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Game Design Predictions for 2020


Hey everybody, I’m back!



I hope you guys had a great holiday season, be it spending time with friends and family or just taking a quiet break for a few days.  I know I did, and now I’m ready for a new season of game-making madness!

For my first post of the year(and the decade!), I thought I’d give my predictions for what kind of new games will be coming out in 2020.  Now, I obviously don’t have any secret knowledge, just educated guesses based off what I’ve seen through the last few years(also, I’m a member of the tabletop version of the Illuminati— Shh!).  So without further ado, my guesses!

Micro Games:

Some good evidence for this trend would be the incredibly popular Mint Tin contest at The Game Crafter, as well as the brilliant 18 Card Challenge from Buttonshy Games, particularly September’s ICG contest.  

Apparently, micro games are on everyone’s minds, game designers and gamers alike.  The benefits are numerous: low cost, short play time, and easy transportation make the game perfect for heavy gamers who want something short but engaging between longer games, or for more casual gamers who want a low barrier to entry.  

And if some of the entries into either of the aforementioned contests are any indication, a small package does not force weak gameplay.  If someone can figure out how to fit a full length game into a mint tin or hook box, I think they’ll be set for publication or crowdfunding.

Table Presence:

As much as I’d love to say that great mechanics make the best selling games, that’s not true— It’s the most eye-catching ones that tend to attract the public eye, and as such I think games with great table presence will really take off.

That being said, it’s not quite that simple—  Games with great components that don’t really matter to the mechanics tend to sink. Flashy bits may grab attention, but good, relevant gameplay is what keeps the spotlight on your game after the first few weeks.

I think the best-selling games of the year will have some really outstanding components at the very core of the mechanics, something without which the game wouldn’t work;  It won’t just be big, beautiful, or unique, but also mechanically crucial.

Brand New Mechanics:

This was covered just a little bit in the table presence section, but I think the gaming world is ready for a slew of completely new stuff;  It’s not the year for trick-takers or deck-builders(though I’m sure we’ll see plenty of those as well), but for something completely new—  this is the year for the games that define whole new categories of other games.

Now, I’m not saying that the existing categories are dead— not by a long shot.  I don’t think there’s any genre of games that doesn’t have at least a few great games left in it, especially if done with a bit of creativity.  I just think that as people start to see each style of game done well, they’ll start looking for something new— I love fantasy, duel-style trading card games, but at the end of the day, Magic: The Gathering is the one I tend to play, because it does it’s category so well.  If I’m going to play a new game of it’s style, it has to do something that MTG doesn’t, either in brilliant theme or brilliant mechanics;  It’s very rare for a game that’s “like _____, but better!” to succeed.

Go Fourth and Design

And that’s all I got.  I’m sure there will be plenty of other design trends this year, and the ones I pointed out might never come to fruition, but who knows?  Maybe someone should try squeezing a category-defining new game with great table presence into a mint tin.

So what do you guys think will happen in the game design world this year?  Do you agree with me?  Or do you see something entirely different arising?  In any case, happy respite from the holidays, happy new decade, and as always, keep on geekin’ on!

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