Welcome back to Cheeseland where mice try to solve the mystery of the disappearing cheeses while evading their arch enemy, Maxo the cat. To those new to this series of designer notes you can find the first installment here: https://pixeldoriangm.blogspot.com/2020/05/journey-to-cheeseland-beginnings.html
So let’s talk about luck!
As you’re about to roll your dice “you've gotta ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky?’
Well, do ya *****?”
(Okay, so I bastardized the quote in the title. This is Harry’s actual line without the dice part of course)
Why did I decide to use dice in “Journey to Cheeseland?” Dice are the most obvious introduction of chance in a game. What I like about them is that the act of rolling a dice is simple yet exciting. Players shake them in their hands or cups (often dramatically), willing them to give them the perfect outcome as they release them. Then everyone holds their breath, waiting for the dice to settle. Though the result is random, players who roll high will feel lucky and experience a form of “high” from the roll. Rolling low on the other hand can induce a sense of frustration. Either way dice introduce an element of suspense.
In the case of Cheeseland there was another Important reason for using an element of chance: It evens the playing field between children and adults.
Yes, some gamers abhor any reliance upon “luck” and want to win by their skills alone and that’s okay. Just know who you’re designing your game for. In the case of Cheeseland that’s parents and children wanting to have fun together. Personally I like a combination of luck and skill. It adds randomness while still making players feel smart when they win. On a side note: it’s an interesting psychological phenomenon that players who win mainly by luck or even by having been given an unfair advantage will still be convinced it was due to their superior skills. This applies to other life events too.
So how are luck and skill combined in Cheeseland?
Let’s talk about luck first. How do you make rolling a dice as exciting as possible? It’s a combination of odds and rewards/punishment. Imagine I tell you I’ll give you $1 if you roll a 6. Not super exciting as the reward is pretty low (but don’t underestimate the simple satisfaction of winning). Now let’s say I promise to give you a million bucks if you roll a 6 (No, I won’t, but just go with it). What if I tell you I’ll give you a million bucks if you roll anything but a 1? What if you do end up rolling a 1? Would you feel the same if you rolled a 2 instead of a 5 or 6 though the outcome is the same? What if I offer a million bucks if you roll a 6 but you lose something valuable if you roll a 1? Would you take that bet? (it most likely would depend on how valuable that item is and how drunk you are) Though in each case you would roll a dice, the feelings the roll and results would evoke would most likely be quite different. These are the kinds of variables a game designer can play with.
Here are some different “Journey to Cheeseland” card examples that require rolling dice:
Traps have a simple difficulty progression with decreasing odds and more severe punishments for failed attempts.
How many of each of these cards I put in the deck determines the odds of a player encountering such a trap and being forced to escape it. Note that instead of having the player be caught in the trap and trying to escape, I could have themed the encounter as “detecting” a trap with the same odds of not ending up being trapped but I liked the idea of mice being smart enough to figure out a trap instead of being able to detect traps better. Detecting a trap would also seem like something mice would have to choose to do (like in RPGs) instead of a passive skill and would fit better as one of the potential actions players can take after moving. This would require some sort of mechanism to secretly determine if a trap is present or not and make traps a more common obstacle, not something I wanted to add to the design. So that’s why I have mice simply realize that they walked into a trap and are now forced to extricate themselves.
Since the success requirement for Level 1 traps is so low I liked the idea of rewarding players for a high roll. It’s a mechanic I like in general when rolls are involved as it often feels frustrating to have an awesome roll when it doesn’t matter. The feeling is often of having “wasted” the great result and that’s never a good feeling for a designer to strive for. Instead consider acknowledging the superior result and giving players a bonus for it. It’s a principle I also use in my TTRPG “Kaleidoscope” where the attack and damage rolls are combined into one. Instead of just determining the success or failure, how well you roll also determines how much damage you do if you hit.
Another feature I dislike with a passion is punishing players by forcing them to skip a turn i.e. sit around and do nothing! So when a mouse is trapped it can’t perform its move action but can still perform several of its other actions. More importantly, other mice can help their trapped friend escape by using their walkie-talkie action.
Back to the cards: The Librarian is an example of “I’ll give you a fortune (5 Clues!) unless you are unlucky enough to roll a 1 or 2.” Players get only one attempt before the opportunity is lost.
Note that how you present things also count. I could have written something like “unless you roll a 1 or 2 she gives you 5 clues.” For consistency though I formatted the info for all clue givers the same. Usually players have to roll high(ish) in order to succeed.
For some encounters I didn’t just determine a win/lose outcome, but also a medium outcome which is very RPG dialogue inspired and more fun. Here’s a sample encounter with a sewer rat.
