Now for anyone who has never played a Race to the End game (which I have a feeling is very few but I like to make sure I have all my bases covered), I will provide a quick overview.
The basic premise of a Race to the End is to get to from point A to point B. To create one is as easy as drawing a straight line and label one point start and the other end. Generally a Race to the End game will have a narative or objective, this can be as simple as a game like Candyland, with the goal to be the first one to reach the Candy Castle, however the narative can by more complicated depending on the design.
Example of game path from point A to B:
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| Picture source: Link |
The next thing to know about a Race to the End game is there is always some type of game mechanic that allows players to proceed throughout the board. Now the most simplest way for this is to use dice and have player's movement correspond to the number rolled. Now by adding cards this can make the progression throughout the board more complicated and interesting, however games likes Candyland, which use colour coded cards to move players to the card's corresponding squares.
Example of Game Mechanics - Progression Cards:
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| Picture Source: Link |
Now that we know what the goal of these games are and some ways you can progress through the board, what kind of game would it be without being able to mess up your opponents progress. In some Race to the End games, like Mario Cart, players can use special attacks to stun or knock out your opponent. This conflict can even be as simple as giving players effect cards to use against each other.
Example of conflict in games:
Now that you know some of the key aspects of making a simple Race to the End game, you can understand just some of the decisions you as a game designer have to make. As a game designer you need to be able to think about what mechanics work in your game and which ones make it more interesting. Designing and building my board game (which I will discuss in another post) taught me just how difficult it can be to design a board game by yourself (especially when your friend in Nuclear Engineering is determined to distract you and mess with your design because they are bored).
As a game designer you have to be able to think of what will make your game enjoyable for those who play it, not just yourself (so for example if you love anything to do with say gummybears but the ones playing your game don't chances are they wont enjoy it as much as you hoped). This assignment was an awesome learning experience to see just how much thought goes into designing a simple Race to the End board game.
For anyone who loves games, and wants to be a game developer in the future or just want a cool project to do to show off to family or friends, try making your own Race to the End game. I guarantee you will not only have fun making and testing it, but it will be a great learning experience for the future.
REMEMBER OPINIONS ARE WELCOMED
If any readers feel like i missed anything or have a different idea on what a Race to the Finish game should be like, just let me know. This is simply what my idea of a Race to the Finish game is made up of based on my own experiences playing these types of games and the requirements of my assignment. If anyone has any different opinions or idea, or even the same ones as myself, just let me know.
Incase You Were Interested
Here are some links for info on the two games I mentioned in my post.
Candyland:
Mario Kart:
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