[card game] [Print & play] Coverup
Hey guys
Here's a little card game, didn't get much interest at the jhb meetup, but that was generally the wrong crowd for this :P
Print n play download link:
http://www.twoplusgames.com/share/coverup_PnP_v02.zip
(v0.2 update added some tweaks to visual and made it easier to get points)
Everyone who's played it has told me it's a "brain-burner". It's about position and somewhat reading what other people are trying to do too.
Some focus questions:
1. Does this interest you?
2. Is the theme utterly difficult to understand/get excited about? Should I retheme it or just forget about the theme?
3. Did you understand it?
4. How do you think this could be simplified?
Thank ye good people :)
Here's a little card game, didn't get much interest at the jhb meetup, but that was generally the wrong crowd for this :P
Print n play download link:
http://www.twoplusgames.com/share/coverup_PnP_v02.zip
(v0.2 update added some tweaks to visual and made it easier to get points)
Everyone who's played it has told me it's a "brain-burner". It's about position and somewhat reading what other people are trying to do too.
Some focus questions:
1. Does this interest you?
2. Is the theme utterly difficult to understand/get excited about? Should I retheme it or just forget about the theme?
3. Did you understand it?
4. How do you think this could be simplified?
Thank ye good people :)
Comments
The theme and name is appealing, but at first glance I have no idea how it will play.
Thanks for p n p download.
- What is a Dart symbol and why do clients cover them? Are those the purple puppet strings icons that aren't pointed to as Dirt?
- What is being paid for? Is it your score? Am I reading payment wrong?
- What do favor abilities do?
- The concise description of what the game is about is a bit confusing: Who are "they" in the paragraph there, clients?
- Is turn action order important? Is playing a Client always the last thing a player can do in their turn, for instance? Is it possible to play a Client and then do something else?
- Does a case close when a Client is played on it, or does the same case stay on the board the whole game? If it's the latter, then I have an idea for a more in-depth theme...
Theme idea:If a single case stays active the entire game, then what you're looking at is playing as a laywer in a scandal situation - a scandal has broken and multiple people are implicated in the public eye, your job is to do exactly what you've pointed out and cover-up the scandal to manipulate your clients' reputations in the media. This points to starting cases being big deals, potentially special cards like Arms Deal Scandal and Lottery Corruption Scandal or Tenderpreneurship Scandal, etc. Then the open leads become more specialised cards, either witnesses that reveal more info or facts about the case or even pieces of evidence - these could get quite juicy and fun to work with.
And finally, this might point to an alternative scoring model - a scandal always has a scapegoat, so perhaps all you're trying to do in this situation is not lose... The could mean a negative scoring system: You start out with X points (determined by your client, perhaps) and then after each round (rounds could move starting players, you know the drill) every player has to try and place their client on the board according to various coverage rules, if there's no safe space to place your client then they look "dirty" to the media this round and you lose a point. First player to hit 0 points is fingered as being responsible and the scandal is All Their Fault™. This mechanic would make the game be about more obviously manipulating the board state because you can see the client that each player has to place. Easy to place clients could have less points to start with (they're more guilty, or have less power, etc).
Dunno if that's what you want to go with, but it might help the game communicate easier... Also would be fun to write cards like Report Released!, Anonymous Tipoff, Eyewitness, Briefcase Full of Documents, etc ;)
I actually like the concept ... going to give it a bash with my play group this weekend.
I like how you used same rule descriptions as old boardgames did, but maybe simpler. As a base theme + mechanic translation I believe there is a match conceptually of how the game will feel when played. I do agree with @Dislekcia that your game can benefit from focusing on more fleshed out theme scenarios, actually this could be the selling point. A game that can be played in many ways with many expansions, etc. Insurance fraud, Espionage, etc. Many different crimes and industries out there in business, just refer to popular movies... Ponzie schemes, etc etc.
This does sound like it could be fun, for a more mature crowd.
Other things I like in your design is the amount of player choice you give from the start, with drawing and discarding. This lets the player feel in control of his own destiny, even though his dealing with his random cards.
It kinda feels like a hack on texas holdem poker...with a themed story.
What is not clear to me:
1. What is the purple X icon for, sounds like another Dirt, or is it an icon that must always be visible?
2. How does a player "most recently visit a lawyer"? if not, how do I start the game?
3. What does the grid represent? Cubicles in the office?
4. Favors?
5. How do I shred this evidence, because I want to.
Cool man, this looks like a novel concept!
Seems like few people manage to design games these without making it fantasy or survival, or 3D, so I mean this as complement.
Do you have plans to make it a digital game?
Theme idea: Totally! The theme of the game was always meant to be like that :D My original version had case dockets and case names, but then I decided to drop theme completely to work on mechanics first. which led to the blank cards I have now.
