As I was taking a look back at my blog content, I noticed that I frequently talk about "Replayability" in my reviews and design posts. One small issue, is that I never talk about what Replayability even is. First off, I am pretty sure it is not even a real word! However, that's part of being an "expert" on stuff. You get to just make words up. I have some fancy certificates and book-learnin' that say I can in the corporate world, so why not wargame design too?
Well, I guess we better start with what this made-up word means. I don't think it will be hard to figure out, I mean it is in the word itself. Replayability is simply the ability to replay the game and still have fun with it. Like, it's in the made-up name! Simple.
The definition is the easy part. Now comes the hard part. How do you give a game replayability?
Deployment
An easy way to make a game Replayable is to change up how forces Deploy for a game. You see, deployment is often an overlooked choice made early in a game, that sets up the flow of the rest of the game. Therefore, to change the game experience you create options for the players to deploy differently. This can be done via scenario, or even a "randomization" of the deployment zone.
Scenarios and Objectives
Changing the scenario and objectives also change the focus of the game play. You could have the exact same board and deployment, but changing the Objectives of the game will change the game. If in the first go-around you are trying to cross the river in the center, that will lead to different tactics than having to capture as many terrain points as possible. You can also add on primary and secondary objectives to allow for more variety in what is happening.
Force Selection
Offering players a wide variety of units to choose from creates replayability. These options allow players a chance to put different combinations of units into action, and see what works best in different combinations. Perhaps cavalry is great for moving ahead and scouting, but infantry is better at holding objectives. Players will want to find the right "mix" of units to achieve their goals and adhere to their preferred playstyle. Changing unit options give reasons to play again. Plus, players love an excuse to buy and sometimes even paint new miniatures!
Complications
Many games offer a random selection of "complications" that can impact a game. A complication is something that makes achieving the objectives harder. They are a form of "Friction" that a player will need to deal with. Sometimes, these complications are specific to a scenario, but many games allow for a random Complication mechanic via a chart, cards, etc.
Terrain Placement
Nothing changes the flow of a game like terrain and its placement. A game without terrain is probably not a game, so therefore it is a great tool for replayability. A river or wood in the center changes the dynamic and tactics open for a player. Therefore, the mechanisms for populating the board with terrain are critical tools for replayability.
Randomization Tools
The rules themselves may have tools to create a randomization of outcomes. With a variety of outcomes, there is a reason for players to play more than one game. Often, randomization is created via Dice. However, there are other methods such as charts, cards, spinners, death clocks, etc. The more options that can occur, the more reason there is to "Play to find out".
Game Length
Adding rules or methods to change the length of the game can be a great way to add replayability. A variable length of game changes the player's calculations for what victory means. Changing these calculations will make a game Replayable as each game could be fought or played differently. A game that is short requires a focus on moving to engage, while a longer game allows for more bait-and-counter game play.
Campaigns
The ability to chain games together in a campaign is a major driver of people replaying a game as more than just a one-off experience. Campaign mechanics give structure and reason for players to keep going. These are essential tools for replayability.
Why Use These Tools
The whole point of all these tricks and tools to generate Replayability is to keep people playing your game. These tools force players to re-think their tactics on the table as the conditions of the game are changed. A game won or lost by attrition, changes how a commander engages versus one that is won or lost by holding an objective. Both situations require a different way to play. If there is only ever one "win condition" and one set- of game realities than your game will quickly be solved. A player will soon realize how to win every time.
The changes (or even the potential for certain changes to be in place) also force players to re-think their strategic, or off-table decision making as well. If you have to consider that a game may change what it takes to win, you need to make off-table decisions to allow you to manage the risks. For example, if you have missions that range from moving across the board to holding the line, a player will need to select units that could play a role in both scenarios. The strategic choices are implemented.
How to Use These Tools
The easiest way to use these tools is to create a "Pre-game" section of the rules. This section basically instructs you on how to set-up a game. Often, this takes place AFTER players have chosen their units to play the game, but not always. This section usually has these elements:
- Randomly determine scenario
- Randomly determine deployment zones
- Randomly place terrain
- Randomly determine complications
- Randomize Game Length
Final Thoughts
Replayability is a key component for game designers to think about when designing their games. Many games are great as a "one-and-done" experience. However, you want players to want to play your game more than once. This becomes a selling feature if the game allows for a lifetime of games. For example, if your game has at least 15 different game states in it, the average wargamer plays a game a month, then your base game has 1 years worth of game play! That is good value for money!
Isn't this really about variety rather than replayability per sé? Chess (in its mainstream version) has none of this variations and is still considered very replayable. So how does it achieve this? Could you transpose to a miniature game?
ReplyDeleteWell, Chess has a bit of a "First to Market" advantage by a few hundred years. LOL
DeleteI don't agree that the age of chess has anything to do with the replayability of chess. The key to chess is a set of simple mechanics that create a massive number of possible outcomes.
DeleteSo often with miniature games we fiddle with stat lines, terrain rules, charts, dice types, and more but in the end a blob of toys are pushed together in the middle, dice, cards or spinners are rolled, flipped, and spin, and the game ends. The most surprising thing to happen might be that a unit was just inside of outside a charge or reaction range. Rarely is there surprise unless the surprise of an improbable roll.
Chess games are often filled with surprises - pinning a piece, forking two pieces, suddenly realizing your opponent is two moves from mate and praying they don't see it. Though I do love miniatures games they never create those moments or anything similar. Chess brilliantly married enough abstraction to sufficient constraints and creates an experience far closer to the descriptions of famous campaigns and battles of antiquity than any miniatures game ever has. The surprise arrival of a unit, rapid repositioning to through off the enemy, of the elimination of enemy leadership leading to the collapse of an otherwise battle-ready force.
I am glad you love Chess so much. I am sorry that you have never received the same "high" playing a wargame as chess.
DeleteNotice, I did not say that Chess is older and therefore better. I said it has a few centuries of "first to market". That means, that for a long time it was the "only game in town" and therefore a lot of time, energy, and ink have been spilled on it. I mean there is a world Chess league and ranking system that Warhammer 40K bros could only dream about. It has grown iteratively over the last few centuries! No wargame miniature wargame has done that.
We could look at more recently released "Chess-a-likes" such as Stratego or Feudal. They have not managed to capture the same success as Chess. There are a number of reasons, but arguably it is because they entered a very crowded game market and did not have centuries of development behind them.
Okay, that out of the way; let's talk about what Chess does from the list above:
1. Game Length- It always goes until certain criteria are met, but how long that takes various. You play until the objective is met which can be a few minutes or most of a day.
2. Force selection- Sure you always have the same pieces, but they all act and do different things, so you need to learn and master them.
3. Campaigns- Chess has a campaign system that they use but it is a ranking system to be a Master, Grandmaster, and the tournament scene. This is not inherent in the rules, but has evolved around the "culture" of Chess. You may want to check out my previous article about Stakes in Games for more details.
4. Variants- There are actually a ton of variants to Chess to help increase its replayability out there. Sometimes, they are set-up as a "Chess problem" but that is setting up a particular scenario. Plus, there are countless unofficial rules variants.
So, even Chess uses some of the tricks I outlines above to ensure replayability.