How to design a WORKER PLACEMENT board game
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- Опубликовано: 2 июл 2024
- Worker Placement is one of the BIG mechanisms. It has a wide appeal - and it’s adaptable to many different themes and genres. Worker placement games can be simple, or they can be incredibly complex. And they’re everywhere. A lot of gamers LOVE worker placement games.
In this video I highlight ten or so design choices which you might want to consider when designing your own worker placement game.
Even better, look at what has been done before, find a gap, subvert a mechanism, and create something totally new.
This video is sponsored by Launch Tabletop. If you would like to create a single copy of your prototype board game, or anything up to 1000 copies, then visit www.launchtabletop.com and start prototyping!
0:00 Introduction
1:28 Sponsor
2:33 Definition of mechanism
3:28 History of mechanism
5:54 Appeal of mechanism
8:54 Scarcity of rewards
9:45 Accumulation spaces
10:10 Timing of rewards
11:42 The provost
12:40 Tracks
14:38 Turn order
15:46 Variable setup
16:38 Asymmetric powers
16:55 Build action spaces
19:00 Neutral workers
19:31 Specialised workers
21:42 Dice workers
22:10 Gain new workers
22:32 Feed workers
23:04 Events
25:32 Bring workers home
27:57 Action blocking
31:55 Checklist for designers 
Игры
What a brilliant video. I am currently working on a worker placement game, and I cannot explain to you how much your video helped. I can't thank you enough. With my game, I made it so that you can't block other players from specific actions, however, you CAN block them from BETTER versions of said actions. So like the first player to go there gets the best version of that action, the second gets a downgraded version of that action, and the third player onwards get the worst version of that action.
Sounds like a really good twist. Glad the video helped :)
I really like the mechanism of activating abilities when taking back your workers like in Cryo and Dwellings of Eldervale for example.
Your videos are invaluable when tinkering with new mechanic ideas. So grateful to add this one to the list - thanks again!!!
Thanks Michael - glad they’re helpful.
Thanks for mentioning Asking for Trobils, Adam! Great video. I'll probably link to it every time arguments start up about what a worker placement game "really" is lol.
Thanks Christian - it’s a fun game, with a great central concept.
I've working on a Worker Placement game. And the other day I was looking for a video on this. I barely think you could have timed this better 😅
You’re welcome! Hope it helps.
@@AdaminWales Thank you! And I think it will 😄
I actually love tracks in games. I include them a lot in my designs, and I know playtesters are often put off by them. I'm not a theme guy but I like your point that a track representing something more abstract is better. I'll keep that in mind.
Thanks for putting out such a great video! I’m thankful to the Board Game Design Lab email featuring it today and will be looking into more of your content. If you have one for dice worker placement, I’ll be keen to watch that one next.
Thanks Juliet - I’d love to make a video on dice workers. I need to do a lot of research first though! It’s a much broader format than worker placement.
I’m steadily bingeing this channel, learning a lot, and hopefully greatly improving the board game design I’m trying to bring to life. After watching the box cover ranking vid, I totally cracked up seeing that sheep staring at us from the thumbnail.
The ending summary is brilliant. I can pick up and play a worker placement game easily. They provide such intuitive gameplay. I had never correlated how worker placement supports a strong theme to the intuitive experience. Makes perfect sense.
Appreciate the checklist of things to consider when designing. Thanks Adam!
Thanks Jeremy - hope it helps!
Great commentary on the options here, many thanks
I love the way you weave in so many different examples here; great video. Inspiring to watch in terms of thinking of different ways to push the boundaries of what can be done with the genre, or to think about combining different elements in new ways.
Thanks for the video, very nice. My personal favorite worker placement game is Barrage with the Leeghwater Project expansion... The best thing in that game is the way resources are spent. Players aren't actually spending them but temporarily assigning them to building actions. Using a corner building wheel eventually you get the resources back to use them again. A super game
Sounds like a really good twist. I did look at Barrage before this video, but it seemed a bit too heavy for my tastes.
@@AdaminWales yes, you are right. Barrage is a tight and heavy game, but for exploring worker placement possibilities, I would certainly mention it. It has several new takes on the mechanism.
Been throwing about some new worker placement game ideas lately. This has been good food for thought. Thanks Adam
Glad it’s got you thinking. Me too! :D
What a nice in-depth video…. Thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a thing or two in the process
Thanks! Glad it was enjoyable and informative! :)
Great video, loads of depth in the explanations. Will be perusing your other vids now I've discovered your channel. 😊 what Id love to leave you with, though, is how i look at the Everdell break from theme due to the seemingly time travel nature of being in 2 different seasons. Its not official at all, just my little head canon, but i see the game instead as a story of (animal family) managed to help build the great city of everdell. The player who's in the next season just tells their story a little quicker. I know it means nothing really, but helps me link theme and mechanisms. All the best!
Great video as always! Looking forward a video on dice workers 😉
Thanks! Might not happen quickly :) This one was a ton of work!
I have followed you for some time now and this is definitely the video I've been needing. it took me over an hour to watch it (with all the "press pause and think" happening) but it was great. it has definitely helped spur some ideas for this worker placement game I'm developing. I'd love to get your opinion on it one day. thank you for all the awesome content.
