Start Wrecking: To Boldly Roll – a #1GAM #WoGaDeMo starship combat dice pool game (for tabletop and PS Vita!)

Doctor Mike Reddy — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 07:34:07 +0000

Made notes on ideas for design and deployment in game dev book. Main thrust is “random in” not “random out” so NO dice rolling to determine results. The idea is a (slightly) modifiable dice pool mechanic where dice are allocated to ship systems and ‘used’ to power shields, weapons, engines, etc.

Players have to select strategically between handling the ship and resource management, with 2-12 actions per turn, split between command and engineering. Of course, more dice could/should be allocated for larger ships, and 1-6 mixed actions for very small ships seems workable.

All ships, no matter what size, will have 12 dice in the energy pool randomly rolled before combat. The ship’s capture/victory value is the total of the 12 starting dice (12-72 points, but 42 on average). A low value ship that wins will gain much honour.

Searched Google and BGG for “Start Wrecking”, “starship dice” etc, to check for similar game ideas, and “dice pool” for extra information on the core mechanic. Looks like the mechanic has been used before, but not the way I propose. The name “Start Wrecking” is obviously a pun, as signified by “To boldly roll”* placing us clearly in Federation space. However, I’d like to have an Imperial theme as well, to cover both major fan bases:
“StraW Ars: May the Dice Be With You”** comes to mind, but doesn’t have the same finesse, somehow; “I’d like the ‘straw arse’ dice game please”¦”

Notes
* “To boldly roll”¦” is a name idea I suggested to a fellow game designer, who seems to have settled on “Boldly Rolling”. Never throw away a good pun, I say!
** “May the dice be with you.” is Paco’s end tag line for the G*M*S Magazine podcast we co-host

Start Wrecking – Play in Progress

Start Wrecking: To Boldly Roll – a #1GAM #WoGaDeMo starship combat dice pool game (for tabletop and PS Vita!)