Game concept summary: Scab! A Game of Worker Solidarity and Betrayal is a social deduction game for 5-10 people where workers try to strike successfully while the boss and scabs sabotage. It is similar to Secret Hitler, Avalon, and have some elements of Mafia. There will be two teams: the workers team, who must learn to trust each other and carry out successful organizing missions (like Avalon), and the boss team, which consist of the openly hostile boss and secret scabs that pretend to be a worker. To mod Secret Hitler and Avalon, I’m planning to give the boss union-busting skill cards and the workers organizing skill cards with which they could get information or gain resources in the game.
How do I reach a balance of the two teams’ power?
- This is an important question to answer because I do not want the game experience to be slanted toward any particular team. Much like real life worker organizing, the boss may win or the workers can.
- To answer this question, I will make a variety of skill cards – union busting cards for the boss, and organizing cards for the workers – and playtest to make sure they are not too overpowering. It might be harder to make modifications to the more central mechanics such as the scab’s betrayal or carrying out missions, but I can also tweak the difficulty and people needed for each mission to make sure there is still an element of challenge for both teams.
- My prediction is that by changing the parameters of specific mechanics, the game can reach a balance. This is because the game is modding Secret Hitler and Avalon, which are well-tested games, and as long as the extra features are modified to be balanced, it should work.
How long can I keep the scab, the central traitor role of the game, secret, and how can I make sure the end game is still fun when people have spotted the scab?
- This question is important because it’s the literal tagline of the game – I’d imagine the scab is the biggest variable as to which team wins, so it’s important to figure out how long this role can last without getting busted. The moment the scab gets busted, the game reaches the end game (although, I do plan to have other mechanisms to make sure the end game is still fun, such as converting the scab to a loyal worker or promoting them to manager).
- For the prototype, I will experiment with the ratio of scabs in the play team. I’m imagining starting out with something like Mafia’s ratio but somewhat lower, because the boss is already a powerful open opposition.
- My prediction is that some scabs will be busted early on, but others will remain until the end of the game and successfully sabotage the workers. I think it’s hard to make an exact prediction either because the game is social in nature, so specific players might be better at deception or have more clout than others.
What will the style and feel of my pieces be?
- This is a super important question to ask because it brings forth the underlying aesthetic of the game. I personally think the feel of the pieces is a huge part of the board game experience and sets the tone: serious or fun, fantasy-based or real-life-based, etc. I had two visions for this game: one is that I will use cute little 3D-printed pieces to represent mission accomplishment, perhaps invoking some classic labor symbols like Sabo Tabby or Scabby the Rat. The other option is to use serious cards and formal-looking pieces like Avalon would do, which could work in favor because the game is about a very serious topic (the livelihood of workers).
- I will try to 3D print pieces at the GSE makery and see how they turn out! I’m very inspired by the video saying that sometimes you have to make and touch the thing to know exactly what you want.
- I predict I would probably go with the cuter version, maybe some crocheted pieces too to make the aesthetics softer. I would need to figure out which style to use because I need to decide on whether I want the game to be cuter or more serious, especially thinking of the audience. I’m planning to play it with labor organizers who would probably want to have the cuter version as a respite for the hard work of organizing in real life.
