During a conversation with Jamey Stegmaier we covered a bunch of topics. The one that I kept coming back to was his (seemingly) effortless ability to build and think in public. I've been writing off and on about the process of creating our first game on this newsletter/blog, but not consistently or with much focus on format. I'd like that to change, so in the spirit of that openness, and in homage to Jamey's excellent Design Diaries, I'm going to begin posting updates about game designs we're working on at Midnight Trading Co as part of these Design Journals (original name, I know).
With that out of the way, let's dig into a game we're actively working on: Onestone.
Fun with Einsteins
A long-held conundrum that had plagued mathematicians and geometryphiles was solved in 2022. The so-called "einstein problem" searched for a tessellating shape that could produce a pattern that never repeated. It had been done with a combination of shapes, but never with one (einstein meaning one stone).
Ever since reading and learning about this 13-sided shape, I've been thinking about ways it could be incorporated into interesting game designs in a way that makes use of its properties. Initially I was thinking about the limitless pattern combinations and how to play with that. Combining my interest with Toki Pona, the artificial language made up of only 120 words was rabbit hole of experimenting with sentence structures and multi-meaning word combinations. Even after a few months it just didn't feel right, so I started again.
Finding Diamonds
It was only after a few more false-starts when I was doodling with the shape that I figured out that each shape could be split into 8 smaller 4-sided shapes that looked like a diamond. Those shapes could combine into others like triangles, rhombuses, hexagons, and more.
It seems to be a perfect fit for a tile placement and resource management game fittingly set in the Jewellery quarter of a grand bazaar where you're fulfilling orders and harvesting gems.
Through refinement, playing with the shape, and playtesting early versions, the game's now starting to come together. I love how the board takes a unique shape each time you play, and think the combination of the shape and our use of the setting shapes allow for something that's both beautiful and rewarding for light or strategic players.
We're currently speaking with potential artists about coming on board for the project. If you're interested in play-testing, giving feedback, or anything else, just get in touch.