Game Design Showdown October 2005: The Ivory Tower

Entry 2 -- Eras Academia

GOAL: The player with the best School at the end of the game wins.

Components and Information:
There are four studies: Green: Natural Science, Blue: Social Science, Red: Humanities, Yellow: Arts.

-- Each player has a School Map for building Campuses, and for Graduates. Map and Campuses can be licensed properties.

-- Graduate Counters in the four colors.

-- Fund counters.

-- Small marbles in the four colors.

-- One deck of Action cards for each color. Flavor text on cards can provide facts and trivia about the licensed school.

-- One cardboard Era Guide, which describes the amount of marbles placed in the Clock, with cutouts to hold marbles.

--An Era Pawn that indicates the current Era on the Era Guide. Pawn starts in Era 1.

-- Large plastic opaque Clock Tower with a door on top that can be used to load up to 40 marbles. When shaken, the marbles are secretly mixed up; when stood up on the table, the marbles randomly form a hidden straight line down the shaft of the clock. A button releases the bottom marble from the stack. Also, there are small doors in the shaft which a player can open and look at a color of a single marble. The Clock is filled with marbles as shown (8 green, 7 blue, 9 yellow, 6 red) in Era 1 on the Era Guide. The Clock is passed to the next player every round. All player actions start with the owner of the Clock. All ties are broken by who sits closest to the Clock.

-- A Pool of wood blocks for players to build buildings on Campuses. Blocks come in square “1-Story” and pyramid “Roof” shapes. 1-Story Blocks are always available. There are only 2 Roof Blocks available per Era.

All players start with a 1-Story Block on their Administration Campus, and 5 Funds. A random player starts with the Clock.

A PLAYER’S TURN in order:
1) Graduates his class.
A player gets one Graduate Counter for each 1-Story Block in a Study Campus (not the Admin Campus). The Graduates are of the same color of as the Study that the Block is in. (A player with two 1-Story Blocks and 1 Roof Block in the Art Campus will get 2 yellow Graduates). A player places his Graduates in his Graduate circles. He may place 1 in a circle, or place multiples of the same color in circles to create Superior Graduates.

2) Spends Funds on:
-- Building His Campus.
Buy any available Block with funds equal to the amount of Blocks on the Administration Campus and place it in a chosen Study Campus square, stacking upon any previously played 1-Story Block in that Campus.
A Study Campus cannot exceed the amount of Blocks that the Administration Campus has.
Once a Roof Block is placed on top of a building in a Campus, a player cannot build any more Blocks on that Campus.

-- Analyzing the Future. A player may spend 2 funds to look in any window on the Clock Tower or 4 Funds to look at a top card on any deck. The player should be careful not to reveal this information to the other players.

CLOCK ACTION:
After all players go, the button on the Clock is pressed to release the bottom marble. The marble is placed on the appropriate spot on the Era Guide. Draw the top card of the matching colored deck. This card indicates this year’s “culture” of which Graduates are needed. Cards are generally “happier” towards their color (Yellow cards will generally need more Art graduates than others).

Some Cards can have Clock Effects.

Players take turns “hiring out” appropriate Graduates for Endowments (Funds), starting with the Most Superior Graduates (most counters) and working down to the least Superior (Graduates with 1 counter). In case of a tie, the order is determined starting with the player closest to the Clock.

All unused Graduates are removed.

ERA CHECK:
If an Era has four of one color marble that has been released from the Clock Tower, Advance the Era Token on the Era Guide. Empty out the Clock, and fill the Clock with the new marble distribution as shown on the Era Guide. Make sure there are two Roof Blocks on the Era Guide to start the new Era.

The clock moves to the next player.

GAME ENDS:
The game is over when 4 Eras have been played, or when all 1-Story Blocks have been bought out. A building’s point value is determined by 1 point per 1-Story Block, and 5 points per Roof Block. A player’s score is determined by taking the highest point scoring Study Campus building they have and multiplying that number by the lowest point scoring Study Campus Building.

Entry 4 -- 'Cram'-ium -- Student athlete edition

Components :
Game board (1)
Football Helmets (4)
Colored spheres (100ea color)*
*
Wild Cubes (20 multicolor)
Action Cards (?)
Focus Chips (25ea per player)
Exam Cards (5)
Gameday Cards (5)

Component examples:
Game board: note each class/practice space would have spaces for up to three focus chips only.

Goal: Juggle all activities, classes and practices the most efficiently.

