Bruno Faidutti: Jeux sans Strategie

This is page 2 of an interview with game author Bruno Faidutti.
Page 1, 2, 3, 4

How do you come up with the basic idea for your games?

It really depends. Sometimes it starts with a theme, sometimes with a mechanic idea, sometimes with an other game that I find interesting but made me think "I would have done this otherwise"...

Typically, how long does it take you to develop the first version of a game? And how long until you have a finished version ready?

Democrazy, a card game designed by Bruno Faidutti.

The first version usually needs less than one week. One time in two, it simply doesn't work and I throw it away. The other time, it looks promising and I start improving and tuning it. It can take two weeks: the first versions of Knightmare Chess, or of one of my last creations, Macao, almost worked. Sometimes it can drag for years: 10 years after the first version, I'm still working on my big trade game, Caravanserail.

What's the most difficult part about the design process?

Two things are difficult. First, when something doesn't work, to abandon some mechanics, to admit that the game must be different. Sometimes, some help is necessary. Serge Laget helped me when I didn't know how to finalize my "red creature with one eye and eight tentacles," and it eventually became Murder at the Abbey. I did the same with his Castle game.

What do you enjoy most about designing games?

When testers tell you "great game." I also enjoy making prototypes, despite the fact that my prototypes are rather rough.

What do you enjoy least about designing games?

When I spend weeks or months thinking of a game without finding a way to improve it. Game authors are subject to author's breakdown [or writer's block].

Discuss Bruno Faidutti's board games on the Board Games Forum.

Who playtests your games?

My main testing group is made of Parisian friends. Once every two or three weeks, we have a gaming evening. The first part of the evening is for testing my games, or playing other games if I have no new design at this time. At two or three in the morning, we stop everything and start playing poker.

What are your thoughts about the level of strategy involved in Citadels, and the use of strategy (defined for our purposes as long-term planning) in games in general?

I don't like strategic games. For me, a pure strategic game is of little interest, since it is completely predictable: best player wins. I think there is little strategy in Citadels, except the fact -- which I like -- that it's usually bad to hold on the same tactic for the whole game. I rather like games which involves tactical decisions. To remove the strategic element from a game and make it more tactical, you have to make it more or less unpredictable, so that players cannot reckon far in advance what they have to do. This can be achieved through chaotic events, through luck and lots of dice rolls, through bluff and double guessing, and through strong interaction. I used the two latter in Citadels.

NAVIGATE THIS BOARDGAMES ARTICLE
Page 1	Introduction to Faidutti and why he enjoys board games, with a complete ludography.
Page 2	Faidutti discusses the process of designing his games, including Murder at the Abbey.
Page 3	The success of Citadels, plus comments on Corruption, Democrazy and more.
Page 4	Faidutti's firt-hand account of how the related games Citadels and Castle came to be.

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