I'm designing a 12-day office...
About this model
I'm designing a 12-day office contest with a points economy, and I want you to model it and simulate several playthroughs to find balance problems before we run it.
PLAYERS & TIMING - 12–20 players. Contest runs 12 workdays. Winner = highest balance at end of Day 12. - Drop-in format: each player has roughly a 50–70% chance of playing on any given day (some play nearly every day, some rarely). Model a mix of frequent, medium, and rare players.
CURRENCY: candy canes, everyone starts at 0.
SOURCES (per day, per player who plays) - Playing the day's game: +1 - Winning/answering correctly: +3 (multiple winners possible; assume ~20–35% of that day's players win) - Streak bonus: +2 when a player reaches 5 consecutive days played (and again at 10) - Lucky Pick: every player who plays picks 1 of 25 hidden squares (random, no repeats that day; more squares than players). Contents of the 25 squares each day: 10 × +1, 5 × +2, 3 × +3, 2 × +5, 1 × Triple (multiply that player's game canes from that day by 3), 1 × Steal 3 (take 3 from any chosen player), 1 × Shield (secret; blocks the next Steal or Swap targeting this player, then is used up), 1 × Raw Swap (swap your entire balance with any player currently in the top 5), 1 × Coal (nothing) - Lucky Pick results are revealed the next morning. Steal/Swap targets must be submitted by noon that next day or the power expires. Assume players target the current leader most of the time.
DAY 12 FINALE - Final game + final Lucky Picks are revealed live the same day; winner crowned immediately.
PLEASE ANALYZE 1. Run several simulated contests. Show final standings and how often a frequent player vs. a rare player wins. 2. Is the Raw Swap too powerful, especially late in the contest? Could one swap on Day 11 or 12 decide the winner? 3. Does the leader run away early, or does the economy keep the race close? 4. Is Steal 3 meaningful relative to typical balances by mid-contest? 5. Does showing up (+1 per day + streaks) matter enough compared to winning games and luck? 6. Any dominant strategies or exploits (e.g., holding off, targeting patterns)? 7. Suggest specific tuning changes (numbers, limits, rules) to keep it fair, dramatic, and close until Day 12.
"I'm designing a 12-day office..." is a public Machinations diagram shared in the Community by Aleisha O, with 34 components.
It was created in November 2026 and last edited in November 2026.
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