A strategic multiplayer RPG tabletop game where players traverse a vast world map to uncover quests, manage resources, and engage in tactical combat — all governed by a unique dual-board system that separates exploration from combat.
A strategic multiplayer RPG tabletop game where players traverse a vast world map to uncover quests, manage inventory, and engage in tactical combat. Inspired by classic RPGs like Warcraft III and Heroes of Might and Magic III.
To create an immersive adventure experience that balances free-form exploration with structured tactical combat — giving players both the freedom of an open world and the depth of a dedicated battle system.
Managing the transition between macro-scale exploration (World Map) and micro-scale strategy (Combat Board) without breaking the game's narrative flow or overwhelming players with rule-switching.
Lead Game Designer & System Architect (Solo Project). Developed the core RPG framework including the quest branching system, character progression, and the dual-board combat mechanics. Designed all physical components including game boards, attribute sheets, tokens, and instruction manual.
To focus on complex system design, visual assets (icons and map textures) were adapted from Warcraft III and Heroes of Might and Magic III. My primary contribution lies in the mechanics orchestration and information architecture — how all systems connect.
The Global Map is the primary interface for exploration. Players move across tiles to trigger random encounters, collect story-driven quests, and manage inventory. Each move carries a potential narrative consequence — transforming a simple move-and-collect game into a dynamic adventure.
Features: Fog of War · Quest Triggers · Resource Nodes · NPC Encounters
When a conflict triggers, the game shifts to a dedicated Combat Board. This secondary space allows for deeper tactical positioning and skill execution, completely separate from the exploration phase — avoiding visual clutter on the world map.
Features: Spatial Tactics · Flanking Bonuses · Skill Cards · Turn-Based Resolution
By separating combat onto its own board, spatial tactics like flanking and terrain bonuses become possible — things impossible to manage on a high-level exploration map.
The world exploration grid. Players place tokens to traverse biomes, trigger quests, and reveal the Fog of War as they explore.
Dual-panel combat board revealing hidden terrain as battles unfold. Creates information asymmetry and strategic uncertainty.
The "Stat-Matrix" — each player's personal tracking sheet for Attack, Armor, HP, and EXP. Tokens slide along axes to track progression dynamically.
Records combat rounds with initiative-attack and defensive-position columns. Ensures transparent, auditable battle resolution across up to 5 rounds.
Character identity tokens for heroes, NPCs, and creeps. Visual shorthand for allegiance and unit type on both boards.
Physical tokens for equipment, skills, trees, and currency. Tangible inventory management that keeps the game state visible to all players.
Designed the Global Map as the primary exploration interface. Players move across tiles to trigger random encounters, collect story-driven quests, and manage their inventory. Every tile has the potential to shift the narrative — exploration is never just movement.
When a conflict triggers, the game shifts to the dedicated Combat Board. I designed this secondary space to allow for deeper tactical positioning and skill execution, completely separate from the exploration phase. This keeps the world map uncluttered while giving combat the spatial richness it deserves.
Created a "Stat-Matrix" to balance character leveling across Attack, Armor, HP, and EXP axes. Through iterative playtesting, I ensured that as the "Adventure" progresses, the "Combat" complexity scales accordingly — preventing early-game dominance and keeping late-game players engaged with meaningful power curves.
Separating combat from the world map avoids visual clutter and unlocks spatial tactics (flanking, terrain bonuses) impossible to manage on a high-level exploration map. Two boards, two cognitive modes, one seamless game.
A quest-trigger system ensures every move on the map has a potential story consequence. This transforms a simple move-and-collect game into a dynamic narrative experience where player agency feels meaningful.
Instead of paper-and-pen bookkeeping, the Attribute Value Board uses sliding tokens on a grid matrix. Every player's stats are always visible to the table — reducing cognitive load and increasing social tension.
The Fog of War panel creates information asymmetry in combat — players must decide whether to commit actions on imperfect information. A simple physical mechanic that generates enormous strategic depth.
A high-fidelity RPG prototype with a complete set of physical components: Quest Cards, Hero Sheets, Attribute Matrix, Battle Settlement Board, and a full token set for trees, heroes, NPCs, skills, creeps, equipment, and items.
Managing a multiplayer RPG taught me how to streamline complex data (stats/items) into a user-friendly physical UI — information design isn't just for screens. Every physical component is a UI decision.
This project fundamentally changed how I think about information architecture. A tabletop RPG is essentially a multi-user database with a physical interface — every component is a data structure, every rule is a function. Designing the Stat-Matrix taught me that the hardest design problem isn't creating complexity, it's making complexity legible. When four players can glance at a table and instantly understand the state of the entire game, that's good design.
