Gaze & Craving

Four-player strategy broad game with handcrafted miniature scenes

It is a 15-week solo project. This broad game features four players who assume the roles of watchers who spy on dioramas through actual peepholes. Players can view scenes in real-time and collect clue cards to fulfill their objectives. The game’s primary method of play is through the act of peeking. Players are required to bend down to peer into a peephole while managing three resources: attention, bounty, and risk. This dynamic creates an ongoing struggle between ethical limitations and personal enrichment. The game fuses the physical aspect of play with the abstract components of strategic gaming and forces players to confront the moral ambiguities associated with invading another person’s privacy.

Inspiration

I am deeply concerned by how technology enables the systemic violation and trafficking of privacy, as witnessed in cases like the "Nth Room."

My design translates this digital abstraction into a tangible, physical experience that evokes visceral unease. By compelling players to peer through literal peepholes, the game creates a moment of conscious reflection on observation, complicity, and the human cost of curiosity.

Background

An anonymous elite known as the "Room Owner" commodifies human suffering, displaying it within his "Peculiar Cages."

You are one of several "Peepers" hired to unearth the secrets within these cages and bring back concrete evidence.
Only the winner will secure the position as the Room Owner's permanent watcher.

Key Features

Mechanics and aesthetics reinforce the core theme of privacy, evoking emotional and moral reflection.

Thematic & Ethical Depth

1

3 Dynamic Peeking

The six Cages and tiered Objective system form a scalable framework for future content.

2 Direct Player Interaction

Use Pillage and Trade actions to steal or negotiate, creating shifting alliances and rivalries.

4 Dual Victory Paths

Win by collecting Truth Markers or completing Objectives, enabling different strategic approaches.

Components

Player Boards

Hotel Suite

Peculiar Cages

A luxury suite for secret dealings.

Medical Theater

A theater for unregulated surgical demonstrations.

Central Board

Attention×40

Bounty×50

Risk×20

Truth×20

Objective Cards

Numbered Tokens

Art Gallery

Dressing Room

Primary Objective×32

Advanced Objective×32

Clue Cards

An exhibition where art is created from human trauma.

A backstage space filled with hidden stress.

Streaming Studio

An online streamer's bright studio hiding a controlled performance.

Common Clue×60

Special Clue×36

Universal Clue×8

Central Board

Set Up

1

Place the 5 Peculiar Cages and the Central Board.

2

Randomly assign an Initiative Token (1-5) to each cage.

3

Set up the Public Contract Area (reveal 6 Objective Cards) and the Public Clue Pool (place 4 Clue Cards face-down).

4

Each player receives: 1 Player Board, 4 Attention, 1 Bounty, and a starting hand of 4 Clue Cards.

RULES

Players take turns performing 1 Main Action followed by 1 optional Minor ActionTurn ends by refreshing the Public Clue Pool to 4 cards and the Contract Area to 3 ObjectivesPlayers maintain maximum hand size of 9 Clue Cards

Game wide rule

Player Rules

Manage three resources:

Attention (action cost), Bounty (trading currency), and Risk (penalty tracker)

Main Action

Declare a Cage and 2 Clues, draw 3 Clue cards and keep up to 1 match.

Peek

-1*

Examine Public Clue Pool and take up to 2 cards.

Analyze

-1*

Complete Objectives by playing matching Clue sets.

Submit

-0*

Minor Action

Pillage

+1*

Take up to 2 matching Clues from an opponent

Trade

-1*

Exchange 2 cards with an opponent

Winning rule：

Game ends when any player collects：

the 5th Objective Card

the 5th Truth Marker

Scoring

+3 Points

+2 Points

-2 Points

Winning: Highest total score wins → Tiebreaker: Most completed Objectives → Second Tiebreaker: Fewest Risk Markers.

Design & Craftsmanship

Playtesting

Feedback 1

Feedback 3

The effects of the five Numbered Tokens were unbalanced, causing players to favor only a few specific Cages.

Solution:

I rebalanced all Initiative Token effects to ensure each Cage offered a strategically viable and distinct advantage.

Feedback 2

Players requested more direct and interactive ways to compete with opponents.

Solution:

I added more player-targeting effects, such as a new Initiative Token that forces a random opponent to gain 1 Risk, increasing direct conflict.

Risk tokens only penalized -1 point, making them an insignificant deterrent and reducing their strategic impact.

Solution:

I increased the penalty to -2 points per Risk token, making aggressive actions a more meaningful long-term strategic decision.

Feedback 4

Secondary Actions felt too costly, as players needed to gain a Risk token to trade or analyze, discouraging their use.

Solution:

I redesigned the cost structure: the "Trade" action now costs 1 Bounty, while "Pillage" allows a player to directly take clues by gaining 1 Risk, making both actions more viable.