Mind Down

I was inspired by Mind Up. The idea of Mind Up is as follows:

Place a row of random cards on the table, sorted numerically, as many cards as players.
Now each player simultaneously picks a card from their hand.
Reveal and sort them in the same way, placed above the existing row.
Each player gets/scores the card that matches them. ( = above which they’re placed).

This is just a great simple idea that seems to work well.

Can we run with it and do something ourselves?

Some ideas:

The cards on the table are more specifically random rewards, don’t necessarily need to be same as number of players.
Pick, reveal.
You get all the cards to which your number is the closest. (Which means you might get nothing or a lot.)

Then to really spice it up.

We don’t just do numbers. We provide alternate matching patterns using shapes / colors / general categories.
The specific card you used to score them also matters. For example, a card might be +5 if scored with a rectangle card, but -5 otherwise.

Or we might go for an entirely different theme here. (This should be a separate game, not an expansion or variant for this one.)

We are fighting monsters/dungeons/armies/whatever together. (Cooperative, simultaneous turns, no communication.)
Each round, X random monster cards are revealed and sorted in numerical order.
Each player picks 1 card from their hand.
Monsters are matched with the cards closest to them—they fight each other.
Any cards unmatched become support for the fighting card closest to them.
You simply have to stay alive for X rounds.

And we might even take that a step further.

By adding permanent state, such as the location of our group in the dungeon.
And some cards are needed to move around and visit new treasures / enemies / rooms.
@IDEA: Of course, the cards could show directions in a cave (like Saboteur). When ranked based on number, you get row after row continuing the dungeon cooperatively.

@TODO: This simple rule of “just sort your own cards and you have your row order” is far too good. Changing it would just complicate the game without much in return. So I think we should just stick to that simplicity and try to build on it in a smart way. But HOW?

I was inspired by _Mind Up_. The idea of _Mind Up_ is as follows: * Place a row of random cards on the table, sorted numerically, as many cards as players. * Now each player simultaneously picks a card from their hand. * Reveal and sort them in the same way, placed above the existing row. * Each player _gets/scores_ the card that matches them. ( = above which they're placed). This is just a great simple idea that seems to work well. Can we run with it and do something ourselves? Some ideas: * The cards on the table are more specifically random rewards, don't necessarily need to be same as number of players. * Pick, reveal. * You get all the cards to which your number is the _closest_. (Which means you might get nothing or a lot.) Then to really spice it up. * We don't just do numbers. We provide alternate matching patterns using shapes / colors / general categories. * The specific card you used to score them also matters. For example, a card might be +5 if scored with a rectangle card, but -5 otherwise. **Or we might go for an entirely different theme here.** (This should be a separate game, not an expansion or variant for this one.) * We are fighting monsters/dungeons/armies/whatever together. (Cooperative, simultaneous turns, no communication.) * Each round, X random monster cards are revealed and sorted in numerical order. * Each player picks 1 card from their hand. * Monsters are matched with the cards closest to them---they fight each other. * Any cards unmatched become _support_ for the fighting card closest to them. * You simply have to stay alive for X rounds. **And we might even take that a step further.** * By adding permanent state, such as the location of our group in the dungeon. * And some cards are needed to move around and visit new treasures / enemies / rooms. * **@IDEA: Of course, the cards could show directions in a cave (like Saboteur). When ranked based on number, you get row after row continuing the dungeon cooperatively.** **@TODO: This simple rule of "just sort your own cards and you have your row order" is far too good.** Changing it would just complicate the game without much in return. So I think we should just stick to that simplicity and try to build on it in a smart way. **But HOW?**