This is a fascinating article that has my mind spinning with ideas.
At what point do you think the line between a board game and a TTRPG is crossed? Especially in solo play where events / consequences are more or less determined randomly (by a GM oracle or by event cards or the like)?
My excitement in using a rondel system would be the way you can thematically make each wedge on the rondel equal / opposite of one another (for some reason my mind goes to Magic the Gathering's color wheel). My trepidation is that in application, the rondel *seems* too board gamey at first blush. I'll have to do more exploration on it, but I'm curious as to where is that line for you?
I don't think there is a clear line between board games and roleplaying games. How far to each end of the spectrum you can go depends on the player type, what kind of fun they want to have, and how the mechanisms are thematically integrated into the game. Make the games that you are excited to make, and let other people try to define what they are!
The Three Sisters roll and write game uses a rondel to dictate strategic choices and pulls double duty by serving as the main mechanism for the game’s automa. It creates a lot of variability between games, and I could totally see a rondel providing meaningful use in a ttrpg if the options are abstract enough to spawn ideas without being repetitive. Restriction breeds creativity, after all!
Agree. I haven't played Cobwebs, but that playmat looks more similar to the "The Routine" circle in Flying Circus mentioned above, rather than a true action selection mechanism.
Makes me wonder what the difference is!
I think a rondel has at least some player agency/choice in the control of the next action. Or perhaps even if it is randomly moved, and without player agency. But always progressing one in the same direction without agency might not feel like a true rondel action selection mechanism.
The rondel is pretty interesting for turn taking. I'm writing a little game called Agenda about corporate meetings. It is meant to make fun of the way meetings happen but also offer alternative ways to do them that might be helpful.
I've struggled to get the right mechanic to control the flow of the conversation (if there should be one at all). The rondel seems like it might provide for some interesting uses to control the flow of a conversation too. I'll try it out, thanks!
The rondel is a fantastic action selection mechanism. I really like how the rondel is used in the games you listed. Two more board games that use rondels really effectively/interestingly are Imperial 2030 and Barrage. Imperial 2030 uses the rondel as the main action selection systems for the countries in the game. The really interesting twist in that game is that a player is not a country and country control switches between players over the course of the game, but it's the countries that take the actions. Barrage uses a rondel as a timer of sorts for building materials/equipment. Really interesting system, too, because it gives the sense of the large structures you build in Barrage taking time and the only way to speed up is to use extra resources. Great mechanic overall and think there could be a lot of cool applications in TTRPGs as well.
I love the rondel/mancala combo! My mind went to mech fighting, maybe where the different parts of your mech (boosters, weapons, etc.) are constantly charging up. In battle, the parts you use more frequently have less energy, but you could leave one weapon to charge up for a big hit. You could combine this with the ability to customize the parts and the order of segments of the rondel, and maybe even certain components take up more/less of the wheel. Might be something fun in there...
That would be a perfect use for a system like this. It's pretty common to have a "cool down" system and heat management when piloting giant stompy robots, so this would thematically fit. I would expect you to have this game done by the end of the week. ;)
This is a fascinating article that has my mind spinning with ideas.
At what point do you think the line between a board game and a TTRPG is crossed? Especially in solo play where events / consequences are more or less determined randomly (by a GM oracle or by event cards or the like)?
My excitement in using a rondel system would be the way you can thematically make each wedge on the rondel equal / opposite of one another (for some reason my mind goes to Magic the Gathering's color wheel). My trepidation is that in application, the rondel *seems* too board gamey at first blush. I'll have to do more exploration on it, but I'm curious as to where is that line for you?
Great article!
What if I told you, "There is no line." 🧘
I don't think there is a clear line between board games and roleplaying games. How far to each end of the spectrum you can go depends on the player type, what kind of fun they want to have, and how the mechanisms are thematically integrated into the game. Make the games that you are excited to make, and let other people try to define what they are!
The newly-funded HOLLOW by Rowan, Rook and Deckard uses some form of Rondel as its battlemap, I think...
The Three Sisters roll and write game uses a rondel to dictate strategic choices and pulls double duty by serving as the main mechanism for the game’s automa. It creates a lot of variability between games, and I could totally see a rondel providing meaningful use in a ttrpg if the options are abstract enough to spawn ideas without being repetitive. Restriction breeds creativity, after all!
I've heard of Three Sisters, but never played it. It seems to be well liked, and hopefully I get to check it out sometime soon! Thanks!
I don’t think it works quite like a rondel in practice, but the first thing I thought of was the playmat in Cobwebs by World Champ Game Co.
Agree. I haven't played Cobwebs, but that playmat looks more similar to the "The Routine" circle in Flying Circus mentioned above, rather than a true action selection mechanism.
Makes me wonder what the difference is!
I think a rondel has at least some player agency/choice in the control of the next action. Or perhaps even if it is randomly moved, and without player agency. But always progressing one in the same direction without agency might not feel like a true rondel action selection mechanism.
The rondel is pretty interesting for turn taking. I'm writing a little game called Agenda about corporate meetings. It is meant to make fun of the way meetings happen but also offer alternative ways to do them that might be helpful.
I've struggled to get the right mechanic to control the flow of the conversation (if there should be one at all). The rondel seems like it might provide for some interesting uses to control the flow of a conversation too. I'll try it out, thanks!
The rondel is a fantastic action selection mechanism. I really like how the rondel is used in the games you listed. Two more board games that use rondels really effectively/interestingly are Imperial 2030 and Barrage. Imperial 2030 uses the rondel as the main action selection systems for the countries in the game. The really interesting twist in that game is that a player is not a country and country control switches between players over the course of the game, but it's the countries that take the actions. Barrage uses a rondel as a timer of sorts for building materials/equipment. Really interesting system, too, because it gives the sense of the large structures you build in Barrage taking time and the only way to speed up is to use extra resources. Great mechanic overall and think there could be a lot of cool applications in TTRPGs as well.
I love the rondel/mancala combo! My mind went to mech fighting, maybe where the different parts of your mech (boosters, weapons, etc.) are constantly charging up. In battle, the parts you use more frequently have less energy, but you could leave one weapon to charge up for a big hit. You could combine this with the ability to customize the parts and the order of segments of the rondel, and maybe even certain components take up more/less of the wheel. Might be something fun in there...
That would be a perfect use for a system like this. It's pretty common to have a "cool down" system and heat management when piloting giant stompy robots, so this would thematically fit. I would expect you to have this game done by the end of the week. ;)