This was not standard kind of rating (e.g., the "reg card"), but a very in-depth look at the games. The object was not to find out whether folks "liked" the games. We were not asking if a game was "good" or "bad," but were asking for reflection on the designs in a thoughtful way. We asked the panel to rate each of our games with respect to the qualities a game could possibly have. It is not necessarily "bad" if a game doesn't have all of these qualities; in fact, it is all but impossible for a game to have them all. High ratings in one area can generally be achieved at the expense of some other areas. Historical accuracy - educational value Collector's appeal - graphic design, physical quality Strategic challenge - does it present an interesting challenge Rigidity - does it avoid enforcement of historical outcome Balance - is it a level playing field, within the confines of accuracy Playability - are you willing to learn new rules (or strategies) Flow - moves comfortably and smoothly with anticipated consequences Completion - can the game be played to completion in a reasonable time Solitaire Value - for play and/or study Vividness - does it "take you there" The point of this exercize is to show you the design intent as actually realized in each product, as reflected through the independent review panel. Panelists rated each aspect on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent). Category 001 Napoleon at Bay 002 1806 003 La Guerre de l'Empereur 004 Last Days of Grande Armee Historical accuracy 8.3 7.0 5.0 7.8 Collector's appeal 8.3 8.5 6.7 7.2 Strategic challenge 8.5 7.0 8.2 6.8 Rigidity 6.8 8.2 6.7 5.6 Balance 7.3 6.7 7.5 6.4 Playability 5.6 8.5 9.2 7.6 Flow 6.5 9.0 7.5 7.6 Completion 6.0 9.0 5.5 9.0 Solitaire Value 4.6 6.5 5.0 5.8 Vividness 8.3 8.5 8.0 7.2 INTERPRETATION: The purpose of gathering these ratings is to provide accurate information on the kind of experience a game can offer. We may help someone who has overlooked us to identify exactly what they are looking for. We did not rate the products overall, but point the player to the qualities he is looking for. Different people look for different things in a game, and therefore overall ratings are somewhat meaningless. Though we try to deliver all of these features, we must do a better job of letting people know which features they will get when they buy a product. Overall, OSG games scored above-average ratings (6.0 or better) across the board. Twenty ratings stand-out, and these are the key to helping the player make an informed buying decision: Napoleon at Bay scored the highest in REALISM rated very high in: 8.3 Historical Accuracy 8.3 Collector's Appeal 8.5 Strategic Challenge 8.3 Vividness ... but we traded-off: 4.6 Solitaire Value and 5.6 Playability 1806 scored highest in FLOW, COMPLETION, and VIVIDNESS ... rated very high in: 8.5 Collectors Appeal 8.2 Rigidity 8.5 Playability 9.0 Flow 9.0 Completion 8.5 Vividness La Guerre de l'Empereur scored "excellent" in PLAYABILITY ... rated very high in: 8.2 Strategic Challenge 9.2 Playability 8.0 Vividness ... but we made sacrifices in: 5.0 Historical Accuracy, 5.5 Completion, 5.0 Solitaire Value Last Days of the Grande Armee scored "excellent" in COMPLETION ... rated very high in: 9.0 Completion ... but it suffers somewhat in: 5.6 Rigidity, 5.8 Solitaire Value READER SURVEY: Which qualities or aspects are most important to you? Use numbers, with '1' being the most important aspect you look for. Fill in as many as apply to you ... you don't have to rate all ten. [ ] Historical accuracy [ ] Collector's appeal [ ] Strategic challenge [ ] Rigidity [ ] Balance [ ] Playability [ ] Flow [ ] Completion [ ] Solitaire Value [ ] Vividness [ ] Other (specify) E-mail: kzucker@charm.net Back to OSG News November 1999 Table of Contents Back to OSG News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Operational Studies Group. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com