I had to make a plant based game for my biology class. This is my first time trying something like this, so i'd like some advice on how to keep everything fun and balanced without being too complicated. Here's the manual I came up with so far. All feedback is very much appreciated.
PRP Game Manual
Introduction
In the game, both players are given a plant. The goal of the game is to make your plant grow larger than the other person's. The game is split into a pre-set number of years (turns) decided upon before the game. Each year is made up of four actions that go in sequence. Actions are decided before the year begins by both players (8 total actions in a turn). Players are given 3 minutes to choose their actions. If a player has not chosen 4 actions in that time, they cannot perform any actions during the year. If both players are late, the year is skipped.
Actions are written and given to the mod, who writes a copy of, and reveals them after the 3 minutes given. Neither player can see what the other person wrote before this point. Players can say whatever they want about their actions while deciding them. Both players are given ep(energy points) and lp(length points) at the beginning of the game (represented by two types of chips). Energy is used to perform actions; length measures how large a player’s plant is. Players start with 10 ep and 10 lp.
Player 1: Moves first during the 1st and 3rd actions.
Player 2: Moves first during the 2nd and 4th actions.
Mod (moderator): Manages chips, asks questions and prevents cheating. They shuffle the deck of question cards before the game and every twenty years. When a player has to answer a question, they pull out a random one.
Actions
There are 5 types of actions. Players can choose to write actions that they don’t have enough energy to perform at the start of the year. If they do not have enough energy by that action, they can’t do anything for the rest of the year.
Growing (g): Adds 1 lp to your plant. Uses 4 ep.
Waiting (w): This gives the user 1 ep. It can only be used by each player twice per year. If both players chose to wait during the same action, the mod also gets 2 ep. Uses 0 ep.
Answering Questions (a): Gives you 6 ep if you answer the question correctly. Only one person is allowed to answer a question per action. If both people chose to answer a question within the same action, only the player that moves first will be able to do so. Questions are asked nonverbally. The mod shows a question card to the player, and the player writes their answer to show the mod. If the person asked gets the question wrong, they will not be able to perform any more actions within the year. The other player can choose to steal the question. If they also get it wrong, the year is skipped (skipped years still count during the wait for a bonus question). After a question card is used, the mod reveals its answer to both players and inserts it back into the deck. Uses 0 ep.
A bonus question is spoken to both players after every five years. Whoever writes their answer and holds it up to the mod first, gets to answer the question. If they get it wrong, they cannot do anything the next year. If the other player also gets it wrong, the year is skipped. Players can choose to not answer, but they cannot take back their answer after writing it. Bonus questions give 15ep if answered correctly.
Attacking: There are three types of attack.
Insect (i): This removes 2 lp from your opponent and gives 1 ep to the mod. If this action makes the other player run out of length, 5 ep are given to the mod. Uses 8 ep.
Blocking (b): This halves the ep given to the other player by answering regular questions and makes waiting give them no ep. Blocks last for the rest of the year and two subsequent years. Both players can block the other and blocks can be renewed indefinitely(every renewal requires 2 more ep than the last). Renewing a block at any point during its duration resets its time limit(this includes the first action in the year after the time limit). Uses 12 ep.
Fungi (f): After every year, it removes 5 ep from the other player, gives 3 ep to user, and gives 2 ep to the mod. It can only be the first or last action, and can only be used successfully one total time per game. When in effect, it also prevents the user from blocking and cannot be used if the other player is already blocked. Players can not use it if they are blocked unless they were blocked on that action, or the block was renewed on that action. This removes blocks from the user regardless of which player acted first. If the user is blocked during any other situation, using fungi does nothing and takes away no ep. Uses 36 ep.
Defending (d): Defending nullifies an attack, removes blocks and fungi from the user. Defending always goes first in an action. If the other player chose to attack during that action, they cannot do anything for the rest of the year, and they cannot answer the next bonus question. If the other player did not choose to attack during that action, defending does nothing, but still uses ep. If both players chose to defend during the same action, the rest of the year is skipped and the mod gets 4 ep. Uses 2 ep.
Miscellaneous
Win Conditions:
Having a larger plant by the end of game.
The other player running out of energy or length.
Other Rules:
1.If a player has five or less ep, answering questions requires 1 ep from them and gives 7 ep if answered correctly.
2.If a player has only one ep left, they can only choose to answer questions during the next year. Bonus questions are also mandatory for that player and require 1 ep from them regardless of who gets to answer it.
3.If both players have the same length by the end of the game, a bonus question acts as the tie breaker.
4.If a player looks at the other player’s paper during any time, or touches the chips, they are given an automatic lose.
5.Players cannot take their paper back after beginning to hand it to the moderator
6.Both players’ chips are clearly displayed and kept by the moderator
7.If the moderator has more energy than the lengths of both plants by the end of the game, neither player wins.
Required Pieces
2 pieces of paper per player. 1 for writing actions, the other for answering regular questions.
White board(s) for answering bonus questions.
Two kinds of chips.
Block and Fungi cards to place near a player’s chips.
Question Cards
None of these suggestions make sense to me. I want the game to have elements of both gambling and strategy. Hidden info makes this possible. Using action cards makes no sense because the amount of actions is only limited by ep, which is constantly changing. If there's no time limit and no discretion, what's to stop somebody from changing what they place on the table while the other person is placing their cards? Placing chips on turned over cards would also reveal what they are. If there's only five cards per player, it's easy to keep track of which one is which. Cards are just a trope that doesn't make sense in this kind of game play. Making actions simultaneous eliminates an entire layer of strategy. If both players makes a winning move, who wins? Time limits make the game tense. I want people to sweat while playing. Time limits are standard in many competitive strategy games.
You're telling me to totally change the core of the game. Why?