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[[Category:Patterns]]
[[Category:Mechanical Patterns]]
[[Category:Needs revision]]
[[Category:Needs references]]
''Letting one player do some action or actions before letting other players act.''

Many games only let one player act at a time. This [[Turn Taking]] makes the evaluation of actions in the game easier to do, since all players can supervise each other. Further it lets each player have control over what to do without having to keep track of what the other players are doing at the same time.

=== Examples ===
Many classic [[:Category:Board Games|Board Games]], including [[Chess]], [[Go]], and [[Hnefatafl]], alternate between two players that can make their moves. In contract, [[Diplomacy]] is a turn-based game without [[Turn Taking]] as all players do their turns simultaneously. [[Puerto Rico]] as a week form of [[Turn Taking]]: a round consists of each player in turn choosing an action that they wish to have performed. The action chosen by the first player is however performed by all players before the next action is chosen and so on until all players have chosen actions (part of the challenge of the game lies in that the choosing player gets a bonus and not all actions occur each round).

Some games have [[Turn Taking]] but may let the same player do several turns in a row depending on the game state. For example, [[Golf]] uses [[Turn Taking]] where the player the farthest from the hole has the turn until all players have hit the ball into the hole. [[Eight-ball]] in contrast lets a player continue to make turns until he or she has committed a foul or has fails to legally pocket a ball. [[Spin the Bottle]] uses randomness to determine whose turn it is next and players may play a complete game session without having a turn. [[Agricola]], [[Carolus Magnus]], [[Egizia]], and [[Ursuppe]] are examples of games where players can intentional make plans for being able to both the last turn in a round and the first in the next, setting up a ''flip-flop'' situation.

== Using the pattern ==
[[Turn Taking]] considers gameplay where the possibility to update game states are restricted to one player at a time while the related pattern [[Turn-Based Games]] discusses the general effects of dividing games into different parts where some actions are possible and others not (all games with [[Turn Taking]] are [[Turn-Based Games]] but not all [[Turn-Based Games]] make use of [[Turn Taking]], e.g. [[Diplomacy]] or [[Ricochet Robots]]). Games using [[Cards]] and [[Tiles]] often make use of [[Turn Taking]] as those games that have [[Drafting]] mechanics.

The order in which [[Turn Taking]] takes place can be varied in several different ways. The ''round-robin'' system, found e.g. in [[Chess]] and [[Monopoly]], lets every player gets one turn in a predetermined structure before beginning the [[Turn Taking]] process again, and this is done until gameplay is finished. Other systems make use of [[Varying Turn Orders]]. One such system, found both in [[Eight-ball]] and [[Golf]] is to have players whose turn it is continue to having additional turns as long as some given criteria regarding the game state are met, and after this is no longer met another rule determines the next player to have a turn. [[Turnovers]] is the case when this criteria is that one is allowed to continue until one fails with actions, as for example is the case in [[Eight-ball]] but also used as part of the turn order of [[Basketball]] and [[Bloodbowl]]. [[Egizia]] and [[Ursuppe]] also has this system but uses it to create a [[Balancing Effects|Balancing Effect]] by giving the player with the lowest [[Scores|Score]] on a [[Score Tracks|Score Track]] the first turn. Finally, [[Randomness]] may be used to determine turn order. [[Time Limits]] can be added to [[Turn Taking]] to ensure that not too long time passes until the turn passes to another player (or a game is lost).

The turns that are created by [[Turn Taking]] can be structure in different ways in games. [[Rounds]] collect a series of turns into a large structure which allows for the counting of [[Scores]] and [[Ultra-Powerful Events]] (e.g. replenishing [[Resources]] or paying [[Maintenance Costs]]) to be regularly timed. These [[Rounds]] often consist of each player having done one turn (is some order) but [[Agricola]] shows how a ''round-robin'' can be used to let players take turns placing farmer tokens and continue this until no players have any tokens left. Dividing ''rounds'' into [[Planning Phases]], where players e.g. can do [[Role Selection]] or [[Token Placement]] (which in turn requires a [[Turn Taking]] order), and [[Execution Phases]]. This can be done to let players more often make decisions, but as [[Space Alert]] shows games can be built around having only one [[Planning Phases|Planning Phase]] and one [[Execution Phases|Execution Phase]] but with rounds with them.

