Enclosure

The goal of surrounding game elements by a continuous line or wall of other game elements.

The oldest, and perhaps best known, example of Enclosure is Go, the classic oriental board game, where the opponent's enclosed stones are removed from the board. Digital games also use Enclosure for capturing: in Taito's Qix game elements are captured and removed from play by enclosing them in the smaller of the two subdivisions that are created whenever the player completes a line between two parts of the game edge.

The goal can be also be to avoid being enclosed. Classic examples of this the lightcycle game in Tron, where the players try to enclose the other player while not getting enclosed themselves. Nibbler and Snake are examples where avoiding the Enclosure lets players survive to pursue the primary goal of eating.

Examples

Example: Loop, by gameLab, is an example of how Enclosure can be a visually very strong element. In this game there are several butterflies of different color fluttering around the screen. The player's task is to enclose butterflies of the same color by drawing a loop with a mouse around two or more butterflies of the same color. The player can also enclose three or more butterflies if each of them is of a different color.

Example: The board game Carcassonne (Klaus-Jürgen Wrede 2000) is a clear example of using Enclosure in a couple of different ways: the building of towns where rewards are not given until the town walls enclose the area inside; cloisters that have to be surrounding by tiles to give points; and fields that may be enclosed to guarantee control.

Using the pattern

Designing for Enclosure goals are primarily concerns with what should be enclosed and what can be used to enclose. Typically in both cases these are (different types of) game elements but for the latter the goal of Enclosure influences the Game Element Insertion or Movement of these. Another concern is players should Gain Ownership of what is enclosed or if they should be removed through Game Element Removal.

Consequences

Enclosure is a type of Configuration which typically requires Connection between what is enclosed and what encloses it or between enclosing game elements. Succeeding with an Enclosure typically leads to a Capture.

Relations

Game Element Insertion Movement

Can Instantiate

Capture, Connection, Configuration, Game Element Removal

Can Modulate

Gain Ownership

Can Be Instantiated By

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Can Be Modulated By

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Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

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History

An updated version of the pattern Enclosure that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.

Acknowledgements

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