[GDS] MARCH 2013 "Turn the Tide"

FOX AND WEASEL by KrisW

6 to 12 players, 12 to 24 rounds

*There are only so many points, and they all get distributed every round. The key to winning is deciding which round counts and whether you want the most or least of points.*

##**GAME SET-UP – PREPARE THE DECK AND PLACE SNARES**

###DECK – Standard playing card decks, altered depending on the number of players.
6 players, 2 decks, no hearts, 10s, Jacks, Queens (60 cards)
7 players, 2 decks, no hearts, Queens (72 cards)
8 players, 3 decks, no 2s, 4s, 6s, 8s, 10s, Queens (84 cards)
9 players, 2 decks, no Queens (96 cards)
10 players, 3 decks, no hearts, Queens (108 cards)
11 players, 3 decks, no 10s, Jacks, Queens. (120 cards)
12 players, 3 decks, no 10s, Queens (132 cards)

###SNARES – Each player secretly writes down 7 HUNTS (rounds) in which his score will count towards winning. These are his SNARES. He also selects whether he is going for high score (FOX) or low score (WEASEL). Players may not look at the lists again until the Final Scoring step.

##**GAME PLAY**
1. Dealing
Randomly select the first dealer. The dealer is the WEASEL. Each player may be the WEASEL no more than twice.
Deal, but do not give to players, one hand less than the number of players. The WEASEL may look at each hand before handing them out, deciding who gets which hand and which to keep for himself. One player, the FOX, gets no hand at all. The WEASEL may not be the FOX.

2. Declare TRADE or TRAP
Players must announce whether they are trading or trapping, and their offer:
TRAPPER – They want a card. Example: “TRAPPER, I want a King.”
TRADER – They are willing to give away a card. Example: “TRADER, I’ll give a 2.”
Traders should place the card they are willing to trade face up in front of themselves.
After everyone has made their declaration the WEASEL opens the HUNT. (French horn optional, tally ho!)

3. HUNT
It is the FOX’S job to keep the HUNT running as fast as possible. If a player takes more than a few seconds to decide what to trade or pass, the FOX may declare ‘BROKEN TRAP’ and that player’s choice defaults to ‘pass’. (Hint, recite “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy weasel" at least three times before announcing a trap to be broken.). The Fox also arbitrates questions and may look at player’s cards to determine outcomes.
The player to the left of the FOX is the first HUNTER. Each player may HUNT once (initiate a trade) or pass. The HUNTER must state what he himself declared he was looking for or what the other player was offering. No player may refuse to trade with the HUNTER, each exchanging the cards face up on the table. They must trade what they declared if possible. They may not negotiate or request further information.
Go around the circle a second time allowing players who initially passed to HUNT or pass a second time.

4. The FOX’S Hand
The player without a hand (The FOX) declares one other player to be the new WEASEL. A player who has already been the WEASEL twice may not be named as the WEASEL.
Every player, other than the WEASEL, gives the FOX one card. The WEASEL must then distribute his cards, one to each of the other players and any remainder to the FOX. The WEASEL becomes the dealer for the next round.

5. Score Points
One player should keep score, marking clearly each HUNT (round number). Do not add scores for previous hands to the current hand’s score. Cards are worth face value. Face cards are worth 10 and Aces are worth 15. List only the raw scores; do not add to previous HUNT rounds.

We’re All Out Of Weasels
Tracking Weasels may be done on the score sheet. When the FOX cannot appoint any other player as the WEASEL then the FOX does not get a hand and the game ends after scoring.

##**FINAL SCORING**
Each player retrieves his Winning Conditions note. The scorekeeper calls out each HUNT number and asks whether anyone had a SNARE that round. Read off the score for those who had a SNARE. Players then total their points to determine the winner.

###THE GRAND HIGH FOX!
The player with the highest score IF they also indicated they were playing for high.

###THE SUBLIME LOW WEASEL!
The player with the lowest score IF they indicated they were playing for low.

###ROADKILL! – If neither a FOX nor WEASEL has won then the player with the lowest score is declared ROADKILL. Everyone else is a winner.

