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Research
It had been some time since I had actually looked at the rules of any card game, so my first step was to look at a couple of rule sets to determine layout and the key points to hit in a rulebook. I looked at a variety including:
- Monopoly Deal
- UNO
- 3 player Whist
- One Piece
- Pokémon TCG
- Rummy
Rummy was the closest to what I was attempting to craft rules for, so I focussed on the different variants of this, including Gin Rummy. That said, it was interesting to look at a variety of game types and styles to draw elements that appealed.
I started with a different name (or a couple – Cursus Honorum for the political ladder that patricians followed up to Consul; Que Romanus – Consul in another nod to the QR in SPQR) and where we are now as Consul of Rome might not necessarily stick either.
In my research I identified the three elements of rules that I needed to address: 1) The Deal, 2) The Play, and 3) Victory Conditions. So, in crafting the rules I thought about those elements and fleshed each out in turn.
The rules
Whilst all interconnected, I had to start somewhere and chose the easiest to focus on – The Deal.
The Deal
Here I very much took the path of least resistance and went with a deal similar to rummy and went with a 10 card deal. I did like the idea of something a bit different in terms of discard piles that presented optionality in terms of what to pick up but also what you could block in terms of what the next player could pick up. With that in mind, I decided on two discard piles and a draw deck.
I’ve included an extract of how it might eventually look below.
For some time I did think about whether each player had a deck and there were options to customise, but I moved away from that as I wanted a game where you could buy one pack and play.
The Play
With the play itself, I wanted it to be similar to rummy, where players build runs and then differentiate. Here’s where I landed after some thought (see image below).
Effectively the play involved a opening/unlocking hand that needed to be played (the senators) which then allowed you to bring in the Legion runs (ie sequential series of legion cards from the same legion). Several draws/laying out later you would arrive at the point of the “Vote”. Simple enough and only some small variations on the core inspiration, albeit with the Roman themed cards.
I added some optional mechanics of Gambit and Bribery which add a layer of complexity and strategy as well which I’ll discuss in a later post.
Victory Conditions
So, how to end the game?
I decided to name this phase “Calling a Vote” since we have Rome, the Senators and citizen legionnaires.
When the round ends – either because the requisite senators are paid out or someone has played out all of their cards – the votes from each card are tallied.
Then you either do this as a quick game (highest votes wins) or over an extended campaign (first to 500 votes). Simple, right!?
This is all still evolving but wanted to share some of how I came to the rules.
On the next post, I’ll discuss how I sense checked the basic rules.