Design for Actual Play--Not Theoretical Ideals - Episode Hero Image

Design for Actual Play--Not Theoretical Ideals

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford · · Listen to Original Episode →
Original Title:

TL;DR

  • The collectible card game market's value is influenced by speculators, potentially driving prices so high that actual players are excluded, necessitating interventions like intentionally crashing the market to re-prioritize gameplay.
  • Game design must account for how people actually play, not just theoretical optimums, ensuring that even non-ideal playstyles result in a fun experience to avoid game design faults.
  • Universal Basic Income can be viewed as a "catch-up feature" in society, preventing individuals from feeling unable to contribute when automation displaces jobs, thereby raising everyone's baseline.
  • The success of Monopoly as a game, despite its original intent to critique capitalism, stems from its focus on player challenge and the "fun of crushing opponents," rather than cooperative economic reform.
  • Mechanics-first game design, exemplified by Magic: The Gathering, allows for themes to be layered on later, offering flexibility and potentially leading to more unique outcomes than starting with a pre-defined theme.
  • Iterative game design, involving prototyping and playtesting, is crucial for complex systems, as it reveals fundamental issues that extensive upfront analysis might miss, leading to more robust game mechanics.
  • The value of face-to-face play in games like Magic: The Gathering is significant for community building, though digital platforms offer their own advantages and communities, creating a dynamic interplay between physical and virtual play.

Deep Dive

Richard Garfield, the acclaimed creator of Magic: The Gathering, argues that game design, much like economics, must account for how people actually play, not just theoretical optima. This underscores a critical insight: the perceived failure of Monopoly to critique capitalism stems not from its mechanics, but from players prioritizing the "fun of crushing opponents" over embodying the game's intended message. This principle of accounting for actual human behavior, rather than idealized models, is essential for effective game design and, by extension, economic and policy interventions.

Garfield's perspective highlights the inherent tension between a game's intended message and player engagement. He illustrates this by comparing Monopoly's failure as a critique of capitalism to his own game, King of Tokyo, where players embody monsters destroying a city. While the latter is a successful game, it doesn't necessarily endorse destruction. The key takeaway is that games, like policy proposals, are judged by their actual reception and impact on players, not solely their designers' intentions. This is particularly relevant when considering Universal Basic Income (UBI), which Garfield views as a potential "catch-up feature." A poorly designed UBI, much like a bad game mechanic, could disincentivize participation, whereas a well-designed, universal system could lift all participants, enhancing their ability to engage with productive activities.

The implications extend to how we approach societal challenges. Garfield's frustration with economists dismissing the thought experiment of widespread job loss due to AI mirrors the Monopoly problem: a refusal to engage with a potentially uncomfortable reality. UBI, in this context, offers a potential bridge, a "dial" to adjust to a future where labor's economic value diminishes. However, the transition is fraught with the "unseen" challenges of public perception and the rhetoric of the "undeserving poor." Garfield suggests that universal programs, like the UK's National Health Service or state pensions, succeed because they include everyone, building broader support.

Ultimately, Garfield's insights, drawn from decades of game design, offer a compelling framework for understanding complex systems. The success of a game, or a policy, hinges on its ability to resonate with actual human behavior and motivations. The perceived failure of Monopoly as a critique and the potential of UBI as a societal adaptation both hinge on this fundamental principle: design for how people play, or live, not how they theoretically should.

Action Items

  • Audit game design principles: Analyze 3-5 successful board games for mechanics that balance player agency with systemic challenge.
  • Draft runbook template: Define 5 required sections (e.g., setup, common failures, rollback, monitoring) to prevent knowledge silos in game development.
  • Implement iterative prototyping: Build and playtest 2-3 game mechanics per week to identify fundamental issues early.
  • Measure player engagement: Track player retention and satisfaction across 5-10 game sessions to identify areas for improvement.
  • Evaluate theme integration: For 3-5 game concepts, assess how well mechanics and theme align to enhance player experience.

Related Episodes

Key Quotes

"I was always attracted to games but I don't think I really became a gamer until Dungeons and Dragons. Dungeons and Dragons blew my mind. It was just a complete revelation for me. I had no idea the range of things that could be done with games."

Richard Garfield explains that Dungeons and Dragons was a pivotal experience for him, fundamentally changing his understanding of what games could be. This revelation sparked a lifelong passion and exploration of game design.

"The core of my disappointment was that I didn't feel like the universal basic income aspect of it was being engaged with in the way I wanted to hear it talked about. Often economists seem to write off some of the concerns in a way which doesn't seem helpful."

Richard Garfield expresses his frustration with a previous discussion on universal basic income (UBI), feeling that the economic implications and concerns were not adequately addressed. Garfield desired a deeper engagement with UBI as a potential solution to future economic challenges.

"Magic began with a eureka moment, which is not common with my game design. My game design is more evolutionary than revolutionary typically, but I was hiking and had this thought which overwhelmed me, which was that not all the players had to have the same equipment in the game."

Richard Garfield describes the unusual origin of Magic: The Gathering, stemming from a sudden insight rather than his usual iterative design process. This "eureka moment" was the idea that players could bring different components, or cards, to the game, leading to varied gameplay.

"One of the things that interested me though is that you're deep into Dungeons and Dragons, but you're famous for your board games and your card games, which are more structured. And tabletop role-playing games, which are so can be so freeform, they feel quite different to board games. So I'm curious as to why there is such a lot of overlap."