Players may also have the possibility to make turns inside turns (games supporting this often introduce concepts as ''segments'' and ''phases'' to distinguish between these). Perhaps the oldest example of this is the individual play of a [[Cards|Card]] or [[Tiles|Tile]] by each player in a game with [[Trick Taking]]. Another basic form of this is having [[Budgeted Action Points]], as for example done in [[Ticket to Ride]] and (regarding [[Movement]]) the [[Civilization_(video_game)_series|Civilization series]]. Here, players have a number of ''action points'' that can be spend doing several actions one after another until the points are used up. The number of actions possible to do may vary if the cost is varied. Another way players may have several ''turns'' after each other is when they are allowed to move each of their [[Units]] before some other player gets to act. [[Interruptible Actions]] is yet another way, found for example in the tackling rules in [[Bloodbowl]], but here it is ''other'' players that have turns inside a player's turn. Many times the [[Turn Taking]] for [[Interrupting Actions]] are not explicitly called out in gameplay; players may have to individually claim them within a reasonable [[Time Limits|Time Limit]] or lose the possibility. The various forms are often combine: the board game [[Space Hulk]] has [[Rounds]] consisting of players doing their turns in a ''round-robin'' fashion but each player may activate all their [[Units]] once and each of these [[Units]] have [[Budgeted Action Points]]. In addition, the ''Space Marine'' player may interrupt the ''Genestealer'' player's turn to do attacks in some circumstances. Finally, [[Bidding]] is a gameplay activity that can be modulate by having [[Turn Taking]] sequences in them or being a free-for-all contest.

=== Interface Aspects ===
[[Dedicated Game Facilitators]] can enforce that [[Turn Taking]] takes place it the correct order and that possible [[Time Limits]] are kept. This is built into games with [[Hotseating]] but [[Game Masters]] can do with a flexibility that supports [[Enactment]], [[Smooth Learning Curves]], and [[Storytelling]].

For [[Self-Facilitated Games]], but also those with [[Game Masters]], the use of [[Bookkeeping Tokens]] such as [[Current Player Tokens]] and [[First Player Tokens]] can help players not make mistakes when the [[Turn Taking]] is more complex that ''round-robin'' systems.

== Consequences ==
[[Turn Taking]] gives players [[Execution Phases]] when they get to interact with the game system. On a most basic level, [[Turn Taking]] provides [[Role Reversal]] for players from being active to being passive participants in the game but the [[Turn Taking]] can also have changes in more specific functional roles.  [[Turn Taking]] often leads to [[First Player Advantages]], and thereby also [[Asymmetric Starting Conditions]]. How much this affects [[Player Balance]] can vary on many factors, but is often most important to games with [[Perfect Information]] and [[Stimulated Planning]]. For example, it is a generally recognized feature of both [[Chess]] and [[Go]], and is the reason for these games often being played in [[Back-to-Back Game Sessions]] and for the ''komi'' rule in [[Go]]. 

Having [[Turn Taking]] in games make them into [[Turn-Based Games]] of one form or another and is likely to have many of the typical characteristics of these types of games (e.g. limiting [[Freedom of Choice]] since one cannot act whenever one wants and potentially creating [[Analysis Paralysis]] without the presence of any other specific pattern). On one level [[Turn Taking]] is opposite to [[Real-Time Games]] since it defines updates to the game state in terms of player turns rather that time units, but the two pattern can be combined through the use of [[Time Limits]] to how long a turn may take.

