Brainstorming!

Coming up with a game idea is hard; So much goes into simply thinking about an idea, and no idea is guaranteed to work. Things that have to be taken into account is balance, skill, time, along with many other intermittent factors that can hardly be predicted until the game is play-tested. Still, the first step to creating a good game is to think up of something, or anything rather, that can become a good game.

With that comes inspiration. For my idea of a game, I want to look at time, skill, and balance, things that are essential within a good, fast-paced table-top game. Because of this, I've taken the time out to play several different games, with these things in mind.

Operation is a great, fast-paced skill game which, while iconic, has some core features in the aspects of game design that can be greatly relied upon when making games. It's fast pace, it's careful handling, and force of though-processing through the play time is something that I definitely want to mirror within my game. It's also a personal philosophy, that fast games can be the most fun when designed right.

Magic the gathering allows for more patience, as well as balance. The game takes balance to new heights in fact, having several different types of cards come out every year, and different rotations and rules circulated for different play-types, all using the same, constant cards. This game oozes balance, and gives players tons of way to use that balance and skill to their advantage. The game can go fast, or slow depending on the cards that are played, but no matter what, it is always in some way, balanced.

Dungeons and Dragons. What else is there to say? The story arcs, the skill, the rich stories that can come out of this game- It is simply staggering, and one I take complete joy in playing every single week. While it is a heavy game, I don't want too heavily rely on using this game for inspiration. It's simply a game who's rich story and character I want to emulate, and nothing more.

Without further ado, let's move on to some game ideas.

While many of these will be simply brainstorming, I have one idea which I'm very very excited about doing.

This game would be a card game: Two players fighting against one another in a one v. one match to kill the other player, with attacks going on each round. The rules would go like this.

• Each round would be 5 seconds long, with players flipping a coin to see who goes that round. 
• Each character has 10 moves, and MUST play at least 3 moves. 
• If player does not play 3 moves within 5 seconds, the character they control becomes stressed. 
• Each character has a stress-state (which lasts one round), all with penalties and bonuses. (Exp. +2 attack, -2 health) 
• After 3 rounds, characters unlock a Super Move. 
• If Super Move is used, character auto-stresses. This will end their turn. 
• The goal is to survive the fight, and eliminate the other player's character.

Another idea was to take a DND type approach, and streamline it for simple campaigns, that are 10-20 minutes, with some sort of buildable dungeons that a "dungeon Master" can build before hand. Using Tiles. and Monster Pieces.

Another game would be to create different puzzles for players to use, and throw around at each other, the one who solves it first being the one who wins.

Another could be players taking the roles of hunters, while other players become prey, and the players have to guess which one is which.

A player could be a "killer" while the others could be investigators, like in the game clue, but each player could be picked off by the "killer" player one by one.

Players could negotiate the death of a nation, with a game about bombs, where they would have to stratergize where the bombs go within a certain amount of time, and try to cause the least, or most amount of damage done to a population.

Players could do their best to race to the finish in a racing game, using different, wild effects to throw players back or forward in the map.

Players could roll dice to see who is able to take down a large monster, using different, plastic rods that they take out one turn at a time.

Players could explore an underwater ruin, with cards going off every few rounds as they explore to activate different things that could happen within the game.

Players could also do the same thing, but go through a large, mayan ziggurat.

Players could also use resources to create walls as they defend a large palace from invaders.

Players could see how long they could survive while going through a lovecraftian maze, being followed by different horrors.

They could also play a non-sensical game that allows you to play random, different effecting cards every turn that would cause the game to go through hundreds of different things.