Analog Games Analysis

Pandemic

The Pros

·        The game was easy and simple to understand with a simple premise, and all your available moves were placed onto one card. According to the rule book there are also ways to make the game easier or harder so you can make the game more accessible to new players.

·        The game ha da sleek design and the colours popped, and the disease tokens stood out from the rest of the board (apart from the black ones), so it was easy to see your objectives on the map and what you wanted to do next.

·        Each person had a different character which served a different purpose, making sure everyone felt they had an advantage to the game.

·        Having 4 diseases instead of one with different areas of the map allowed for the game to be longer and have more of a gameplay loop with having to cure each 1.

·        The cities are all connected by red lines, and unless you have a card or a special action to go to a specific city, you are limited to travelling the map via these red lines which allows more for creative thinking and team planning to solve problems.

·        Having 4 actions a round allows you to do more and communicate with your players more to work together to solve solutions rather than just doing it all yourself.

·        To track infection levels and outbreak levels you have tokens which you move along points to track almost like it was a video game.

The Cons

·        The game was far too easy, and it would have benefitted from being more difficult and Epidemic cards holding more of an impact to the game.

·        The black disease tokens blended in with the rest of the map so made the objectives less easy to see.

·        Some of the characters have redundant abilities or are only good during the early game (for example, Medic is only good before you have cures, as having cures allows everyone to have your ability.) and it would have benefitted to have balancing to allow all characters to stay relevant.

Mechanics I would like to use.

·        I liked the tokens you could move across trackers on the board to keep track of the Infection and Outbreak level, as I think it’s a simple and easy to use way of keeping track of components within the game.

·        I also liked how each character had their own abilities so the game could be played differently per different character you have.

Munchkin

The Pros

·       Its simple to understand and has a familiar concept and links to stereotypes and fantasy tropes most people are familiar with. The gameplay is also very simple, allowing you too easily pick up the game and understand it easily.

·       There are a multitude of different things that can happen due to the size of the decks so each playthrough of the game will be different and memorable.

·       You can choose to play cooperatively or competitively against other players too allow for different playstyles, ways to win the game and different difficulty levels.

 

The Cons

·         Due to having to track your character’s stats, and having no board to do so, you must have a piece of paper to keep track of your level, gold and power rating, which can become tedious and annoying to do each time the game changes.

·         The negatives and drawbacks for dying aren’t very strong, therefore there is little drawback to not being able to run away from monsters. If you don’t have great cards, it doesn’t affect the game too much.

Mechanics I would like to use.

·         I like how you draw cards at the start of the round and that affected what you would do for that round, for example fighting a monster, or getting cursed or getting a form of item.

·         I also liked how you had the choice to work cooperatively or competitively against each other.

Catan

 

The Pros

·         I enjoyed the map and how you could choose where you put your settlements and your roads to make major decisions within the game. I enjoyed the strategy aspect of the game and how there are many different options you can choose from.

·         I like how you can trade with other players and work together or monopolize an industry and scam people out of their cards.

·         I enjoyed how you had to properly plan out the game, and what you wanted to do with each of your turns, as all of them were important and any decision could affect the game later on down the road.

·         I also liked how your build is purely up for chance by the roll of the dice. The roll of the dice can decide what resources you might or might not get, and what ones are more in need than others.

The Cons

·       I didn’t like how long the game took to set up, or how long it took to play. I think the game would benefit from a ‘quick’ mode where the rules are edited, and you could have a quicker game.

·       I also think it would benefit from having an easier to understand rulebook. As its very convoluted and long, and many beginner players will be put off. The rules are rather simple, and do not need such a long and wordy rule book.

Mechanics I would like to use.

·        I enjoyed the strategy part of the game, and how you had to plan, so therefore I would like to build a strategy-based game, preferably in a similar way where you can develop your own strategy, however it is still partially still up to chance to create a sense of tension and anticipation.

·        I would also like to use the fact that you can work with people, or against them, even scamming them and tricking them to your advantage.

Deeper Analysis on – Catan

 

Game Overview

In Catan you have a world map split into hexagons with different terrains and numbers on each hexagon. A different terrain will give you different resources, and the numbers relate to when you roll the dice. At the start of your turn, you always roll 2 six sides dice and add the 2 numbers up, anyone that has a settlement on a hexagon with that number on, you get that corresponding resource.

