Social Strategy Game Rules in Development
PLAY ORDER
Play order begins and continues throughout the game as a discrete clockwise process. At the beginning of each player's turn the Influence and Event dice are rolled. A card is drawn and pieces are moved. A card may then be played resulting in additional moves or an Event (often but not always antagonistic). A player who has an antagonist card played "against" him or her as an attack has an opportunity to immediately respond. Responses are played as cards that negate, deflect, or reflect the attack.
ROUTINE PLAY ORDER
1. Roll Event and Influence dice
2. Take an Event card (type as indicated by the Event die roll) – max 8 in hand (7 held and 1 played)
3. Move other players’ pieces in the Social Milieu (number as indicated by the Influence die roll)
4. Play Event card, pass, or turn in set of Event cards for Tangent card or movement (routine play)
5. Play Tangent card (after Event card, instead of Event card, or when first drawn) or pass – max 4 in hand (3 held and 1 played)
6. Dice are passed to next player and turn ends
Play order may be interrupted by any player when an interjection card is played. This card allows only one additional player to play out of turn on any given turn. The first player to interject is allowed a play at that time. No response is permitted to an interjection. The player to interject plays an interjection card and one other card (Event or Tangent) but cannot not draw a card nor turn in a set during the interjection. The interjection must be focused on the two other players engaged in conflict during that turn. Play order then resumes. Seemingly simultaneous or contested interjection plays are decided with an Influence die roll – higher wins – repeat roll if tie occurs. May also roll both dice (higher sum wins) without consultation.
INFLUENTIAL PLAY ORDER
1. Roll Event and Influence dice
2. Take an Event card (type as indicated by the Event die roll)
3. Move other players’ pieces in the Social Milieu (number as indicated by the Influence die roll)
4. Play Event card, pass, or turn in set of Event cards for Tangent card or movement (influential play)
5. Play Tangent card (after Event card, instead of Event card, after turning in a set, or when first drawn) or pass
6. Event or Tangent card is played (attack)
7. If played against another player that player can respond with one Event or one Tangent card
8. Interjection card and associated Event or Tangent card may be played by a third player after an attack has been played and before a response has been played
9. Defendant and Interjecting player are allowed to briefly consult on the play (at interjecting player’s discretion)
10. Defendant may choose to decline interjection, but cannot respond further if interjection is allowed (a variant on this could be considered in which no consulting is allowed and the first card played stands whether a response or interjection)
11. Dice are passed to next player and turn ends
Note: Each player is limited to the play of up to two cards per turn (one Event card and one Tangent card or two Event cards) when actively playing whether during one's own turn or while interjecting. Defense plays are limited to one card. A set of five cards may be turned in (not played), which replaces the Event card play for that player. The final move in this game may be an interjection.
SOCIAL FOLLY
When an attack is made on a influential play, the target player has an opportunity to play one card in defense. If this defense moves the attach to another player with a card such as Deflect, than that player has an opportunity to play one card in defense, and so on. The action will rest with either the initiator or final defenseless player.
EVENTS, TRANSITIONS, AND STRATEGY
The five primary decks consist of (1) Beauty, (2) Connection, (3) Mutual Advantage, (4) Presence, and (5) Honor cards (numbered for Influence die rolls). Each Event card category has subtopics including Crisis, Opportunity, Subterfuge, Development, and Agenda cards. Interjection cards occur in each Event deck and may be played with one other Event card or a Tangent card from the secondary deck. Playing two interjection cards together does not result in an action.
Note: Alternately, playing two interjection cards may be designated to have the same effect as an introduction.
The secondary deck consists of cards effecting statuses within Acquaintance, Friend, and Kin as well as Social Advantage opportunities and Insult-to-Injury cards. Players will use these cards in favor of or against each other depending on game strategy, alliances, and rivalries. Counter a “Betrayal” card with “Unconditional Love” to thwart another player’s attempt to move you away from your goal or get kicked to the dustbin of life with a Travesty card.
