The Idea of Game Mechanics

We had our first session with Andy Bosson, our new course leader. The idea of the lesson was that we were going to learn the originality of game mechanics, going all the way back to the first recorded board game. This was a great subject to look into as good game mechanics are key when creating games, if the game doesn't work and isn't fun, people aren't going to be playing it. Also many games have their own originally game mechanics which is a key selling point.


Early board games were around nearly 5000 years ago. One key game that stood out for me was the very first recorded board game called "Senet". In the game you have to get your characters all at the end while making an "S" shape around the board. This game developed and produce the idea of the game called " Backgammon", known all over the world and has many different interpretations, whether that be on the computer or on a board.

The Game of Senet.

Another game that we looked at was "The Royal Game of Ur". In the game the player had to reach the end, very much like the game of "Senet". It is officially classed as a racing game, where the player has to reach the board's end before the other players do. It was developed 4600 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia (Now known as modern day Iraq, Syria, Turkey). Again reincarnation of this game still exists and is play today.

The Royal Game of Ur.

Andy decided that we were going to be set a task, which was going to be analyzing a modern board game and the mechanics that the game has. We were also going to create a new set of rules that could be put into the game and add a new character skill, like what you would gave from being a certain character.

Analysis of Monopoly.

I worked with a partner and we decided that we were going to analyse the game of Monopoly. We were given a sheet to write down the rules of the game out. The basic rules are the players go round the board while buying properties and charging rent, In the end, the player who has the most money and is not bankrupt, wins the game. There were many different opportunities for us to explore in this game when making up our own rules. One of them was that we liked the idea of having a current events card. Draw this card and it affects the whole game, like the introduction of inflation and global warming. A character feature that could be introduced is the character having their own bonuses, like the hat having extra money to begin with or the car going around the board faster.

I really enjoyed looking into the subject of game mechanics, seeing how games work and play and the history behind many of the games that we play today. This is a subject that I would love to continue on, as I feel that it is important now for game designers to know the roots and backgrounds for the games we make today.