In the modern era, gamers demand their Game Is Balanced. The biggest taboo a popular game can make is when one “tool” or combination turns out to be significantly more potent than others.

When playtesting a game with a variety of mechanics that can interact with each other but are optional, there are very prominent challenges, like balance and learning curve; there are also less apparent challenges. One we discovered is how difficult it is to test what works or doesn’t when not everything gets played in every playtest.

“Toys to Games” is the concept that a great toy makes an excellent foundation for a great game.

A note: If you happened to stumble upon this piece but aren’t particularly interested in game design, know that this framework is also useful beyond just game design, as I outline towards the end.

The concept of “Fun to Face Too,” an important paradigm to observe specifically when designing multiplayer games (pretty much every board game), to create the most fun mechanics.

Gaming has gotten a lot of attention recently as a medium for teaching real lessons and training. The topic has developed so much that I cannot address everything in a single post.