Game mechanic
Encyclopedia
Game mechanics are constructs of rules intended to produce an enjoyable game
or gameplay
. All games use mechanics; however, theories and styles differ as to their ultimate importance to the game. In general, the process and study of game design
are efforts to come up with game mechanics that allow for people playing a game to have a fun and engaging experience.
The interaction of various game mechanics in a game determine the complexity and level of player interaction in the game, and in conjunction with the game's environment and resources determines game balance
. Some forms of game mechanics have been used in games for centuries, while others are relatively new, having been invented within the past decade.
Complexity in game mechanics should not be confused with depth or even realism
. Go
is perhaps one of the simplest of all games, yet exhibits extraordinary depth of play. Most computer or video games feature mechanics that are technically complex (when expressed in terms of making a human do all the calculations involved) even in relatively simple designs.
In general, commercial video games have gone from simple designs (such as Asteroids
) to extremely complex ones (such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
) as processing power has increased. In contrast, casual games have generally featured a return to simple, puzzle-like designs, though some are getting more complex. In physical games, differences generally come down to style, and are somewhat determined by intended market.
refers to the overall game experience or essence of the game itself. There is some confusion as to the difference between game mechanics and gameplay. For some, gameplay is nothing more than a set of game mechanics. For others, gameplay—especially when referenced in the term of "basic gameplay" -- refers to certain core game mechanics which determine the overall characteristics of the game itself.
For example, the basic gameplay of a shooting or fighting game is to hit while not being hit. In a graphic adventure game, the basic gameplay is to solve puzzles related to the context. The basic gameplay of poker
is to produce certain numerical or categorical combinations. Golf
's basic gameplay is to hit a ball and reach a designated spot.
The goal of these games is slightly different from the gameplay itself. For example, while reaching the end of a stage (platform), killing the boss, advancing your characters' progress through the story (RPG) or sinking the ball into a hole (golf) may be the purpose of playing a game, the fun of playing a game is derived primarily by the means and the process in which such goal is achieved. Basic gameplay defines what a game is, while game mechanics determine what the entire game consists of.
However, from a programming or overall design perspective, basic gameplay can be deconstructed further to reveal constituent game mechanics. For example, the basic gameplay of fighting game can be deconstructed to attack and defense, or punch, kick, block, dodge and throw which can be further deconstructed to strong/weak punch/kick. For this reason, game mechanics is more of an engineering concept while gameplay is more of a design concept.
is a famous example of an abstract game. Other games do have a theme - some element of representation. Monopoly is a famous example of a game with a theme: the events of the game are intended to represent another activity, that of buying and selling properties.
Games that are mechanically similar can vary widely in theme. Eurogames
often feature relatively simple systems, and stress the mechanics, with the theme merely being a context to place the mechanics in.
Some wargames
, at the other extreme, are known for extremely complex rules and for attempts at detailed simulation.
.
) turns are nothing more than a means to regulate play. In less abstract games (Risk
), turns obviously denote the passage of time, but the amount of time is not clear, nor important. In simulation games, time is generally more concrete. Wargames
usually specify the amount of time each turn represents, and in sports game
s a turn is usually distinctly one 'play', although the amount of time a play takes can vary.
Some games use player turns where one player gets to perform his actions before another player can perform any on his turn (Monopoly
and chess
would be classic examples). Some use game turns, where all players contribute to the actions of a single turn (board-game simulations of American football
tend to have both players pick plays and then determine the outcome; each 'play' or 'down' can be considered a turn). Some games have 'game turns' that consist of a round of player turns, possibly with other actions added in (Civilization
plays with a series of player turns followed by a trading round in which all players participate).
In games that are meant to be some sort of simulation, the on/off nature of player turns can cause problems, and has led to a few extra variations on the theme. The semi-simultaneous turn allows for some reactions to be done during the other player's turn. The impulse-based turn
divides the turn into smaller segments or impulses where everyone does some of their actions at one time, and then reacts to the current situation before moving on to the next impulse (as seen in Star Fleet Battles
or Car Wars
).
In some games, not all turns are alike. Usually, this is difference in what phases (or different portions of the turn) happen. Imperium Romanum II for instance, features a "Taxation and Mobilization Phase" in every third turn (month), which does not occur in the other turns. Napoleon
has an unusual variation on the idea, where every third player turn is 'night turn' where combat is not allowed.
