Everyday stories michi / dō
Design a tiny board game with a choice worth making
Draw two routes, give them different tradeoffs and test whether a player has a reason to choose either. Keep the first game small enough to revise.
Wear this characterStart with a scene
Draw a start, a finish and a path with twelve spaces. Near the middle, split it into two branches that meet again. One branch is shorter; the other has something the player might want. Use buttons as counters and slips of paper numbered one to three for movement, drawing a slip and returning it each turn. This rough board is enough to begin asking a design question: when would somebody willingly take the longer way?
A closer look
Make the fork matter before decorating the board
Give the long branch one token that can cancel a single missed turn later. Put a missed-turn space beyond the point where the branches rejoin. Write those rules down before playing, including what happens when a move passes the token rather than landing on it. These are invented rules for your own small game. The first version does not need to be fair, clever or complete; it needs to make its consequences clear enough to test.
Play several short rounds, sometimes choosing the short branch and sometimes the long one. Note where a choice felt obvious and where you hesitated. Invite another player to decide without explaining which route you hoped they would prefer. If one branch never seems useful, change one condition: its length, the token's effect or the position of the missed-turn space. Keep the other rules fixed so that you can see what that change does.
See it in words
- 道
- michiA road or path
- 書道
- shodōCalligraphy
- 柔道
- jūdōJudo
A meaning to make your own
A thought to give
For a friend who enjoys making games, a 道 design can accompany your rough board and a blank rule card. Invite them to improve one choice rather than merely admire the finished artwork.
Make a gift cardOne more question
Do I need dice, software or polished components?
No. Clear marks, simple counters and readable rules are enough for this first test. Use materials suited to the people playing. Add artwork only after the movement and choices are understandable, so that changes remain easy.
A character to carry with you 道
道 means road or path. The connection here is a route with choices that become meaningful through their consequences. The board is your invention, not a claim that the character teaches a particular strategy for games or life.
Wear this character
