Moods of Istanbul

Project Overview: Moods of İstanbul

• Genre: Scalable Civic Negotiation / Semi-Cooperative Board Game
• Role: Game Designer
• The Design Challenge: Creating a highly modular "Megagame" system where the physical play area and player count dynamically expand (from 4 to 8 to 16+ players), simulating the escalating complexity of urban planning and bureaucracy.
• Core Concept: Players take on distinct civic roles (Student, Retiree, etc.) and draft personal problem cards. They must negotiate under a strict time limit to pass "Policies" that satisfy their faction's needs while aligning with the harsh statistical realities of the city.
• Note: Visuals provided were not created by myself.

Dynamic Scaling: The "Merging" Mechanic

The standout technical feature of Moods of İstanbul is its physical modularity. The game does not take place on a static board.

• Bureaucratic Expansion: The game starts at isolated tables of 4 players, representing a 1km² local district. At the end of a round, tables physically merge. Two 4-player tables combine into an 8-player council, expanding the map to 2km².
• Design Impact: As the game progresses, the player count and the board size double. This brilliantly mimics urban sprawl and the increasing difficulty of reaching a consensus in larger political bodies. A negotiation strategy that worked with 4 people will completely break down in a room of 16, forcing players to constantly adapt their social dynamics.

The Bottleneck: Subjective Desires vs. Objective Reality

The core gameplay loop revolves around high-tension resource scarcity and time-boxed diplomacy.

• The Reality Check (IPA Data Card): Before proposing solutions, an "IPA Data Card" is revealed, showing real-world statistical data of the district (e.g., "Green space per person is 1m²"). This acts as an anchor, forcing players to align their subjective role-playing goals with objective scientific facts to maximize points.
• The 10-Minute Diplomacy: In the Solution Phase, 20 different proposed Solution Cards (including player-crafted "Wild Cards") are placed on the table. However, the system's "budget" only allows for 4 Final Policies to be implemented. Players have exactly 10 minutes to argue, form alliances, and eliminate 16 cards.

Faction-Based Economy and Win Conditions

Moods of İstanbul employs a semi-cooperative, faction-based scoring system rather than a single-winner format.

• Role Synergy: Throughout the game, players earn "IPA Points" based on how well the passed policies impact their specific Role, solve their Personal Problems, or match the IPA Data.
• The Faction Threshold: At the end of the game, players do not win individually. All players sharing the same Role (across the massive merged table) pool their points together. To win, a Role faction must cross a mathematical threshold:

6 * N * (Number of players in that faction)

• System Balance: Multiple factions can win simultaneously. However, because only 4 policies can be passed per round, if one faction is too greedy and monopolizes the policies, they will inevitably starve the other factions of points, creating a deeply realistic political simulation.