Decision Space Action Points in Board Games (What We Talk About)
Feb 12, 2025
Dive into the fascinating world of action point systems in board games! Discover how games like Tikal and Pandemic use action points to shape player decisions and interactions. Explore the balance between player agency and game mechanics while considering the thematic depth of these systems. Learn about innovative action point designs in cooperative games and the impact of unpredictability on gameplay. With insights into player experience and strategy, this discussion reveals the intricacies that make these games so engaging.
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Core Definition Of Action Point Games
- Action point systems give players a pool of multiple points to spend across a menu of discrete options and sequencing matters.
- This creates combinatorial decision trees that define the genre's feel and complexity.
Stable Menu vs Random-Limited Turns
- Exclude games where external randomness or artifice dictates available actions when discussing AP systems.
- The episode focuses on menus of stable options you deliberately combine, not random-limited turns.
Pandemic As A Simple AP Example
- Brendan describes Pandemic as a "hyper simplified cooperative action point system" with four actions and ~eight options.
- He emphasizes sequencing and cooperation shaping those choices.
