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Author Topic: Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt  (Read 623 times)

madunkieg

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Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt
« on: March 14, 2008, 07:58:39 AM »
I've reached the point where I realize that a concept that I've been fiddling with won't work with any of the systems I've designed thus far, so I'm looking for some input, potentially on both concept and system. First, the concept and inspirations:

WOEBEGONE
Are you strong enough to lift a spirit?

If no one can see the stars beyond the lights of the city, will anyone notice when one of them goes missing? A star has fallen to earth with the hopes of secretly helping ease some of the troubles it saw from above. It manifests as a boy or girl, but found itself in need of help, and asks for assistance from dreamers it encounters, which are the characters. With the characters acting like both caretakers and friends (like in Yotsuba), they set about secretly helping people (like in Amelie and 3 Iron), and also helping to lift the star's heavy heart so that it may return to the heavens.

The world of Endless City is inspired by the illustrations by Imperial Boy. It's not a world filled with magic or great danger, but a lot of rather odd characters. My intention is to make the game seem very playful and always hovering near the edge of fantasy, but the star will be the only thing that is truly magical. There will actually be several stars for the gamemaster to choose from, and which one is chosen will shape the campaign.

As for the system, I want adapt a kid's cardgame that can be played with regular playing cards to give a playful feel to the game. I also want to avoid cardgames that are regularly associated with gambling, like poker or blackjack.

Thus far I've come up with, or had suggested, the following possible games:
War, Go Fish, UNO, Old Maid, Rook, Canasta, Rummy, Crazy Eights, Slapjack, Hearts
Does anyone know any other playing card games they played as a kid that I might look into?
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JohnnyWannabe

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Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2008, 09:50:30 AM »
Go with UNO, Crazy 8s or Go Fish. They are easy to understand. In the case of UNO, task resolution can be defined by whether or not you win a "play." The same goes for Go Fish. If you get a pair (or match) you succeed, if you have to Go Fish, you fail.
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John Morrow

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Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2008, 02:09:51 PM »
Quote from: madunkieg
As for the system, I want adapt a kid's cardgame that can be played with regular playing cards to give a playful feel to the game. I also want to avoid cardgames that are regularly associated with gambling, like poker or blackjack.

Thus far I've come up with, or had suggested, the following possible games:
War, Go Fish, UNO, Old Maid, Rook, Canasta, Rummy, Crazy Eights, Slapjack, Hearts
Does anyone know any other playing card games they played as a kid that I might look into?

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Spit (there is a speed version described here)

Spit could be really wild if you want to add a physical twitch aspect to the game.
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John Morrow

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Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2008, 02:13:46 PM »
Quote from: JohnnyWannabe
Go with UNO, Crazy 8s or Go Fish. They are easy to understand.


I once tried to play Crazy 8s with people who grew up in different areas.  I think it was in college.  Each person seemed to have different rules for the game.  Seriously, it was so bad that we gave up and played a different game instead.

Similar to Hearts and more like Bridge is Spades.
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Silverlion

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Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2008, 04:33:46 AM »
I'd suggest Go Fish or War. Either one maintains simplicity for speed of play.

(Albeit adding a game into another game always seems to drag out the mechanics a bit to me)
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madunkieg

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Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt
« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2008, 12:28:10 PM »
Thank you for all the cardgame suggestions. I have a lot to choose from now.

Can anyone see any pitfalls to watch out for in the game design concept?

How would you make a game seem magical without having magic?
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Silverlion

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Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2008, 02:00:46 PM »
Quote from: madunkieg
Thank you for all the cardgame suggestions. I have a lot to choose from now.

Can anyone see any pitfalls to watch out for in the game design concept?

How would you make a game seem magical without having magic?



As in "no magic at all?" or "no accessible  player-character magic?"

After all having strange creatures and places of magical beauty/construction can go a long way to making the setting magical, but is harder to do without magic behind its construction. "Ancients did it" is possible with no magic explanation (supertech or magic both work) and it is now a lost art.

Flying castles, giant trees, rivers or lakes with endless whirlpools, or waterspouts, giant islands that rise from the sea with bubbled cities...and so on can add to the magical feel.
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madunkieg

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Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2008, 09:06:35 PM »
Quote from: Silverlion
As in "no magic at all?" or "no accessible  player-character magic?"

As in, "no magic at all." The illustrations by Imperial Boy mostly depict an alternate modern world that seems almost enchanted, but is really very mundane. Take a good look at this one and this one I think you'll start to understand what I mean.

While I can't replicate all of Imperial Boy's techniques (such as lighting), there must be other ways to communicate the same sort of atmosphere that could be worked into a game. I've got a couple ideas already (odd subcultures that tend to hang out in semi-hidden places, rituals as a method of recovery), but I'm looking for more.
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Silverlion

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Need a Kid's Cardgame to Adapt
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2008, 05:38:30 AM »
Quote from: madunkieg

While I can't replicate all of Imperial Boy's techniques (such as lighting), there must be other ways to communicate the same sort of atmosphere that could be worked into a game. I've got a couple ideas already (odd subcultures that tend to hang out in semi-hidden places, rituals as a method of recovery), but I'm looking for more.



I think most of that will come from your descriptions. In general make sure you keep them aiming towards the feel of this is "not quite what you expect", use some atypical terms for some things.  For example "The buzz of the chemical lights is a soft reassuring sound you are familiar with.." ("chemical" instead of neon/lightbulbs.  And focus on cultural differences.

Good luck. It isn't an easy thing to get across.
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