Even in real-time computer games there are often certain periodic effects. For instance, a wounded character in World of Warcraft
will gradually recover health while out of combat. The rate of recovery is calculated from the character's statistics and applied per "tick" as a lump sum, so a character would gain ten health per tick, instead of one every tenth of a tick. These periodic effects can be considered the vestigial remnants of the concept of turns.
s".
In some games the auction determines a unique player who gains the privilege; in others the auction orders all players into a sequence, often the sequence in which they take turns during the current round of game play.
and/or to act as tokens to keep track of states in the game.
A common use is for a deck of cards to be shuffled and placed face down on or near the game playing area. When a random result is called for, a player draws a card and what is printed on the card determines the outcome of the result.
Another use of cards occurs when players draw cards and retain them for later use in the game, without revealing them to other players. When used in this fashion, cards form a game resource.
Captures can be achieved in a number of ways:
In some games, captured tokens are simply removed and play no further part in the game (e.g. chess). In others, captured tokens are removed but can return to play later in the game under various rules (e.g. backgammon
, pachisi). Less common is the case in which the capturing player takes possession of the captured tokens and can use them himself later in the game (e.g. shogi
, Reversi, Illuminati).
Many video games express the capture mechanic in the form of a kill count, (sometimes referred to as "frags"), reflecting the number of opposing pawns eliminated during the game.
An example is from The Settlers of Catan
. This game contains a neutral piece (the robber), which slows the progress of players whose territories it is near. Players occasionally get to move the robber, and frequently choose to position it where it will cause maximal disruption to the player currently winning the game.
Another example, often seen in racing games, such as Chutes and Ladders is by requiring rolling or spinning the exact number needed to reach the finish line; e.g., if a player is only four spaces from the finish line then he must roll a four on the die or land on the four with the spinner. If more than four is rolled, than the turn is forfeited to the next player.
Other games do the reverse, making the player in the lead more capable of winning, such as in Monopoly
, and thus the game is drawn to an end sooner. This may be desirable in zero-sum
games.
dice numbered from 1 to 6, though games with polyhedral
dice or dice marked with symbol
s other than numbers exist.
The most common use of dice is to randomly determine the outcome of an interaction in a game. An example is a player rolling dice to determine how many board spaces to move a game token.
Dice often determine the outcomes of in-game conflict between players, with different outcomes of the dice roll of different benefit (or adverse effect) to each player involved. This is useful in games that simulate direct conflicts of interest.
s involve the movement of playing tokens. How these tokens are allowed to move, and when, is governed by movement mechanics.
Some game boards are divided into more or less equally-sized areas, each of which can be occupied by one or more game tokens. (Often such areas are called square
s, even if not strictly square in shape.) Movement rules will specify how and when a token can be moved to another area. For example, a player may be allowed to move a token to an adjacent area, but not one further away. Dice are sometimes used to randomise the allowable movements.
Other games, particularly miniatures games
are played on surfaces with no marked areas. A common movement mechanic in this case is to measure the distance which the miniatures are allowed to move with a ruler
. Sometimes, generally in naval wargames, the direction of movement is restricted by use of a turning key.
. Examples of game resources include game tokens, game money, and game point
s. Resource management involves the players establishing relative values for various types of available resources, in the context of the current state of the game and the desired outcome (i.e. winning the game). The game will have rules that determine how players can increase, spend, or exchange their various resources. The skillful management of resources under such rules allows players to influence the outcome of the game.
of a risk must be weighed against the chance of reward. For example, in Beowulf: The Legend
, players may elect to take a "Risk", with success yielding cards and failure weakens player's ultimate chance of victory.
. While early role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons
relied heavily on either group consensus or the judgement of a single player (deemed the Dungeon Master or Game Master) or on randomizers such as dice, later generations of narrativist games use more structured and integrated systems to allow role-playing to influence the creative input and output of the players, so both acting out roles and employing rules take part in shaping the gameplay.
- flat, rigid pieces of a regular shape - that can be laid down on a flat surface to form a tessellation
. Usually such tiles have patterns or symbols on their surfaces, that combine when tessellated to form game-mechanically significant combinations.
The tiles themselves are often drawn at random by the players, either immediately before placing them on the playing surface, or in groups to form a pool or hand of tiles from which the player may select one to play.
Tiles can be used in two distinct ways:
Examples of tile mechanics include: Scrabble
, in which tiles are letters and players lay them down to form words and score points; and Tikal
, in which players lay tiles representing newly explored areas of jungle, through which archaeologists
(represented by tokens) must move to score game points.
vs multiplayer
choice in video games, where multiplayer can further be cooperative
or competitive.
