The game is a strategic one that encourages negotiations, critical thinking. It basically works on territorial expansion through discovering tiles and building developments for your empire through the resources uncovered. To balance the rules for a same was a long process.

 The process not only taught me about ideation but also management, resource-allocation, adaptability, and working with deadlines. I was not expecting to encounter these attributes, especially not in the course of making a board game. What initially seemed like a creative hobby gradually became an experience that changed the way I approached decisions, productivity, and even self-improvement.

 The journey to Terrarchy started with an opportunity at a designing centre with the tools I precisely needed. I then experienced a burning desire to create a game that was original, something that was out of the box which I could package and provide in a box. Different thought processes on how to create something that would neither be too childish nor too complex was the hardest part. This part however, taught me ‘balance’. I realised that neither of the extremes are good. A game that is too simple loses depth while a game that is too complex loses accessibility. After all, I wasn’t just creating the game for me to understand but for the masses to enjoy. This made me realise that balance is not only important in game design, but in almost every field where people and ideas interact.

This brings me to the second most important learning I obtained from my board game which is dealing with opinions of people. Naturally, different people always gave different feedback and reactions. Many had a problem with the game being too complex while some liked the very idea of a complex board game. To gather all the opinions and to choose which one was to be incorporated was the most difficult problem I faced during designing of the game mechanics in this passion project of mine. But not all reviews asked for improvements. The various feedbacks I received painted two different pictures: some said that it was an innovative game with mechanics that were just complex enough to be interesting, while others said that it was a good idea which got bogged down under overly complex rules. Analysing all the reviews and feedback, I could successfully measure the qualitative position of my game, not just in my eyes, but through first timers, through people of different ages and interests. It helped me understand that creators often become emotionally attached to their ideas and therefore fail to notice flaws that are obvious to others. After all that I can confidently say this — “Feedback was my backbone for improvements.”

As I went into the depth of test playing, I even found many mistakes and flaws in the game. These mistakes were pointed out by different people who assisted me in test playing the game. Initially, I used to dismiss those suggestions thinking it was their lack of understanding. But, as I thought about it over and over again, I realised that the game was indeed very complex and difficult and it would not appeal to the ‘masses’. This taught me to swallow my ego and accept the flaws that were overlooked by my hubris during the creation aspect in this particular project of making a board game. I realised that improvement becomes impossible when ego becomes stronger than observation. Accepting criticism was initially, but over time it became one of the most important reasons behind the improvement of the game.

The majority of the game was built at the time when I was in the 10th grade. Academics and studies were a very vital aspect in this year. Therefore, I had to precisely allocate my precious time to my hobbies apart from the game, the game itself, and most importantly, studies. I was tiptoeing between the fine line of spending too much time on the project and risking my academics. Pressure of performing well in academics acted more as an asset than a liability. As I now had very little time left to dedicate to my project, I tried to make the most of what I had by minimising procrastination and doubling my productivity. As a result, the board game indirectly helped in increasing my focus and maximising my productivity outside of studies. It also indirectly helped me study as I was more eager to complete my work so I could spend more time working on the game. Even though the creation process of this game took place in the 10th grade, which is considered vital for my future, I think it had an overall positive impact on me and was one of the contributors to my good score in the board exams. It made me realise that discipline becomes easier when one genuinely enjoys the process they are working towards.

The journey also made me more decisive. During the making of Terrarchy, I initially took my own sweet time to make each and every rule perfect. However, over time I understood that this way was just slowing me down. The basic structure of the game was unable to be readied as too much time was being spent on perfecting a small detail. Even though perfection is good, it was not the priority at the moment. I understood this problem and created the basic structure of the rulebook first, and then perfected and fine-tuned it later. The same learning was used by me in the planning of my studies and everyday life. I realised that waiting for perfection often delays meaningful progress.

 Looking back, Terrarchy became much more than a board game project for me. It taught me many other things apart than just learning ‘how to create a board game’.

 (The author is a 11^th Grade, Commerce student, studying in Udgam School For Children)