--- key: mechanic/tabletop-systems--t179 type: mechanic id: tabletop-systems--t179 lang: en title: Worker placement and action selection summary: >- Workers reserve actions in a shared offer, so placement both grants a benefit and denies an opponent an opportunity. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/tabletop-systems--t179/' jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/tabletop-systems--t179.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/tabletop-systems--t179.md aliases: [] tags: - 'Cards, dice and tabletop mechanics' - Mechanics and variants sourceIds: - source-eceba0e40b661634 - source-1701f69d697ae522 - source-846ef4d83cbcd747 sources: - id: source-eceba0e40b661634 title: 'PuzzleScript: Rules' url: 'https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html' verifiedAt: null - id: source-1701f69d697ae522 title: 'Wizards of the Coast: Magic rules' url: 'https://magic.wizards.com/en/rules' verifiedAt: null - id: source-846ef4d83cbcd747 title: D&D Lords of Waterdeep url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/644390/' verifiedAt: null relations: [] placements: - catalogId: tabletop-systems id: t179 title: 'Cards, dice and tabletop mechanics' url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/tabletop-systems/#t179' categoryIds: - mechanics supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Worker placement and action selection description: >- Workers reserve actions in a shared offer, so placement both grants a benefit and denies an opponent an opportunity. image: src: images/mechanics/general-lords-waterdeep-01.webp width: 1440 height: 810 game: D&D Lords of Waterdeep sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/644390/' originalUrl: >- https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/644390/ss_a4698d5147a5e26bbc925faff402ec66085a6225.1920x1080.jpg?t=1647889655 credit: 'Playdek, Inc. / Playdek, Inc.' rights: >- Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. caption: An agent occupies an action space on the shared board alt: An agent occupies an action space on the shared board markers: - x: 66 'y': 61 label: An action space provides the chosen resource - x: 52 'y': 7 label: The Assign an Agent phase calls for placing an agent tips: - Show occupied spaces and alternative benefits before a worker is spent. examples: - title: D&D Lords of Waterdeep url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/644390/' endsAt: null provenance: >- Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant. license: CC-BY-4.0 codeLicense: MIT attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors catalogKey: catalog/tabletop-systems --- # Worker placement and action selection id: tabletop-systems--t179 type: mechanic key: mechanic/tabletop-systems--t179 lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/tabletop-systems--t179/ Workers reserve actions in a shared offer, so placement both grants a benefit and denies an opponent an opportunity. ## At a glance ![An agent occupies an action space on the shared board](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/general-lords-waterdeep-01.webp) [D&D Lords of Waterdeep](https://store.steampowered.com/app/644390/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. 1. An action space provides the chosen resource 2. The Assign an Agent phase calls for placing an agent - Show occupied spaces and alternative benefits before a worker is spent. - [D&D Lords of Waterdeep](https://store.steampowered.com/app/644390/) ## How it works Workers reserve actions in a shared offer, so placement both grants a benefit and denies an opponent an opportunity. ## Variants ### Mechanic variants - Exclusive spaces accept one worker. - Extra payment permits repeating an occupied action. - Specialists improve a particular space type. - Worker retrieval opens another action round. ## Design example Occupying a sawmill now supplies timber and prevents a rival from finishing construction on time. Prototype check: Test useful fallback actions after a first choice is blocked, especially for the last participant. ## Context and limits Tabletop mechanisms allocate limited actions and hidden information through cards, dice, positions and commitments. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map. ## Connected materials ## Sources and provenance Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant. - [PuzzleScript: Rules](https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html) (id: source-eceba0e40b661634) - [Wizards of the Coast: Magic rules](https://magic.wizards.com/en/rules) (id: source-1701f69d697ae522) - [D&D Lords of Waterdeep](https://store.steampowered.com/app/644390/) (id: source-846ef4d83cbcd747) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors