Template:Infobox Game Fancy

Game
unknown Designer
(Image)
Description
:Players	Players:
:Time	Length:	unknown
:Complexity	Complexity:	unknown
Pyramid trios:
Icehouse stashes:
Treehouse sets:
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
Setup time:
Playing time:
Strategy depth:
Random chance:
Game mechanics:
Theme:
BGG Link:
Status: complete? (v1.0), Year released: 2987
Footnotes

This is a new and improved infobox to accompany the resurrection of the wiki in November of 2016. Every game should have a infobox since the parameters are automatically scanned and added to the game entry in the database. A properly filled out infobox will eventually replace most functionality provided by Categories and will greatly improve the searching and finding of games.

This infox box replaced the old box on Nov. 12, 2016. This page has been kept for testing purposes (for now).

Change list:

• Added player count, game length, and rule complexity icons
• Added options for "game_length", "trios", "game_mechanics", "game_status", & "release_year"
• Compressed min & max player count and min & max playing time to single lines separated by a dash when both variables are defined (note: the variables are still mapped to separate properties, only the infobox display is different)
• Now powered by ParserFunctions and Lua!
  • Omitted or empty parameters will be automatically hidden. (looks cleaner)
  • Lua scripts are used to intelligently read certain data rows. (fixes processing errors)
  • "designer", "other_equip", & "game_mechanics" can now accept comma separated lists that will be split into separate multiple values of the same semantic property (better for searching).
  • "other_equip" and "game_mechanics" automatically generate links to the related wiki pages (easier browsing)

Note: all of the original parameters are included with the exact same variable names as the original infobox. In theory, this template could be swapped with the existing template without breaking anything... however, there is a lot more testing that needs to be done and the design needs to be vetted by the wiki administrators as well as the more senior wiki users. Please do not use this infobox on any of the current game pages.

Instructions for use of Infobox_Game:

To display a game infobox on a game entry, enter the following code at the very top of the page:

{{Infobox_Game_Fancy
| subject_name=
| designer=
| username=
| image_link=
| description=
| min_players=
| max_players=
| game_length=
| complexity=
| trios=
| stashes=
| sets=
| other_equip=
| setup_time=
| min_playing_time=
| max_playing_time=
| strategy=
| random_chance=
| game_mechanics=
| theme=
| BGG_Link=
| game_status=
| version_num=
| release_year=
| footnotes=
}}

Each keyword on the left is used to fill in the appropriate section of the infobox. Please enter your values directly after the equal sign (=) on each row. Feel free to leave some of the parameters blank (as indicated below). If a parameter is left blank, the related row of the infobox will not be displayed. Note: due to this behavior, not all data rows are shown in the example infobox on this page. The order in which the rows are displayed in the infobox is determined by the template. Rearranging the rows of your inputs will have no affect.

The following list describes how to set all the values in the info box, from top to bottom. It lists the parameter name and the related displayed in the infobox, followed by details about what it represents and exactly what needs to be set.

parameter name --> Display row in Infobox

subject_name --> replaces Game (REQUIRED)

The name of the game.

subject_name=Zendo

designer --> replaces Designer (REQUIRED)

The name (or names) of the person (or persons) who created the game. If designer has a page on icehousegames.org, you can enclose the name in double square brackets to provide a link to that person's page. Note: you also can link to a user page by typing [[User:USERNAME|display name]]

designer=Andrew Looney

image_link --> replaces (Image) (optional)

A link to a small icon or thumbnail-sized image that provides visual information about the game. The first part of this parameter is the name of the image, the second part is the size, and the third part is the mouseover text. It is enclosed in double square brackets. Please do not set the size any larger than 250px!

image_link=[[Image:Pic76724.jpg|250px|A Zendo game]]

description --> replaces Description (optional)

A very brief explanation (i.e. just a sentence or maybe two) of the game.

description=A fast-paced, multiplayer game with a 'Treasure Hunter' theme that is played on a checker board.

min_players --> Players: (left-hand side of dash) (optional but highly recommended)

max_players --> Players: (right-hand side of dash) (optional but highly recommended)

The minimum and maximum number of players that can play the game. When both values are provided, they will be separated by a dash in the "Players" row of the infobox. When only one or the other is given, it will display by itself. For consistency of searching the database, please indicate solitaire or 2-player only games by leaving "min_players" blank and setting "max_players" to the correct value

min_players=3

max_players=100

game_length --> Length: (optional but highly recommended)

Single descriptive word for how long it takes to play the game. Please use one of the following: "Fast" (for 5-10 min games, 15 min max), "Medium" (for 10-30 min, 45 min max), and "Long" (for games lasting more than 30+ min)

game_length=Fast

complexity --> Complexity (optional but highly recommended)

The relative complexity of the game. Suitable values for this parameter are: "Simple", "Medium", or "Complex" ("Low" and "High" are also valid but will be eventually phased out). This rating is somewhat subjective; a good measure of a game's complexity is how easy it is to describe or learn the valid moves for each turn. A game with few rules and few options, like Tic-Tac-Toe (Noughts and Crosses), has Simple complexity.

