Designer Diary: Honeypot — I Stack, You Choose

by Joseph Chen

After a three-year break from game design, Joseph Chen has returned with a fresh project: Honeypot. This new game represents a significant departure from his previous title, Fantastic Factories, which was more of a puzzly multiplayer solitaire experience. While Fantastic Factories was enjoyable, Chen found it challenging to introduce to friends and family. He realized that his gaming experiences, particularly at conventions, needed to foster interaction and engagement. With this in mind, he set out to create a game that was not only fun but also easy to share with others.

Key Features of Honeypot

• High Interaction: Players are encouraged to engage with each other, creating a dynamic gaming environment.
• Mind Games: The game incorporates elements of strategy that change with each group of players, enhancing replayability.
• Accessible Gameplay: Designed to be easily introduced to newcomers and those who aren’t familiar with hobby games.
• I Stack, You Choose Mechanic: Players stack cards for others to choose from, introducing an element of risk and strategy.
• Engaging Card Types: Various card types, including Stars, Letters, and Negative Points, create exciting decision-making scenarios.
• Quick Playtime: The game lasts approximately 20-30 minutes, ensuring fast-paced fun without lengthy downtime.

The Game’s Development Journey

Chen’s vision for Honeypot was inspired by a previous game that utilized the “I stack you choose” mechanic. This innovative approach allowed players to create their own “press your luck” decks by stacking cards in a specific order. As players took turns choosing cards, they had to decide whether to keep or discard based on the potential value of the revealed cards. This mechanic quickly became the cornerstone of Chen’s design, shifting from a minor aspect to the main focus.

To maximize the drama and excitement, Chen emphasized the importance of making every card relevant throughout the game. He crafted guiding principles that ensured each decision carried weight, allowing for thrilling highs and lows during gameplay.

Addressing Challenges

Throughout the design process, Chen encountered several challenges that required innovative solutions:

• Players initially found it slow to collect cards, which affected the game’s pace.
• Limited stacking options sometimes led to uninteresting decision-making.

To address these issues, he experimented with different mechanics and ultimately decided to stack six cards instead of three, allowing players to reveal and keep two cards at a time. This change greatly increased the number of possible arrangements and created more engaging choices for players.

The final design of Honeypot not only supports exciting interactions but also maintains a fast pace, ensuring players remain engaged and invested in their strategies. With its unique blend of drama, strategy, and accessibility, Honeypot invites players to step into the world of secret agent bears, setting traps and avoiding pitfalls while enjoying a game that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Via BoardGameGeek Blog