I was thinking of designing a monopoly type game for fun. But there are many valid design choices for this kind of game, and there is not a particular flavor or objective that I was looking for.
So I was thinking, what if I could make a kind of "Build your own monopoly game" (or a similar title). So it would work a bit like a piece pack designed for a specific type of game, in this case, managing properties. You could change the board layout, you can change the rules. The tile information and the card content is generic enough to allow modifications. There will be for example, no special text on the cards.
The game would come with a rule set that works. Maybe some alternate rule set. But if you want to change anything, suggestions will be made in the rule book. But you are still allowed to design your own.
That concept could be applied to other game genre like Space Opera, civilization, etc. Especially genre which have multiple games.
What are the benefits to design such game:
- The balance does not have to be top notch.
- Components has to be generic, so easier to design.
- Could give a game design experience to the players.
- The players could come up with very clever way to use the game.
Problems:
- The designs that comes with the game could be too weak.
- too many choices of rules is like not enough.
- Many people who do not like variants would not modify the game
- Card effects would only hold a name and an artwork. The rules of the cards will be in the rules or on a reference card. The cross-referencing could be annoying.
The game you are talking about is "504". I never played but know about it. I really doubt the designer have played all 504 combination. Not sure if it could actually be a game for me. Players say some combinations are better than others. "Kingdoms" is actually a game that plays differently according to a different card setup. I have played this one, at least 1 version of it.
Yes, people are very strict, I am proposing variants for 1846 and receive a lot of backlash. My motto is that if I can have multiple train game with the same components, it's a good thing. But they do not see it this way.
I think my monopoly game could work in a digital environment. Making the game works like a toy. People design their board, select rules, run thousands of simulations and look at the results. A bit like a physics simulation game. The idea would be to make people experiment game design without necessarily playing the game.