My favorite game is a board game called Ticket To Ride, specifically the Europe expansion pack. The general objective of the game is trying to complete routes that you were given at the beginning of the game.
Ticket to Ride has a lot of important mechanics that affect the dynamic of the game. First of all, the Train cards are organized so that there are 5 train cards that are facing up on the table and a deck of the rest of the train cards. If players decide to draw train cards during their turn, players have the option to draw 2 train cards of any color or 1 rainbow train card (if taken from the face-up cards), or 2 random cards from the top of the deck. This mechanic creates dynamics that force users to make a sacrifice while adding randomness to the game. If players are lucky, they get to pick the cards they need from the cards that are displayed. However, if players do not need any of the cards that are displayed (except for rainbow cards), they either have to sacrifice the quantity and take one rainbow card or risk drawing something useless and drawing 2 random cards. By letting players see what cards other players draw, the game builds competitive dynamics as players often try to guess the colors that other players are seeking and prevent them from taking those trains.
During each turn, players have to decide whether they want to draw train cards or route cards, or put down a track. This mechanic constructs the dynamics that make users make choices. Additionally, it creates secretive dynamics as it’s hard for players to guess what other players would do during their turns.
The game adds secretive and competitive dynamics by not allowing players to trade cards. Players either need to wait until there are colors that they want/need in the face-up cards or draw two cards randomly from the deck and risk getting unnecessary cards.
Subtracting failed routes is also an important mechanic because this prevents players from drawing as many routes as possible hoping to use only some of them. Moreover, during each turn, players can draw 3 route cards and must keep at least one of them. These mechanics create the dynamics that hold each player responsible for their routes. This way, players don’t draw a large number of route cards and prevent others from accessing them as well.
Additionally, the player with the longest track gets awarded additional points at the end. This creates dynamics to encourage players to select tracks more consciously and plan out their play further. It also motivates them to pursue a harder goal of connecting all of their routes together.
