Hello, all! I'm new to the forums, and I thought someone might give me some input on a game idea I've been toying around with.
I've been in the rough outline stages of designing a board game that simulates a one-on-one fight. Each player would control a piece representing their character, which would consitently move around the field (terrain that could be changed from match to match). Most attacks would be made using cards that detail the range, power, etc. of that particular attack. I'm still trying to out exactly how the battle system works, but the idea is to mimic an all-out battle between two super-powered characters (so attacks wouldn't just be punches and kicks, but also shooting projectiles, etc) , consistently moving around and using the terrain to their advantage.
The problem I've come across is that, given the fact that this is a board game, I can't seem to escape turn-based combat, which I'm really trying to veer away from. I realize a board game will necessitate a certain degree of turn-based gameplay, but I dont want a game where the first character stands still while the other beats up on him, until the player turn switches. I would like to somehow simulate a way two characters could be active at the same time, where if player one is running up to attack player two directly, player two will see this coming, and can run away, either to an area where he might have the advantage, or maybe just to bide time.
I've never really gotten the chance to play any board/fighting games, so I don't know if this is a common problem or if there are ways to "cheat" it (i.e. make a turn-based game FEEL like its real-time).
Does anyone have any ideas on fighting game mechanics where movement is so central to the game concept? Or has anyone played any games that have dealt with this issue?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for the ideas!
The Deadlands mechanic is interesting, I may look into it further. I saw a few different varieties of Deadlands on boardgamegeek (and I’m not sure they’re even all affiliated with each other), which one would be the one to look at?
The initiative check is similar to one possibility I was thinking about, where gameplay was based on an “action-reaction” mechanic. With this mechanic, one player would be the attacker (who has first crack at initiating moves) and one the defender (who focuses mainly on defending against or evading those moves), and it would stay this way until something specific happens, such as a parry, which switches the roles.