I gave players an option to just “walk away” which is of course the safe option. The consequence for failing the “try to startle” roll is pretty severe (Maxo gets a free roll) while the potential reward isn’t particularly high (1 item card with most items being of medium value) but I’m giving the players an option to roleplay and be devious by describing it as playing a prank on a pesky opponent. Will they bite? I bet quite a few will at least be tempted to do so.
This brings us to the topic of skills, more specifically in this case, taking calculated risks. People often overestimate their odds (that’s why we have lotteries) so skill comes into place when you’re able to more accurately calculate these odds and make your choice accordingly. Rolling a single d6 (six sided dice) makes it pretty easy to calculate these odds but things can get much more complex when adding more dice or other random factors. For Cheeseland I kept it simple if a player wants to calculate the odds of Maxo or one of his Minions being able to pounce on them for example. The decision then becomes taking that risk or not.
Here’s another example where players have to weigh risks versus rewards.
Contrary to the Librarian the spider stays in place after a failed attempt since players suffer negative consequences for this failure.
In a game like Cheeseland where outcomes rely on dice rolls skills are mainly about improving your odds and mitigating risk. Mice can improve their odds by spending items that will allow them to add to their roll or take an action that will give their opponent Maxo a disadvantage. Items that have to be spent before a roll force players to decide if they want to take the risk of “wasting” the item, a choice I rarely find interesting. So for items that add to the movement (rarely a critical outcome) I let the players decide after the roll if they want to spend it or not. After all, they still have to decide if they want to keep it for a more crucial moment.
Collectibles allow players to improve their odds with certain Clue Givers.
Mice can also improve someone else’s odds by using their walkie talkie action. This basically adds another dice to someone else’s roll. But instead of implementing this as a passive action where the recipient gets to roll an additional dice, I have the giver use their “skill” by rolling the dice, then giving the result as a bonus to the recipient. Whenever possible I prefer giving players an active task. I implemented the same notion when a mouse is pounced upon by Maxo or one of his Minions.
Pounce Attacks: These too are resolved by dice rolls. Another thing I dislike are static roll against another player. In other words when the attacking player has to match or beat the target's static “defense” number (like in D&D). It’s a frustratingly passive moment for the target player who simply waits to find out if she was hit. Instead I much prefer engaging both players in a dramatic “roll-off” where both players roll against each other. In “Kaleidoscope” the offensive player rolls his attack roll based on his weapons and associated skills (and other potential bonuses) while the target player rolls his defensive skills and adds distance and potentially cover as a bonus. In Cheeseland I kept this “roll-off” much simpler and fast paced. Both players roll a dice. Maxo wins draws. If applicable the mouse can add a bonus to the roll with an item. If the mouse is hidden Maxo gets a penalty. That’s it but it gets both players engaged and makes the winning player feel like she truly defeated (or evaded) her opponent.
Though most outcomes in Cheeseland are determined by a single d6 (six sided dice), search rolls require three d6. That’s because finding clues and cheeses is a critical part of the game and I wanted the requirements to be more granular.
For finding items I kept the requirement slightly below average. Why? Because it keeps players excited and keeps the game moving along. If only few rolls result in finding an item it gets boring pretty quickly, especially for the kids. No one is excited by a result of “nothing happens” so I kept these moments to a minimum. The way I still control the difficulty level is by the kind of items players can find. Most are useful but minimally so, a few are great and very few are awesome like the Trap Manual that gets you out of any trap. Then there are a bunch of “Trash” cards. Yes, literally trash mice find on the streets. Though they may seem completely useless, three trash items can be dropped in a trash can to receive a reroll token. This doesn’t just represent cleaning up the city but it is actually useful as the trash items are removed from the item stack when trashed. Each time the item stash is reshuffled it becomes more valuable as your odds of finding a useful item increase. Another example of increasing your odds while doing something good.
So these are the ways I introduced luck and skill to “Journey to Cheeseland.” I’ll talk about the narrative elements in my next blog. Meanwhile have fun with the exercise below and feel free to share your thoughts. If you enjoy this series please share.
Now roll that dice and make my day!
Exercise 4:
Take a dice game you’re familiar with like Yahtzee and analyze what is luck vs. skill. Could you add an element that would make it more skill based? Vice-versa take a skill based game and try to replace one of the features with a random outcome. How does it change the game? If you want an example, study the original “Pandemic” (I know!) Board Game and compare it to the later spinoff “Pandemic, the Cure” a stripped down version of the original that relies on dice rolls to determine the outcome of turns.
Here’s a video on how to play pandemic if you’re not familiar with the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RxqzBA_HRs
And the rules for Pandemic, the Cure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZEsgr3Myo0
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