[[Turn Taking]] modulates [[Multiplayer Games]] by allowing players to separate their activities during gameplay into planning what to do, performing the planned actions, and observing the effects of the actions (this can become intermixed if players have a possibility of making several different turns, e.g. through [[Budgeted Action Points]] or having many [[Units]]). The planning can be done in other players' turns to a certain extent (depending on the presence or not of [[Predictable Consequences]] and [[Limited Foresight]]), and in this sense [[Turn Taking]] can support [[Planning Phases]] and [[Stimulated Planning]]. [[Turn Taking]] does however also modulate [[Predictable Consequences]] since players can have more or less good knowledge in which order turns may be made (depending on if a game has a fixed or flexible turn order). Also for [[Multiplayer Games]], having [[Turn Taking]] may cause players not having their turn to have [[Downtime]], which can be used to take use of [[Game State Overviews]] or act as [[Spectators]] (possibly to figure out other players' [[Secret Goals]]). The [[Downtime]] cause by [[Turn Taking]] can lead to [[Analysis Paralysis]] if not modified by [[Time Limits]], and this can lead other players to start using [[Guilting]] as a way of [[Self-Facilitated Games|Self-Facilitating]] the game flow. Another effect of [[Turn Taking]] in [[Multiplayer Games]] can be used to create more organized [[Negotiation]] when only the active player is eligible to negotiate with, and this can create less pressurized [[Social Interaction]].

For actions that take more than one round to completed, [[Turn Taking]] makes these into [[Interruptible Actions]] if other players can affect the game state related to the action. This can in turn be countered in games where the [[Turn Taking]] order can changed, since this opens up for the possibility of players having two turns after each other - this is for example found in [[Agricola]] and [[Carolus Magnus]]. These events, called flip-flop events when being the last turn in one round and the first in the next round, usually give significant advantages to the players which can be seen as a [[Combos|Combo]] in itself. When this is possible, striving for these cause [[Stimulated Planning]] and provide one way to achieve [[Game Mastery]].

[[Turn Taking]] can relieve, create, and modulate [[Tension]]. Players may be relieved from [[Tension]] since they do not have to consider that [[The Show Must Go On]] while it is their turn and from having [[Downtime]] when it is not their turn. The latter can however also create [[Tension]] to others due to [[Analysis Paralysis]]. Already present [[Tension]] can also be increased by [[Turn Taking]] since it can force players to have to wait while [[Anticipation]], [[Hovering Closures]], and [[Interruptible Actions]] exist.

== Relations ==
=== Can Instantiate ===
[[Analysis Paralysis]], 
[[Asymmetric Starting Conditions]], 
[[Combos]], 
[[Execution Phases]], 
[[First Player Advantages]], 
[[Interruptible Actions]], 
[[Planning Phases]], 
[[Role Reversal]], 
[[Self-Facilitated Games]], 
[[Spectators]],
[[Stimulated Planning]], 
[[Tension]], 
[[Trick Taking]], 
[[Turn-Based Games]]

==== with [[Analysis Paralysis]] ====
[[Downtime]], [[Guilting]]

==== with [[Multiplayer Games]] ====
[[Analysis Paralysis]], 
[[Downtime]]

=== Can Modulate ===
[[Bidding]], 
[[Cards]], 
[[Drafting]], 
[[Game State Overviews]], 
[[Multiplayer Games]], 
[[Predictable Consequences]], 
[[Role Selection]], 
[[Secret Goals]], 
[[Tension]], 
[[Tiles]], 
[[Token Placement]]

==== with [[Multiplayer Games]] ====
[[Negotiation]],
[[Social Interaction]]

=== Can Be Instantiated By ===
[[Dedicated Game Facilitators]], 
[[Game Masters]], 
[[Hotseating]]

=== Can Be Modulated By ===
[[Balancing Effects]], 
[[Bookkeeping Tokens]], 
[[Budgeted Action Points]], 
[[Current Player Tokens]], 
[[Execution Phases]], 
[[First Player Tokens]], 
[[Interruptible Actions]], 
[[Planning Phases]], 
[[Randomness]], 
[[Role Selection]], 
[[Varying Turn Orders]], 
[[Rounds]], 
[[Score Tracks]], 
[[Time Limits]], 
[[Token Placement]], 
[[Turnovers]], 
[[Units]]

=== Possible Closure Effects ===
-

=== Potentially Conflicting With ===
[[Real-Time Games]], 
[[Tension]], 
[[The Show Must Go On]]

== History ==
An updated version of the pattern ''Turn Taking'' that was part of the original collection in the book ''Patterns in Game Design''<ref name="Bjork & Holopainen 2004"/>.

== References ==
<references>
<ref name="Bjork & Holopainen 2004">Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.</ref>
</references>