Setup:
Place game board in center of table.
Place shuffled deck of action cards left of game board.
Place tray of colored spheres to right of game board.
Each player sets a helmet in front of him.
Each player takes the focus chips that match the visor color
of his helmet. Separate into 5 stacks of five.
Shuffle exam cards. Place two face up in exam spaces on game board. Place
one exam card face down on pop quiz space. Set the other 2 unrevealed
cards to side.
Shuffle Gameday cards and place one face up on Gameday space. Set others aside.
Each player draws 2 action cards.
Decide first player randomly.

Game play: Game consists of 6 rounds.

Rounds 1-4
Starting with player 1 each player performs one of the following actions:
Pay 1 chip play an action card.
Pay 1 chip draw an action card.
Pay 2 chips take a wild cube.
Pay 1 chip and replace one of your opponents chips
on a full activity with one of your own.
Place 1 chip on one of that days activities.
Continue clock wise until everyone has played all their focus chips for that day.
If a player runs out of chips before other players just skip over their turn for the
rest of this round..

End of round. Place the corresponding spheres into your helmet based on that days
activities. For instance if Player 1 has 2 focus chips on the activity (ie science
class) he would put 7 cubes of that color into his helmet. Factor in any
modifications action cards may have provided for that day.
Each player draws an action card.
1st player for next round is player to left of current 1st player.

Round 5 – Exam Day

Before exams each player may play one action card starting with the current
1st player.

Afterwards, starting with top exam each player randomly draws 10 spheres
from helmet and checks to see what grade he gets. Factor in any modifications
due to action cards. Player may also use any amount of wild cubes he has to add
to the total of current color spheres he requires. Put scoring spheres and wild cubes
back into trays. Non scoring spheres can either be put into trays or tossed back into
their helmet.

Proceed to 2nd exam and follow the same procedure.

The last exam is a pop quiz, reveal the subject and have another round of action
cards played. Follow the same procedure as the other exams to determine score.
1st player for next round is player to left of current 1st player.

Round 6- Game Day

Before the big game each player may play one action card starting with the current
1st player.

Each player randomly draws 10 spheres and compares his draw to the game day card and
determines his performance(score).

Winning:

To determine final score, average the scores of the 3 exams and 1 game. In case of tie
player that had the highest game day score wins.

Variants:

Semi-cooperative-: “Teammates” All players must get a passing grade on all exams and gameday or there is no winner.

Licensing:

The obvious tie in would be the helmets. You could have them in the school's colors/logo.
Also the classes could be tied in to perhaps what a certain school specializes in. Also
the game day cards could be tied in with a school's schedule. Perhaps a game with a rival
school would have tougher requirements. i.e. If Ohio State the Michigan game would be
tougher to score well in.

3D: Ideally I'd like the helmet have a mechanism where 10 balls would
come out automatically lottery drawing style.

Entry 6 -- Cubes and Sticks: YOUR SCHOOL HERE Edition

Players: 3 – 6
Time: 1 hour
Ages: 10+

How much influence does your click really have in College?

Object: Get as many of your Cubes and Sticks in the right place on the higher levels as you can.

Parts:
48 – Vote cards, up to 8 for each player.

36 – 1“ Cubes of wood. 5 in each of the 6 colors

30 – 4” Sticks of wood 5 of each color.

1 – Customized board with the top view of the campus with 4 departments: Mathematics, Science, Arts, and Business (Can change with each edition.).

6 - Click cards (Edit for each edition) These tell what color you care about and the areas of the campus you need to get that color in for the scoring round.:

Football Team scores: Blue in Athletics and Student Union
Think Tank scores: Red in Mathematics and Sciences
Beatniks scores: Green in Arts and Library
Greek Council scores: Orange in Library and Mathematics
Party Animals scores: Brown in Student Union and Sciences
Cheerleaders scores: Yellow in Athletics and Arts

Set up:
1. Shuffle the Click cards and deal one card for each player into a pile. Look at the remaining cards and remove all the cubes and sticks of those other colors and the cards. They are not to be played with. Now re-shuffle cards in the pile and deal one face down to each player. They can look at it but keep it face down and a secret during the game.
2. Deal vote cards to each player equal to the number of players plus 2.
3. Put the board in the middle.
4. Pile the cubes and sticks next to the board. There should only be cubes and sticks of the colors that match the players click cards.

The ugliest player goes first.