Changing modes while the game is ongoing can be used as a means to increase difficulty and provide additional challenge, or as a reward for player success. Power-up
s are modes that last for a few moments or that change only one or a few game rules; for example power pellets in Pac-Man
give the temporary ability to eat the enemies for a few seconds.
Other examples include the availability of a sandbox mode without predefined goal
s nor progression, or the division of game content in stages (also called phases or chapters), where each stage expands the rules that a player can use with respect to the previous stage, thus increasing game complexity. If the game advances through these stages by moving through different areas, they are called levels
or maps; if the character unlocks new abilities by accumulating activities or rewards, they are called experience point
s.
A game mode may restrict or change the behaviour of the available tools (play with limited/unlimited ammo
, new weapons, obstacles or enemies, a timer
, etc.), establish different rules and game mechanics (altered gravity
; win at first touch in a fight game; play with some cards face-up in a poker
game) or even change the overall game goals (following a campaign or story vs. playing a limited deathmatch
or capture the flag set).
and zendo
.
s. The first player to advance one or more tokens to or beyond a certain point on the board wins. Examples: backgammon
, ludo
.
), while in others the resources are readily available and the interactions between them form more or less useful structures (e.g. poker
).
s, but is also used in more abstract games such as go
.
The winner can be decided either by:
This mechanic is often used explicitly in German-style board games, but many other games are played for points that form a winning condition. The electoral college of the United States political system is also a well-publicized example of this type of victory condition. Victory points may be partially disguised in the role of game resources, with play money being a common example.
can end in three ways:
The first condition is a goal measured by victory points, while the other two are loss conditions.
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
or gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
. All games use mechanics; however, theories and styles differ as to their ultimate importance to the game. In general, the process and study of game design
Game design
Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...
are efforts to come up with game mechanics that allow for people playing a game to have a fun and engaging experience.
The interaction of various game mechanics in a game determine the complexity and level of player interaction in the game, and in conjunction with the game's environment and resources determines game balance
Game balance
Game balance is a concept in game design describing fairness or balance of power in a game between multiple players or strategic options. Each team or person would be equally matched in every aspect.- Overview :...
. Some forms of game mechanics have been used in games for centuries, while others are relatively new, having been invented within the past decade.
Complexity in game mechanics should not be confused with depth or even realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
. Go
Go (board game)
Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
is perhaps one of the simplest of all games, yet exhibits extraordinary depth of play. Most computer or video games feature mechanics that are technically complex (when expressed in terms of making a human do all the calculations involved) even in relatively simple designs.
In general, commercial video games have gone from simple designs (such as Asteroids
Asteroids (computer game)
Asteroids is a video arcade game released in 1979 by Atari Inc. It was one of the most popular and influential games of the Golden Age of Arcade Games. Asteroids uses a vector display and a two-dimensional view that wraps around in both screen axes. The player controls a spaceship in an asteroid...
) to extremely complex ones (such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is an action-adventure stealth game, developed by Ubisoft Montreal and built on the Unreal Engine 2. It is the first Splinter Cell game in the series endorsed by author Tom Clancy, and follows the activities of American NSA Black Operation, "Black Ops", agent Sam Fisher....
) as processing power has increased. In contrast, casual games have generally featured a return to simple, puzzle-like designs, though some are getting more complex. In physical games, differences generally come down to style, and are somewhat determined by intended market.
Game mechanics vs. gameplay
GameplayGameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
refers to the overall game experience or essence of the game itself. There is some confusion as to the difference between game mechanics and gameplay. For some, gameplay is nothing more than a set of game mechanics. For others, gameplay—especially when referenced in the term of "basic gameplay" -- refers to certain core game mechanics which determine the overall characteristics of the game itself.
For example, the basic gameplay of a shooting or fighting game is to hit while not being hit. In a graphic adventure game, the basic gameplay is to solve puzzles related to the context. The basic gameplay of poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
is to produce certain numerical or categorical combinations. Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
's basic gameplay is to hit a ball and reach a designated spot.
The goal of these games is slightly different from the gameplay itself. For example, while reaching the end of a stage (platform), killing the boss, advancing your characters' progress through the story (RPG) or sinking the ball into a hole (golf) may be the purpose of playing a game, the fun of playing a game is derived primarily by the means and the process in which such goal is achieved. Basic gameplay defines what a game is, while game mechanics determine what the entire game consists of.
