Designer Notes

AUGUST 2, 2021

In the original version, one player discovered that the optimum strategy was to cover every fourth tile on the board with a city, a mind-numbingly boring strategy that was always the best choice. Namely, building an urban improvement and producing a specialist on any tile extend the city borders in all six directions.

Tile 52

Tile Build Mechanics Prototyping 52

Designer Notes

MARCH 31, 2023

So, why should I go back to make a historical, tile-based 4X game? Civ inherited this mechanic directly from Empire, a game from the 80s which had much of the same tile-based, turn-based combat as Civ but without the scope of all human history. New borders would come from tile specialists and urban improvement.

Tile 98

Tile Point and Click AI Mechanics 98

Designer Notes

DECEMBER 10, 2023

Frank Lantz recently interviewed me on Donkeyspace , his excellent Substack, which generally focuses on the current AI boom but, in reality, is about his ongoing work on the human condition. I’m curious about all-human, no-AI Civ. Nobody, however, puts themselves into the shoes of an AI.

AI 52

AI Racing Tile Engine 52

Radiator Blog

JUNE 30, 2022

A broughlike is a variation on a roguelike named after designer Michael Brough , who has spoken before on his design patterns like square tiles, orthogonal movement, turn parity, glitching, limited info, simple maze designs, minimal resources. A dense randomized mini-chess puzzle where everything matters. You play as a sex angel.

Code 52

Code Educational Education Prototyping 52