Behind my Process on Turalia: Traversal of an Unknown Land

Turalia: Traversal of an Unknown Land is a digital board game created by a team of five, including me. My role on the team was a game designer and the responsibilities included the creation of the board, designing four different classes and adjoining cards. Turalia can have up to six players and each player battles against each other to have their characters reach the other end of the board first.

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Game Board Process:

Final Board

From the beginning, we envisioned a circular board that moved the players inward. I started off sketching the board as a circle but when bringing it digital and trying out different formats, we came to the conclusion that a hexagon fit the best as it lent itself to a more balanced, symmetrical board. This shape also allowed for multiple playstyles we intended the game to have; more passive players could travel the outskirts and build up their characters, while aggressive players can still rush the opposite side of where they started to their ending space.

In Turalia, the game ends when the first player has both of their characters reach the end. This does not mean they win, though. The player who has the most experience at the end of the game (this is gained by collecting pieces on the board, winning battles, etc.) wins the game. So, sometimes, it may not be smart to end the game as fast as possible if you are not winning, but ending the game does award that player with valuable points.

With this in mind, the size of the board became incredibly important. The board changed massively over the course of internal and external playtests, the size changing and new mechanics/cards being added to the board. We were finding early on that aggressive play styles were too dominant and led to winning the most. Players were rushing to the end and not interacting with each other, so we made the board quite a bit larger. This may sound counter intuitive though. If players aren’t interacting with each other, why make it larger? Wouldn’t that mean players are less likely to meet each other?

We found that the answer was yes and no. With a perimeter of 12x12, this gave room for passive players to explore on their own and avoid early conflict. This perimeter size also made it so aggressive players couldn’t end the game fast enough while retaining the most experience points. These changes lead to a slower early game, but once players started to make it into inner rings of the hexagon, interaction and combat massively increased because players would have to engage with each other to gain more experience points before ending the game.

Characters

In Turalia: Traversal of an Unknown Land, players pick two characters to use in a game session. The attack and health of characters come into question when combat happens. Combat is decided by the highest attack wins, but there are multiple factors that go into attack: character’s attack + dice roll + card effects. Each of these characters represent a different type of playstyle:

• Knight: The Knight has the highest combined stats at 25, but a mere 5 attack will likely result in many lost battles as there are limited resources to increasing one’s attack. This is why their health is the highest, so they can withstand losing battles while advancing around the board.

• Ranger: The Ranger has +1 to their roll when moving, but their attack is also low at 6. Since the Ranger can move around quickly, they are often the go-to character for an aggressive playstyle. Their low attack inhibits them from running around the map and engaging in combat with anyone.

• Fighter: The Fighter is an all-around character, they have the second highest attack in the game but also the second lowest health. Their versatility makes them strong at adapting during games.

• Mage: The Mage is the opposite of the Ranger. The Mage has the highest attack in the game at 10 which will result in them winning most battles, but a low health at 10 doesn’t allow them to lose too many battles. With a -1 to their roll when moving, the Mage gets around the map at a slower pace. This character is ideal for a slower, passive playstyle, where players can focus on building up their character before engaging in conflict.

Training Field Cards

Training Field Cards are unique to each character. When landing on the Training Field space, the player picks a card from a depleting pool. Some effects immediately activate while others remain in the player’s hand. After landing on a Training Field space, the character’s movement ends. Aggressive players may opt out for these spaces to travel faster around the board, while slower, control players may seek them out.

When designing these Training Field cards, since they are tailored to the classes, I wanted these cards to reflect on an identity that the classes represent while also helping advance in the game. Since the Mage class was representing the slower, passive, build up your characters playstyle I designed the card Midas Touch. This card gives mages one experience point for each other Battle Card or Training Field Card they acquire. This helps reinforce that slow playstyle of gathering resources and developing your characters before engaging. Meanwhile since the Knight was focused on being the class that can withstand losing battles, its Training Field cards support the tank playstyle. The card Fortify makes the Knight take three less damage for three turns.

That is a look behind my process on Turalia: Traversal of an Unknown Land! This game was created on Tabletop Simulator. Please let me know what you think about my process, and if you play the game I would love to hear about your experience!