Fengol
22-02-2010, 09:01 PM
The recent chatter about my L4D card game, thoughts about another projects and conversations with the estimable Nandrew have convinced me to try my hand at another card game.
Objectives
* Basic neo boardgame ideals (E.G. all the players are involved until end of play, no spiraling effects, etc)
* Cooperative play (L4D:TCG is a nice example of players working together to achieve some goal)
* Clear winner/Rewarding experienced play (something from L4D:TCG, advanced players tended to dominate play over n00bs, they should be rewarded for knowing the game but also should give new players a chance to make decisions. Also gives slight competitive edge)
* Cards as currency/meta items (Something from San Juan/Peurto Rico game I picked up and loved. A mechanic I want to play with).
So I give you Prince to King or P2K for short. This is just an idea at the moment and nothing is concrete.
The players are Princes (or Princesses) of a realm without a king. Their goal is to protect the realm by resolving cards dealt from a deck of cards and buying favours by using resolved cards for other players who can use them in their encounters. The game is over when the deck is depleted or a player has amassed 15 points of favour.
In the realm there are a number of villages as there are players + 1; which are cards drawn from the deck face down and place in the centre of the table. When all the villages are destroyed the game is over and the players have lost (in game terms this represents the player's communal health).
Quick lexicon
* The Deck is the deck of cards face down in the centre of the table
* A Round is when all the players take a Turn. A Round begins with all the players drawing a card from the deck and a Round ends when all the players have resolved their Turn.
* A Turn is an individual player's chance to do something. Turns are simultaneous like L4D:TCG with the resolution of cards in any order the players choose unless noted otherwise.
* Player's Hand are cards belonging to the player but are hidden from other players.
* Player's Area are cards belonging to the player but visible to all the players.
* Discard Pile is a pile of face up cards next to the Deck. These cards have been used and are out of play.
Play
At the beginning of the game each player is dealt 3 cards to their Hand. 5 cards are drawn face down in the centre of the table to represent the villages of the realm.
At the beginning of each Round each player draws a card face up to their Area. In their Turn the player must resolve all the face up cards in their Area. If they are unable to do so discard the card and discard a village. If the player resolves the card then he can add it to his hand.
Each card has a value and type. The value ranges from 1-5 and the types are: Military, Economic and Diplomacy. Cards are resolved by paying the cost indicated in the text on the card with cards of the player's hand of the total value and correct type.
Players may help each other to pay the cost of an encounter. When an encounter is resolved the cards that other players used are returned to their Areas facedown and count as Favours.
Not all the cards are encounters. Some are Boons (and are indicated as such) which are kept face up in the player's Area and their value or effect can be repeated used although not for other player's encounters unless specified otherwise.
Conclusion
This is similar to L4D:TCG which was based a lot off Munchkin. I think it's still very cooperative because of the communal health but there's also a sense of a single player winning. The cards still have to be made up but I hope you can easily imagine cards like "Famine", "Church Construction", "Orc Horde", "Rebellion", "Court Intrigue" & "Assassination" as different types of encounter cards with "Traders Fair", "Standing Army" & "Grand Vizier" as boons.
Lessons learnt from last time
* MAKE A VIDEO!!! Seriously, I will have to buy a webcam or something and somehow film the game in action so that people can see what it's about.
* Recruit play testers early (Unfortunately D, Aeq and Nan are in CT so send them the game as soon as possible)
* Ideally make this a PC game to share because it's near impossible to market this idea otherwise.
Thoughts?
Objectives
* Basic neo boardgame ideals (E.G. all the players are involved until end of play, no spiraling effects, etc)
* Cooperative play (L4D:TCG is a nice example of players working together to achieve some goal)
* Clear winner/Rewarding experienced play (something from L4D:TCG, advanced players tended to dominate play over n00bs, they should be rewarded for knowing the game but also should give new players a chance to make decisions. Also gives slight competitive edge)
* Cards as currency/meta items (Something from San Juan/Peurto Rico game I picked up and loved. A mechanic I want to play with).
So I give you Prince to King or P2K for short. This is just an idea at the moment and nothing is concrete.
The players are Princes (or Princesses) of a realm without a king. Their goal is to protect the realm by resolving cards dealt from a deck of cards and buying favours by using resolved cards for other players who can use them in their encounters. The game is over when the deck is depleted or a player has amassed 15 points of favour.
In the realm there are a number of villages as there are players + 1; which are cards drawn from the deck face down and place in the centre of the table. When all the villages are destroyed the game is over and the players have lost (in game terms this represents the player's communal health).
Quick lexicon
* The Deck is the deck of cards face down in the centre of the table
* A Round is when all the players take a Turn. A Round begins with all the players drawing a card from the deck and a Round ends when all the players have resolved their Turn.
* A Turn is an individual player's chance to do something. Turns are simultaneous like L4D:TCG with the resolution of cards in any order the players choose unless noted otherwise.
* Player's Hand are cards belonging to the player but are hidden from other players.
* Player's Area are cards belonging to the player but visible to all the players.
* Discard Pile is a pile of face up cards next to the Deck. These cards have been used and are out of play.
Play
At the beginning of the game each player is dealt 3 cards to their Hand. 5 cards are drawn face down in the centre of the table to represent the villages of the realm.
At the beginning of each Round each player draws a card face up to their Area. In their Turn the player must resolve all the face up cards in their Area. If they are unable to do so discard the card and discard a village. If the player resolves the card then he can add it to his hand.
Each card has a value and type. The value ranges from 1-5 and the types are: Military, Economic and Diplomacy. Cards are resolved by paying the cost indicated in the text on the card with cards of the player's hand of the total value and correct type.
Players may help each other to pay the cost of an encounter. When an encounter is resolved the cards that other players used are returned to their Areas facedown and count as Favours.
Not all the cards are encounters. Some are Boons (and are indicated as such) which are kept face up in the player's Area and their value or effect can be repeated used although not for other player's encounters unless specified otherwise.
Conclusion
This is similar to L4D:TCG which was based a lot off Munchkin. I think it's still very cooperative because of the communal health but there's also a sense of a single player winning. The cards still have to be made up but I hope you can easily imagine cards like "Famine", "Church Construction", "Orc Horde", "Rebellion", "Court Intrigue" & "Assassination" as different types of encounter cards with "Traders Fair", "Standing Army" & "Grand Vizier" as boons.
Lessons learnt from last time
* MAKE A VIDEO!!! Seriously, I will have to buy a webcam or something and somehow film the game in action so that people can see what it's about.
* Recruit play testers early (Unfortunately D, Aeq and Nan are in CT so send them the game as soon as possible)
* Ideally make this a PC game to share because it's near impossible to market this idea otherwise.
Thoughts?