As a joke, watching something on tv, I told a friend "a race between funny monks riding stubborn mules should be fun!"
And here I am, taking notes and picturing the game in my head !
This is the very beggining of the designing process, but I wanted to share it with you and maybe get some help, suggestions and ideas...
I should add that don't really know the existing racing games except Formula D and Rush'n'Crush.
MONKS & MULES
The game should be a pretty fast game (20mns or so) for 2 to 4 or 5 players. This game is clearly meant to be a nice filler.
Some ideas
Each player controls a team composed of a Monk and a Mule. The team is composed randomly during the setup phase by drawing cards from two decks. The rider will have some influence on his noble steed characteristics of course.
- The Mule Characteristics:
- Movement indicates how many Movement Dice will be rolled. Movement Dice would be custom dice with the following symbols :
- Forward 1 / Sideward / Forward 2 / Stop / Backward / Wild )
- Tricks indicates the number of "Trick Cards" that the player will be able to draw each turn during the Trick Phase. ( "Tricks" are effects cards that can add some bonus or malus on the player himself or his opponents. I imagine cards like "Beer Barrel : one of your opponent is now half drunk and will roll 1 less Movement dice during his next turn" / "Time to pray : all players will stop to pray and will roll 1 less dice during their turn." / "The Thief : You randomly discard one card from your opponent's hand" / "Carrot on a Stick" : you gain 1 extra Movement dice next turn" ... etcPlaying Trick Cards requires to pay for them by discarding cards from your hand.
- Charge indicates the maximum number of cards a player can have in his hand.
- Fatigue indicates the number of Fatigue points a mule can suffer before collapsing ! Each Movement performed during your turn will cost 0, 1 or 2 Fatigue. Each time you move your mule, you place a number of fatigue tokens on your mule card. Fatigue is regained automatically at the beggining of your turn or by playing a "Restore" card during the Trick Phase. If for one reason or another you exceed the maximum number of Fatigue your mule can endure, it collapses and will skip his next Movement Phase
The "circuit" should be a modular board to ensure replayability and there should be some various obstacles.
- Turn Summary
- Draw Players can draw a number of Trick Cards equal to their Trick value.
- Play a Trick Players can play Trick cards from their hand, on themselves or the other players. In order to play a card, you must pay for it by discarding a number of other trick cards equal to the cost of the one you want to play.
- Roll : Players roll a number of Movement dice equal to their total Movement value. In a Yahtzee way, they can re-roll some dice if they're not happy with the results but must keep at least one.
- Move : Players must perform all the Movement obtained during the Movement Roll. For each Movement, a Fatigue token will be placed on the Fatigue tracker of the mule ( stop=0 / Forward - Sideward - Backward=0 / Forward 2=2 / "Wild" can replace any other Movement )
1. Refresh Phase Players restore their Fatigue tracker and discard the cards they have in hand not to exceed their maximum Charge ( hand size )
2. Trick Phase
3. Movement Phase
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So, here are my first thoughts on this project I haven't playtested yet !
What do you think of the idea(s) ?
Do you think the theme and the (simple) mechanics are fun ?
I'd like to have nice players interaction in this game.. do you think it's the case here ?
I haven't think of the "circuit" itself... should it be modular or not (I think so) ? Printed on cards, tiles or boards ? Any ideas ?
Thanks a lot for your replies and suggestions !
Hi, thanks a lot for your reply and suggestions. It really helps !
I'd like to know how you would implement these "Fate" numbers.
The idea is interresting...
Your modular board made of large tiles is what I need !
What is the name of your game ?
Can I read the rules or buy the game somewhere ?
How long was a typical game ? ( I keep wondering that I might be wanting to add too many things in the game and make the game too long... )
As for the "ranges", I'm convinced this is almost mandatory.. it can help the players when they have to decide which cards must be discarded in order to play another one.. or make the choice more difficult as they may want to keep that precious trick card one more turn, just in case they have their opponent in their line of sight !