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After some playtesting, the biggest problem I have so far is with how the mechanics interacts with covering stuff up - it became super irritating to have to check what you're covering up to make sure it was placed properly, or scoring properly. So that's the first thing I want to either do something about physically (one of the ideas is to use see-through cards a la Gloom, but dang that's a massive undertaking in prototyping or change the rules to accommodate for it - so it no longer matters what you cover, but more has to do with what remains on the table after you cover stuff up.
Totally agree on the theming - it was the intention to be more thematic, and that's where I started, but I dropped that in favour of working out a mechanic that worked first before going on to writing scenarios and what a card should be called :) Yeah! I agree! But at the same time I'm trying to keep things simple. I'm not really happy with the way clients are drawn at the moment - it feels like a third wheel. @dislekcia's idea is interesting, I may look at moving that direction where players get multiple rounds of clients, and they MUST deal with their client instead of freely drawing new ones. The Purple X is a mafia icon - the four circles represent Dirt on 4 different factions. Sorry I didn't make that obvious in the rules... Purple X = mafia, Red dragon = Triad, Blue Badge = The police, Turquise B = BiggBank(TM). Then you just randomly pick one :P The starting player rule is just one of those flavour things :) The grid is an abstraction... I previously had the game play in completely haphazard directions/arrangement, and it got really difficult to play as you're never quite sure if something is covered or not.
So... sorry, I have no theme to relate the grid to :P The rigidity of the Law? :P Technically by keeping cards in your hand you've burned evidence :) That was actually part of the original plan, but that mechanic doesn't really come across yet. Thanks for the compliment :) I'll take it when it turns into something "real" :P
If I continue with this, I actually feel like it works better as digital, as the physical game is quite fiddly when cards are all over each other - you bump one and everything shifts and it's just irritating :/ Especially when playing with sleeves. So... Yeah, we'll see!!
BGG link: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1401170/coverup-24h-july
I must also not try to squeeze everything into one page :/
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A playtest session last night :) It went pretty well, points were even and things were rolling along.
I have fond memories (why past tense?) of playing Magic the Gathering to death which had a fairly steep learning curve (and pay to win - which is out of scope here), but found that in a modern age going "simpler" is the best formula for POPular board/card games - if that is the end-goal.
This game feels very complex and hard/niche and is difficult to comment on it properly without smelling the cards, cursing the paper cut and peeking a glimpse at the neighbour's hand. ;) Just understanding the mechanics by spending time actually playing it and having someone explain it to me is normally what gets me into board and card games in the first place. Maybe a computer game version will just be easier for me to assimilate without the human interaction? But then that defeats the purpose?
I find the "factions" very interesting: BiggBank (tm) (what? lol), triad, mafia, police.
I started reading the initial instructions but I felt overwhelmed TBH. There seems to be a pattern matching aspect which appeals the problem solving mind. Also the fringe/grey area theme is immediately interesting - cover-ups etc.
My fondest memories are of 2 types of card/board games. Those that took a while to master (MTG) where you pitted your skills against like-minded people and then those that were simpler, yet managed to appeal to 2 or more different kinds of players (e.g. Axis and Allies) which joined the hardcore war-gamer with the short attention span people that come from a PC background like me. (I won't even mention peeking a sly look at the Cluedo envelope while everyone was in the kitchen topping up drinks... or pulling the stickers off the rubik's cube...)
At the end it is the social aspect, getting "one up" on friends and a topic that appeals to as broad an audience as possible that I personally found the most appealing. I can think of no better way to accomplish this by doing away with technology and getting people together around a table and for that I applaud you.
Sorry if this is not constructive in improving your idea with any useful contribution to improvement - just some thoughts.
I should probably get on a plane and come to a JHB meet-up and play this and future iterations to be able to comment constructively...
Just a thought.
Cartel was my previous card game that tried to be exactly 3d in a non-digital space :) I felt like it needed a lot more simplicity before going anywhere, but it was a hit with some people and a miss with others, so I didn't push it further (or pulled it back) yet.
Maybe change it to "You are the spokesperson/fixer for a corrupt politician" or something. There are a ton of tv series based on that, so there should be more interest there.
I would also like to know what "playing a case card" represents in "real life". It might be a bit clearer reading the cards, but i couldn't see the significance of playing a case card vs. a client card. I can see that you cover up the cards in the diagram, but there's no other mention of cover ups in the rules.
I guess I'm looking for something like:
On your turn you can:
1. Play a cover up card (case card) to divert the media. Playing these cards will enable you to get the right pattern to _throw an oke under the bus_
Or
2. Throw an oke under the bus (by playing a client card). You have successfully manipulated the facts to convince the public that it was someone else's fault. Doing so scores you points.
Anyway, i might have missed the point.
I think it could be a really fun game. I hope this feedback helps. It's not meant to be critical.