However, from a programming or overall design perspective, basic gameplay can be deconstructed further to reveal constituent game mechanics. For example, the basic gameplay of fighting game can be deconstructed to attack and defense, or punch, kick, block, dodge and throw which can be further deconstructed to strong/weak punch/kick. For this reason, game mechanics is more of an engineering concept while gameplay is more of a design concept.
Game mechanics vs. theme
Some games are 'abstract' - that is, the game action is not intended to represent anything. GoGo (board game)
Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
is a famous example of an abstract game. Other games do have a theme - some element of representation. Monopoly is a famous example of a game with a theme: the events of the game are intended to represent another activity, that of buying and selling properties.
Games that are mechanically similar can vary widely in theme. Eurogames
German-style board game
German-style board games, frequently referred to in gaming circles as Euro Games or Euro-style, are a broad class of tabletop games that generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, indirect player interaction and abstract physical components...
often feature relatively simple systems, and stress the mechanics, with the theme merely being a context to place the mechanics in.
Some wargames
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
, at the other extreme, are known for extremely complex rules and for attempts at detailed simulation.
Game mechanics
Game mechanics fall into several more or less well-defined categories, which (along with basic gameplay and theme) are sometimes used as a basis to classify gamesGame classification
Game classification is the classification of games, forming a game taxonomy. Many different methods of classifying games exist.- Physical education :There are four basic approaches to classifying the games used in physical education:...
.
Turns
A game turn is an important fundamental concept to almost all non-computer games, and many video games as well (although in video games, various real-time genres have become much more popular). In general, a turn is a segment of the game set aside for certain actions to happen before moving on to the next turn, where the sequence of events can largely repeat. In a truly abstract game (backgammonBackgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
) turns are nothing more than a means to regulate play. In less abstract games (Risk
Risk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
), turns obviously denote the passage of time, but the amount of time is not clear, nor important. In simulation games, time is generally more concrete. Wargames
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
usually specify the amount of time each turn represents, and in sports game
Sports game
A sports game is a computer or video game that simulates the practice of traditional sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, athletics and extreme sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport , whilst others emphasize strategy and organization...
s a turn is usually distinctly one 'play', although the amount of time a play takes can vary.
Some games use player turns where one player gets to perform his actions before another player can perform any on his turn (Monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
and chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
would be classic examples). Some use game turns, where all players contribute to the actions of a single turn (board-game simulations of American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
tend to have both players pick plays and then determine the outcome; each 'play' or 'down' can be considered a turn). Some games have 'game turns' that consist of a round of player turns, possibly with other actions added in (Civilization
Civilization (board game)
Civilization is a board game designed by Francis Tresham, published in Britain in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil , and in the US in 1981 by Avalon Hill. The game typically takes eight or more hours to play and is for two to seven players...
plays with a series of player turns followed by a trading round in which all players participate).
In games that are meant to be some sort of simulation, the on/off nature of player turns can cause problems, and has led to a few extra variations on the theme. The semi-simultaneous turn allows for some reactions to be done during the other player's turn. The impulse-based turn
Impulse-based turn
An impulse-based turn system is a game mechanic where a game turn is broken up into a series of discrete, repeating segments, or impulses...
divides the turn into smaller segments or impulses where everyone does some of their actions at one time, and then reacts to the current situation before moving on to the next impulse (as seen in Star Fleet Battles
Star Fleet Battles
Star Fleet Battles is a tactical board wargame set in an offshoot of the Star Trek setting called the Star Fleet Universe. Originally created in 1979 by Stephen V. Cole,...
or Car Wars
Car Wars
Car Wars is a vehicle combat simulation game developed by Steve Jackson Games. It was first published in late 1980 .-Game play:In Car Wars, players assume control of one or more automobiles, which may include any powered vehicle, from motorcycles to semi trucks. Optional rules include piloting...
).
In some games, not all turns are alike. Usually, this is difference in what phases (or different portions of the turn) happen. Imperium Romanum II for instance, features a "Taxation and Mobilization Phase" in every third turn (month), which does not occur in the other turns. Napoleon
Napoleon (game)
Napoleon is a strategic-level board wargame covering the Waterloo Campaign of the Hundred Days after Napoleon's return from Elba starting with the French invasion of Belgium on June 15, 1815...
has an unusual variation on the idea, where every third player turn is 'night turn' where combat is not allowed.
