Yesterday morning, my owl came speeding through the cave and alighted upon my tail, with a message held in her sharp beak. It was from my wonderful editors. Opening it curiously, I read. "Let's see what theme they have drudged up for us this month" my brain pondered. Seeing what they had decided raised a groan. This time, I was going to be subjected to Wizarding Sports and Games my dear readers. I am horrible at sports and don't play many games. However, speaking of games, I found that I still had to go and put the finishing touches on my house, since I was hosting a game night that night. Don't ask what possessed me to do that!
Deciding to start pulling out my favorite board game, Snitch Snatcher, (There is even a muggle version of it called the Golden Snitch). I realised that I was starting to get excited well and nervous. Basically, it's a board game version of quidditch and the idea of playing it with an actual quidditch player was a little intimidating.
Pulling me from my thoughts, I had heard gravel crunching beneath a few pairs of feet leading up to the mouth of my cave and wondered who it was that had come a bit early. Nikita and her roommate Tabitha had walked in beaming brightly. "How does Snitch Snatcher sound to you guys?" I had asked them, knowing full well it would be just fine with Tabitha as she lives and breathes Quidditch. Tabitha just smirked and nodded eagerly and Nikita had rolled her eyes at her roommate's antics.
A moment later, Katie had come flying in and skidded to a stop upon her broom, almost clotheslining herself on my tail. "OK, I'm ready to play" she had giggled. Giving my fellow journalist an exasperated grin, I had to put her back on her feet and then move everyone to my games and snacks table. There was a lot of laughing and trash-talking to be had in the cave last night, and by the end, we were all stuffed and sore from the snacks and giggling too much.
If you feel inspired by our night of friendly rivalry and laughs, you can always have a go at making your own game to share with your friends. It only takes a little planning, and then you will have something you and your friends will always find entertainment with!
1. First of all, write down your ideas. By combining two different games or concepts, you may find that you are creating a new game.
2. Develop your theme. Themes are the feel or genre of the game. You might find inspiration for the theme from a novel, comic book, or T.V. show. Mythology or legends are often used when developing themes. Elements often used are witches, wizards, dragons, angels, vampires, and more.
3. Use mechanics to develop your game. Mechanics are how players interact with the game and each other. Some people come up with the mechanic and then create the theme around it, while others come up with the theme and then tailor the mechanics to match the theme. Some mechanics are turns, Magical dice rolling, animated piece movement (with a simple locomotor spell), card drawing, and tile laying, just to name a few.
4. Determine the age of the players. The age range will determine the complexity of the game. For children, it should be simple, easy to understand, and fun. For adults, you can create something more competitive, exciting, and complex. Keep your theme in mind when deciding your age range.
5. Set player, time, and size limits for your game. Some games are limited by the size of the board, the number of player tokens, or the number of cards. Game board size and the number of cards will influence how long it takes for players to complete the game. You could also use an Engorgio lto increase the game size so that you could play it outside on a much larger scale (Think about the giant wizard chess set the Golden Trio once played with!)
6. Decide how players will win. Once you have the basic ideas behind the game down, consider the different ways that the player can win, and keep these in mind as you work on the game.
7. Write out the basic rules. these may change as you develop your game. A basic set of rules will allow you to begin to play. Keep a few things in mind while setting the rules. The starting player, how is that determined? In the player phase, what can the player do during their turn? Player interaction, How will players influence each other. Outcome resolution, how is the outcome decided.
8. Sketch a rough draft of your game, this will give you an idea if your board is too small or big.
9. Gather your game pieces. Buttons, checkers, chess pieces, or knickknacks work well.
10. Use game cards to add variation. randomly shuffled cards affect players in unexpected ways.
11. Play your game with family and friends.
12. Have fun!!
Until next time your favorite little dragon is signing off.