On your turn:

1 – Draw vote cards:
Draw enough vote cards to bring your total cards equal to the number of players plus 2. You can only replenish your vote cards on your turn.

2 – Select a piece and convince others:
Select a cube or stick and begin to discuss people’s interest that piece. Give some or all of your intentions. You don’t have to tell them where or how you plan to place it but they may not vote for you if you don’t. Convince them or plan to out vote them.

3 – Declare where it will go and call for a vote:
Tell everyone exactly where and how you plan to place the piece.

Starting with you each player will spend a vote card or pass. If they spend a card it will go in to one of two piles YES or NO. each player can vote as long as they have vote cards to spend. When no one wants to vote any more count the votes. If there are no votes at all or if it is a tie the you win and can place the piece.

If there are more NOs than YESes then the piece is passed to the player on your left and they have to try and get a positive vote to place that piece. If they fail it is passed to the left again. If the piece comes back to you, you can then place it anywhere you want.

4 – Place the piece:
Who ever wins the vote can place the piece on the board or stacked on other pieces. If stacking a stick it has to have at least two other pieces under each end. You want your colors to be stacked as high as you can.

Play then moves to the left.

Game end:
The game ends when all the pieces are on the board.

Scoring:
Each Click card shows how it will score. It has a color and two campus areas. A piece of that color in that area is a scoring piece. A scoring piece on the board level is worth one point, on the second level up is worth two, and so on.

Example:<br />
	The Beatniks want Green in the Library and Arts department.</p>
<p>So far in this example they will score 6 points for the green stick on the 3rd level, 2 points for the stick on the 2nd level, 1 point for the cube on the 1st level.</p>
<p>In this example the Beatniks would score a total of 9 points.<br />

The winner is the person with the highest score.

Entry 8 -- The Alumni Fund

a game for 2-4 players

Each player represents a generous alumnus, trying to outdo the others in a contest to see whose elaborate gifts to the university will result in the most impressive structures. However, space and money are limited, so the wise player will work in concert with the others until claiming all the credit for themselves.

The Board

The board will represent a stylized university footprint – this may, of course, be changed to suit the particular topography of any institution. There will be whatever notable features in terms of roads and rivers and volcanoes that are warranted, but each board should have several gridded “grassy” areas on which construction can take place of various shapes and sizes.

Each board should also have three distinct levels on which construction can take place – each a story higher than the previous.

The Pieces

All players will have access to “building” pieces – neutrally-colored pieces constructed in various shapes and sizes based on a base 1 square by 1 story “block:” L shapes, T shapes, squares, etc. All buildings should have a distinct top and bottom.

At least one building must represent the venerable old clock tower, or whatever campus landmark. This will be a single vertical building four stories tall.

Nobody can claim points for the clock tower or any building on which the clock tower is added.

After the clock tower has been played, out of respect for its history, its absolute height is the maximum height at which buildings can be constructed. If it is played on the ground at the lowest level then buildings on the third level can be only a single floor and a roof. If it is played at the top of the tallest building on the third level then players may build upwards with reckless abandon.

Each player will begin with their own a pile of contribution checks in various amounts, as well as several roofs in various sizes in their own color: ornate domes, wide roofs with august facades, narrow but functional Tudor-style shingles, ivy-covered parapets, etc. These will be used by players to claim the points for a building, halting further construction.

Setup

Starting with the most highly educated, each player in turn chooses two buildings. Each player selects one from the player to her left and plays it.

Gameplay

Each turn, the players secretly commit zero or more checks to that year's alumni fund. When each player has decided, the contributions are revealed simultaneously and their values are tallied.

The player who contributes the most takes one piece and places in in their own pile and then plays one piece from their pile on the board. Play continues to the next most generous alumnus, etc.

In the case of a tie, any players involved in the tie can play an additional check to break the tie. This check simply breaks the tie, and doesn't count towards the original reckoning. If players are still tied, the alumnus with the most scored buildings goes first. If the players are still tied, the most highly educated goes first. Ties after this point must be resolved with hours of meaningless academic debate.

Construction

Buildings must be played flat and properly oriented. Flat surfaces on the first floor of a building may be used as the foundation for a second, and then a third, etc.

Some pieces will have their own interesting domes and atriums and observation decks and other fancy bits sticking up that cannot be built on – obviously you cannot build on top of these.

Floors cannot “hang” over nothing – it's gotta be solid building, all the way down.