Even in real-time computer games there are often certain periodic effects. For instance, a wounded character in World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
will gradually recover health while out of combat. The rate of recovery is calculated from the character's statistics and applied per "tick" as a lump sum, so a character would gain ten health per tick, instead of one every tenth of a tick. These periodic effects can be considered the vestigial remnants of the concept of turns.
Action points
These control what players may do on their turns in the game by allocating each player a budget of “action points” each turn. These points may be spent performing various actions according to the game rules, such as moving pieces, drawing cards, collecting money, etc. This type of mechanic is common in many of what are called "German-style board gameGerman-style board game
German-style board games, frequently referred to in gaming circles as Euro Games or Euro-style, are a broad class of tabletop games that generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, indirect player interaction and abstract physical components...
s".
Auction or bidding
Some games use an auction or bidding system in which the players make competitive bids to determine which player gets the right to perform particular actions. Such an auction can be based on different forms of "payment":- The winning bidder must pay for the won privilege with some form of game resource (game money, points, etc.) (e.g.: RaRa (board game)Ra is a board game for two to five players designed by Reiner Knizia and themed around Ra, the sun-god of Heliopolis in ancient Egyptian culture....
). - The winning bidder does not pay upon winning the auction, but the auction is a form of promise that the winner will achieve some outcome in the near future. If this outcome is not achieved, the bidder pays some form of penalty. Such a system is used in many trick-taking gameTrick-taking gameA trick-taking game is a card game or tile-based game in which play centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called tricks. The object of such games then may be closely tied to the number of tricks taken, as in plain-trick games such as Whist, Contract Bridge, Napoleon, Rowboat, and...
s, such as contract bridgeContract bridgeContract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
.
In some games the auction determines a unique player who gains the privilege; in others the auction orders all players into a sequence, often the sequence in which they take turns during the current round of game play.
Cards
These involve the use of cards similar to playing cards to act as a randomiserRandomness
Randomness has somewhat differing meanings as used in various fields. It also has common meanings which are connected to the notion of predictability of events....
and/or to act as tokens to keep track of states in the game.
A common use is for a deck of cards to be shuffled and placed face down on or near the game playing area. When a random result is called for, a player draws a card and what is printed on the card determines the outcome of the result.
Another use of cards occurs when players draw cards and retain them for later use in the game, without revealing them to other players. When used in this fashion, cards form a game resource.
Capture/Eliminate
In some games, the number of tokens a player has on the playing surface is related to his current strength in the game. In such games, it can be an important goal to capture opponent's tokens, meaning to remove them from the playing surface.Captures can be achieved in a number of ways:
- Moving one of one's own tokens into a space occupied by an opposing token (e.g. chessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, pachisiPachisiPachisi is a cross and circle board game that originated in ancient India which has been described as the "national game of India". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross...
). - Jumping a token over the space occupied by an opposing token (e.g. draughtsDraughtsDraughts is a group of abstract strategy board games between two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over the enemy's pieces. Draughts developed from alquerque...
). - Declaring an "attack" on an opposing token, and then determining the outcome of the attack, either in a deterministic way by the game rules (e.g. StrategoStrategoStratego is a board game featuring a 10×10 square board and two players with 40 pieces each. Pieces represent individual officers and soldiers in an army. The objective of the game is to either find and capture the opponent's Flag or to capture so many of the opponent's pieces that he/she cannot...
, IlluminatiIlluminati (game)Illuminati is a standalone card game made by Steve Jackson Games , inspired by The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. The game has ominous secret societies competing with each other to control the world through sinister means, including legal, illegal, and even mystical...
), or by using a randomising method (e.g. Illuminati: New World OrderIlluminati: New World OrderIlluminati: New World Order is a collectible card game that was released in 1995 by Steve Jackson Games, based on their original boxed game Illuminati, which in turn was inspired by The Illuminatus! Trilogy...
). - Surrounding a token or region with one's own tokens in some manner (e.g. goGo (board game)Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
). - Playing cards or other resources that the game allows to be used to capture tokens.
In some games, captured tokens are simply removed and play no further part in the game (e.g. chess). In others, captured tokens are removed but can return to play later in the game under various rules (e.g. backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
, pachisi). Less common is the case in which the capturing player takes possession of the captured tokens and can use them himself later in the game (e.g. shogi
Shogi
, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan...
, Reversi, Illuminati).
Many video games express the capture mechanic in the form of a kill count, (sometimes referred to as "frags"), reflecting the number of opposing pawns eliminated during the game.