Sets of any five Event cards may be turned in for one Tangent card. Players can trade one Tangent card as an action per turn if desired and mutually agreed upon between the two trading players (the player who's turn it is and any other). Players can also trade up to two Event cards prior to an action per turn, but Tangent and Event cards may not be traded together on the same turn. Trades may be thwarted by interjections.
Any set of five matching Event cards may be traded in to move your own piece one level higher. Such a set may also be used as an Introduction on your own or another player's behalf to move from the Social Milieu to A3 or K3 as well as a Transition into the Inner Sanctum from A5 or K4.
A set of one of each of five Event cards (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) may be turned in to move your own or another player’s piece back one level (F5-F4-F3-F2-F1, K5-F4-F3-K4-K3, or A5-A4-A3-A2-A1). Players within F can only be moved back to F1. Players within K can only be moved back to K1. And players within A can only be moved back to A1. Players can only access F0 with a Tangent card played by or for an acquaintance in A1 or K1. Sets cannot be played with an interjection card, but sets may be turned in upon receipt of additional cards from other players and game pieces moved accordingly.
(Under consideration: Optional win strategies. For example, a rule has been proposed in which players work together to achieve F4 status for every player in a socially constructive manner before any player attempts to attain F5 or K5. Another example involves one additional round of play to attain F5 and win after a player establishes his or her game piece at K5.)
As with most board-style games (and real life), strategy is subtly based on your interactions with all other players. Win them to your cause or generate conflict through subterfuge.
Note: Players may request certain cards, ask for help in the form of interjections, and otherwise openly communicate about their needs, wants, and willingness to conspire against or support the efforts of any other player or players. Actions and trades, however, should occur within the appropriate windows of opportunity. Trading cards out of turn is discouraged as unethical and will not result in the ability to immediately play or turn in a set. It will also annoy all other players which may be counterproductive to your strategy. Likewise, taking additional cards from the decks, stealing, or hoarding beyond the allowable limits is simply subject to scrutiny. By game design, there is no real way to cheat. All actions, public or private, stand review by other players with social dynamics and pressure to conform adjusted accordingly.
NEXT
http://www.ionurse.com/events-and-tangents.html
Play order begins and continues throughout the game as a discrete clockwise process. At the beginning of each player's turn the Influence and Event dice are rolled. A card is drawn and pieces are moved. A card may then be played resulting in additional moves or an Event (often but not always antagonistic). A player who has an antagonist card played "against" him or her as an attack has an opportunity to immediately respond. Responses are played as cards that negate, deflect, or reflect the attack.
ROUTINE PLAY ORDER
1. Roll Event and Influence dice
2. Take an Event card (type as indicated by the Event die roll) – max 8 in hand (7 held and 1 played)
3. Move other players’ pieces in the Social Milieu (number as indicated by the Influence die roll)
4. Play Event card, pass, or turn in set of Event cards for Tangent card or movement (routine play)
5. Play Tangent card (after Event card, instead of Event card, or when first drawn) or pass – max 4 in hand (3 held and 1 played)
6. Dice are passed to next player and turn ends
Play order may be interrupted by any player when an interjection card is played. This card allows only one additional player to play out of turn on any given turn. The first player to interject is allowed a play at that time. No response is permitted to an interjection. The player to interject plays an interjection card and one other card (Event or Tangent) but cannot not draw a card nor turn in a set during the interjection. The interjection must be focused on the two other players engaged in conflict during that turn. Play order then resumes. Seemingly simultaneous or contested interjection plays are decided with an Influence die roll – higher wins – repeat roll if tie occurs. May also roll both dice (higher sum wins) without consultation.
