ec2-3-135-213-214.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com | ToothyWiki | MoonShadow | RecentChanges | Login | Webcomic A trading game played with cards. Players trade resources and stuff they've built from resources so they can retire in Hawaii.
x resource cards, each of which is one of the y resource types: a, b, c, ... - these form a resource deck. Each resource has its cash value written on it. Some are more common than others, and the cash value is proportional to rarity. The mining cost is slightly cheaper than the lowest possible cash value.
z built-stuff cards, each of which has the prerequisites required to obtain it written on it: nut, bolt, plank, gadget, widget, gromit, ... , yacht. The prerequisites are a combination of resources, built-stuff and cash. Each built-stuff also has a scrap value. This is always less than the cash or scrap value of all prerequisites. Resources may be part of it, and the cash part may be negative (i.e. pay some cash to break this back up into basic resources). They have the same backs as resource cards.
Same backs would make it a pain to sort the cards. Is it especially relevant? --K
The idea was to make it harder for people to tell how close you are to getting a yacht by looking at the back of your hand - if you do some private trades so people don't know what you've kept of what you've built; thus making it up to you exactly how much effort you want to put into obfuscation. - MoonShadow
The same property is used in SettlersOfCatan and CitiesAndKnightsOfCatan, to good effect - and there people's hands are theoretically public knowledge, if anyone has perfect memory. It works well, and it's not a taxing task to separate out the resources and commodities at the end of the game. --AC
Presumably the built-stuff you've built benefits you in some way? --CH
It can be scrapped for some cash. You end up with vastly more money if you retire on a yacht than any other way, and everything else is in the yacht's prerequisite chain. If that turns out to not be enough to encourage trading, perhaps things higher up in the prerequisite chains could be scrappable for more cash than went into getting them. - MoonShadow
How about, some devices can be put into operation by placing them in front of you... They have various effects as described on the card from cash producers to cheaper mining to cheaper building or even affecting the order of your turn. The more expensive ones could affect opponents. Operational devices cannot be traded/broken down. Putting a device into and out of operation has a cost involved. --K
We're turning this into MtG now ;) Yes, that works - I like it. The effects will need a fair bit of thought and balancing, though, so we don't get "first person to put this into operation pretty much wins". - MoonShadow
Any sufficiently advanced game can always be turned into CalvinBall ;) --AC
Money.
Each player starts out with several mining costs' worth of money. The resource deck is shuffled. Built-stuff cards are sorted into piles and placed face up next to the money in the bank.
Hands are kept hidden. Players take turns in order. The following happens during a turn:
Retire. The player may declare that they are retiring to Hawaii. They must pay the retiring prerequisites to the bank. Their turn ends immediately. If they are the first player to make the declaration, the game ends at the start of their next turn.
Mine a resource. If the resource deck is not empty, the current player must pay the mining cost to the bank to draw a resource card from the deck. If they cannot do so, they leave the game.
To be a bit friendlier it might be worth letting people sell resources, etc. at some base rate before having to mine since otherwise someone with a Yacht etc could accidentally take themselves out of the game --K
See below - resources may be traded in and built-stuff scrapped at any time. Sorry, that should probably come before the turn description.. - MoonShadow
Auction a resource. If the resource deck is not empty, the current player may turn over the next card in the resource deck and hold an auction for it. They may place bids themselves. The money paid goes to the bank; if player other than the current player wins the auction, the current player keeps a commission of 10% rounded down.
Trading phase. The current player may arrange to trade any of their cards and/or cash with other players for other cards and/or cash. They may also buy built-stuff from the bank by paying the appropriate prerequisites to the bank, assuming the bank has the necessary cards in stock. Resources thus paid go on the discard pile.
Trades with the bank are always public. Amount of money each player holds is also public, as is their hand size; the cards in their hand are hidden. Trades with other players have to be declared, but details of what is traded do not have to be public.
So long as players don't say "This is private" and go off and have a ten minute chat while the others sit around waiting... --K
Time limits on private trades? I was also wondering about having the participants pay a small fixed tax to each player not taking part in the private discussion, whether or not things get traded.. - MoonShadow
Resources may be traded in to the bank for their cash value at any time. They go on a discard pile, which is shuffled to make a new resource deck whenever the resource deck becomes empty. Built-stuff may be scrapped at any time. The built-stuff cards go back to the bank.
In order to retire to Hawaii, one must have a large amount of cash for a private jet flight, or a yacht and a somewhat smaller amount of cash to pay the crew; in the latter case, the yacht is sold for twice the cash part of its scrap value upon reaching Hawaii (you get the cash as soon as you hand the yacht over to the bank).
