Game Design, Part One

I’ve written more than once that I don’t like game designs that require me to do math. More specifically I’m talking about games like SantiagoPower Grid, and several others which have a strong mathematical basis and a strong ability to analyze that math during game play.

You see, I think games should be entertaining: it’s why I play them — to enjoy myself and to have fun. And, I don’t have a lot of fun when I sitting around adding, multiplying, and dividing (except, perhaps, in the case of a game of Primordial Soup).

Worse, I increasingly think that games which have a strong mathematical component have a core flaw in them related to victory. This flaw comes about because there are generally three types of players who might be playing these games: Continue reading

16 Short Faidutti Reviews

The November 2006 issue of Knucklebones magazine contains my first article for them, “Professor of Chaos”, a biography on Bruno Faidutti and his games. I encourage you to take a look, and in the meantime here’s a complementary article to whet your appetite: a short review of every one of Bruno Faidutti’s English language games other than Knightmare Chess. (I’m not a chess fan.) Continue reading