Prism
A student-designed board game rooted in strategy over chance. Inspired by chess and checkers, Prism features a triangular board, tetrahedron pieces, and a flip mechanic that rewards careful spatial thinking.
The Concept
Prism was designed from the ground up to prioritize skill over luck. Instead of dice or random draws, every outcome comes from player decisions. Pieces flip across borders — a spatial mechanic that's easy to learn but creates deep positional play.
The triangular board and tetrahedron-shaped pieces give the game a distinct visual identity that sets it apart from traditional abstract strategy games.
Design Evolution
Version 1: Multicolored piece tips that changed on flip. Players surrounded opponents with matching colors. This proved hard to predict and led to frequent stalemates.
Final Version: Solid-colored pieces in three groups plus a "Master" piece for alternate win conditions. Pieces deploy from a Shelf anywhere on the board. Redesigned board shape improved both aesthetics and flow.
What I Learned
Prism is where my design instincts developed. Iterating through broken versions to find the one that actually worked taught me more about game balance than any class could.
The move from random outcomes to deterministic flip mechanics was a pivotal design decision — and one I still think about when designing new games.
Credits
| Design & Art | Michael Paynter |
| Type | Student Project · Board Game |
| Tools | Photoshop |