Early in the design process for In the Shadows, we (Chris, Joe and I) had used dice to determine success or failure for most of the player actions. This allowed us to tailor probability and test quickly within the time constraints of the Consim Game Jam. Our contest entry offered tight play, albeit with a lot of die rolling. Rolling dice can be satisfying, but if done too much during a player turn it can also become tedious and add to the overall length of a game. However, the fewer rolls a design incorporates in a game, the more weight individual outcomes will carry.

Soon after the contest ended, Jason Carr (developer extraordinaire) suggested using cards to resolve actions. Having played Jerry White’s brilliant Skies Above the Reich, we were amenable to trying it. Actions that had previously required die rolls would now be tied to the flip of a Resolution card. Joe had the marvelous idea of putting these cards in a newspaper format, further connecting the cards to the daily struggles of pieces on the board.

For example, we have a milice unit (blue) in a zone (P4) with a resistance cell (red). Before a resistance unit can be targeted by the Arrest action, the unit must first be uncovered. The Occupation player spends the action point and flips the Resolution card to see if they succeed (pictured below).

Final example: we have a maquisard (yellow) and a resistance cell near Lyon planning to take a Sabotage action in the hopes of striking a blow at Occupation Resources. The Resistance player spends a point to Sabotage. The first Resolution card drawn reveals a failed attempt, but they may draw a second card because they have more than one unit in the zone (though they will need to honor the second result). The second Resolution card reveals another failure result. However, this one is a bit worse, because in addition to not succeeding, the plot has been discovered and both the maquisard and resistance cell are now uncovered and the zone is placed on alert.

Very early, we realized there was a potential to do more than merely transcribe die rolls to card draws. A Resolution card offered the opportunity for more rare and narrative outcomes. If we decided upon a new outcome type for one of our actions, it could be incorporated and feel special without occurring more often than intended. We have all witnessed a player get on a hot streak and lay waste to an opponent’s best laid plans.

Comparatively, streaks of favorable outcomes sustain more tension when those outcomes are drawn from a deck without replacement. Every success drawn from the Resolution deck increases the likelihood of future failure (we are fun at parties). That was crucial to the narrative of the design. The Resistance was comprised of very few. A model that does not pose high risk to exposed cells cannot adequately reflect the stakes that kept so many complicit and drove some to collaborate.

Another virtue of our Resolution deck was the ability to manipulate odds. For the design of the solitaire game, it was prudent to include options to tailor scenarios and scale difficulty. For example, in the two-player game, when the second consecutive Resolution Card with a German suit is drawn, the deck is reshuffled. By allocating favorable outcomes for Resistance actions to those cards, we had an opportunity to make the game more difficult in solitaire by removing the second card prior to reshuffle.

Despite the merits of resolving actions with cards, one foreseen drawback to a Resolution Deck was that players may find it difficult to anticipate the odds of success. We have placed the initial probabilities for outcomes on the player aids and the feedback thus far has been good. It is important to consider that as players draw from the Resolution Deck, these probabilities change. As much as many of us like to grok our odds of success, it is important to bear in mind that anyone with a degree in applied mathematics will always have the tools to beat you at most games. In the context of In the Shadows, we wanted players to have a general idea of when they were pushing their luck and allow the potential outcomes to inform their strategy.

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Previous Articles:

A Desperate Struggle: Event Cards and Suits in In the Shadows

Designing a Narrative Solitaire Experience for In the Shadows