complexity=Simple

trios --> Pyramid trios: (optional but highly recommended)

stashes --> Icehouse stashes:

sets --> Treehouse sets:

The minimum number pyramids needed to play the game. Each parameter denotes a different method of counting pyramids. "Trios" indicates a single set of one small, medium, and large pyramid or the same color. A "Icehouse stash" is 5 pyramids of each size, all of the same color (i.e. 5 trios). A "Treehouse set" is 5 trios, each of a different color (often called "Rainbow" or "Xeno" stashes). You are free to use whichever parameter makes the most sense for your game. However, so as to avoid confusion, please use only one of the three parameters and leave the other two blank!

trios=3

stashes=1 per player

sets=2

other_equip --> Other equipment: (optional)

A comma separated list of any equipment, other than the pyramids, which is required to play the game. Additional equipment that is often used with Icehouse pyramid games include: D6 dice, Playing cards, Poker chips, Martian Coasters, Treehouse dice, Chessboard, etc. Please do not embed wiki links to the component category pages! This infobox is intelligent and will generate links automatically as long as you use standard terms and capitalize the first word or a component name (e.g. use Chessboard, not chessboard or chess board).

other_equip=Six D10 dice, two decks of Playing cards.

setup_time --> Setup time: (optional)

How much time is required to arrange the game pieces or complete other processes, such as picking player teams or deciding on a starting player, before the actual gameplay can begin. Please use units of "Min" and do not use other text such as "less than" or "quick"; the use of any text other than the units will cause an error with loading the value into the game database.

setup_time=5 Min

min_playing_time --> Min. Playing time: (optional)

max_playing_time --> Max. Playing time: (optional)

The minimum and maximum time required to play the game. Similar to the number of players, these values will be displayed in the same row and separated with a dash. Please use units of Min. If you are providing both a min and a max, you may wish to omit the units from the min_playing time so the desplay looks cleaner (the database will default to units of min for game searches). Like with setup_time, please do not use text other than the units.

min_playing_time=10 Min

max_playing_time=180 Min

strategy --> Strategy depth: (optional)

The level of strategy that can be developed to increase a player's chance of winning the game. Suitable values for this parameter are: "None", "Low", "Medium", or "High". A game like Chess can be described as having a high level of strategy, whereas a game that involves nothing more than rolling a die and moving the number of spaces indicated is described as having no strategy.

strategy=Low

random_chance --> Random chance: (optional)

A somewhat subjective rating of the amount of random chance involved in playing the game. Suitable values for this parameter are: "None", "Low", "Medium", and "High". A game that requires rolling a die, flipping a coin, spinning a wheel, or drawing a card to determine a player's options will have increasingly higher levels of randomness. Games that rely strictly on player moves, like Chess, would be described as having no randomness.

random_chance=Medium

game_mechanics --> Game Mechanics: (optional)

Comma separated list of words/phrases that describe the mechanics of the game. Typical values include: "Stacking", "Sorting", "Matching", "Elimination", "Area control", etc. Please do not embed wiki links; they will be generated automatically. Also, please try to keep it to a limited list of only the MAJOR mechanics used (for example, don't add "stacking" if the pyramids are only stacked in a common bank for organizational and not gameplay reason

game_mechanics=Stacking, Programming

theme --> Theme: (optional)

A single word or phrase that describes the theme of the game. Common themes include: "War", "Space", "Role Playing", "Farming", "Nature", etc. A game that has no apparent theme, such as Tic-Tac-Toe (Noughts and Crosses), is considered "Abstract" and can be labeled as such.

theme=Underwater Adventure

BGG_Link --> BGG Link: (optional)

If the game is listed on BoardGameGeek, you can include a link to the game's page enclosed in single square brackets. After the link (but still within the brackets), provide the name of the game, which is what the user will click to follow the link. IMPORTANT! please do not add your game to BoardGameGeek unless you have playtested it at least a few times and worked out the initial bugs/kinks in the rules. No BGG page is much better than a page with broken rules.

BGG_Link=[http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/21955 Treehouse]

game_status --> Status: (optional but highly recommended)

The development status of your game. Please use one of the following: "Initial design", "Playtesting", Nearly Complete", or "Complete".

footnotes=game_status=Playtesting

version_num --> (v#.##) (optional)

Version number of your ruleset. This can help people deduce if the rules have changed since the last time they have looked at the game page.

footnotes=version_num=2.1

release_year --> Year released (optional but highly recommended)

The year in which you first posted the game online (or finally finished major changes to the rules). Please use the current year when posting your game for the first time, even if you have been playing it privately with family and friends for years.

release_year=2016

footnotes --> Footnotes (optional)

Any other information that may be of interest to a person who is scanning through infoboxes of many games and does not want to read the entire game description page. For example: "won 2nd place in the XYZ game design contest". Please be responsible and don't add paragraphs of text

footnotes=This game was played by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 moon-landing mission.