the first notes

Hello World 🌏

Hello world, is anyone there? I just thought I’d document the entire journey for anyone interested. Going retroactively back across the past first 40 odd days of development and filling anyone in with the happenings.

I was sitting on a plane after the a flight home from a very chill, sorely needed extended long weekend visiting friends and old work mates after having just moved states and into the big smoke.

My friend Lauren had asked the day earlier, “Barnes, do you think you’ll ever make a game”, to which I said “huh”. As I sat on the cramped seat, realising in woe that I’d forgotten my headphones and as we were traveling super light to save on having to buy checked luggage - didn’t even have a book or a sketchbook to draw in. My mind began to wander. It’s amazing what you can do with a 2hr forced slot of boredom.

I grabbed the spew bag and started scribbling down the very first beginnings of a the first game I’d tried to design in that wasn’t based off a deck of cards. I scrawled out the word “dinosaurs?”. We were off and away.

The kind of huh that I’d mumbled out to Lauren was more the contemplative type of huh. A rising intonation, a settling tail of deep consideration. Why hadn’t I ever given it a proper go. I like having many things on the go, but it has felt that many of these parts have been leaning towards making some form of game. I thought it was going to go down the video game path first, but the sheer joy I get from sitting around with a bunch of mates talking bulk smack, playing board games, looking up at my mates faces and considering “what the hell is going on up there”, say, compared to a video game where I’m so engrossed that I almost forget to be a human. Boardgames have that special quality that is the kind of friendly rivalry that dareisayit, is unrivalled.

So here we are. Scribbling away on a plane for two hours, the very loose beginnings of a game.

The first scribbles (they were truly rough, but someone might find it of interest)

Aim of game - deploy all your meeps for max points

Game ends when all small meeps are down

Set up - spin the 4 starting pieces to see where to begin

Once all four are in position, begin setting all 2-3 tiles around the 4 starting positions

Place down a tile onto an empty space? (or?) Place down a tile on top of a territory (costs?)

《 General gameplay 》

Resources:

No more than 6 resources after collection (discard down)

Conquer costs:

cano - 6 any colour or 4 of a kind uno - 4 any colour or 3 of a kind, 3 different duo - 3 any colour or 2 of a kind trio - 2 any colour

1 back to anyone who can migrate

Retrieval amounts (any colour on tile)

Uno - 4 Duo - 3 Trio - 2

《 Volcano 》

On a stack of 2 a volcano can be summoned for full cost. On a stack of 3, a volcano can be summoned for cost of cheapest tile left (normally 2). Volcano instantly kills any meeps on tile. It erupts, goes back to 2 tall but a temporary dead tile Spinner points to direction of eruption Flows downhill until the sea Wipes out everything in its path, maybe boosts next door or boosts next play on that area?

{SQUISH}

[If you get squished you get half rounding up probs (incentive to attack and build up) Or at least the number of sides on squish (3,2,1)] don’t think this is needed.

V2 if you get squished you get 1 if you migrate? Or only 1 if conquered?

《 Placement rules 》

Connecting to at least one biome, you may add a meep onto a biome not already occupied

If you do, you now control that biome/territory (grassland, forest, desert)

If you don’t, you may collect resources by returning a meep from a different tile you own (2 from tris, 3 from duos, 4 from unos)

At the start of your turn, the more territories you control, you probably get more resources. E.g. 1 x “leaf” for every meep on trees (maybe a maximum at some point to stop a full snowball?)

Maybe add a stable plate after a while to reduce chaos and promote game ending? E.g. 3 connected means only one can be destroyed by volcano? 2 connected can be wiped out by volcano (as long as they’re in the path and downhill)

Carcassone, catan and hive. Maybe king domino - can’t remember how you play that one

Progression test:

  1. Volcano - 7 resources
  2. Volcanoes - pay 1 to steer volcano 1 tile (not uphill)
  3. Volcanoes - your meeples can migrate from a volcano explosion