Need help on making a multi-level adventure board game

Considering the size of the boards I can see that will be a real challenge. Do the two maps share a layout, or are they completely different? If they are the same, perhaps you could include a legend on the side and an extra token for each player. If the 'level token' is on 1, they are on the upper map, if they move down to the lower map they then move their token to 2. This way the two maps could share a board and still quickly keep track of where each player is. If, on the other hand, the two boards are laid out differently this might become confusing and players risk following the wrong path.

Do all players move from dark to light at the same time, or is each character moving independently? How often do they switch? Is there only certain places they can cross over or is it a triggered random event? Is it thematically necessary that one hover above the other, or are you just going for effect? Something like this could be a catchy gimmick that draws attention, if done correctly, but could just be an annoying distraction of not handled well. I would still suggest considering a side-by-side board, either by reducing the size of the boards or by incorporating aspects of both boards on one surface, and developing a mechanic to switch between without losing your place.

I'm intrigued and wouldn't mind following this idea more if you find ways to develop it, so please keep us posted.

Having one board above the other sounds like a cool idea, but I can see all sort of problems with getting to pieces underneath the upper board, where "supports" for the upper board would go, how they would fit in etc. Sounds like a bit of an industrial design nightmare!

Why not have 1 30" x 32" board, light world is one half, dark is the other. You could mirror the areas of each world if they are two "identical" worlds, but it sounds as if the dark world is larger (7 dungeons to the light's 4). Your background art could be used to make it obvious which world is which.

I work in metric but the whole board doesn't sound bigger than some of the larger games I own (thinking Arkham horror for example).

Or, as a slightly tongue-in-cheek option, have 1 30" x 16" board, but have two sets of text on each square - but one is in mirror writing. Then play with the board up against a mirror! ;-)

HTH

One way would to just have two boards, for example two 18" square boards next to each other. I think that trying to put them one above the other would make the game difficult to play (hard to reach the pieces, hard to see the board in the shadows) without adding much to the gameplay.

Another way would be to split the board into several mini-boards (each corresponding to a dungeon), each of which is double-sided as light and dark. This would work if you modified the rule slightly about traveling back and forth to be that only one side of a given dungeon can be in use at a time.

Regards,
kos

Here is what I *think* you are going for:
You have a map of a certain size, complete with paths and locations. Some locations have different functions, depending on whether your character's status is "A" or "B" (<-- an abstraction of the night and day concept. I'm sure it's central to your theme, but we can find a solution for a more general situation). Your character can only change between statuses (A --> B or B --> A) at certain locations (portals).

Is that all correct?
If so...
It *would* be pretty cool to have two separate maps (in your case a light one and a dark one), but it would be sufficient to have just ONE, with a few graphics to help identify the different functions at locations that have both A/B functions.
In other words, let's say there's a church at C5 on the grid. If you go in the light, you can be healed. If you go in the dark, you can enchant items. You would only need one map with a church at C5 on the grid, and the above info could be printed right there on the church
"Church
A: Heal
B: Enchant"

All you would have to do it keep track of what state ("light/dark world") your character is in. You could have character sheets with different stats on each side, depending on if they are light or dark. Then flip the sheet at portals. For a "Castlevania II" feel, your strength could be halved in darkness. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tNQXwjAlI0)

Or if your character doesn't have any changing stats, you could just have a double-sided token (or a coin!) that indicates his current status. Flip the coin to its opposite side at a portal, if able.

For what you're asking, using punch board 'walls' that tab into each base would be an easy solution...you could also just make one big double sided board so you could fold it over on itself (think like a cube net with 2 sides missing) which would give a neat cave-aesthetic. Another way to lift it up would be to use the box lids as supports, which could be combined with either of the above methods. Even if the boards are above each other, putting them on an offset can make it easier to read the bottom board. Mole in the hole has a neat solution for layered boards where there are only some transfer spaces which are cut through, so you can stack the boards directly (this has the added advantage of blocking full knowledge of the other layer).

You could also use some kind of pegs or magnets so the tokens were doubled through the board and you could just flip the whole thing over when you switch (this would also work with a standing board...think connect 4).

You could also use blacklight technologies so when you went to the darkworld you turn off the lights and use a little blacklit maglight to see the secrets of this second world (neat claustrophobic feel if it doesn't totally illuminate the board at one time). You could also use a coloured lens (think old 3D glasses but one colour) to filter out a colour of noise that you build into the design of the light world and see what lies beneath: this would also work with the mirror idea above to create an even more alien darkworld. For another interesting light mechanic check out 'Shadows in the Woods' at http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1070/waldschattenspiel.

Of course the easiest solution still involves a partially transparent top board...which could again be used with the light filter method for neat effects.

I think this summarizes DRest806's design problem - a light and dark world/dungeon where the light world is significantly smaller than the dark world (4 vs 11 regions) and different players can be in different worlds at the same time.
Based on that, I think your best bet would be to simply use the A/B effect suggested above to solve the problem in the original 4 regions that are in both light and dark and then have an extra board for the 7 dungeon regions that are in the dark world only. This will cut down on the overall board size and let you make the artwork on most of the dark world thematically appropriate.

A fun way to make the game more variable would be to have each dark region/dungeon be it's own smaller board and then you can have a stack with a few extra dark regions. The players will only explore the top 7, which gives the game some extra variety.

If you really want a 3D board, a totally random and probably impractical idea from a production standpoint would be to have the light world on top supported by a small turntable. The 4 dark regions would be immediately below their corresponding light regions, but the artwork and information for the region would be printed vertically and there would be a small ledge for player pieces below that. This allows any player to easily turn the board and see the other dark regions, lets you include your new shadowy artwork, and provides the clear separation you want between dark and light worlds. If a region has multiple action locations, these can be represented on the shelf where player pieces rest. This turntable with the original board of light regions on top can then be paired with a regular board for the rest of the dark regions.