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Rainbow Deck - a cardgame system

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ccube78
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v1.17

The Rainbow Deck has a total of 160 cards. There are 12 suits with each suit having 13 ranks, and 4 Joker cards. The suits are represented by both colour and zodiac symbols. The ranks are from 1 to K. The cards also numbered from 1 to 120.

The deck can be adapted to play a variety of games, just like a deck of Poker cards. The difference is that Rainbow deck has 8 more suits and also numbers from 1 to 120, thus it is most suitable for playing abstract games that require numbers or colours. It can also be used by game designers as components in their own prototype games.

It is available at The GameCrafter (http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck), and the PnP files will be at BGG (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59655).

scifiantihero
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Joined: 07/08/2009
umm

160 cards numbered 1-120: are there multiples of some numbered cards, or are not all the cards numbered?

I love things that are multicolored . . .

ccube78
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Only the first ten cards

Only the first ten cards (1-10) for each colour is numbered. Since there are 12 colours, there will be 120 numbered cards, and these cards number from 1 to 120. The numbers are printed in such a way that it is easy to see 11-20 as 1 to 10 as well, for example, making the deck flexible.

The numbers and symbols are now placed at the 4 corners of the card, to make it easier for left-handlers to hold and other players to view the cards on the table.

I have also created a Geeklist at BGG (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/47512) that contains all the games that the Rainbow Deck can be adapted to play.

ccube78
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The latest PnP file is

The latest PnP file is uploaded. For those who are interested, here's the link (http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/48531).

ccube78
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v1.14 has been uploaded at BGG, TGC and Artscow
ccube78
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v1.17 will be finalized soon.

v1.17 will be finalized soon. Latest card layout can be seen at the link below.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/1118023/ccube78

ccube78
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v1.17 has been released to
ccube78
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Potential v2.1

Potential v2.1. Let's hear your feedback/impressions!

http://www.bgdf.com/node/12540

RGaffney
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Joined: 09/26/2011
Cool. It should come with a

Cool. It should come with a list of open source games that can be played on it

ccube78
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There are currently only 3

There are currently only 3 games designed for the RD. The rules can be found under the Free Downloads section at the TGC website.

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck

Below are some commercial games that the RD can be mapped to play.

http://boardgamegeek.com/file/download/8lvg4l1owf/RD_mapped_games_v1.1.pdf

RGaffney
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I mean, I can play Uno on it

I mean, I can play Uno on it right? Or some Uno/crazy8 variant. Plus any standard card game, games with numbers like Get Bit, hidden information variants like BANG/mafia/Resistance clones. What else? Why did you feel a standard deck needed more colors and higher numbers?

EDIT: Yikes, I just got the xls open and wow. those are some for reals games you have on that list. If you manage to format that ugly spreadsheet into some kind of searchable online database where I can look up a game by duration, and player number and such, you will have a customer for life. I'll buy one for myself and everyone on my Christmas list

ccube78
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Joined: 08/12/2009
The additional colours and

The additional colours and numbers expand the decks that the RD can be mapped to. There are games that require some portions of the RD to be mapped to the usual rank-suit format, and another portion to the sequential number format. A larger deck helps in that aspect. I am not sure about mapping to games like Bang though, which has wordings.

Most of the games are short, around 15-30 min in length. I did include a "number of players" column, so you can just scan through or randomly pick a page. The xls-pdf converted file (v1.1) is the latest version.

Hope you can get one deck and try it out!

Tbone
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Love it!

Great idea! How much is it?

ccube78
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The deck is available at The

The deck is available at The Gamecrafter ($20) and Artscow (around $21-$24, with coupon, free shipping). The deck can be complemented by mini chips, dice and meeples available only from TGC.

GameCrafter v2.0
http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck
http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck-deluxe (contains additional 6 colours x 27 chips)
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck-superdeluxe (contains additional 6 colours x 27 mini chips, 6 coloured dice and 6 coloured meeples)

Artscow v2.0 (split into 3 x 54 decks)
http://www.artscow.com/gallery/playing-cards/rainbow-deck-v2-a4bc0rphafaf
http://www.artscow.com/gallery/playing-cards/rainbow-deck-v2-bxpdo2h5wgo2
http://www.artscow.com/gallery/playing-cards/rainbow-deck-v2-7ikwxtcg8y4s

ccube78
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RD v3.0 This is the current

RD v3.0

This is the current RD v3.0. Comments anyone? I forgot how to attach the thumbnail here, so I only put the link.

ccube78
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Joined: 08/12/2009
Rainbow Deck 3.0 is released!

Rainbow Deck 3.0 is released! You can get the deck for $20 for a full deck or $11 for a half-deck at TGC (shipping not included), or $24 for a full deck at Artscow (shipping included) using discount coupon.

