Purple Pawn is a fantastic site. Purple Pawn is a lot of fun. But Purple Pawn has also turned out to be a lot of work. And so, this personal game blog has been ignored. Now though, I’m getting the hang of the amateur journalism involved in that site, and the things I wanted to do with this one have been nagging at me again. So, I’m back.

I’ll see you in a couple of days with an update on where I am with the game design concepts…

The core concept for my strategy board game—which I’ll call “Everglades”—is that the players are speculative real estate investors trying to amass the greatest wealth and power during the early development of South Florida.

Some of the other historical events and facts that may inspire game elements include:

• Devastating hurricanes could hit the state with no warning (use to encourage speculative behavior).
• The September 1928 hurricane (storms were not named at the time) did most of its damage (1,836 people killed) through flooding after the levees around Lake Okeechobee were breached. In game terms, hurricane events affect land value or destroy assets on certain properties.
• The state-operated Internal Improvement Fund financed development projects and distributed land grants. Implementing this in the game, land is available outside of the market and funds from the bank are available to support development. Perhaps fund money is disbursed based on group decisions of the players.
• A major natural resource exploited in early Florida history was bird plumage (feathers were sent north for fashionable hats). One of the historical tradeoffs represented by the could be exploitation of natural resources versus environmental protection.
• To support development many canals were constructed to both drain the swamp and carry people and goods. However, while canals did drain swamp to create land for development, and were at the center of much corruption, they did not accomplish much in the way of transportation. In game terms, players dig canals as a method of acquiring cash and real estate.
• Railroads were successful at bringing people to Florida and delivering goods to markets in the North. In contrast to the game’s treatment of canals, railroads built by players enhance the value of assets built on land to which they connect.

The Name of the Game

One of the things I’ve been thinking about is a name for the science fiction roleplaying game. I think it would be a little awkward to keep calling it “that sci-fi game.” But a good name is not so easy to come up with. First, it should sound cool. But an ideal name should also convey a feel for the game’s theme, setting, or style. (more…)

This statement probably seems obvious, unoriginal, and of little value. Nevertheless, it needs to be the first and most important point of reference for every design decision, both large and small, because it is exactly what I’m trying to do. After years uninvolved in this part of the gaming hobby, I am interested in getting back into roleplaying but recognize that there are many hurdles to organizing a game among my friends. With a game custom designed for our interests, strengths, play styles, and outside lives, I’m hoping to maximize the odds of generating interest. I welcome the input of others and invite anyone else who might read these pages to make use of my work. But when it comes to final design decisions, I will always choose what will work best for my existing group. This philosophy leads to several design principles: (more…)

1. A science fiction roleplaying game.
2. A regional history-themed strategy board game.
3. A campaign world for a fantasy roleplaying game.

But first some background that will help explain my interests and some of my design choices… (more…)

(more…)