Views: how a game lies on the table

A game has three layers, each in its own file:

The engine never reads a view: it changes nothing about the rules or the results.

Using a view with your model. In the validator, paste the view into "View (optional YAML)" below the model and press Check. "Open in the player" then opens your model with that view. The validator only checks that the view is readable YAML ("The view cannot be read" otherwise); a slot that names a zone, variable or board the model does not have shows up in the player (for example "board x not found"). The built-in games of the player come with their own views; "Start from" in the validator loads an example together with its view.

Without a view the player lays out the table itself: shuffled or hidden zones as a deck, open zones as a row, a meter for every per-player variable with a numeric init, and an area per player for the zones with owner: player.

Cards are drawn as typographic cards (name, type, numbers, tokens), never as the original artwork. What a viewer sees follows the visibility in the model: in the player you can "view as player p", and hidden zones and other players' hands then show only card backs.

#Structure

view: my-card-game                  # label only; the view belongs to the model it is used with

card:
  lang: en                          # language of card names, for hyphenation (default en)
  type_field: type                  # field with the card type (small text in the colour band)
  type_names: {hero: Hero, ally: Ally}            # optional: display names of the types
  color:                            # colour band: the first entry that matches
    - {field: sphere, values: {leadership: "#6d4c9f", tactics: "#a53a2c"}}
    - {field: type, values: {enemy: "#6b4a32"}}
  corner: [cost, threat]            # number top right: the first of these fields the card has
  stats:                            # numbers at the bottom, with an icon
    - {field: willpower, icon: "✦", name: willpower}
    - {field: hp, icon: "♥", name: hit points}
  tokens:                           # numbers on the instance shown as tokens on the card
    damage: {color: "#c0392b", name: damage}
  sideways: exhausted               # turn the card sideways while this property is true

table:                              # the middle of the table, row by row
  - row:
      - {zone: encounter_deck, as: deck}
      - {zone: encounter_discard, as: discard}      # top card face up
      - {quest: {var: quest_card, catalogue: quests, progress: progress, goal: quest_points}}
      - {zone: staging, name: staging area, wide: true}

player:                             # the area of every player (per-player zones show that player's part)
  - row:
      - {meter: {var: threat, max: 50, name: threat}}
      - {zone: heroes, attachments: {zone: attachments, field: host}}
      - {zone: hand, small: true, wide: true}

#card

A card's fields are the content item's fields (looked up by id) overlaid with the current properties of the instance. Properties that are true (other than sideways) show as tags.

#table and player

Both are lists of rows: - row: [slot, slot, ...]. table is drawn once; player once per player, and a per-player zone in it shows that player's part.

Every slot may have a name. Cards that are new since the previous request get a highlight, and a meter shows its change.

The smallest view, for a 3 × 3 grid kept in a zone board:

view: tictactoe
table:
  - row:
      - {board: {zone: board, columns: 3}, name: board}

#Boards with geometry

A board from boards (see board geometry) is drawn with the same geometry as the engine: square with coordinates, hex with gaps drawn as walls, walls between cells as lines. Cells that changed since the previous request get a highlight (in chess: the from and to squares).

table:
  - row:
      - name: chessboard
        board:
          geometry: board                 # name in the model's boards
          pieces: {var: pieces}           # a dict cell → piece
          checkered: true
          flip: true
          names: true
          icons:
            wK: {icon: "♚", color: white}
            bK: {icon: "♚", color: black}
      - name: dungeon
        board:
          geometry: map
          pieces: {zone: figures, field: cell}           # instances with a property cell
          color: {field: side, values: {hero: "#2f6fb3", monster: "#a53a2c"}}
          value: hp                                      # number on the token
          cells:                                         # highlighted cells (with a legend)
            - {const: OBSTACLES, color: "rgba(120, 100, 70, .65)", name: obstacle}
            - {const: TERRAIN, color: "rgba(110, 160, 80, .42)", name: difficult terrain}

Clicking a piece or card shows its properties. Complete views, used by the player for the built-in games of the same name: chess, hex-skirmish and tictactoe.