Variant: Truly Eternal Struggle
Perceived problem: It sucks being ousted and having to sit around waiting
for the game to finish, especially in a game that can take 2+ hours. This
causes disengagement from new players (especially in smaller groups where
they can't just jump in to a new game), and just general boredom for other
players.
The below idea is my attempt to find a way to allow you to keep playing.
(I've been playing a bunch of boardgames recently that everyone plays
through until the end).
Simple idea, probably heaps of problems, but that's why I'm putting it up
here, so you guy can tear it to pieces.
Here it is:
When you're ousted, pick up all the cards you control, get up, and sit down
in between your predator and grand predator (ie: swap seats with your
predator). Shuffle all your library and crypt cards that haven't been
stolen/given by/to someone else, grab yourself 30 pool, and start again. You
count as a whole new methuselah, for cards that care (ie: cards that were
temporarily controlled by other methuselahs when you were ousted still get
removed from the game when they would otherwise return to you, you can play
'Retribution' and other once-per-game-per-methuselah cards again, you're no
longer tagged by Boons, etc).
When any player has accumulated 3 vps, the game ends (or at the time limit).
Score Game Wins as normal (but obviously there might be more than the number
of players as available VPs).
Some things I worry about:
Moving player positions around mid-game is annoying. Probably not so bad
since one player is clearing all their's and it's really just one player's
stuff moving (unlike Dramatic Upheaval and Kindred Restructure), but still
has scope for counters to go missing off cards, etc.
The player that ousts someone might get a bit too much of a free reign for a
few turns with a player still starting out behind them (no minions, plenty
of pool on your predator), so might want to limit the amount of pool gained
for an oust to balance this out. Or not. It could also be good to have
players playing more aggessively, to get games finishing faster?
On the flipside, it'll make the new prey extra keen to oust his own prey to
get them in between and create a buffer.
Might also want to give the re-starting player a few extra transfers on the
first turn to get them back in to the game quicker.
Thoughts? I'd like to keep it as simple as possible. Which may end up being
not very simple at all.
--
salem
kellahan {at} gmail {dot} com
Additional comments by Lasombra:
When the player sits back down, I would not like to see them as a 30
point pool sack. They need to be able to interact with the game
immediately.
I would propose that they do the following after moving, on their
first turn:
1) Use 16 transfers to bring minions into play during the untap phase.
These minions will be at half capacity (round up). These minions cannot
be ones that contest minions already in play.
2) Draw and discard 15 cards. So, their starting hand will have the
best of the top 22 cards in their deck, so they are ready to play
something in the master phase, and they may play one master card for
free from within those 22 cards prior to that master phase beginning.
3) Have 14 pool.
Their new predator will have one turn of offense before they have
minions, but only one turn.
Something like Legbiter's end-game variant.
http://www.thelasombra.com/variants/endgame.txt