Catch-up
Some games include a mechanic designed to make progress towards victory more difficult the closer a player gets to it. The idea behind this is to allow trailing players a chance to catch up and potentially still win the game, rather than suffer an inevitable loss once they fall behind. This may be desirable in games such as racing games that have a fixed finish line.An example is from The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber and first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag as Die Siedler von Catan. Players assume the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop their settlement while trading and acquiring resources...
. This game contains a neutral piece (the robber), which slows the progress of players whose territories it is near. Players occasionally get to move the robber, and frequently choose to position it where it will cause maximal disruption to the player currently winning the game.
Another example, often seen in racing games, such as Chutes and Ladders is by requiring rolling or spinning the exact number needed to reach the finish line; e.g., if a player is only four spaces from the finish line then he must roll a four on the die or land on the four with the spinner. If more than four is rolled, than the turn is forfeited to the next player.
Other games do the reverse, making the player in the lead more capable of winning, such as in Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
, and thus the game is drawn to an end sooner. This may be desirable in zero-sum
Zero-sum
In game theory and economic theory, a zero-sum game is a mathematical representation of a situation in which a participant's gain of utility is exactly balanced by the losses of the utility of other participant. If the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are...
games.
Dice
These involve the use of dice, usually as randomisers. Most dice used in games are the standard cubicalCube
In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. The cube can also be called a regular hexahedron and is one of the five Platonic solids. It is a special kind of square prism, of rectangular parallelepiped and...
dice numbered from 1 to 6, though games with polyhedral
Polyhedron
In elementary geometry a polyhedron is a geometric solid in three dimensions with flat faces and straight edges...
dice or dice marked with symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
s other than numbers exist.
The most common use of dice is to randomly determine the outcome of an interaction in a game. An example is a player rolling dice to determine how many board spaces to move a game token.
Dice often determine the outcomes of in-game conflict between players, with different outcomes of the dice roll of different benefit (or adverse effect) to each player involved. This is useful in games that simulate direct conflicts of interest.
Movement
Many board gameBoard game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
s involve the movement of playing tokens. How these tokens are allowed to move, and when, is governed by movement mechanics.
Some game boards are divided into more or less equally-sized areas, each of which can be occupied by one or more game tokens. (Often such areas are called square
Square (geometry)
In geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral. This means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles...
s, even if not strictly square in shape.) Movement rules will specify how and when a token can be moved to another area. For example, a player may be allowed to move a token to an adjacent area, but not one further away. Dice are sometimes used to randomise the allowable movements.
Other games, particularly miniatures games
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
are played on surfaces with no marked areas. A common movement mechanic in this case is to measure the distance which the miniatures are allowed to move with a ruler
Ruler
A ruler, sometimes called a rule or line gauge, is an instrument used in geometry, technical drawing, printing and engineering/building to measure distances and/or to rule straight lines...
. Sometimes, generally in naval wargames, the direction of movement is restricted by use of a turning key.
Resource management
Many games involve the management of resourcesResource management
In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and effective deployment of an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or information technology...
. Examples of game resources include game tokens, game money, and game point
Score (gaming)
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties...
s. Resource management involves the players establishing relative values for various types of available resources, in the context of the current state of the game and the desired outcome (i.e. winning the game). The game will have rules that determine how players can increase, spend, or exchange their various resources. The skillful management of resources under such rules allows players to influence the outcome of the game.
Risk and reward
Some games include situations where players can "press their luck" in optional actions where the dangerDanger
Danger may refer to:* Risk, the threat of adverse events* Danger , a Microsoft subsidiary which made cellular telephones* Danger , French electronic composer and performer* Danger , the fourth studio album by P-Square...
of a risk must be weighed against the chance of reward. For example, in Beowulf: The Legend
Beowulf: The Legend
Beowulf: The Legend is a 2005 designer board game by Reiner Knizia. The artwork is by John Howe. Game play uses cards and tokens. The play moves along a board, and players obtain gold and cards in order to eventually obtain victory points....
, players may elect to take a "Risk", with success yielding cards and failure weakens player's ultimate chance of victory.
Role-playing
Role-playing games often rely on mechanics that determine the effectiveness of in-game actions by how well the player acts out the role of a fictional characterFictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
. While early role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
relied heavily on either group consensus or the judgement of a single player (deemed the Dungeon Master or Game Master) or on randomizers such as dice, later generations of narrativist games use more structured and integrated systems to allow role-playing to influence the creative input and output of the players, so both acting out roles and employing rules take part in shaping the gameplay.
