Boardgame Design

Our future masterpiece

Me and my eight year old boy Bruce spent an hour brainstorming some game ideas tonight, and we came up with a new fantasy boardgame with RPG elements that can be played solo, can be used with dice and can also be used as a trading card game.

How? I hear you ask. Well, I'm not telling you as we're in development.

What I found inspiring about the whole thing was bouncing ideas off a boy, not even in double digits, who got excited about things because there were things to get excited about, and aspects of the game we were creating were cool because they were cool and not because they work mechanically.

That was refreshing. I get so bogged down in mechanics, design and how it all fits together and flows I sometimes forget about the most crucial part - having fun.

Next time you sit down to brainstorm a new game plan, I suggest you get an 8-year old to sit in on a few sessions. It could change your whole perception of game design.