Jorvik: The Brief

Aside: Woot! Post 100 :-)

To the point. I've been thinking a lot about my next game over the last couple of days since I first had the idea. I've been thinking of various options, lots of ideas. My design method will be to try out several of them until I find something that balances about right - then I'll try to simplify it further to make a cleaner game. I've decided to post my brief for the game. I'm not including the theme (until the game is nearly ready) or any of the mechanics (as these are likely to change over time). So it'll just describe what I'm aiming for with the game:

Codename: Jorvik will be a 2-player card game which will play in under thirty minutes. The game will feature simply rules and yet enough strategy and choices to make the game interesting. There will be some conflict between players. Players will be balancing maximising their own score, while limiting the score of opponents.

I'm aiming for a gateway game. Basically what Peter over at Nimrods calls a pub game. Light, fast and simply, with hidden depths. Lofty goals. We'll have to see how well I do over the coming months.