To set up, you put the map together, placing the terrain hexagons and numbers on the board, then, each player rolls the 2 six -sided dice, and the person who rolls the highest starts by placing a settlement and road on any corner of the hexagon. Everyone does the same, taking turns by going round in a circle. You go around twice, so by the end of it, everyone has 2 settlements and 2 roads placed.

After the setup, everyone goes round a circle completing their turns, first they roll 2 six-sided dice, then anyone who has a hexagon corresponding with that number gets the resource for that area. After that, you can trade resources with other players, getting or giving away resources that you need. Then, with what you have, you can choose to build or purchase a development card, or just pass your turn.

Each time you a settlement or city you get VP, and the first to 10 wins.

Analysis of Features and Mechanics

The board is clear, well designed and has bright, visually appealing colours. The settlement colours stand out from the board, and each are a different colour to differentiate between each player. The hexagonal design of the resources allows for more touching edges, and more moving decisions compared to a square, and the more variety in options you have, the more strategy and planning goes into your moves. Each resource hexagon stands out from the other, making it obvious what resource is in each section and allows for clearer game design. The resource cards are also nicely designed so you can clearly tell what resource cards you have.

The trading aspect of the game allows for more player interaction and choice. You can strategize, create alliances or rivals based on who you trade with, and you can make deals too suit you, or the other player. This aspect of the game allows for more persuasion and strategy with you talk and plan your moves out more. As well as after you can decide whether to build or not, which can impact you entire game plan afterwards. As it can put you out of resources, however it can also enable you to get more in the future.

To win, however, you must get 10 VP. Everyone starts with 2 VP, and you can earn more by playing certain development cards, building settlements and cities, and earning the achievements Longest Road or Largest Army.

The game also has random elements, as no matter where you place your settlements, what resources you get are still up to chance, as you might place your settlement near a Lumber Hexagon, but if that number never rolls, you will never get lumber, and therefore will be at a disadvantage. This chance allows all players to have a shot at beating the game, and with resources always in demand, it can shift power to other players.

 

 

Strengths and Weaknesses

I think the strong strategy and player communication in the game works very well for the game and helps it stand out. There is lots of player choice and decisions, with lots of options and variables that could affect these decisions. Because of this, every game is different from the other, and your decisions as well as the decisions made by other players can affect each game differently. This wide array of choices, with openness to creativity and problem solving allows for a strong strategy game. The player communication in the game also lends itself well to the strategy aspect of the game as different players you play with allow for different deals, and different methods of communication. This also allows you to strategize rivals and alliances based on resources and communication.

The game is also brightly coloured and well laid out. With clear illustrations and iconography to make it clear to each player what each hexagon does. As well as the pieces are brightly coloured and stand out from each other, so they pop from the board, and won’t get confused with other players.

However, the rulebook for the game is very long, and is very wordy, which can make the game difficult for new players as they might be intimidated by the rulebook. As well as the game’s design and layout takes some time to put together and has lots of bits and pieces which can over complicate the game and take longer to put together and put away. The game itself is also very long, and there is not set of optional rules for a faster game, so if you’re on a limited time schedule then playing this game is out of the question.

Suggestion for Improvement

The game would benefit from a rules card for each player which has simple steps and turn options for each turn. As well as a summarized form of how to put the game together and how to play on the first page so players can quickly and easily see how to play and how to set it up beforehand.

I also think the game would benefit from a second set of rules that allows for a faster and simpler games, so you can play it on a limited time schedule as well as having a game mode to teach new players. For this I think the game would benefit from having a premade map that you can just take out rather than having to put together. Making the map allows for some more creativity and makes it easier for when you have multiple packs, however it takes much longer to set up and put together and might get confusing for new players. However, a premade map included would save a lot of time and confusion for new players and those which just want to get into playing.

Conclusion

I think the game is a very good strategy game, with great design, visual layout, and gameplay that offers lots of creative freedom, player interaction and important choices. However, the game is very long, and has a steep entry point as the rule book is very wordy and convoluted, as well as having to set up the map yourself and having lots of pieces and cards to manage. To fix these issues, I proposed a rules card for every player with a summary on what you can do each turn, as well as a summarized version of the setup and rules on the first double page to introduce players to the game quicker and easier. I also suggested having a premade map included with the one you can make to allow for quicker games and an easier set up for beginner players. To make some games quicker as well, I recommended a faster or easier set of rules for new players or those on a time limit.