Zombie CCG: What I Want, pt 3

Apparently, I have Google’s top result when people search for “Zombie CCG.”
Because my initial ideas were sound, and I don’t see any reason I
wouldn’t firmly grasp this sliver of internet relevance, I’m continuing
that project.



Interaction/Quick Play

Interaction is more than simply responding to another player’s actions; it’s the ability of game elements to have effects on one another and for a player to react to another player’s ability to make an instant, winning play. No one wants to play a game where one card will essentially win you that game instantly. At that point the game becomes about playing that card. A card that builds the game in a direction of victory will spur more action by interacting. In addition, the utilization of differing victory conditions means that one or both players can win, as a player can keep playing after victory is achieved, just to stymie their opponent. The win/lose model is simple, but not necessary.



On the other hand, long complicated games with no point aren't fun either. Even if forward momentum is hard to stop, it can still get set back. Putting the game into overtime where only one player is left, the game can get long. Without power cards(see the post on "Equivocal"), the same thing can happen.



Games that take a long time to play are, logically, not played much. Games with a quick turnaround time can be played far more and can provide (over a period of time) a more even probability curve. Battletech isn’t great for many, many, reasons, but the two that combine like a roach-flavored snow-cone  and melted-rubber topping are randomness and time. One unlikely critical hit in the early came can lead to a long, slow game which promises the faint chance of hope in the form of a reciprocated shot, but doesn’t deliver. Ever.



That is not fun. One idea-if victory conditions can be played as other cards, is that they have a rider--in the case of my Zombie game, this is the classic “twist” at the end--where the player who isn’t winning can play a particular type of card(s) to counter or diminish the victory card’s win. Discarding win/lose isn't about not having winners and losers, it's about scaling victory and loss. Competition should be efficient and nuanced, not necessarily quick or widgety.



Tomorrow: Fun stuff.