##**JARGON**
###HUNT / HUNTER – A round of play in which each player attempts to either score high, score low, or confuse their opponents. Whichever player is active during the HUNT is the HUNTER.

###SNARE – A round in which a player’s score counts towards their winning conditions. Only 7 out of the 12 to 24 HUNTS count towards winning.

###WEASEL – The dealer, who deals out one less hand than the number of players. No player may be the Weasel more than twice.

###FOX – The player who does not get a hand from the WEASEL and instead gets cards from each player and any left-over cards.

##TRADE / TRADER – A player offering a specific card in trade during the hunt

##TRAP / TRAPPER – A player looking for a specific card during a hunt

##ROADKILL – Wrapped in aluminum foil and strapped to the radiator during a 2 hour road trip. Best if the first half hour of the trip is mostly uphill.

Wormhole by GreenO
-A cardboard Space Invader simulation for 2-4 players. 45 minutes.

Aim:
Compete to destroy enemy invader counters that emerge from a central wormhole in waves of different formations determined by a draw deck of invasion cards. Each invader destroyed is worth a number of points depending upon how hard they are to shoot down. Once destroyed, the enemies are removed from the board. Count the number of points after three waves to determine the winner.

Components:
-A double-sided game board with squares for 2 and 4 player games on one side and hexes on the other side for 3 and 6 player games.

-Invader counters, various different types including: fast-movers, motherships, carpet bombers and suicide ships (think: Space Invaders). These counters are double-sided: the front side shows the ship type and strength; the reverse side shows the points value and any upgrades available for shooting it down.

-A draw deck of cards showing formations of invaders as they appear from the wormhole.

-A deck of upgrade cards to improve your ship (shields, improved weapon technology, better engines for more movement- that sort of thing)

-Twelve big asteroid counters for hiding behind

-Starting player marker

-Two six-sided dice

Game Play:
Turn over the first formation card and arrange invader counters as shown on it in the middle of the board. choose a starting player for a round. On a turn, a player can move and fire once at any point during their move. After each player’s turn check for invader movement. After each player has had a turn, move the starting player marker clockwise. This is the end of the round: check again for invader movement. Invader ships move at different rates and may fire depending on their ship type. Invader ships can move down the board and rotate around the board leading to strategy choices about what to kill for points and what to leave for an opponent to deal with.

Combat is dice determined: roll greater than the target’s strength to shoot down an invader. Any player ship being hit will be destroyed until the end of the round (the player comes back in the next round- they have three lives, but lose any ship upgrades).

After each player has been the starting player three times the wave ends. Any remaining invaders return to the wormhole. After the third wave, the players count their points totals and determine a winner.

One Rule Word Game by regzr

2 players

COMPONENTS:
Pen and paper

SETUP:
Draw a 12 x 12 square grid. Sketch a table where you keep track of points. Players start from zero points.

PLAY:
Players create words using limited selection of letters. One A, one D, one E ...and so on, total twelve letters ( A,D,E,H,I,L,N,O,R,S,T,U ). No letter may occur twice or more frequent in a word and in row and in a column as well. The player having negative sum of points at the moment builds the first word in row. The other player creates the second word. Two words in one row. Then they move to the next row. Blank squares can be left between words or before and after the word.

COUNTING POINTS:
An example.
Player1: A U D I T O R _ _ _ _ _ . Player1 gets one point per vowel and two points per consonant, total +10 points. And player2 gets minus points: -10! Player2 is left with five squares and five letters E,H,L,N,S,T. Player2 creates word NEST. Player2 gets +7 points and player1 -7 points. Next row. Player2 has total -3 points, so he makes the first word. Player2 sees all twelve letters available, but now putting the word in place is a bit harder because first column has already A, second has already U, ... You can't put another letter A in the same column.

END:
As the play continues it is challenging to come up with such a word that fits into grid. In those last rows there are almost every column keeping already most of the useful letters. When players get stuck the game is over. Or when all twelve rows have been used.