Mechanics Idea - August 2026

Giving players a low friction entry into the game

Players often need a gentle introduction into a game, especially a serious game.¹ That way they can wrestle with the scenario, and the issues it presents, as early as possible - rather than trying to understand the mechanics or other ways that the game works.

I think I’m relatively good at seeing others’ position, but I’m still vulnerable to the “curse of knowledge”², especially in my own work. I mean I’m quite smart, but only quite smart, so while I’ve innovative ideas and unusual areas of knowledge, none of that feels especially revolutionary - if I’ve thought of something it feels fairly obvious. Of course this isn’t the case, many of us often under-estimate the amount of work we’ve put into anything we create.

I recently attended a game design seminar run by Stone Paper Scissors on “Wargaming Civil Contingencies & Security”. During the conversation the game “All Hands” was mentioned, a relatively simple and useful game about flooding by Socialudo, immediately putting players into a situation with decisions to make and lessons to learn. You can read more about it here.

A gentle onramp

A classic problem in all game design is how to get players into playing the game, rather than learning about the game’s rules and mechanics. Ideally we can combine the two, players learn as they play. For serious games the sooner players are thinking about the scenario, rather than the mechanics, the better.

The total playtime of a game of All Hands is about an hour, and the staff at Socialudo are experienced game designers, so they’ve used one of the optimal method for that situation. From those rules, describe the actions available to each player: “Actions Players have six action types to choose from. Each player role has three action types available to them. Some roles are more effective at some actions than others. After using an action, a player should tick a box for that action on their role card. When all boxes are full, that action may no longer be used.” With a clear set of options in front of them, each player is faced with a set of choices that are easy to comprehend.

My Water Water Everywhere is expected to be a much more complex game, with more players involved, and the Control Team having to facilitate unexpected and detailed orders by teams. But that’s a difficult situation to put everyone into, players need an idea of what is and isn’t possible within a “turn”, especially when one of the design aims of the game is to bring expertise out of players, rather than the Control Team being the only subject matter experts.

So inspired by how clear this game was, I’ll be putting together a list of “default” actions for each team, where they can immediately judge what the organisation they’re representing is capable of, what resources that action require, and the expected effect of that action.

Also I’ll be leaning into Liz Cable’s idea of a “broken game”, meaning that the game is explicitly not finished. Players with more expertise in an area will be encouraged to challenge, constructively, any of the assumptions I’ve made about what resources are available to each team.

Epilogue

If you want to see the previous summaries of challenges in making this game, please look over at the menu on the left.

If you want an idea of the other projects I’m juggling alongside this, please look at my list of current projects and interests.

If you’ve got something very specific to our existing relationship to mention then contact me directly, if that applies to you then you’ll know how. But I expect you’ve come to this post because I’ve mentioned it online somewhere, in which case, please do respond to this on that forum or social media platform. Not only do those “discussions in public” help put the game in front of new people, but also they might prompt others to see and respond to the point you’re making.