Tile-laying
Many games use tilesTile-based game
A tile-based game is a game that uses tiles as one of the fundamental elements of play. Traditional tile-based games use small tiles as playing pieces for gambling or entertainment games...
- flat, rigid pieces of a regular shape - that can be laid down on a flat surface to form a tessellation
Tessellation
A tessellation or tiling of the plane is a pattern of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps. One may also speak of tessellations of parts of the plane or of other surfaces. Generalizations to higher dimensions are also possible. Tessellations frequently appeared in the art...
. Usually such tiles have patterns or symbols on their surfaces, that combine when tessellated to form game-mechanically significant combinations.
The tiles themselves are often drawn at random by the players, either immediately before placing them on the playing surface, or in groups to form a pool or hand of tiles from which the player may select one to play.
Tiles can be used in two distinct ways:
- The playing of a tile itself is directly significant to the outcome of the game, in that where and when it is played contributes points or resources to the player.
- Tiles are used to build a board upon which other game tokens are placed, and the interaction of those tokens with the tiles provides game points or resources.
Examples of tile mechanics include: Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
, in which tiles are letters and players lay them down to form words and score points; and Tikal
Tikal (board game)
Tikal is a German-style board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling and published in 1999 by Ravensburger in German and by Rio Grande Games in English...
, in which players lay tiles representing newly explored areas of jungle, through which archaeologists
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
(represented by tokens) must move to score game points.
Game modes
A game mode is a distinct configuration that affect how other game mechanics behave. A game with several modes will present different settings in each one, changing how a particular element of the game is played. This is used to vary gameplay, often to avoid the boredom of repetition. One of the most common examples of game mode is the single playerSingle player
A Single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. "Single-player game" usually implies a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" usually refers to a game mode for a single player, where...
vs multiplayer
Multiplayer game
A multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time. Unlike most other games, computer and video games are often single-player activities that put the player against preprogrammed challenges and/or AI-controlled opponents, which often...
choice in video games, where multiplayer can further be cooperative
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
or competitive.
Changing modes while the game is ongoing can be used as a means to increase difficulty and provide additional challenge, or as a reward for player success. Power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
s are modes that last for a few moments or that change only one or a few game rules; for example power pellets in Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
give the temporary ability to eat the enemies for a few seconds.
Other examples include the availability of a sandbox mode without predefined goal
Goal
A goal is an objective, or a projected computation of affairs, that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve.Goal, GOAL or G.O.A.L may also refer to:Sport...
s nor progression, or the division of game content in stages (also called phases or chapters), where each stage expands the rules that a player can use with respect to the previous stage, thus increasing game complexity. If the game advances through these stages by moving through different areas, they are called levels
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
or maps; if the character unlocks new abilities by accumulating activities or rewards, they are called experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s.
A game mode may restrict or change the behaviour of the available tools (play with limited/unlimited ammo
AMMO
AMMO may refer to:* The AMMO Munitions Systems Specialist career field, as part of the United States Air Force* Ammunition as fired from projectile weapons, typically guns* Ammo * Ammo...
, new weapons, obstacles or enemies, a timer
Timer
A timer is a specialized type of clock. A timer can be used to control the sequence of an event or process. Whereas a stopwatch counts upwards from zero for measuring elapsed time, a timer counts down from a specified time interval, like an hourglass.Timers can be mechanical, electromechanical,...
, etc.), establish different rules and game mechanics (altered gravity
Game physics
Computer animation physics or game physics involves the introduction of the laws of physics into a simulation or game engine, particularly in 3D computer graphics, for the purpose of making the effects appear more real to the observer...
; win at first touch in a fight game; play with some cards face-up in a poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
game) or even change the overall game goals (following a campaign or story vs. playing a limited deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
or capture the flag set).
Goals
This is the most general sort of victory condition, which can be broad enough to encompass any method of winning, but here refers to game-specific goals that are usually not duplicated in other games. An example is the checkmate of a king in chess.Loss avoidance
Some games feature a losing condition, such as being checkmated (chess), running out of cards first (War), running out of hitpoints (Quake), or being tagged (tag). In such a game, the winner is the only remaining player to have successfully avoided loss.Piece elimination
Some games with capture mechanics are won by the player who removes all, or a given number of, the opponents' playing pieces.Puzzle guessing
Some games end when a player guesses (or solves by logic) the answer to a puzzle or riddle posed by the game. The player who guesses successfully wins. Examples include hangmanHangman (game)
Hangman is a paper and pencil guessing game for two or more players. One player thinks of a word and the other tries to guess it by suggesting letters.-Overview:...
and zendo
Zendo (game)
Zendo is a game of inductive logic designed by Kory Heath in which one player creates a rule for structures to follow, and the other players try to discover it by building and studying various koans which follow or break the rule...
