Thanks for your input.
My story is a bit more of a game than a “novel”, so I did want to include some parts where you need to think. I’ll be sure to clarify this when it’s done so folks like you who don’t like puzzles can avoid it.
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Thanks for your input.
My thinking on game structure is like this: you can play a mini-game to win a lot of coins at once or go through a lengthier route (“grind”) to find enough coins to pass a checkpoint later on down the road. Of course, the long path will have its own interesting bits, not just 10 x “Keep walking” button 
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Maybe consider letting players choose from two options.
A) play an actual game of blackjack (play minigame)
Or
B) let the stats decide (you win or lose depending on your stats without having to actually play the game.
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I don’t consider that mechanics fair, to be honest. You are basically rewarding the player for playing the game as you want. That is basically a “or you do x, or you will have to grind artificially twenty hours like a loser” If one choice is totally unbalanced, there is no choice whatsoever as the player will feel cheated into doing something they don’t want to. It is also infamous for being one of the tricks to make people pay for loot boxes or microtransactions as an alternative.
Each mini-game has to have an alternative with a similar reward and handicap.
For instance, instead play game try to con artist a cashier, or help the casino to catch a cheater.
I stuck blackjack (and a few other casino games) in my game (and yes, the coding for blackjack ended up being a fricking nightmare). But they are fully optional. Similar with puzzles: there are some in there, but I always put in a workaround so they don’t block progress for players who don’t like riddles or care to solve it themselves. I take a maximalist view of this stuff: stick in there for people who enjoy this kind of thing, but also remember to provide a way out or around it for people who don’t.
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I can never play Blackjack in a game without feeling like the computer/AI is cheating somehow.
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Wow, those are some great alternatives. Thanks!
But yah, at the end of the day, it’s my “labyrinth” and players will have to go through SOME mandatory hurdles/checkpoints 
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Yah you ain’t joking about the “if special thing happens, do this, and make sure to keep it all in the right logical order” stuff 
I’ll definitely make sure there’s a fun route AROUND all the puzzles/logic “mini games”, but my overall theme is “looks like a simple hack-and-slash dungeon crawl, but actually requires a bit of brains to solve” if that makes sense 
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I have a dice game to add to one of my books (if I ever finish it) but it would be totally optional, more based on luck than anything else, and you would be able to cheat if you want, with the possibility to been discovered, so there’s another option, though I think it doesn’t match up with Black Jack, unles you switch cards somehow or something like that, I’ve never played black jack for real so I have no idea what I’m talking about.
I love puzzles in a story - to me it’s actually the most fun part. Missing Wings was great (at times, repetitive). Paradox Factor was another one I really liked. Go for it! I’m really curious to see what you came up with. Did you build some AI for your “tennis”? Feel free to enroll me in any beta test you may have.
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In my opinion, I don’t mind puzzles, but it rubs me the wrong way when it affects a major part of the story- like if you somehow die because you didn’t win a hand, you restart because you didn’t guess the password right, etc.
But if it’s something that isn’t a life or death situation, it’s fine. Those skill checkpoints- requiring a certain level to pass are sometimes okay, as long as they aren’t set ridiculously high, when you only have enough times to get ONE skill to that level. I’m also fine with another character than can help you if you don’t know the answer- like in Relics 2 (the poem puzzle).
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Basically, make the alternative not in the mindset of “I punish u for not playing blackjack” and instead write it so it’s an equally fun thing to do, or even more!
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Definitely! Sorry if that didn’t come across well before. I’m doing the map now, and there’ll be plenty of fun for anyone who doesn’t like gambling/mini-games
My mindset is always “will this be fun to play more than once?”
Give me about a month or so, and will do. It’s coming along nicely, and the feedback from you and everyone else has been very helpful.
That sounds wonderful! My favourite games have been innovative ones so far so yeah! Sounds cool
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What titles are you referring to @Polygon ?
They’re still WIPS at the moment