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RAWR! SuperSimple OS Card Game

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 18:13
RGaffney
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Rawr.jpg

Hello!

This is a game I came up with as I was trying to figure out what it meant to create games. It's ridiculously simple.

Best with 3 players, every player gets 6 cards one of each animal.

Animals have two traits: size, and sneakiness.

Bigger animals beat smaller animals except for the mouse, which is the smallest animal, but beats the elephant.

The order is Mouse, Snake, Croc, Lion, Bear, Elephant

Amphibious and small animals can hide while other animals duke it out. Snake is the sneakiest, then Croc and Mouse, Lion, Bear, and Elephant in that order (the same as size after Croc).

So for instance if Tom plays Elephant, Dick plays Mouse, and Harry plays Croc. Harry will win. The Sneakiest Animal will wait for the two others to fight first (Mouse beats Elephant) before proceeding to fight the victor (Croc beats Mouse) and taking the round.

In the case of a tie, animals will kill one another, before anything else happens, regardless of sneakiness. so if Tom plays Bear, Dick plays Lion and Harry plays Bear, Dick wins. The two bears kill one another, and only the Lion remains.

In the case of a 3 way tie everyone receives their own card back.

When you win a round, you take all the cards that were played that round and add them to your hand. Play proceeds until one player has an unbeatable hand (ie. they have all the Elephants and all the Mice, or all the Bears and all the Elephants)

Feedback: I'll take any input you want to offer. but I'm particularly interested in any other mechanics you would add, a way to streamline the sneakiness mechanic, or thematic changes. Also If there are other games that could be played with the same "deck" that would make it more worthwhile for a person to print and carry these cards, that could be cool.

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 19:09
#1
questccg
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Here are some ideas

RGaffney wrote:
Feedback: I'll take any input you want to offer. but I'm particularly interested in any other mechanics you would add, a way to streamline the sneakiness mechanic, or thematic changes. Also If there are other games that could be played with the same "deck" that would make it more worthwhile for a person to print and carry these cards, that could be cool.

Okay so in your own *mind* things are crystal clear. But to an *outsider* it's not so obvious.

So first thing I would do is create two (2) stats. Not sure what to call them... But you definitely need two (2):

1. One stat is a number 1 to 6. The order would be: Mouse, Snake, Croc, Lion, Bear, Elephant.
2. The Mouse card should have a *special ability* which is "Beats any Elephant".
3. The second stat is again a number 1 to 6. The order would be: Elephant, Bear, Lion, Mouse, Croc, Snake.

Then your game can proceed *normally* but use the numbers for *simplicity*. I would call it *streamlining* the game so that the rules are more obvious. Doing this *opens* up the game for a younger audience since they can use the numbers rather than memory what the rules are for each card.

I think these ideas would make the game more *kid friendly*. For that matter even adults could benefit with the two (2) stats that help decide play order and which card beats which other card!

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 19:20
#2
RGaffney
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Mouse does not actually beat

Mouse does not actually beat any Elephant. If two mice face an Elephant they kill one another first.

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 19:32
#3
questccg
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I understand...

RGaffney wrote:
Mouse does not actually beat any Elephant. If two mice face an Elephant they kill one another first.

Well the idea is two-folds:

1. You should FIRST use stat #2 to determine the order the animals battle it out.
2. When doing so, you use stat #1 to figure out which animals beats the other.
3. In the event of a tie, both die.

Again, I'm not sure what to call the two (2) stats. Maybe #1 = Might and #2 = Cunning. You could put Might in the "top left corner" and put "Cunning" in the "bottom left corner" of your cards. So when you hold the cards in your hand you can see BOTH stats.

Note: I think there is a *flaw* in the design... Let me explain in my next post!

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 19:32
#4
RGaffney
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Size and Sneakiness

Size and Sneakiness

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 19:42
#5
questccg
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Okay let's use this example

RGaffney wrote:
Mouse does not actually beat any Elephant. If two mice face an Elephant they kill one another first.

So first of all, if two (2) mice and an Elephant face off, the Elephant has the LOWEST Cunning (1). The two (2) mice each have a Cunning of 4. So the ORDER should be "Elephant" vs. "Mice #1", "Mice #1" wins. Next if should be "Mice #1" vs. "Mice #2" = draw, both die (nobody wins).

See my point...???

Update:

Quote:
In the case of a tie, animals will kill one another, before anything else happens, regardless of sneakiness.

Forgot about this rule exception... It's very important, otherwise the game would be *broken* with doubles!

So you are right: "Mice #1" and "Mice #2" both die and the "Elephant" wins!

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 19:43
#6
RGaffney
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Indeed it is quite important.

Indeed it is quite important. There are only 3 rules in the game. each one is absolutely nessicary

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 19:50
#7
RGaffney
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So perhaps it would be better

So perhaps it would be better to explain the rules in terms of turn order:

Choose a card from your hand, and hold it in the middle face down, when all players have chosen, reveal all cards.

Step 1: Resolve ties. Any two animals will fight each other before anything else. If all cards are tied, recieve your own card back.

Step 2: Determine play order. The sneakiest animal has the opportunity to move last, Crocs are sneaky, snakes are sneakier, small is sneakier than large

Step 3: Resolve the first battle. Bigger animals win, except Mouse beats Elephant.

Step 4: Resolve second battle. The winner from the first battle faces the sneaky animal.

Step 5: Receive defeated animals into your hand.

