Skip to Content

A Blog Page

Game Design

Code Breaker (Prototype)

Over the past few weeks, I presented myself with challenges motivating me to work through various coding hurdles for Peggy (Tabletop Game Engine). I have a fourth challenge dealing with additional CRUD for a game’s data objects. I set that one aside and considered another challenge (#5) exploring multi-faced game pieces (dice and cards). I […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | May 1, 2024

Game Design | General

Roadmapping

Today, I will be talking about roadmapping. Tomorrow, I will be discussing how to refold the roadmaps. Joking aside, roadmaps are a crucial tool for working on projects of any size. Of the companies where I have worked, those that used well-crafted roadmaps often succeeded more than those that those that neglected their roadmap. I […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | April 17, 2024

Game Design

A Little Chunky

A requirement for big projects is dividing the work into manageable chunks. I learned that lesson at an early age when told to go clean my pigsty room and had no idea where to start. When it comes to Peggy, the game engine has so many chunks, I struggle with starting points. Each time I consider starting on […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | April 3, 2024

Game Design

It Is All in the Cards

The other day, as I worked on Peggy (tabletop game engine), I had an epiphany about the game pieces. For this engine, it takes into account three kinds of game pieces: cards, dice, and pawns. As I worked on how to track the changes of game pieces and how to define how each piece should […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | March 20, 2024

Game Design | Game Review

Unbalanced Games – Rummy

I my previous blog, I talked about why I find some games unbalanced. To recap, in my opinion, a game is unbalanced when it relies too heavily on luck over skill. Or, when the game tips to favor one player over another. In the previous blog, I discussed Clue, which is unbalanced based on that […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | March 6, 2024

Game Design | Game Review

Unbalanced Games – Part One – Clue

Originally, I was going to write about games I hate. As I outlined the blog, I realized the reason I dislike some games are because they are very unbalanced. I have decided to talk about unbalanced games, instead. What makes a game unbalanced? While looking up games other people consider unbalanced, some people define an […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | February 21, 2024

Game Review

Ahoy! Puerto Rico! At Long Last!

You know how book lovers have that growing TBR pile of books they will eventually read? That is sometimes me, but with games. In this case, the game Puerto Rico by Rio Grande Games. This game was popular, at least among my friends and co-workers. It was released back in 2002. Hearing such high praises […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | January 23, 2024

Game Design

Approaching Design

When an idea gets stuck in your head, how do you go about designing it? It could be an art project, a story, plans for a themed party…it could be a lot of things. In my case, “things” means new features on one of my websites. I am better at designing (outlining) a story than […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | December 13, 2023

General

It’s All Fund and Games

As I have worked on reviving Pegamoose Games, I have been pondering how to fund this wacky idea. If you have been to the main site and seen the stale under construction notice, you may be wondering, “Fund what exactly? It doesn’t look like much.” I started Pegamoose Games as a creative outlet and have […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | November 15, 2023

Game Design

Inspiration and Game Design

Earlier this week, I stumbled upon old notes for other games I intend to one day flesh out and release. I tabled these due to the expensive printing costs. It occurred to me how strongly these games were influenced by other games, many of which are classics. It opened my eyes to how much of […]

Read more...

By Doug Schwartz | November 1, 2023