how to design a board game and how to create rules for it?

Answer 1

1. Focus on is what type of game are you making (puzzle, strategy, straightforwards, kids, adults).

2. How many players should play? Are there teams?

3. Focus on the theme. Is it a jungle? A factory? Based on a movie or book?

4. What is the goal of the game. How does someone win it?

5. How does someone progress in the game? What do they do on their turn... Do they role dice? Place cards down... make a strategic move?

6. What would hold them back? Traps, pass a turn, questions, start from beginning, etc.

7. How long does the game take.

To get stonger ideas, I would play some board games. There are plenty of games online through Yahoo Games.

Answer 2

There's no magic formula to it, although it helps a lot if you're passionate either about the type of game you're creating or the theme. It also helps if you've played a variety of games and seen some of the mechanics and rules that different games use.

One thing to try if you're starting out and not concerned at all about making money is variants on games you've already played. For example, most Monopoly players will tell you to buy properties most or all of the time because they're far more valuable then the initial price you pay for them. You may then want to make a variant where the prices of the properties are double (or even triple) what they are in the actual game to make the decision tougher. Then play a game of the variant with friends to see what happens. You can then add in more variants to your heart's content.

In making your own game, just start out with a theme that interests you. For example, you may like ants and have an ant farm in your own room. If so, make a game about competing ant colonies on a chessboard. Each player starts in a corner and tries to develop and expand his or her own colony on their own turn. You could then give players the option of expanding slowly or surely or moving scouts out to try and find the square that contains the popsickle the kid just dropped, or draw a card for a random result. Winner is the colony that controls the most squares at the end of so many turns. Then you put together rules that sound good and a prototype board and cards and pieces and you play it with friends. You look for things that didn't work so well and tweak those rules then try it and refine it again and again.

If you're looking for ideas, you can try http://www.angelfire.com/games2/warpspawn/ which has hundreds of game ideas (though mechanically many of them are similar) and there's a few articles on different game mechanics that you'd probably be interested in.

Answer 3

Balance is an important thing to remember while designing the game. You don't want a situation where one player gains an advantage then it's nearly impossible for the other players to catch up or surpass the other player. Keeping their interest while the other player takes a turn is important, too. Some games that do the above quite well are Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne and Apples to Apples.

Answer 4

There is no "How To" guide, you make the game you make the rules. Do whatever you think is best and would make the game fun. All the board games that have been created were made with really good and creative ideas.

Answer 5

Thats a very good idea. Just give it alot of thought until it slowly comes together.Then work on getting it made & marketed.Get a copyright by writing to the Library Of Congress.

Answer 6

Try this book: http://www.amazon.com/Game-Design-Second-Bob-Bates/dp/1592004938/sr=1-1/qid=1166558076/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9750462-8500625?ie=UTF8&s=books