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Maiya's avatar
4hEdited

Certainly fascinating to think about :)! Thank you for sharing.

I think, for me, it probably depends on what I'm after in a game... and what type of game it is. Waxing can be really a nice way to gradually learn the mechanics of something, and new things always seem more "shiny"... though there might be a point where it's too much – although that probably also depends on the pacing of the increases.

Dynamic can be quite nice, it gives more a sense of control.

I can see a waning space potentially being super atmospheric if used in the right context, like, in a game about surviving a long winter, or something like that?

That said, even static can be great, if the options are great and/or many from the start! Or, the space can stay the same size, but the options swapped out – I'm currently reading "Under Hollow Hills" by the Bakers, and you always have the same number of "plays" (moves, options), even the same ones, but other things in the game changes – most notably your appearance/imagery, through stepping toward summer/winter, and your bonuses to your plays also change around. An interesting contrast to most other broadly PbtA games, where you often can gain more moves over time. I also just read "Wanderhome" by Jay Dragon, a Belonging Outside Belonging game; and there (mostly) the number of things marked on your sheet stays the same, but they can evolve/change over time, getting swapped out as your character changes. And I guess, all the while, the "some things you can do" list stays the same – unless you swap playbooks, which you do have the option for on an advancement (either by your character retiring and you making a new one, or them changing so much they need a new playbook). And I suppose, the things you can do are essentially endless, moves/plays/things you can do are just some, not all, the options.

(Also, as a fun aside, we call tic-tac-toe "luffarschack" over here in Sweden – which means something like, "tramp/vagrant('s) chess" ^^)

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Deb F's avatar

This is a great article about an aspect of play that I think about when designing but never really quantified. It also makes me realize what makes a lot of games "not fun" because they have extremely limited decision spaces and no room for expanding them.

Also on a pedantic grammar note, it's "Fewer Choices" not "Less Choices". On the other hand, you can have "Less CHOICE", singular. (I'll gloss over all sorts of other grammar mistakes and misspellings but this one always sticks out to me.)

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