While camping this weekend I was reminded of the severe lack of playing card games with a "gamer" sensibility. A game where the suits have meaning in the game that are related to their symbol. (Hearts=health, Diamonds= money, Kings=Actual Kings)
I suck at number crunching, so creating a balanced game is not my strong point. But with nothing else to do on my Sunday afternoon I decided to take a crack at creating a basic framework for a game like the one I had in mind.
You're invited to try it out and send any notes for improvement my way, or post them here or in the topic I created for it at spiritblade.net/forums. (In the "Fan Zone") I'm sure it could use a ton!
"Bloodlines"- A card game by Paeter Frandsen
Two Players, each needs their own standard 52 card deck of playing cards.
The object of the game is to kill off the entire bloodline (Jack, Queen and King) of the enemy player.
Players start by shuffling their decks and drawing the top card. This card determines the suit of each player’s bloodline. (If a joker or identical cards are drawn, draw again until each player has a different suit selected.)
Suits can also be chosen in advance if the players prefer.
A player’s suit determines their strengths and weaknesses and has significant effect on game play.
Each player removes the Jokers, King, Queen, Jack and Ace of every suit that is not their own, as well as the Ace of their own suit. Each player then places the Jack, Queen and King of their own suit face up in front of them, with the rest of their deck face down to the right of them. (Leave room for another row of cards between the face up “Royal” cards and the edge of the table.)
Each player then draws a hand of 4 cards. 4 is the maximum number of cards a player may have in their hand. (Players do not reveal their hands.)
On the first game, flip a coin to determine who goes first. Otherwise, the loser of the last game goes first.
Each turn is played as follows:
1. Play or Cycle any number of Diamond or Club cards.(Discard down to 4)(This may be done multiple times at any time during your turn.)
2. Draw a card (unless you already have 4).
3. Play a card from your hand OR attack with a “unit” or a Joker. (Or purchase a Joker if you are the diamond suit.)
Play proceeds with each player taking a turn until one player’s Bloodline of Royals has been completely discarded. A player whose deck has run out may no longer draw any cards for the rest of the game.
The value of each card (number printed in the corner) is raised or lowered by one depending on your suit. All cards you have in your own suit have their number raised by one. All cards you have in another suit are lowered by one.
Card uses/abilities are as follows:
Hearts- Hearts represent the defense (or “health”) of your royal family members. Heart cards are played in front of a royal (Jack, Queen or King) of your choice, and stay there until that royal is discarded. You may play as many heart cards on a royal as you wish. The card values are added up to determine the total defense of that royal. (Remember to add or subtract as appropriate for your suit.) A Royal with no hearts played in front of it has a defense value of zero. A “unit” may not attack a royal with a total defense that is greater than or equal to the total attack power of the unit.
Spades- Spades represent the attack power of a military unit. Spades are played on the table between opposing players, on the side of the table of the player controlling them. Units consist of one or more spade cards on the table together(stacked but with their individual numbers visible) and the attack power of the unit is equal to the total value of all cards in the unit. (Remember to add or subtract as appropriate to your suit.) You may have more than one unit in play.
A player may choose to attack an enemy Royal with a unit he controls on his turn, but may only attack a Royal with a defense value that is less than his attacking unit’s attack power. After attacking a Royal, both the Royal and the entire unit are discarded into their controlling player’s discard pile. Any heart cards the Royal had are discarded as well.
Clubs- Clubs represent the food and supplies your kingdom has to support your war efforts. You may discard any club card to draw another card from your deck at any time during your turn. If your bloodline is the club suit, you may instead discard a club card and draw a number of cards equal to its value. (No more or less) You must then immediately discard down to 4 cards before doing anything else.
Diamonds- Diamonds represent the financial resources your kingdom has to support your war efforts. You may discard any diamond card to draw another card from your deck at any time during your turn. If your bloodline is the diamond suit, you are wealthy enough to afford the most effective and versatile mercenaries in the land: Jokers.
To hire a Joker, you must first build up a pool of diamonds with a value of 25 or greater. At any time during your turn, you may place any number of diamond cards in your hand into a diamond card “pool” off to the side. On your turn, instead of playing a card from your hand or attacking with a unit, you may choose to discard a diamond pool with a value of 25 or greater to place a Joker in play between yourself and your row of Royals on the table.
Jokers are master performers and deceivers. You may use a Joker to attack a Royal instead of using a unit. In this case, the defense value of the Royal is ignored and they are instantly killed. (The Joker infiltrated the enemy camp.) The Joker is discarded as well.
Alternatively, when one of your Royals is killed, you may choose to discard a Joker instead of the Royal (in this case the Joker was acting as a decoy), although all associated Heart cards are still discarded.
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