Game studies: Ruleset exercise

20/05/26 - 29/05/26 (Week 5 - Week 6)

Choong Yee Leng || 0381980

Game Studies || Bachelor Degree in Creative Media || Taylor’s University 

Ruleset exercise

1. What game did you start with?

Figure 1.1 Piou Piou centent

I started with the game called Piou Piou. 

It is a card-based game where include content:

• rooster card
• hen card
• fox card
• nest card
• egg/ chick card

In this game, players are required to give birth to 3 chicks in order to finish the game.

How to play?

Before giving birth to a chick, player has to lay an egg. In order to lay an egg, player needs 1 rooster card, 1 hen card and 1 nest card to complete this action. After laying an egg, player needs 2 hen cards to give birth to a chick by flipping over the egg card to face the chick up. In this process, other players can steal the egg with the fox card, players can try to defend using 2 rooster cards. Players take turn to carry out any of the action above or trade one of their cards with the deck. Players are required to draw cards from the deck after their action and always make sure they have 4 cards with them.

2. What game or variation did you make out of it?

Sometimes the game goes way to fast when one of the players keep getting nice cards, so I implement some additional rules to balance the game.

• After stealing others' egg, player is not allowed to draw a card immediately. Instead, they have to draw the cards after their next action. This makes the stealing action a bit risky, since the game may end way to fast if other keep stealing without taking any risk.
• Players can turn the chick back to an egg by using a nest card and hen card. This is because while drawing cards, the fact that nest card only function while laying an egg will make other frustrated if they keep getting the nest card but does not make use of it. Players are allowed to 'say no' to this action by reversing it back to a chick using 1 hen card and 1 nest card.

3. The rule writing experience, how did it go, what was your focus?

Figure 1.2 Rules written

While writing the rules, I focus on restructured the rules by reducing the paragraph's structure. 

• Instead, I structure the rules into point forms and introduce more symbols (lines and +) to avoid long reading. 
• For actions that used to 'say no' to other player's action, I placed it under the action that they want to 'say no' to, to avoid confusion.
• I also placed the card trading action under the action section instead of the 'how to play' section to indicate that trading a card is also consider as an action.
• In the action section, instead of describing the actions of paragraphs, I used point form and structured them into:

1. action
2. what is required?
3. how to complete the action

4. The playtest, how did it go, what surprised you?

During the first playtest, at first, I forgot to add the information of how to start the game. After that, it went quite smooth since they manage to understand the main game structure except when they kind of confused about the status of the used card, whether it can be reused or not. For the 'say no' action, they miss look it, because it was written inside other action. They also tend to forget about the rules that the player who did a steal action cannot immediately draw cards.

During the second playtest (new players + old players), new players also manage to understand the main game structure quickly. However, a new players may confuse about the steal rules, but old players manage to play with the rules well. 

5. What you learnt from it, what did you change?

Some players may not notice some information if they are not visible enough, or structure in order. Thus, I will try to use more colours or create a box for the information to enhance its visibility. I added the information of how to start the game, which is very important. I will also use numbers and label the 'how to play' in order so that they don't miss look any steps. 

6. What will you consider the next time you write rules?

I will still consider structure the rules in point forms and symbols, because they actually understand the gameplay structure faster than us, who referred to the original rules. I will introduce more graphics and colour so that everything is visible enough that they did not miss look any of it, plus they won't feel bored reading it.