Surgeon's Secret

Overview

Surgeon’s Secret is a strategic board game that combines elements of bluffing, strategy, and survival within the context of the human body. This game is inspired by the board game called “Coup” but adapts the mechanics to fit the organ themed concept. The game continues until only one player's organ remains healthy, making them the winner. It's essential for players to carefully manage their organ's health, detoxify, take medication, and use strategic bluffs and actions to avoid elimination and outlast their opponents in the body's challenging environment. The visual and mechanical design of our game emphasizes clarity in hidden information, tactile health tokens, and escalating pressure through toxin accumulation.

My Role

Game Designer:

• Designed core gameplay mechanics, including health management and toxicity systems
• Developed the bluff based interaction structure (Claim-Action-Response phases) and balanced challenge and elimination mechanics to maintain competitive pacing.

2D Art Lead:

• Designed the visual assets, including Organ, Bluff cards, and Toxicity cards.
• Established the visual identity and thematic direction of the game through cohesive art style and color palette.
• Created engaging UI elements to enhance player interaction and convey game mechanics effectively.

Character

Key Takeaway/ Challenges

Coming from a strong background in 2D design and visual arts, I felt confident developing the game’s visual identity, particularly in designing the cards. Crafting the layout, illustrations, and overall aesthetic direction was a natural extension of my strengths. However, the more demanding aspect of the project was refining the game mechanics. Translating a biological theme into a balanced bluff based system required extensive iteration, discussion, and critical thinking. We had weekly playtesting sessions where peers provided feedback on clarity, pacing, and fairness. These sessions revealed mechanical flaws, unclear rules, and balance issues, pushing us to continuously revise health systems, challenge structures, and card effects. Through this process, I expanded beyond visual design and developed stronger systems thinking skills, learning how to balance creativity with logic, player psychology, and gameplay clarity.