Currently, I’m working on finalizing all the rules within the game and for the most part they’re complete, I just need to add a few final tweaks. There is quite a bit to the game, I can imagine that first time players would have to check the rulebook more than once during the initial play-through, but including little cheats (explaining rules on cards and having character profiles) should help a lot and allow for a more enjoyable game. I’ve also started creating the actual game board to give an example of how I would want it to be designed (which you can view here) using artwork from Deviant Art since I would be unable to do it myself. It’s still in the process of being created so what you see now is just a draft of how I would like it to look (the art as I imagine would mould together more and there would also be a keyhole between each world).
Initially, the game is quite easy to set-up and all players begin on the same starting square. All you have to do is shuffle all the individual card decks (the quests, events and the roll/number cards) then hand out five roll cards to each player and three quest cards. The players must choose one quest card and discard the rest, ensuring they keep the details of their quest hidden (placed face down in front of them). This mechanic occurs each time a player enters a new world because once the quest is done, you turn it over and use it as a portal to the next world – the only exception to this rule is within the final world. For the final world, the first card you pick up is your quest (there’s no choice in the matter) and once you complete it, you will reveal it to receive a golden key which lets you escape the world therefore. You must wait a round to use the golden key, giving your opponents the chance to do some last minute sabotage and possibly take the win away from you.
The Rogue quest, where you sabotage other players, is a favourite of mine (who doesn’t like screwing over their friends?) and can prove quite useful throughout the game. I’ve added an element of chance to this quest based on the board game Risk. The person who is trying to sabotage rolls the die and the number it lands on determines whether it has been a success or a failure. To fit in with characters weaknesses and strengths, I’ve also made it that Clara has a lower chance of sabotaging others and Eric has a higher chance. Here is a breakdown of the possibilities:
Elias and Leanna:
– Success; roll of 1, 3 or 5
– Failure; roll of 2, 4 or 6
Eric:
– Success; 1, 3, 4 or 5
– Failure; 2 or 6
Clara:
– Success; 1 or 3
– Failure; 2, 4, 5 or 6
These numbers will be written on each of the character profiles which players hold onto throughout the game as a little cheat sheet. For now, the types of sabotage that a player can enact on others includes stealing an item, forcing them to miss a turn and moving them to the beginning space of the world that they’re in. Feel free to share any other sabotage ideas, I feel like I should have one or two more to round them out.
Game Cultures 
It’s really interesting to see how you’re developing this game each week. My group has been unboxing board games for our group assignment and we have found that most are quite hard to actually start because there isn’t any clear instruction on how to begin so this could be something you consider for your instructions. I really like the board design too and I look forward to seeing the hard copy.
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Hey Jess! It is great to see that your board game “Doorways” is coming along well! I also had a look at the art you sourced from DeviantArt, and I must say, you have taste. I am a huge fan of the image you chose for the underwater world.
When I was reading about the quest system for your game I was thinking there should be a point when you aren’t allowed to choose a quest that is advantageous to your character, when all of a sudden I was reading about how in the last world you won’t get such a choice. I really like this idea because I feel like it could really turn the game on its head, which is awesome!
I am concerned about Clara having less chances to sabotage other players. I feel like you need to balance out her lack of sabotage abilities with something. An idea might be that players, at the start of the game, are given a character at random so as to give an unfortunate player the handicap of playing as Clara.
All in all I’d say you’re progressing well. Can’t wait to hear more!
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This is such a great idea for a game! It looks like it really has the potential to ruin a few friendships along the way ha ha. It’s great to see that you’re working on developing an actual board too. If there’s one concern I’d need to raise is that in using art from Deviantart, you make sure you get the explicit permission to reproduce it on a commercial product. If you used it without this, you could end up liable for persecution and the game would be likely hindered in the process. Just food for thought.
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Hi there, I saw you mentioned about using material from Deviant Art. Me myself also use material from that website therefore I’d like to remind you to check out what CC license every single art is registered. I have experience that I’ve already create a card, usually that artist allow other people to remake to use his art work but not that particular one due to someone wants to buy it etc. So make sure you do that just to be safe. Other than that, overall I think the game looks very interesting, especially the Rogue quest. I’ll definitely like to test it when it comes together.
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