Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design by Engelstein Geoffrey; Shalev Isaac;

Author:Engelstein, Geoffrey; Shalev, Isaac;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CRC Press LLC
Published: 2019-06-10T00:00:00+00:00

UNC-08 Hidden Information

Description

Aspects of the game state are hidden from all but one or a few players.

Discussion

Information can be known to one or more players, but not to all players. This includes information we’ve covered elsewhere, like Hidden Roles (UNC-04), or private hands of cards. However, in this context, we refer less to those sets of information which are permanent elements of a player’s role in a game, like their hand of cards. Instead, we’re considering things like the strength of the monsters that all players can battle for victory points in Champions of Midgard. The types of information that may be hidden in this manner typically fall into a few categories: secret player abilities, secret goals, strength of enemies, and the location of specific items or resources. Players might spend actions or resources to gain this knowledge, or not. Another type of information of this sort is specific knowledge of another player’s hand based on deduction. If you hold the Princess in Love Letter, you can be certain that nobody else does, but no other player can be certain about whether the Princess is in your hand, any other player’s hand, or the draw deck.

Designers employ a variety of mechanisms and components to manage hiding and revealing this kind of information. Cards are especially common, as in Clue, where players respond to an accusation by showing a disproving card only to the accusing player. Other options include face-down cards, player screens, tokens with common backs but different fronts, and figures with information on the bottom of their bases. More exotically, in Pikoko, a competitive trick-taking game, players hold their hands facing out, so each player can see every card in hand, except those held in their own hand. Careers begins with players selecting their own victory conditions as a mixture of Fame, Happiness, and Money, and recording it on their personal play sheet.

These techniques can help add new layers of strategy for advanced players. Once players understand what the range of the hidden information is, they can try to deduce what it is from players who know it. This also offers opportunity for bluffing. For example, paying attention to what elements players include in a guess in Clue may give astute players knowledge of what cards other players have been shown. But knowing that players may be looking out for that may cause advanced players to continue to include elements in their guesses that they think will lead their opponents to draw erroneous conclusions.

Sample Games

Careers (Brown, 1955)

Champions of Midgard (Steiness, 2015)

Clue (Pratt, 1949)

Kingsburg (Chiarvesio and Iennaco, 2007)

Love Letter (Kanai, 2012)

Pikoko (Porter, 2018)

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