New Card Game - Crab Tactics

Here are the cards I made for the first iteration of Bowling Tactics.

Each player has a mini-deck of 12 cards, and 9 of them are just numbers. I was going for pure functionality for this first version, though I did put a little flair around the border (very un-bowling-like, I must admit). Also, each mini-deck has its own colour (this is the pink one), and the back-side of the card has that colour lining its edge so the mini-decks can be quickly divided between players should the cards be stored in a single stack.

I had a three-player game playtest today. This was the first time it had hit the table, ever. There were 10 Frames/rounds, and for scoring I put that Frame's score first, followed by the player's total score. Here's the score sheet:

If it's difficult to read:

• Player 1 = 106
• Player 2 = 107
• Player 3 = 121

Scores were fairly consistent, and it seemed like Player 3 had a lucky break that put his score essentially one Frame ahead of the other two. I'm Player 1 on this sheet, and at least I think my score in this game is on par with what I'd have at an actual bowling alley... :)

For now, the only change I want to try for the next iteration is to shuffle the player's mini-deck between each Frame. This is suggested by the other playtesters, and while I still have reservations about it, they did make good arguments for the change.

For one thing, a player never wants their Gutter Ball to come out at all, so a player may choose to hang on to it in hand once it's there. This is a safeguard, but it also effectively removes a card from that player's hand.

Secondly, a fact made clear during play was that the Strike and Spare are less-powerful when they come out as the first card played. Much like the Gutterball, the player may want to hang on to them in hand for a later Frame - though this presents them with the same dilemma as if they were holding the Gutterball.

Finally, on a positive note I saw some aggressive play late in the game. In Frame 9, Player 2 sabotaged Player 3 by willingly duplicating a number card, causing neither of them to score it. Note that Player 2 was able to score 5 points, but Player 3 only scored 2. It's these kinds of moments that indicate there's a suitable amount of player interaction, plus meaningful tactics and choices.

Not bad for a game that is done in less than 20 minutes. In any case, although it may be a low bar being set, I think this is leagues better than the game that inspired this exercise.

Thanks for actually reading and responding, Fri. :)

I think this is very smart...! The whole point of canceling is to make sure that players can keep up with one another, so this makes a lot of sense. If there are ties from one Frame to the next, then the player who most-recently scored points will be First Player.

Regarding different scores for revealed Spares and Strikes: the thought of duplicating these cards to cancel them out seems hardcore and cut-throat. We'll give it a try this week.

Practically anything would be better than the original, even if it doesn't look much like bowling at the end of it. I'm sure a re-theme could be applied to this game, should it actually acquire some attention.

Thanks again for helping me think more about how to make this game work...!

TL;DR: A few clarifications on previous comments. Fri's suggestions went very well. Sticking with reshuffle decks when draw pile is exhausted. Likely changing the theme to crabs stuck in a bucket, dropping the bowling connection entirely.

DETAILS:
First things first...

The Gutterball may be revealed as the first card drawn. This is a blind draw, and it's certainly possible to come out at that time. It's unlikely that players will play this deliberately - though it does happen depending on the circumstance.

This is not correct. There's no limit to the value of the cards a player can play in a single Frame.

The only issue with this is that it limits the game to four players. A five-player game was fantastic, so I would not want to remove the possibility. Maybe if someone wanted to do their own homebrew version of this for fewer players, it would work (something I ought to include in the rule sheet, perhaps?). Also, while the current iteration provides each player with a deck of 12 cards, I am considering a 13th card, featuring an ability for the lowest-scoring player.

Meanwhile...

I implemented the two suggestions Fri mentioned in their previous comment for last night's playtest:

• All cards can be canceled by duplicates, including Strikes and Spares.
• The player with the current highest score is the First Player.

These were both excellent additions...! It made for tense scenarios, where even though the current leader might have had a jump on the rest of the players, they knew that they were at the top of the heap and everyone was chasing them.

We also attempted a game with full shuffles of each player's mini-deck before every new Frame, but as it turns out the original method (shuffling only after your draw pile was exhausted) was more satisfying overall. It cuts down on fiddly-ness, and there's more player interaction as people attempt to watch others' discard piles - at least in the early game.

The "King of the Hill" vibe and constant sabotage (including some surprising, deliberate plays of the Gutterball) brought an image to mind, very very far away from bowling: crabs in a bucket, trying to claw their way out.

As soon as this idea was out in the open, the players almost instantly picked up on the theme, dropping the bowling connection entirely. Not gonna miss it, to be honest. :)

Thank you for all the feedback and ideas...! This game is a lot of fun right now. :)

Just a brief note to let you all know I've updated the game to version 4. The original post has been updated to reflect this. It has all new (that is, non-bowling) terminology included, along with the proper Special Effect cards and their description.

Should you have any feedback, please comment here. Thanks!

King Crab is the First Player token, and is a unique card. It moves around the table based on who has scored the most points so far in the game.

The rest of the cards are found in each player's deck.

One-Two Pinch! is worth 3 points, and is unblockable. In addition, the player that plays it reduces the points earned by the opponents on either side of them by 1 and 2, respectively. The player chooses which penalty is applied to which opponent. Note that two of these on the table next to one another may present an interesting dilemma, and when even more come out on the same turn, then points can fluctuate wildly (though in any case, no one can record a score less than 0 for a Round).

Claws Out! is a replacement for the Spare card previously displayed. The player can either earn an unblockable 5 points, or can choose to play any number card from their hand. This number card isn't unblockable and is played by overlapping Claws Out!, essentially replacing it. There are some instances when a player may be able to earn more than 5 points, and/or want to block an opponent's points by duplicating a number card the opponent has played.

Hard Shell! renders all other cards played by that player as unblockable. If opponents have played the same cards, then those cards can still be blocked unless they are otherwise unblockable (as in the case of Claws Out! or an opponent who has played Hard Shell!).

Bottom Feeder is a replacement for the Gutterball! card previously displayed. The player will earn points equal to the lowest non-duplicated number card on the table. This is actually more useful than folks might realize at first glance. Note that - at least, at this point - the Bottom Feeder can be blocked when also played by an opponent.

Big Claw is a replacement for the Strike! card previously displayed, and is slightly-adjusted. This card is worth 10 points, and allows the player to play two more cards (so their tableau for the Round is 3 cards, total), including the card revealed at the start of the Round. They can play two more number cards along with Big Claw or other special effect cards. As always, most of the cards can be blocked when someone plays a duplicate, but then that's where Hard Shell! can serve as insurance for high-scoring Rounds.

The additional cards bring a player's mini-deck to 14 cards each, and the total cards required for the game is 71. That's... kinda weird. So it goes. :)

Looking forward to playtesting this later in the week. While I have some reservations, I'm wholly interested and curious to see how the changes force players to interact with one another even more. We'll see how it goes.