If all players leave the game, the game ends without a winner. Otherwise, the person who successfully retired with the largest amount of cash in hand wins at the end of the game. Note that you can't trade stuff to the bank for cash once you've declared you're retiring - it becomes worthless; but if you start trading lots of things in at once, everyone else will know you're about to retire.
So "at any time" means "at any time on your turn"? Or just "at any time except once you've declared you're retiring"? --AC
Um. "at any time on your turn", I think. What I actually wanted was "during your trading phase and if you're about to die 'cos you can't afford to start your turn. - MoonShadow
Quick thought, if the mining cost is lower than the cash value of every minable resource then the no-one wins ending shouldn't actually be possible should it? I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. --K
Ah, woops - yes, the original set of rules had the mining cost as the average of the resource cash values, but there was some problem with that that I thought of that I can't remember now :( Not sure which way round to change things to fix that. Also, the early built-stuff gives much less back than you paid for it when scrapped, and some built-stuff costs money to take apart. - MoonShadow
Possible examples (values for scale purposes more than anything else):
Diamond - value 100 (intended gadget use: sharpened tools, laser like devices)
Gold - value 90 (intended gadget use: wiring)
...
Iron - value 50 (intended gadget use: base building material)
Carbon / charcoal / wood, to turn the Iron into Steel? and/or Wood generally as a common component, value about 20-30? --AC
Gadgets
... have a type, build-cost (resource and money), break up value (resource and money, can be positive or negative), activation ability, activation/deactivation costs.
Two catches here. When breaking something up, we have no resource cards to hand. Does it only have a monetary value? Secondly, there is probably too much going on. The (de)activation cost might be removable entirely or specified in some other global way.
Possible examples:
Yacht - No idea what components this could be built of that would actually have some use in themselves unless we use silly-tech type ideas. Obviously one of the highest overall cost items.
Ore detector - Gold, iron, ... - Allows drawing of x resource cards and then keep the one you want. Multiple levels?
Additional mining machine - Quite expensive - Allows more than one 'mine' action in a turn.
Ideally, some items would be built from smaller items (besides the obvious level 2 is built from level 1 plus stuff that could be applied) but I can't think of any good examples.
How about: one component of a yacht is a Drive System, which has as component an Engine. Engine needs Fuel Pipe, Sparky Bit, Axle, Piston etc. Fuel Pipe can also be activated: when active it means when you mine a resource that turns out to be Oil (or other liquid), you may get half your mining cost back. Axle is part of a Mining Cart which can be broken down to re-yield the Axles and which lets you pay 2x mining cost to take a second Mining action. Axle could also be part of a Trading Cart which could do something. Both Carts also contain Wheels and a Base Plate, which is used in all sorts of things. Coming up with a full breakdown of a Yacht would be good fun, particularly if a certain amount of wackiness and creative license is allowed. --AlexChurchill
simple item tree for proof-of-concept "break-up" means "return item to bank, search the discard pile and take from it at most the number of resource cards of the type(s) listed, if present."
yacht: hull, 4 x porthole, engine, deck, 4 x petrol sale value £6000 player must posess a big hammer and a flamethrower to make a yacht
hull: 3 x steel, big hammer, 3 x paint sale value £1700 break-up to recover 3 x steel
porthole: steel, glass player must posess a flamethrower to make portholes scrap value £250 break-up to recover 1 x steel, 1 x glass
engine: iron, 2 x copper, 3 x pipe, duct tape player must posess a big hammer to make an engine sale value £1200 break-up to recover 4 x iron, 2 x copper
deck: 3 x iron, 6 x wood, 3 x duct tape, paint player must posess a big hammer to make a deck scrap value £800 break-up to recover 3 x iron, 3 x wood, 1 x duct tape
petrol: 2 x oil player must posess a still to make petrol scrap value £100
still: copper, glass, flamethrower, 2 x petrol scrap value £400 break-up to recover 2 x wood, 1 x iron, 1 x copper
flamethrower: pipe, oil scrap value £180
steel: iron, 2 x wood scrap value £150
big hammer: iron, wood For each big hammer in your posession, you may mine one extra time at the start of your turn, paying the mining cost. The cost for this and any subsequent mining this turn is double the last mining cost you paid. scrap value £100
paint: titanium, oil player must posess a still to make paint
glass: sand, 2 x wood scrap value £140
pipe: iron, 2 x wood player must posess a big hammer to make pipe scrap value £130
duct tape: 2 x oil player must posess a still and a big hammer to make duct tape scrap value £100
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MoonShadow/Hawaii