Okay, I'm just giving in to a 10 minute brainstorm in public here. Soulfinger mentioned getting hit accidentally with a spell in another forum, and it got me to thinking about Mickey in FANTASIA, playing with magic he can't understand. So, here's an idea. Add to it, augment it, let's see where it goes.
LAME MAGES
The game of apprentice wizards playing with powers they can't possibly understand.
Gameplay - wizards have a series of spell cards with a variety of components and symbols on them. The components could be tokens or cards they need to get from the store room (set collecting) and the symbols would be indicators of what the spells do.
The trick here is that the actual spells are separate cards from the casting of them. So players assemble the ingredients and try the spells without knowing what they do.
The symbols on the spell cards could mean things like "aggressive toward the target" or "helpful to the caster" and so on. Here's how I'd imagine this would work. These would be dealt onto the board face down, so each game the effects are different.
Wizard uses some set collecting mechanism to get the ingredients to cast spell A, which has four symbols on it (!@#$). Then the wizard selects two of the symbols to activate in casting the spell (@$). When the spell is cast, the wizard would choose which symbols to activate, peek at the cards (without revealing them to everyone else), and resolve the spells.
Winning mechanism?
Other ideas for effects?
Is this too close to all those gosh darn alchemy games that are on the market right now?
What if it were re-themed slightly into a battlefield situation, where the main wizard for the army has been killed, and his very green apprentice must cast the support spells for the army? The spells could help or hinder the troops on the field, and the win condition could be the army winning?
The more I think on it, the more I like the notion of the battlefield wizard incompetent. The scenario could be thus -- as the battle gets underway, the wizard is in the zone, casting spells and doing battle from his tent or caravan near the back of the field. The apprentice bumps him or spills something, and while his concentration is broken, an arrow comes through the window and kills him. Now the apprentice must try to protect the army by casting spells from the wizard's spellbook, without really knowing what they do.
Progress or failure could be tracked in:
- Damage to the enemy forces
- Damage / health of own forces
- Protection of the leader
- Damage to the wizard's caravan.