Game design is somewhat of a muse for me at the moment. I thought I'd ask others how they get started.
My motivation is simple: I'd like to make something free (ie: rules) and generic enough that supplies can be had easily.
[DICE COMBAT]
This muse started with me and my wife making up a simple dice combat game. Each player starts with one die and 5 health points. On your turn you can choose to go for points or attack another player. When attacking, you get 1 point for a [3,4,5] and 2 points for a [6]. When defending, you get 1 point for a [1,2].
There's a trade off on whether to attack or just go for points. When going for points, you stand more chance of a better score and there's no risk to health. If attacking, the score could be less depending on the defender's roll. And there's a small chance one could loose health if the defender has a better roll.
During the game, a player can level up. Another die can be purchased for 6 points for a maximum of 3 dice (ie: highest level = 3).
An example of combat: A level 3 attacker (3 dice) attacks a level 2 defender (2 dice)
The attacker rolls a [2,3,6]. They have a score of 3 points for that roll. If they were attacking an opponent, the defender would roll their dice. The defender was a level 2, so they roll 2 dice and get [1,5]. The defender has a defense score of 1 for their roll. The total score for the attacker would be their score minus the defender score (ie: 3 - 1 = 2). The attacker would get 2 points added to their total. The defender looses that amount in health.
If a player's health goes to zero, they loose all their score. They start at zero with a fresh health of 5 points. They do, however, get to retain any dice previously purchased. So if a level 2 player was to die, they get to start over as a level 2.
First player with a total score of 30 points wins.
This was a moderately amusing game to play. It was more fun making the game up as we went along. We thought we were witty with the concept of leveling up a character by purchasing more dice. Then I discovered Heroscape and realized all we did was reinvent the dice combat used in Heroscape.
I really liked the simplicity of Heroscape. I've always wanted to get into a D&D like game, but I didn't care for the long and drawn out rules that went along with it. I also have the same interest in wargaming along with the same aversion to complicated rules. I started thinking about how I would make my own Heroscape like game. The fun seems to be in making the game itself.
So I ask, how do board game designers get into making board games? Do you start with a grab bag of generic supplies (ie: dice, chips, map, ...)?
Follow-up...
One of the ideas I had for a Heroscape like game was to mimic D&D. Instead of having a Dungeon Master, I was thinking of monsters with their own AI. In the spirit of Heroscape, I wanted something ridiculously simple. The monsters, like players, would take a turn. Each monster would have simple stats describing their logic.
As an example: If a player came within a specified range, the monster would roll for initiative. Would it move to attack or ignore the player. The closer a player got might increase the chance a monster would attack. Similarly, in battle a monster's turn would start by rolling for initiative on whether it should flee or fight. The monster's health would affect the probability of fleeing.
The thought was to create a mildly amusing D&D like game that could be played solo yet simple enough a 6 year old could understand. Simple rules and simple combat yet not so deterministic that luck governs the game.
If this sounds all to familiar, please respond with references to other games or material so I don't go reinventing the wheel.