Hi! I’m designing a hidden roles game. Think about Citadels to get the idea. Players get 1 character card each round. Characters have phase 1 abilities and phase 2 abilities. In phase 1 players can bluff and choose a character different from their card. In phase 2 the cards are revealed. Generally, characters whose phase 1 ablity is strong, have phase 2 ability weak, and viceversa. Bluffing involves some risks.
I’m facing some indecision about the selection of the characters at the beginning of the round. During my first playtests i found that drawing blind works, but it seems like too much luck is involved.
On the other hand, letting the first player choose from all but one character (the same as Citadels) will put him in a great advantage.
I’m thinking about these three alternatives, and i can’t choose wich would be the best:
1) Draw 3 and choose 1. Put the 2 cards not chosen on bottom of the deck or reshuffle.
2) Draw 1 card. If you don’t like it, put it on the bottom of the deck and draw another card. Repeat untill the third card is drawn, at that point you must take it.
3) Draw 1 card. If you dont like it, you can spend 1 coin to draw another card. Repeat untill you run out of money (or card in the deck) or stop when you want. Choose 1 and reshuffle.
Which do you think could fit better? Other tips are appreciated too.
English is not my mother tongue, feel free to ask me for clarification if i was too vague.
Players have to be able to draw at least 1 card even if they have no money, because they could run out of them in different ways and they can't do actions without characters. So maybe X+1 cards, where X is the number of coin spent, could be a nice spot.
I will try your advice as soon as i can, thanks!