Blog Post 3: Prototyping
Name of game: Battle Solitaire
Duration: 30–45 minutes
# of players: 2
Mechanic: Pattern building
Solitaire is a game that is played in solitude, in other words you play it by yourself. What if this game becomes a game you play with another person? Challenge a friend and play Battle Solitaire, a game where you go against another player to build your aces up to kings before the other person does.
In Battle Solitaire both players will set up their own six column of cards rather than the regular solitaire’s seven column cards setup. Both players will already have two aces setup on their own sides and whoever stacks both aces up to kings first will win the game. In this game however, both players are allowed to steal from each other’s side or offer a card from their own side. Both players will also have two opportunities to deposit their game piece to grant themselves an extra turn. Use these mechanics to speed your way to victory!
In the first session both players did not hesitate to make their moves so the game ended in about 25 minutes. The first version of Battle Solitaire did not have the game pieces implemented yet, and players could only steal from each other. Aces were also not in the initial setup, players were supposed to find the aces as they made progress.This game ended in a draw as both players were neck at neck the whole time. I concluded to myself that perhaps this game is purely luck based and maybe future games will result in mostly draws.
In the second playthrough I added the rule that players should be able to take from each other. I have also added that in the setup, both aces are to be present for both players at the start. I was hoping that this game would not end in a draw to prove to me that games will not always end as a close game and to my surprise one player was making more progress than the other. This game took about 45 minutes and they both really enjoyed themselves. They told me that the game is perfect the way it is but I felt that i needed to add something that will give players more of a boost towards their victory which can create a bit of tension between players. So this is where I added the game pieces that will allow players to take two turns instead of one.
In the third play I introduced my game pieces which will allow the players to grant themselves an extra turn. Both players enjoyed themselves and gave me feedback saying that intensity increased towards the end of the game. One of the players did not understand the significance of having an extra turn until the second half of the game where she would tell me that it was a great addition to the game. One player would have a balanced playstyle, giving cards when needed and stealing cards when needed. On the other hand Player 2 focused mainly on stealing cards. After spectating their playthrough I was happy to confirm to myself that the game pieces made a good addition to Battle Solitaire.