Step 6: Repeat.

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 20:01
#8
questccg
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Two or Four players

Can this game be played with 2 or 4 players???

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 20:03
#9
RGaffney
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I've play tested it that way.

I've play tested it that way. It's possible but not optimal. 5 is better

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 20:14
#10
questccg
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Correction

RGaffney wrote:
Step 1: Resolve ties. Any two animals will fight each other before anything else. If all cards are tied, receive your own card back.

Hmm... I'm not sure but I think I've found another *broken* case.

Say it's a four (4) player game and three (3) players play a Mouse and the last player plays an Elephant.

I think the rule should be: Resolve ALL ties. Any ties, the animals fight each other and die.

This would mean that the "Elephant" would win again...!

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 20:21
#11
RGaffney
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Yes in a 4 player game 3

Yes in a 4 player game 3 player ties would work the same as two player ties and double 2 player ties and 4 player ties work like 3 player ties.

Meaning in a 4 player game a lot more of the rounda are redrawn.

Alternatively, Double 2 player ties could split the pot, so that each player involved in the tie with the larger animals receive their own card back, and one of the smaller tie animals. This makes the game progress faster but doesn't work as intuitively thematically.

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Sun, 01/26/2014 - 21:12
#12
questccg
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Keeping it simple

RGaffney wrote:
Alternatively, Double 2 player ties could split the pot, so that each player involved in the tie with the larger animals receive their own card back, and one of the smaller tie animals. This makes the game progress faster but doesn't work as intuitively thematically.

I would NOT include this exception... Keep it as simple as possible. Ties nullify each other and everyone gets their cards back (in the case of double ties).

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Thu, 01/30/2014 - 13:36
#13
knightshade
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Fyi There was a kickstarter

Fyi
There was a kickstarter for a card game called RAWR! Name is probably taken.

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Fri, 01/31/2014 - 03:54
#14
RGaffney
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Indeed there is, and it's a

Indeed there is, and it's a game that takes itself much more seriously too. This is for open source distribution. I want it to be easy for people to keep this game in their cards and play with friends (kids especially) Ideas on other silly names about animals that fight?

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Sun, 02/02/2014 - 22:58
#15
WCanepa
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I like the simplicity of this

I like the simplicity of this game. You basically innovated Rock, Paper, Scissors. Awesome.

The only thing I would change is the Croc, but that's personal preference. Crocodiles and lions are very close to the same size, and crocodiles have the ability to far outgrow lions. I would use a wolf or hyena (if you're sticking to African animals).

I'm also not sure you need to differentiate between amphibious and land creatures to determine sneakiness.

Intuitively, the creatures Size is inversely proportionate to their Sneakiness.

Sneakiness, ranked best to worst:
Mouse, Snake, Crocodile, Lion, Bear, Elephant

Might, ranked worst to best:
Mouse, Snake, Crocodile, Lion, Bear, Elephant

If you go with an African theme (with evocative, stylized art), perhaps considering using the following animals:

Mouse, Snake, Crocodile/Hyena, Lion, Hippo/Rhino, Elephant

or... Mosquito, Mouse, Snake, Hyena, Lion, Croc/Hippo/Rhino, Elephant
(that way the mosquito wins by feeding on the elephant, and is not reliant upon the western circus myth of the elephant being scared by the mouse)

My two cents, anyway. I'd totally play this without any added mechanics.

Most I could suggest is doubling the number of each animal, but I'm not sure how that would mess with your win conditions.

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Mon, 02/03/2014 - 00:53
#16
RGaffney
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Those are some great ideas. I

Those are some great ideas. I like the African themeing addition. I have a couple of concerns.

-The Mouse/Elephant troupe that was used in circus themed stries actually dates back to a very old Chinese game sometimes called "Animals" or "Jungle" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_(board_game) but I like the idea of a mosquito and a Human card, if only I could find something balanced for them to do that makes intuitive sense.

-The disrupted sneakiness mechanic is actually really important to make the snake and croc/hyena good for anything ever (beating both the mouse and the elephant) by stretching it out so far it gives the cards different values but makes it seem like none is really worthless (Lion is actually the card I am least sad to lose) It's also easily the hardest to explain and I would appreciate any ideas on making it clearer.

- As to doubling, that would totally work it would just make for a much longer game. Which is great. because I can include in the instructions "try giving everyone two decks" and I've increased the value without adding complexity. Other ideas like this?

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Mon, 02/03/2014 - 01:19
#17
WCanepa
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I was not aware of that,

I was not aware of that, thanks for the history. :)

I wonder if you could make a Hunter card? A moderately sneaky card that trumps all but the mosquito?

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Mon, 02/03/2014 - 02:52
#18
RGaffney
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What beats a mosquito?

What beats a mosquito?

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Mon, 02/03/2014 - 03:45
#19
WCanepa
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Mouse? Bat? Any animal that

Mouse? Bat? Any animal that could feasibly eat it/resist it?

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Mon, 02/03/2014 - 04:09
#20
RGaffney
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Frogs and bats yeah. Now we

Frogs and bats yeah. Now we are almost inventing an entirely different game.

I was hoping there might be an intuitive way for mosquito to be like an expansion to this one. so after you are bored with it it could add some complexity. Maybe that's a pipe dream.

Thoughts on sneakiness. Ways to make sneakiness a more apparent and obvious part of the game? (maybe if i just write it on the card like a special power that is clear enough)

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