Placement

Mechanism · III – Space & Position immediate · irreversible / conditional · open · solo / competitive

Placement positions Entities deliberately in space: a placement rule turns “where something is set” into a strategic decision affecting others.

Design question – What strategic significance does it have in your game where something is placed?

Reference example – Connect Four: every disc builds your own line or blocks the opponent’s. Plants vs. Zombies: which plant goes in which lane before the zombies arrive? Carcassonne: where do I place the tile, and do I put a follower on it? Viticulture (Worker Placement) · Carcassonne (Tile Placement) · Blood Rage (Area Control)

Structural pattern

Input -> transformation -> output: an Entity and a target position (figure, tile, card) become, via a placement rule (setting), a positioned element (spatial effect).

Regulated in permitting mode (where an element may be placed), constraining mode (only adjacent or at a cost; one element per space; placements per turn limited) and conditioning mode (what placement triggers: adjacency bonuses, blocking, area control). In a game, costs and limits become specifications.

Design parameters

• Space type – grid ↔ free area/abstract
• Exclusivity – free ↔ blocking/stackable
• Permanence – permanent ↔ movable
• Adjacency effects – none ↔ complex (bonuses/penalties)
• Information – open position ↔ hidden placement
• Scale – few placements ↔ en masse

Related Mechanisms

• Priority (MEC-08) – Frequently combined: first-access right to spaces.
• Scoring (MEC-09) – Frequently combined: scoring by position.
• Matching (MEC-31) – Frequently combined: matching to neighbours.
• Enclosure (MEC-11) – Frequently combined: enclose areas.
• Transit (MEC-12) – Frequently combined: move Entities after placement.

Ludic Organisational Structures

Territory (core) · Network / Infrastructure (dynamic)