Turn Taking

Letting one player do some action or actions before letting other players act.

Related Descriptions

The pattern Turn-Based Games discusses the general effects of dividing games into different parts where some actions are possible and others not.

Using the pattern

Interruptible Actions

Consequences

Having Turn Taking in games make them into Turn-Based Games of one form or another. It allows players to separate their activities during their turns in planning what to do, setting instructions on what to do, and confirming the instructions made. In this sense Turn-Based Games can support Stimulated Planning if the actions and events of the game have Predictable Consequences. The planning, instructing, and confirming can become intermixed if players have a possibility of making several different actions, e.g. through Budgeted Action Points or having many Units.

When the Turn-Taking is not modified by Time Limits, this can lead to Analysis Paralysis. Since this can give other players Downtime, they may start to use Guilting as a way of Self-Facilitating the game flow.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Analysis Paralysis, Role Reversal, Self-Facilitated Games, Turn-Based Games

with Analysis Paralysis

Downtime, Guilting

History

A renamed version of the pattern Turn Taking that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.