Guidelines for Strategy Game Design

A game needs to be forthright about what happens when an action is taken.

Discovered play, (I like to call it “cleverness”) is a term to describe when a player finds a new way to use the game’s tools. This is the euphoric feeling players experience as their skills advance mid-game.

All strategies need to be beatable. Otherwise, the emergence of a master strategy will render the game solved very quickly. Games with a master strategy are all about execution—whoever can implement the master strategy best will win.

For a game of strategy to be compelling, there must be multiple compelling strategies to pursue. To be compelling, a strategy needs to be a reasonable path to victory.

Quickly after beginning the game, players should understand the conditions of victory and how they can use the tools at their disposal to achieve victory.

A game can have a lot of decisions without offering a lot of strategy. When the right move is obvious or automatic, the decision isn’t meaningful.

Gameplay exists in the space between understanding and mastery. That space is what we call Depth.

It’s important that a game clearly communicates its pitch, both through visual style and through layout and design.

Regardless of your audience or your game’s topic, you should be able to explain your game in just a few words.

Play can only exist in the space between understanding and mastery.

What skills will a player need in order to succeed at this game?

As players pursue the activities you told them about in your pitch, it’s important to let them do those activities! Moves should engage with the activities, not stand between the player and the activities.