Thanks for watching - glad it got you thinking! :)
Wow, that was a particularly thorough vid. Jam-packed, thank you.
Thought of another genre: "travelling to the action space". E.g. in Istanbul you can normally choose an action up to 2 spaces orthonganally from your current position, providing you can drop off/collect an assistant. I like this mechanic as it limits your options from 16 down to just 4 or 5, reducing analysis paralysis.
The very first modern game I played was Waggle Dance in 2016. Dice represent worker bees, and depending on what you roll you can carry out certain available actions (collect nectar, make the hive bigger, make honey, etc). I like the fact that the numbers on the dice limit your options slightly, so you're not totally overwhelmed with choice (that "overwhelm" was what I really disliked about Feast for Odin and some other Uwe Rosenberg games).
Interesting that you are viewing dice placement as a separate category. I look forward to the vid.
On another note, your collection is going bonkers! Layer upon layer on top of the callux! If my wife gives me a hard time about my collection I shall show her one of your videos.😊
Thanks Bruce, I only view dice workers separately to avoid the video becoming an incredibly long! Seems like that could be a separate video. Though I probably need to do a lot more research before venturing into that one.
Yeah, the collection keeps expanding. The rule in our house is that the games have to be contained to that one room - I can’t store them anywhere else. So I have lots of small games inside bigger games etc… hard to keep track of.
I get enough revenue from the channel now to buy a couple of games a month, so that keeps it expanding.
To be honest, if it was just for playing, I would reduce the collection massively. But I treat it like a library really - most games are bought for research (either for design, or for videos) and I like to keep a broad selection of styles and interesting mechanisms.
I get rid of batches of games every few months - but because they’re often obscure games, I find them impossible to sell. And I don’t sell review copies. So generally games get gifted to close friends (or sold for a tiny amount).
It’s getting harder to reduce the size though, because I’m at the point where the vast majority of games in the collection are ones I really love OR find mechanically interesting. I have often regretted selling games in the past.
Your videos are awesome!
Fab video as always Adam. I've not had chance to play Architects of the West Kingdom yet but its been on my radar for a while. Didn't realise how many little changes they made to the usual worker placement mechanic. The only thing I will say is that the graphic design chosen for the 2 different action spaces doesn't seem intuitive for me. I would have thought the circles with the 'open' section would be the ones that allowed multiple workers in it. And the 'closed' circles would mean only one worker i.e this space is 'closed off'. You mentioned dice-as-worker placement in this video but didn't touch on those games too much for obvious reasons. I'd love a separate video about this to see how designers have made clever use of how a dice naturally gives more options than a normal worker.
I agree about the graphic design - but it doesn’t really impact on gameplay. The size of the spots is clear enough.
Yes, I’d love to a dice workers video - lots of research to do though! It’s. Lot more complicated that worker placement!!
In depth look at a genre as always! Great work :)
Thanks Jamie. Glad you enjoyed :)
Man, do I ❤ worker placements!
Amazing content!
I've been working on a worker placement game for fun. Thanks for your video. Do you have any suggestions or videos on how to determine the values of actions/cards in a game? I know balancing is fine tuned through playtesting, but is there a good method to start from? Right now I feel like I'm throwing spaghetti at the wall. Thanks!
That’s a good topic, and I’m not sure it’s a strength of mine. I might have a go at covering it one day. But I’m probably a spaghetti man too…
I've enjoyed playing Lords of Waterdeep which is definitely in this genre
Why did i watch a video on literally my least favourite board game mechanism OF ALL TIME
Cuz this welsh weirdo talks so beautifully and with passion, thats why
thanks!
Gday Adam😊
I wanted to ask you.. do you think it’s risky to send a prototype to a publisher even if I don’t have a fan base? Being unknown in this industry does it make it more of a risk to get my project stolen?
Thanks for your answer mate 😊
Hi Francesco, here’s a video I made on the topic:
ruclips.net/video/oTbHvDb8DHg/видео.html
I think the risk is minuscule, and I don’t think being unknown as a designer makes much difference. But make sure you do your research on the publisher - you need to feel able to trust them. If they are well-established, you’ll be fine. If they’re new, you’ll almost certainly be fine too - but I would ask more questions, and build a relationship with them before sharing anything.
@@AdaminWales thanks Adam you are a good man 😊
If Flamecraft is a Worker Placement game then Scythe is too.
Blocking is not a requirement of Worker Placement. It's an optional feature. BGG is not the OED of gaming terms.
4:58: "Board Game Geek is not the arbiter of board game terminology..."
ruclips.net/video/MsJ7YI8bJ_Q/видео.htmlsi=CUvbCG6pfIXoFSp-&t=298
This video looks at the widely accepted (but not definitive) usage. You can use the term as you wish.
You don't have to repeat what he says in the video. We all heard it said
What's with the color?
I’ll need more information! :)
@@AdaminWales for me, it was switching from color to b&w. Itt;s not doing that right now.
@@GameInventorThat’s a stylistic choice. Not a problem with your phone or PC! I’m sure it’s not to everyone’s taste :) But I try to make the videos visually interesting, and I tend to use that switch from colour to b&w to highlight certain moments - usually where I’m offering an opinion, especially if it’s a bit cheeky or sarcastic.