So, I've been playing with an idea that seems so obvious that I'm sure it must have been done before, but I can't think of a game that has used it. I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction, or else tell me why this is a terrible idea.
The idea is a minor tweak to the card drafting mechanic used in 7 Wonders and similar games. After each time hands are passed to the next player, a card is drawn off the top of a deck into each hand to replenish that hand and keep the number of choices constant after each round.
For example, a player drafts one of four cards in their starting hand, passes that hand left, receives a 3 card hand from the right. The player draws a card from the deck to get the new hand back up to 4 cards, and then drafts from those 4 cards, and repeats.
My intuition is that hand sizes should be kept small to limit the decision space and keep the game moving. There might also need to be a mechanic which rewards drafting cards that have lapped the table several times if "better" cards keep popping into a particular hand, but this could also be somewhat mitigated through careful balancing and/or creating incentives where each player value specific cards differently.
Are there games that use this mechanism I've missed? Thanks!