.
Races
Many simple games (and some complex ones) are effectively raceRacing
A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...
s. The first player to advance one or more tokens to or beyond a certain point on the board wins. Examples: backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
, ludo
Ludo (board game)
Ludo is a simple board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to dice rolls. Like other cross and circle games, it is similar to the Indian Pachisi, but simpler...
.
Structure building
The goal of a structure building game is to acquire and assemble a set of game resources into either a defined winning structure, or into a structure that is somehow better than those of other players. In some games, the acquisition is of primary importance (e.g. concentrationConcentration (game)
Concentration, also known as Memory, Pelmanism, Shinkei-suijaku, Pexeso or simply Pairs, is a card game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and two cards are flipped face up over each turn. The object of the game is to turn over pairs of matching cards...
), while in others the resources are readily available and the interactions between them form more or less useful structures (e.g. poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
).
Territory control
A winner may be decided by which player controls the most "territory" on the playing surface, or a specific piece of territory. This is common in wargameWargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
s, but is also used in more abstract games such as go
Go (board game)
Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
.
Victory points
A player's progress is often measured by an abstract quantity of victory points, which accumulate as the game develops. Victory points or similar quantities need not be restricted to development games, but are most common in that type as they ensure sufficient reward for all aspects of development. For example, in a game involving the development of civilizations, there is usually no need to reward investments such as trade and military expenditures, which yield their own strategic benefits. However, a victory point system may be used to reward more subjective aspects of civilization-building, such as the arts.The winner can be decided either by:
- The first player to reach a set number of points.
- The player with the most points at a predetermined finishing time or state of the game.
This mechanic is often used explicitly in German-style board games, but many other games are played for points that form a winning condition. The electoral college of the United States political system is also a well-publicized example of this type of victory condition. Victory points may be partially disguised in the role of game resources, with play money being a common example.
Combination conditions
Some games have multiple victory or loss conditions. For example, a round of Pokémon Trading Card GamePokémon Trading Card Game
The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a collectible card game based on the Pokémon video game series, first introduced in Japan in October 1996, then North America in December 1998...
can end in three ways:
- When one player has Knocked Out enough of the other's Pokémon to draw all his Prize Cards
- When one player is unable to play a Pokémon from his Bench to replace his Active Pokémon
- When one player has run out of cards in his Deck and is unable to draw at the beginning of his turn.
The first condition is a goal measured by victory points, while the other two are loss conditions.
See also
- Game clockGame clockA game clock consists of two adjacent clocks and buttons to stop one clock while starting the other, such that the two component clocks never run simultaneously. Game clocks are used in two-player games where the players move in turn...
- Kingmaker scenarioKingmaker scenarioA kingmaker scenario, in a game of three or more players, is an endgame situation where a player unable to win has the capacity to determine which player among others is the winner. Said player is referred to as the kingmaker or spoiler...
- Pie rulePie ruleThe pie rule, sometimes referred to as the swap rule, is a meta-rule used to balance abstract strategy board games. Its use has been first reported in 1909 for a game from the Mancala family. Among recent games, Hex uses this rule...
- GamificationGamificationGamification is the use of game design techniques and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences. Typically gamification applies to non-game applications and processes , in order to encourage people to adopt them...
- adding a (sometimes very small) amount of game mechanics to a non-game website, piece of software or activity - Dynamic game difficulty balancingDynamic game difficulty balancingDynamic game difficulty balancing, also known as dynamic difficulty adjustment or dynamic game balancing , is the process of automatically changing parameters, scenarios and behaviors in a video game in real-time, based on the player's ability, in order to avoid them becoming bored or frustrated...
, a technique to change game mechanics based on the player's ability
External links
- Game Mechanics List at The Gamification Encyclopedia
- List of games sorted by mechanic at BoardGameGeekBoardGameGeekBoardGameGeek is a website that was founded in January 2000 by Scott Alden and Derk Solko as a resource for the board gaming hobby. The database holds reviews, articles, and session reports for over 45,000 different games, expansions, and designers. BoardGameGeek includes German-style board games,...
- SCVNGR’s Secret Game Mechanics Playdeck at Tech Crunch