Tim Harford highlights a perceived contrast between Richard Garfield's deep engagement with freeform tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons and his success in designing more structured board and card games. Harford questions the connection and affinity between these seemingly different game types.

"I view everything through a lens of games. I like to look at it as a catch-up feature in games. When you fall too far behind, you can feel like you can't contribute, can't participate in the game in a productive way. And in game design, you can make good catch-up features or bad ones."

Richard Garfield uses a game design analogy to explain his perspective on universal basic income (UBI). He likens UBI to a "catch-up feature" in games, suggesting that a well-designed, universal system can help individuals who have fallen behind participate more fully, similar to how good game mechanics can re-engage players.

"I think that the interaction between games and and trading, it's interesting as an economist. When I occasionally play Monopoly, I'm always trying to get people to trade because there are gains from trade. If you're playing with five, six people, any two people who get together and and trade, they're really stiffing the other players, and they should do it."

Tim Harford, speaking from an economist's perspective, finds the interplay between games and trading fascinating. He notes that in games like Monopoly, trading between players can create mutual benefits, allowing them to gain advantages over others, which he sees as a reflection of real-world economic principles.

Resources

External Resources

Books

  • "Magic: The Gathering" by Richard Garfield - Mentioned as the game Garfield is famous for designing.
  • "The Landlord's Game" by Lizzie Magie - Mentioned as the precursor to Monopoly, designed with cooperative and capitalist modes.
  • "The Hunger" by Richard Garfield - Mentioned as a game that began with a theme and evolved into mechanics.
  • "Queen's Gambit" - Mentioned as a series about chess.
  • "Tron" - Mentioned as an 80s movie about computer games.
  • "WarGames" - Mentioned as a classic 80s movie about computer games.
  • "The Player of Games" by Iain M. Banks - Mentioned as a science fiction novel about a culture where game playing is important.
  • "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card - Mentioned as a novel where the protagonist trains through games.
  • "For the Win" by Cory Doctorow - Mentioned as a novel about massively multiplayer online games and in-game economics.
  • "The Farmer's Game" - Mentioned as a game that successfully teaches about farming.

Articles & Papers

  • "They fall behind and are slowly crushed" - Board Games and Economics with Richard Garfield (Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford) - Mentioned as the episode title featuring Richard Garfield.

People

  • Richard Garfield - Creator of "Magic: The Gathering" and other games, mathematician, inventor, and guest on the podcast.
  • Tim Harford - Host of "Cautionary Tales" and "Cautionary Questions."
  • Jacob Goldstein - Discussed in relation to an episode of "Cautionary Questions" about UBI and AI.
  • Lizzie Magie - Creator of "The Landlord's Game," the precursor to Monopoly.
  • Iain M. Banks - Author of "The Player of Games."
  • Orson Scott Card - Author of "Ender's Game."
  • Cory Doctorow - Author of "For the Win."

Organizations & Institutions

  • Pushkin Industries - Production company for "Cautionary Tales."
  • Navy Federal Credit Union - Sponsor of the podcast.
  • Chase for Business - Sponsor of the podcast.
  • State Farm - Sponsor of the podcast.
  • Public - Sponsor of the podcast, an investing platform.
  • iheart podcast - Mentioned as the network for "Cautionary Tales."
  • T-Mobile - Mentioned in relation to their Super Mobile business plan.
  • Ookla Speedtest - Cited as experts on network performance.
  • Meyer - Retailer mentioned for holiday shopping.
  • Kroger - Retailer mentioned in relation to DoorDash delivery.
  • DoorDash - Delivery platform mentioned for Kroger groceries.
  • Finra - Member of FINRA.
  • SIPC - Member of SIPC.
  • SEC - Registered advisor with the SEC.
  • Amazon - Retailer mentioned for customer reviews.
  • Coca-Cola - Beverage mentioned in relation to sports events.

Podcasts & Audio

  • Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford - The podcast featuring the discussion.
  • Revisionist History - Mentioned as a podcast by Malcolm Gladwell.

Other Resources

  • Magic: The Gathering - A collectible card game designed by Richard Garfield.
  • King of Tokyo - A board game designed by Richard Garfield.
  • Robo Rally - A board game designed by Richard Garfield.
  • Keyforge - A game designed by Richard Garfield.
  • Dungeons and Dragons - A tabletop role-playing game that influenced Richard Garfield.
  • Go - A classic board game mentioned by Richard Garfield.
  • Chess - A classic board game mentioned by Richard Garfield.
  • Poker - A card game mentioned by Richard Garfield.
  • Monopoly - A board game discussed in relation to capitalism and game design.
  • Universal Basic Income (UBI) - Discussed as a potential solution to job displacement by AI.
  • AI (Artificial Intelligence) - Discussed in relation to potential job displacement.
  • Hearthstone - Mentioned as a popular digital collectible card game.
  • Pokemon - Mentioned as a collectible card game.
  • The Wassailing at Klaus Manner - A Christmas-themed tabletop role-playing game.
  • Auto Battlers - A digital game concept where units fight automatically.
  • Vanguard Exiles - An auto battler game in early release on Steam.
  • Chaos Agents - An auto battler game.
  • Robot Arena - A game from 1991 involving programming robots.
  • Hive Mind - A social game where players answer questions and score based on shared answers.
  • The Farmer's Game - A game that teaches about farming.
  • The Landlord's Game - A precursor to Monopoly with cooperative and capitalist modes.
  • Georgist land taxation - A principle embodied in one mode of "The Landlord's Game."
  • Performance Mesh Boxer Briefs - A product reviewed on Amazon.

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