Being a history nerd and a game designer sounds awesome, and it is…mostly. But, sometime its just me on the floor surrounded by 6 prototype versions of 3D printing pieces and muttering about artillery ranges.
I’m designing a Civil War board game. The idea was to make the game play simple, fast and still feel chaotic and real. Sure sounded easy when I had the idea 3 years ago.
First problem was the map. I spent weeks agonizing over topography. Is that hill in the right spot? Does this creek matter? Does the cornfield at Antietam count as difficult terrain or did it just conceal Hooker’s advanced brigades from Rebel fire?
Second Problem was the rulebook. How the hell am I supposed to translate 40 pages of chicken scratch notes on 19th century military tactical doctrine, play test results, and tweaks into a coherent rulebook that can be used by other humans?
Third problem is definitely my ability to sit down and concentrate on a single thing for more than 20 minutes. I think this last one is the real key to success with this whole endeavor. Once I nail down the concentration piece the rest will fall into place…probably.
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