A Dr. Wictz List: 6 ways a Board Game Designer would Rewrite Tax Rules

Being tax season and all I have not had as much time to sit back and write.  So in honor of tax season I am listing a few ways tax rules would be different if they were created by a board game designer.

1.  All rules for taxes would have to fit on 4-5 pages or less.

2.  The rulebook would not be filled with exception after exception.

3.  How to do your taxes would be communicated with infographics. 

4.  Expected time to complete learning the rules would only take half an hour.

5.  Rules would have undergone blind playtesting before publication.

6. Rules would be designed to be accessible for casual players.

A Dr. Wictz List: 10 Uses for Pennies in Board Game Prototypes

After prototyping countless games I am going to let you in on a little secret on my favorite cheap material I use for board game components in my prototypes, the penny.  I know some places may scoff at my list (Canada) because they no longer have access to lots of low cost pennies for you to take from the convenience store cashier (as change, I am not advocating robbing the party store to get your board game components).  But for those of us who still have access to this low cost, versatile, board game component, here is a list of ways you can use it to build your board game prototypes.

Pennies used as movement pieces in
Underground Street Racing.

1.  Pennies as movement pieces.

2.  Pennies as mental coins for currency.

3.  Pennies represent a resource in a game, like copper.

4.  Pennies used as wound markers.

5.  Pennies as weights to prevent movement prices from being blown away.

Penny used as base to
prevent Post Position
horse from blowing over.

6.  Pennies track victory points.

7.  Pennies flipped as a way to determine start player.

8.  Pennies used as a way to denote ownership of a territory.

9.  Pennies thrown as a means to distract other players from making rational decisions.

10.  Many, many pennies used to bribe board game publishers to publish my game.

Are there other uses for pennies that I missed? Because I sure can’t use them to buy anything. So help me out and leave your suggestions in the comment section.

A Dr. Wictz List: 10 Ways to Procrastinate within a Board Game

After having a hard time getting this weeks post down on paper I decided in a moment of panic to think of all the different ways I could procrastinate writing this post within a board game.

1. Engage in no trades in the game of Monopoly.


2. Only conquer one territory a turn in Risk.


3. After castling in Chess only move your king back and forth for rest of the game.


4. Hoard resources in Settlers of Catan by never turning in any cards to get anything.


5. Never move your back line in checkers.


6. Order all units to support in Diplomacy.


7. Every move of Clue goes between the Kitchen and the Study.


8. Shoot no one in Bang!


9. Do not complete any objectives in Firefly.


10. Play Twilight Imperium.

A Dr. Wictz List: 9 Board Game Prototype Problems

In light of the success of early access in video games, I wondered if board game players are willing to pay to play a board game before it has been finished.  To give you an idea of the joys of playing a brand new, untested game that has yet to be tested by anyone (including the designer), I have constructed a list of common experiences for a first prototype play testing.

1.  The rule book has rules that contradict each other.

2.  There isn’t enough physical money for players to play the game.

3.  There are parts included for the game that are not mentioned or explained why they are there.

4.  The game designers tells you to ignore a rule of the game when it becomes inconvenient.

5.  Play testers discover the game is either unwinnable or is decided after two moves.

6.  The game pieces, board, and anything else glued together becomes unglued.

7.  The spaces on the board are too small for the pieces.

8.  There is no standard iconography, and the rules miss some of the icons.

9.  There is a disagreement between players on what constitutes “winning the game.”

If this calls to you, I am sure we can arrange to build you an untested game to share these moments with you, for a price of course, say $50.00.

A Dr. Wictz List: 8 Ways to Annoy Someone in a Board Game

Have you been playing too many board games with your friends, but you cannot just tell them no when they invite you to board game night?  Well, don’t you fear, Dr. Wictz (and whoever else adds more in the comments section) is here with a list of ways to annoy your board game playing friends that will make sure you are never again invited back to board game night.

1. Add a marble to Hungry Hungry Hippos that no Hippo can swallow.

2. Lie when someone hits (or misses) your battleship in Battleship.

3. Ask if anyone wants to play war, and if they say yes, sign them up for the military?

4. Spend the entire game of clue going between the Lounge and Conservatory accusing the same player that they used the candlestick the entire game.

5. In Stratego wall off all of your entrances with bombs, and taunt your opponent by moving your 9’s diagonally.

6. Refuse to make any word longer than two letters in Scrabble.

7. When you are the dispatcher in Pandemic, spend all of your moves moving your teammates away from where they need to be on the board.

8. As a werewolf, go rouge and out all the other werewolves in Werewolf.

A Dr. Wictz List: 11 Dr. Wictz Highlights from UNPUB4

1. Friday night’s standing ovation for John Moller from designers in appreciation for founding UNPUB.

2. The moment everyone else in the room knew Nick Ferris won the raffle before he did, even though he was holding his own tickets.

3. Almost missing the turn off the highway to UNPUB 4 if not for spotting an UNPUB 3 sign pointing the way.

4. Realizing I was with a group of designers when the free Danish were offered and the roll of tape next to it is selected first for last minute board game prototype repairs.

 5. Bruce H. Voge and Mike Goldman from the Party Game Cast signing a contract stating they must attend the conference debut of an enlarged game of Post Position using My Little Pony plush as figures.

6. Alf Shadownsong becoming a hawker for horses in the back of the race. “I.S for a dollar, I.S. For a dollar. Look! I was selling P.C. for a dollar two turns ago and now it’s in first. the same thing will happen with I.S. It’s a guaranteed winner.”

7. In the same game, total cash held by all players at the end of the game $527, total debt Alf Shadowsong still owed other players at the end of the game, a record breaking $528.

8. “Hey, when did you do that?” --Dr. Wictz

 “Sorry if the game was being played when you weren't looking.” --Other Playtester

9. Meeting and playing Charlie Hoopes’ Firebreak at the most difficult setting with Jeff Watson who has playtested the game over 200 times.

10. Selling my entire orange crop in a future for $4 an orange when each orange was worth $20 while playing Michael R. Keller’s Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice.

11. Having a playtester ask to buy a prototype copy of Post Position to take to conventions.

A Dr. Wictz List: 11 Similarities Between Board Game Designers and Economists

1. It takes two to four years to find a publisher for your latest paper or board game.

2. You can never find enough people to read your draft or play test your prototype.

3. Your significant other gets a glazed look over their face when you talk about your latest project.

4. Same male-female ratios at conferences and conventions.

5. There is only a small alpha audience interested in your work unless you hit the jackpot and stumble onto something that appeals to the mass market.

6. You are thrilled after years of work over what you have made till one guy figures out a single little thing that completely breaks your economic model or board game.

7. You can only count on your family ever reading you work or playing your game.

8. No one recognizes you on the street, but after one good publication you are mobbed by fans at conferences and conventions.

9. You are constantly worrying if your theme fits your paper or board game and if anyone else finds it interesting.

10. You have studied game theory.

11. You would be living in a cardboard box if you had to rely on living off the royalties from your published work.