GameCrafter
http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck
http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck-deluxe (contains additional 6 colours x 27 chips)
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck-superdeluxe (contains additional 6 colours x 27 mini chips, 6 coloured dice and 6 coloured meeples)

GameCrafter Half Decks
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck-set-a
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rainbow-deck-set-b

Artscow (split into 3 x 54 decks)
http://www.artscow.com/gallery/playing-cards/rainbow-deck-v3-yk4uhmjx81p7
http://www.artscow.com/gallery/playing-cards/rainbow-deck-v3-jo5qqm8fdu1c
http://www.artscow.com/gallery/playing-cards/rainbow-deck-v3-k5kji2t2yyd7

Artscow discount coupon
Coupon code: POKERFACE
Expiry date: July 30, 2014

questccg
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I'm confused?!?!

I checked out the PDF file that has 95 pages worth of games... And I'm totally confused?!?!

How is Rainbow Deck supposed to be used to play all those games? Some of those games have a board - not only cards.

So I'm confused about what Rainbow Deck is supposed to achieve with these games that use a board to play. Take the first entry "Pandemic". That game requires cards, board and parts. I don't see how Rainbow Deck can be used to play the game without the board and the game's parts?!?!

Are you saying you could use Rainbow Deck instead of using Pandemic's cards?! If I already OWN Pandemic with it's cards, why would I want to use another deck of cards to play the game...???

I'm sorry I just don't understand what Rainbow Deck can do... The concept is beyond my comprehension. I'm not getting how people are supposed to play games without all the parts...

ccube78
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Pandemic is a more difficult

Pandemic is a more difficult case. I suggest you look at Coloretto, Lost Cities and No Merci for a start.

The Contents column shows the mapping of the Rainbow Deck components (the full set includes the deck plus 6 x 27 chips, 6 x dice and 6 x meeples). to the actual game components. Some games have mapping that are quite straight-forward, others might need more complicated mapping.

The cards can be used to form boards. In the case of Pandemic, it is not a 100% mapping of the board. But putting cards to represent cities according to the Setup mentioned in the pdf, you can get a close experience of how the actual game runs.

Again, Pandemic is probably one of the more complicated games to map. I sorted the games according the BGG ranking so it is easier to find good games to play.

Let me know if you need more explanation.

questccg
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2nd look

ccube78 wrote:
Pandemic is a more difficult case. I suggest you look at Coloretto, Lost Cities and No Merci for a start...

Sorry I have not had the chance to take a 2nd look. I will do so over the weekend - between my other tasks that need to get done.

I don't know these three (3) games, so I will take a look at your mapping PDF and then see if I can find a review about the game. From there I'll have a much better idea about the mapping.

One thing for certain, I don't doubt that simulation might be possible, the question would be how obvious it is to play. What I would think is maybe scaling down the volume of games and creating a deck for *similar* games. So if Game #1, #2, and #3 are similar enough you can have a common deck, then I would go down that route.

Perhaps to clarify what I am suggesting, I would create "Rainbow Decks" (notice in plural) and have a subset of the games. This might lead to more obvious mapping. Again I need to take another look and compare with the games you suggested.

I'll get back to you. However I don't think having a HUGE mapping is a very compelling sales reason. Just having like 3 or 4 games that are mapped to one deck would probably be enough to merit the sales (or purchase) of such a deck!

ccube78
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Do you mean from the base

Do you mean from the base Rainbow deck, to define certain card distributions and calling that deck 1, deck 2? I need to think about that. I can perhaps include a column that says letter deck, sequence deck or X suits Y ranks for example. However it would make the table wider and words smaller.

I understand that some of the games are a bit of a stretch to map to. I put it there more as a result of my thinking process. It is theoretically possible to map those games, but practically difficult or troublesome. I might consider removing those, just to reduce confusion for new comers.

japes
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Joined: 09/19/2013
ccube78 wrote: I understand

ccube78 wrote:

I understand that some of the games are a bit of a stretch to map to. I put it there more as a result of my thinking process. It is theoretically possible to map those games, but practically difficult or troublesome. I might consider removing those, just to reduce confusion for new comers.

Theoretically possible and usable are two different things. I think if you had a paired down list of the more straight forward uses of the deck instead of just trying to make it seem like every game is playable with your deck you would get a far more positive feedback. Right now a lot of the options seem to be forced. Perhaps do a few list. Maybe one that is for card only games that your cards can be mapped to and maybe another that uses your cards and the chips/tokens... and only list games that can be completely played with these components. Having a bunch of games on the list that are only partially playable or need further items is misleading and confusing. Besides if someone has the missing components they probably have the complete game and won't need your cards.

The great benefits you can have here is for travelers...if I can take the one large deck of cards and play several games with it...now you are hitting a sweet spot.

Hope this helps.

ccube78
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Thanks for the suggestion. I

Thanks for the suggestion. I will remove those games that require too much mapping, and also group them into 3 groups - rainbow deck only, rainbow deck deluxe (with chips) and rainbow deck superdeluxe (with chips,dice,meeples). None of the games require components beyond superdeluxe.

Yes, one of the advantages of the Rainbow Deck is a game system with portability and variety.

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