tile-placement

/tile-placement - Systematic Tile Placement

Methodology for placing tiles, tokens, and building the exploration chain in Mansions of Madness scenarios.

Standard Placement Chain

When a player explores a new area, a strict sequence of events fires. Each phase ALWAYS calls the next — never skip steps:

PlaceTile → PlaceDecoration → PlaceConnections → PlaceItems → PlacePeople → MoveOneSpace

Phase-by-Phase Breakdown

1. PlaceTile — Reveal the tile itself

upsert_event("EventOfficePlaceTile", {
  display: "false",
  buttons: "1",
  add: "TileOffice",
  event1: "EventOfficePlaceDecoration"
})

2. PlaceDecoration — Add walls, barriers, and terrain features

upsert_event("EventOfficePlaceDecoration", {
  display: "false",
  buttons: "1",
  add: "TokenWallOffice1 TokenWallOffice2",
  event1: "EventOfficePlaceConnections"
})

3. PlaceConnections — Place explore tokens leading to adjacent unrevealed areas

upsert_event("EventOfficePlaceConnections", {
  display: "false",
  buttons: "1",
  add: "TokenExploreToLibrary TokenExploreToCellar",
  event1: "EventOfficePlaceItems"
})

4. PlaceItems — Place search tokens and interactable objects

upsert_event("EventOfficePlaceItems", {
  display: "false",
  buttons: "1",
  add: "TokenSearchOffice TokenInteractDesk",
  event1: "EventOfficePlacePeople"
})

5. PlacePeople — Place NPCs, monster spawns, and other entities

upsert_event("EventOfficePlacePeople", {
  display: "false",
  buttons: "1",
  add: "SpawnOfficeGuard",
  event1: "EventOfficeMoveOneSpace"
})

6. MoveOneSpace — The investigating hero takes one step onto the new tile

upsert_event("EventOfficeMoveOneSpace", {
  display: "false",
  buttons: "0",
  operations: "moveOneSpace,=,1"
})

MoveOneSpace Pattern

The moveOneSpace variable is a shared convention:

• Set moveOneSpace,=,1 at the end of every placement chain
• Explore tokens that trigger placement should set their associated variable to 0 before the chain starts
• The Valkyrie app reads moveOneSpace to animate the hero stepping onto the new tile

Additionally, in the MoveOneSpace event:

• Set explore tokens to value 1 (marks them as "active/visible")
• Set sight tokens to value 0 (marks them as "not yet seen")

Multiple Entry Points

When a tile can be reached from multiple directions, guard against double-placement.

Use vartests with a revealed flag. Remember the button mapping:

• event1 = test FAILS
• event2 = test PASSES

# Test: is officeRevealed == 0? (not yet revealed)
upsert_event("EventOfficeFromHallway", {
  display: "false",
  buttons: "2",
  vartests: "VarOperation:officeRevealed,==,0",
  event1: "EventOfficeAlreadyRevealed",  # FAILS: it's NOT 0, already revealed
  event2: "EventOfficePlaceTile"          # PASSES: it IS 0, place the tile
})

# The placement chain sets the flag
upsert_event("EventOfficePlaceTile", {
  display: "false",
  buttons: "1",
  operations: "officeRevealed,=,1",
  add: "TileOffice",
  event1: "EventOfficePlaceDecoration"
})

Conditional Token Placement

Use conditions on tokens to show/hide them based on game state:

upsert_token("TokenSearchSecretRoom", {
  type: "TokenSearch",
  xposition: "10",
  yposition: "3",
  conditions: "secretRoomFound,>=,1",
  buttons: "1",
  event1: "EventSearchSecret"
})

The token only appears on the map when secretRoomFound >= 1.

Naming Conventions

Consistent naming keeps complex scenarios manageable:

Pattern	Example	Use
Event<Room>PlaceTile	EventOfficePlaceTile	Tile reveal event
Event<Room>PlaceDecoration	EventOfficePlaceDecoration	Wall/barrier placement
Event<Room>PlaceConnections	EventOfficePlaceConnections	Explore token placement
Event<Room>PlaceItems	EventOfficePlaceItems	Search/interact token placement
Event<Room>PlacePeople	EventOfficePlacePeople	NPC/monster placement
Event<Room>MoveOneSpace	EventOfficeMoveOneSpace	Terminal movement event
Tile<Room>	TileOffice	Tile component
TokenExplore<From>To<To>	TokenExploreHallToOffice	Explore token
TokenSearch<Room>	TokenSearchOffice	Search token
TokenInteract<Object>	TokenInteractDesk	Interact token
T1_<Name> / T2_<Name>	T1_Office / T2_Library	Tile group prefix
0_<Name> / 1_<Name>	0_LoopInit / 1_LoopBody	Loop event prefix

Layout Tips

• Start with 2-3 tiles visible; reveal others through exploration
• Standard tile spacing is 7 units — use place_tile_relative for consistent positioning
• Place explore tokens at tile edges facing the direction of the next tile
• Use get_map_ascii frequently to verify spatial layout
• Consider the camera: use mincam/maxcam events to control visible area
• Hub-spoke layouts create a central nexus with branching paths
• Linear layouts create a more directed narrative experience
• L-shape layouts offer a good balance of exploration and direction