Casual Game Design

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CHAPTER FIVE

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SORTING

to life. But designers need to remember that this randomness can be a blessing

and curse for the player. A player can only do so much to counteract the random

pieces dropped in his or her lap. Randomness disrupts the player’s perfect pattern.

Nowhere is this more evident than in sorting games. No one is surprised when they

roll a seven in craps. It’s expected. The game is nothing but randomness. And we all

know that seven is the most likely number to roll with two dice. But sorting games

are about order. So when a random number drops in and throws off the pattern, it

can feel especially punishing to players. It ruins the order the player worked so hard

to create. Worse yet it can feel unfair. And you want to avoid ...