Play Balance: The Game Designer's Biggest Challenge

Our game "Battle for Gallion's Reach" is in that final stretch where the big design issues have been settled but things keep popping up unexpectedly.

The last play test was supposed to have confirmed the previous alterations to the combat model and then we were to start moving quickly toward getting the game files uploaded and a proof copy printed. Our target date for putting the game up for sale and starting the marketing phase was to have been February 2014.

But, as it happens, we ran into an other issue- a bigger issue - that is requiring more changes. This time the issue revolves around play balance.

Play balance is one of those things that makes designing games so challenging. While designing a game where two or more players sit around and try to win is theoretically rather straightforward, ultimately, even if the game must simulate history, this consideration must always take a back seat to a single primary consideration: Is it Fun?

While many things can make a game "fun", the one design flaw that can sink fun faster than the Titanic is play balance. Designing any game to provide all players with near equal opportunities to both stay in the game for the majority of the time AND have an alomost equal chance of winning is a delicate and precarious quality. Almost all games introduce randomness where sich things as dice or cards can quickly tip the balance in favor of one player and against another. In games that have many variable random events, such as "Battle for Gallion's Reach", finding that mid-point between keeping the game fairly play balanced and at the same time having more than one way to win and more than one way to stop the other guy from winning is critical.

The same issue came up in two test plays and we realized this was not a fluke but a serious design flaw. I'm very glad one of the test players caught on! It could have ruined the reputation of the game ...and maybe even this business!

There is no substitute for play testing!!!

Fortunately the changes are small and can be added to the game without too much fuss. It simply means more test playing and moving the publication date back to March 2014.