Truly elegant designs all have strong unity of composition. But 'elegant' is not always interesting or exciting. To address that, we turn to the last method to create unity, variety.
Variety adds interest thru contrast and comparison. In board game terms, variety adds complexity and (often) depth. Variety applies to rules, pieces, mechanisms, shapes, colors, and so on. Chess doesn't have much variety compared to most hobby games, but it has more variety than checkers. Variety lends itself to theme-focused games. Unity without variety is easier to achieve in abstract games. In fact, themed games that only have one or two simple mechanisms are often decried as abstracts with a pasted-on theme due largely to the simplicity of the gameplay. Variety allows for space to tie in your theme in multiple ways.
Unity across your design is often simpler to achieve without variety. Every element added that is unique and different has to be weighed against the entire design and integrated seamlessly. Compare the base games of Santorini and Gloomhaven. Both designs are well-executed, but Santorini exudes elegance whereas Gloomhaven leans into showcasing its variety.
Variety can lead to increased engagement. Players become invested in legacy and campaign style games because they want to know what new things will happen next. Of course, these games don't change drastically on each play-through. Instead, they balance unity and variety by deploying varied repetition. Each game is just different enough to maintain engagement without overwhelming players with too much new information.
Variety still needs to abide by the guidelines of proximity, repetition, continuation, and continuity. Variety without organization or obvious purpose creates disunity in a design. Every element of a design should add to the experience and reinforce the vision of the design. A well-developed element that nevertheless doesn't fit the overall design is usually an attempt to shortcut the design process while maximizing engagement. In other words, a gimmick. Gimmicks can work well for marketing, but let us not pretend that they are good design.
That's it for Unity. Next post, I'll introduce the second principle, Emphasis.
In this series, I'm outlining the principles of design from a perspective of how they relate to board game design. If you want to read more on your own, the main reference I use is Design Basics by David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak. Available here.
Variety adds interest thru contrast and comparison. In board game terms, variety adds complexity and (often) depth. Variety applies to rules, pieces, mechanisms, shapes, colors, and so on. Chess doesn't have much variety compared to most hobby games, but it has more variety than checkers. Variety lends itself to theme-focused games. Unity without variety is easier to achieve in abstract games. In fact, themed games that only have one or two simple mechanisms are often decried as abstracts with a pasted-on theme due largely to the simplicity of the gameplay. Variety allows for space to tie in your theme in multiple ways.
Unity across your design is often simpler to achieve without variety. Every element added that is unique and different has to be weighed against the entire design and integrated seamlessly. Compare the base games of Santorini and Gloomhaven. Both designs are well-executed, but Santorini exudes elegance whereas Gloomhaven leans into showcasing its variety.
Variety can lead to increased engagement. Players become invested in legacy and campaign style games because they want to know what new things will happen next. Of course, these games don't change drastically on each play-through. Instead, they balance unity and variety by deploying varied repetition. Each game is just different enough to maintain engagement without overwhelming players with too much new information.
Variety still needs to abide by the guidelines of proximity, repetition, continuation, and continuity. Variety without organization or obvious purpose creates disunity in a design. Every element of a design should add to the experience and reinforce the vision of the design. A well-developed element that nevertheless doesn't fit the overall design is usually an attempt to shortcut the design process while maximizing engagement. In other words, a gimmick. Gimmicks can work well for marketing, but let us not pretend that they are good design.
That's it for Unity. Next post, I'll introduce the second principle, Emphasis.
In this series, I'm outlining the principles of design from a perspective of how they relate to board game design. If you want to read more on your own, the main reference I use is Design Basics by David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak. Available here.
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