Buildings cannot merge with each other – they can grow outward orthogonally but any play that would combine buildings is illegal.

Playing the Clock Tower

The clock tower may only be chosen by the most generous alumni and must be played on the turn it is chosen.

Completed buildings that exist before the clock tower is played are grandfathered in and still count. However, uncompleted buildings that exceed the clock tower's height may not be finished and scored.

Scoring Buildings

A player may choose to score a building by playing one of their own pieces on it. Scoring halts construction on the entire rooftop the roof is placed on. Other, separate rooftops (or “wings”) -- at the same height or higher -- may be expanded on and scored as well.

At the end of the game, players take stock of the buildings they have scored. They examine the size of the entire building and score 1 points for every square on the first floor, 2 for the second floor, 3 for the third, etc.

The player with the most points, it may come as no surprise, is the winner.

Entry 10 -- Dean Duties

The University of (place University name here) is looking for a new Dean, but they want to hire the very best one. So they decided to set up a competition among all selected candidates. If you want the job, you’ll have to beat the other contenders by hiring the best teachers and sports coaches, getting the best donatives and research funds, and convincing the most promising students to register with your institution.

Components:

University Campus: 10x15 square grid board Premises blocks: Blocks of varied sizes and shapes, representing different sorts of building pieces (classrooms, libraries, labs, auditoriums, stadiums, refectories, restrooms, dormitories, recreation rooms) used to build the University Premises.
Premises dice: A set of 2d6 with premises blocks pictured on their faces.
Candidates: A deck of cards, representing potential “acquisitions” for the University and describing the conditions required to get it.
Example card 1:
Outstanding chemistry student.
Requires: Lab placed on 2nd floor and next to refectory

Example card 2:
Team sponsor.
Requires: A stadium and a famous coach.
Pays $100 to Institution

Example card 3:
Famous coach.
Requires: Stadium next to dormitory and one outstanding sports student.
Salary to be paid: $50 Set-up:
Each player is assigned $ 300 to buy Premises Blocks and hire teachers and coaches.
Five Candidate cards are dealt face up next to the board. Players can convince any of these candidates to join the University by fulfilling the required conditions in the card.
Each player receives one Candidate card face down. This is information obtained through their personal contacts, and is kept hidden from the rivals until played.

Game Play:
Each player, on his turn:
1) Rolls the dice. Takes the rolled up blocks from the reserve, if available, and adds them to the existing premises (see rules below).
2) If he wants to, buys one or more premises blocks from the reserve and adds them to the existing premises. Block prices are proportional to their volume: a 1x1x1 Classroom block will sell for $10, a 2x2x1 Refectory for $ 40, a 2x4x2 Auditorium for $ 160, etc. Money is paid to the bank.
3) If he wants to, and all the required conditions are met, he can:

- hire new staff by paying to the bank the salary established in the card - register outstanding students
- obtain funding and donations

To do so, he must have placed, during this same turn, at least one of the premises blocks required on each claimed card. Claimed cards are placed, for the remaining of the game, face up in front of the player who claimed them, to keep track of each players score. All claimed cards become University acquisitions, thus available for all players to use them in future turns to fulfil the required conditions and claim other Candidate cards.
Several cards can be claimed at the same time, so that each one is used to claim the other (e.g.: one outstanding student requiring a great teacher, and one great teacher requiring a brilliant student can be claimed together, as long as all other conditions for each card are fulfilled.)
4) When funding or donations are claimed, the player receives the established amount from the bank.
5) Claimed cards are replaced with new Candidate cards, so that at the end of the turn there are always five face up Candidate cards beside the Campus, and each player has one.

Building rules:

- Al blocks must be laid on a flat, even surface. No empty spaces are allowed behind a block.
- To be used to claim a Candidate, at least one lateral face of the block must be fully visible.
- The Stadium must be placed directly on the board, and no other block can be placed over the Stadium.
- All blocks must be placed completely inside the Campus.

Game end and winner:
Game ends when all building blocks have been used or the Candidate cards reserve pile is empty. The player with most claimed cards wins; in case of a tie between two players, the one with more money wins.

Licensing:
To personalize the game for licensing, premises blocks faces would be drawn to mimic the architectural style of the actual institution premises and include the institution shield and colours when possible.
The academic strengths of the institution can also be reflected in the Candidate cards: an MIT version of the game would focus on technology teachers, students and funding, while a CALARTS version would focus on arts Candidates, etc.

[/][/][/]