INFLUENTIAL PLAY ORDER
1. Roll Event and Influence dice
2. Take an Event card (type as indicated by the Event die roll)
3. Move other players’ pieces in the Social Milieu (number as indicated by the Influence die roll)
4. Play Event card, pass, or turn in set of Event cards for Tangent card or movement (influential play)
5. Play Tangent card (after Event card, instead of Event card, after turning in a set, or when first drawn) or pass
6. Event or Tangent card is played (attack)
7. If played against another player that player can respond with one Event or one Tangent card
8. Interjection card and associated Event or Tangent card may be played by a third player after an attack has been played and before a response has been played
9. Defendant and Interjecting player are allowed to briefly consult on the play (at interjecting player’s discretion)
10. Defendant may choose to decline interjection, but cannot respond further if interjection is allowed (a variant on this could be considered in which no consulting is allowed and the first card played stands whether a response or interjection)
11. Dice are passed to next player and turn ends
Note: Each player is limited to the play of up to two cards per turn (one Event card and one Tangent card or two Event cards) when actively playing whether during one's own turn or while interjecting. Defense plays are limited to one card. A set of five cards may be turned in (not played), which replaces the Event card play for that player. The final move in this game may be an interjection.
SOCIAL FOLLY
When an attack is made on a influential play, the target player has an opportunity to play one card in defense. If this defense moves the attach to another player with a card such as Deflect, than that player has an opportunity to play one card in defense, and so on. The action will rest with either the initiator or final defenseless player.
EVENTS, TRANSITIONS, AND STRATEGY
The five primary decks consist of (1) Beauty, (2) Connection, (3) Mutual Advantage, (4) Presence, and (5) Honor cards (numbered for Influence die rolls). Each Event card category has subtopics including Crisis, Opportunity, Subterfuge, Development, and Agenda cards. Interjection cards occur in each Event deck and may be played with one other Event card or a Tangent card from the secondary deck. Playing two interjection cards together does not result in an action.
Note: Alternately, playing two interjection cards may be designated to have the same effect as an introduction.
The secondary deck consists of cards effecting statuses within Acquaintance, Friend, and Kin as well as Social Advantage opportunities and Insult-to-Injury cards. Players will use these cards in favor of or against each other depending on game strategy, alliances, and rivalries. Counter a “Betrayal” card with “Unconditional Love” to thwart another player’s attempt to move you away from your goal or get kicked to the dustbin of life with a Travesty card.
Sets of any five Event cards may be turned in for one Tangent card. Players can trade one Tangent card as an action per turn if desired and mutually agreed upon between the two trading players (the player who's turn it is and any other). Players can also trade up to two Event cards prior to an action per turn, but Tangent and Event cards may not be traded together on the same turn. Trades may be thwarted by interjections.
Any set of five matching Event cards may be traded in to move your own piece one level higher. Such a set may also be used as an Introduction on your own or another player's behalf to move from the Social Milieu to A3 or K3 as well as a Transition into the Inner Sanctum from A5 or K4.
A set of one of each of five Event cards (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) may be turned in to move your own or another player’s piece back one level (F5-F4-F3-F2-F1, K5-F4-F3-K4-K3, or A5-A4-A3-A2-A1). Players within F can only be moved back to F1. Players within K can only be moved back to K1. And players within A can only be moved back to A1. Players can only access F0 with a Tangent card played by or for an acquaintance in A1 or K1. Sets cannot be played with an interjection card, but sets may be turned in upon receipt of additional cards from other players and game pieces moved accordingly.
(Under consideration: Optional win strategies. For example, a rule has been proposed in which players work together to achieve F4 status for every player in a socially constructive manner before any player attempts to attain F5 or K5. Another example involves one additional round of play to attain F5 and win after a player establishes his or her game piece at K5.)
As with most board-style games (and real life), strategy is subtly based on your interactions with all other players. Win them to your cause or generate conflict through subterfuge.
Note: Players may request certain cards, ask for help in the form of interjections, and otherwise openly communicate about their needs, wants, and willingness to conspire against or support the efforts of any other player or players. Actions and trades, however, should occur within the appropriate windows of opportunity. Trading cards out of turn is discouraged as unethical and will not result in the ability to immediately play or turn in a set. It will also annoy all other players which may be counterproductive to your strategy. Likewise, taking additional cards from the decks, stealing, or hoarding beyond the allowable limits is simply subject to scrutiny. By game design, there is no real way to cheat. All actions, public or private, stand review by other players with social dynamics and pressure to conform adjusted accordingly.
NEXT
http://www.ionurse.com/events-and-tangents.html
