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Scratch and reveal board game maps

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Mon, 05/20/2013 - 03:12
HPS74
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I've had this idea for a year or so....based on Instant Scratch It lottery cards....

What about a game map that was in essence, a huge scratch and reveal map, with artwork on the back.

To use a Dungeon crawl as an example. Perhaps solitaire would be the most appropriate (as you can only blame yourself ).

You move your hero along and scratch each panel in rooms etc to reveal enemies/treasure/side quest etc etc. A choose your own adventure on the game board. Make a mistake, die, bad result? Back to a regen space and try again. You would eventually complete the whole map, but if they could be manufactured cheaply enoough, on to the next one and continue to level up and play on

What do you think about that? Has anyone heard seen of this in a board game before?

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Mon, 05/20/2013 - 07:24
#1
Itsdan
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Hm so would you scratch the

Hm so would you scratch the whole tile, or would there be say, 3 treasure spaces and your reward might state you get to scratch 1 and collect that type of treasure?

I've personally never been a big fan of games that permanently modify themselves, but Risk: Legacy does it so it's not unheard of.

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Mon, 05/20/2013 - 13:44
#2
The Chaz
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...

I have not seen this, but it sounds like a cool idea.
The first thing that came to mind was the "Magic Scratch" art supplies. If there were a way to make your own (i.e. with game icons and such, not just random colors), that would be cool.

Of course, you'd need to release packs of these every so often for replayability, right?

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Mon, 05/20/2013 - 17:43
#3
silasmolino
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Moving pieces

You would have to be carefull not to accidentally hit or shift any pieces on the board. That might be difficult.

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Mon, 05/20/2013 - 20:55
#4
HPS74
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Yes, solitaire would be fine

Yes, solitaire would be fine as you're not upsetting anyone else.

Hmmm.....it's got me thinking.....

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Mon, 05/20/2013 - 22:23
#5
Aerjen
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I haven't seen a scratch your

I haven't seen a scratch your world map, but scratch cards themselves have been used in Risk Legacy.

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Tue, 05/21/2013 - 19:06
#6
kpres
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feels gimmicky

You could have the same mechanic by using face-down cards and tiles. If I bought a game from a game shop that I could play only a finite number of times, I would feel like I've been had. It feels gimmicky. You're better off making a scratch card lottery that's based on a dungeon adventure. It's got to be a real lottery because players who buy scratch cards are playing it for a chance to win something. A "dungeon adventure lottery" sounds like a really fun game, and I might play it if I bought those things.

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Tue, 05/21/2013 - 21:28
#7
RGaffney
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I think it has wheels. Market

I think it has wheels.

Market it as a low cost travel game. I could see it selling for kids in church, or on long car rides, places where electronic games are not ideal. Change up the "coloring book" box, and it would work for a slightly older demographic.

I'm thinking you try to find the treasure, fight the dragon while scratching as little as possible (to discourage instantly scratching everything). Maybe there is also a rule that if you scratch outside of the dungeon walls you lose (to encourage scratching from a starting point and not guessing wildly)

What I don't have a conception for however is a battle mechanic. And I think you need one.

Maybe whenever you scratch a Loblin he is at a crossroads, and he corresponds to a design somewhere else on the board (outside the dungeon) how you interact with his design scratch wise, will earn you information about which way to turn. to get to the end.

Then defeating a dragon is... a thing you do.

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Tue, 05/21/2013 - 23:06
#8
HPS74
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The game needs direction -

The game needs direction - otherwise, as you said, people will scratch away willy nilly.

Battle mechanic can be something old school - D12 / D20 - hit points for each enemy...something like that. Perhaps abilities for particular classes to scratch two panels ahead to give choice - plan of attack etc.

It doesn't need to be entirely scratch panels - for example - the hallways / tunnels can be hex spots and rooms that lead off to the side can be scrathable....leaving choose to mulitple players to split up / start in different locations and they can enter together.

Movement via a dice roll.......goal to get to the Dragon / Boss lair

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Tue, 05/21/2013 - 23:24
#9
RGaffney
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But once I scratch my way to

But once I scratch my way to a goblin, roll D20, get a 3 and die, what keeps me honest?

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Wed, 05/22/2013 - 12:15
#10
silasmolino
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Good point Gaffney

Good point. If I die at the beginning of the game I will have a card full of unscratched areas.

But you did mention regeneration spots on the map. Perhaps there is no death, just exploring and treasure hunting. At the end of the game you tally up your points. You then scratch the rest of the card to discover how well you did. Did I find the highest point rooms? What rooms did I miss?

That brings up another problem. Each card would have to be different! A different map for every card so as to not have the exact same playing experience twice.]

This is a novel idea though.

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Wed, 05/22/2013 - 13:28
#11
Shoe
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What if the game play was

What if the game play was actually part of the purchasing-scratching process. What if each package came with a random scratch-off room card, a random scratch off treasure card and a random scratch off monster card. Everything is obviously only going to be useful once, so why not sell little dollar packs that advance your character as you open and scratch them off.

The best part being, not only is it solitaire, you can play it in tiny 10 min intervals, OR buy a whole box of the stuff for $20 and have a big game (perhaps, in this format even support multiplayer?)

The biggest thing that you have to remember with a game like this is to keep it CHEAP! since everything has ZERO replay value, people need to be willing to buy more product every time they want to play.

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Wed, 05/22/2013 - 21:41
#12
RGaffney
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Scratch cards are a dollar

Scratch cards are a dollar and they come with the promise of money you will never win. I bet you could make a bigger scratch map for about the same price point.

I see the dungeon crawling. but I dunno why I'm going to go back to a re-spawn point when i see a baddie If I don't have to.

What if battles happened as a function of "leveling up" like in Munchkin. if you are a higher lever you win automatically.

Maybe there are 10 squares at the bottom of the map that are for leveling up, under each box is information you will use to "beat" baddies. But they are not in order, and some of the boxes are traps that contain toxic information that will hurt your ability to beat baddies.

So you walk forward (scratch forward) and meet the old man who gives you the sword, and under the sword it says "Your attack power just increased by +1, scratch box number 3" and then if you beat the first bad guy with the info under three it says "you just gained battle experience +1, scratch number 7" and so on.

This would not allow the baddies to kill you, but they could "trap" you. You won't know where to go past them until you level up.

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