Teaching article
A board game's ending belongs in the first draft of its rules
State exactly when play finishes and how the outcome is determined.
Reach the finish and have the most points after ten turns are different winning conditions. Write both the ending trigger and outcome rule clearly before playtesting, rather than letting players discover conflicting assumptions at the end.
Write the ending rule before testing play. Otherwise a disagreement can arise after different players have already assumed different goals.
When does play stop, and what decides the result?
Reaching a finish square differs from having the most tokens after ten turns.
Define the goal. Specify the end trigger. Test an ending.
Unclear endings create avoidable disputes. Can both players identify the end?
Use a visible goal card.
Resources
- My Puzzle Strategy — Record a strategy and one specific observation about how it helped.
Further reading
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