Pantheohno

It’s a game about bribing Gods of Meaningless Stuff for their abilities. In a smart way. At the right time.

All the Gods have silly names and functions. “God of Stubbed Toes”, “God of Narrowly Missed Deadlines”, etcetera.

I try to combine two fun, unique game engines, while keeping material and rules extremely light.

Cards/Tiles show a suit (general color/icon), a special action, and a number.
Gods have a big drawing + name + number, a default action, and “slots” to indicate where you place new cards.

First the general engine ideas, then a quick overview of the rules below that.

Engine 1: Sacrificing for favor

All players simultaneously bid by placing cards (facedown) in front of them. They hold cards showing certain suits (and numbers?), which they place facedown in front of them.

How many? The current auctioneer calls a number. That’s a maximum. You can play fewer than that. (QUESTION: Is participation required? Or can you bid 0?)

The current auctioneer may also decide if the bidding is open (cards faceup, bid in turn) or secret?

Then you reveal the votes.

If you have the most cards for a specific God, you visit them.
In case of a tie, highest total number wins.

If you can’t visit any God, you always visit the God of Stray Cats. (This is like a fallback that can be visited by anyone, in any number?)

All cards that aren’t used to visit a God, go into one point pile.

WHY DO I LIKE THIS? It’s about making the best use of a random hand of cards. It adds great tension, interactivity, planning ahead.

Engine 2: Bid cards = action cards

When you visit a god, you place one of your cards (which you used to bid on them) underneath them.

Then you execute one other action that was already present at this god.

WHY DO I LIKE THIS? By bidding on a god, you add one more action you can take there, making future turns potentially more powerful for other players. Cards are multifunctional and you can have reasons to NOT bid on something you would win. HUGE interactivity, HUGE consequences to each choice.

Most actions allow you to score. When you score a point, you grab one card from the point pile and add it to your score pile. Scoring happens in the order of the number on the Gods cards (low to high).

WHY DO I LIKE THIS? The total score of a round is limited by how much people bid! Additionally, I don’t need extra material, or score tokens, or whatever.

Other actions might allow drawing more cards, seeing other player’s hands, stealing cards, executing any action of ANOTHER god, etcetera.

IDEA: An action that can be placed facedown? So people don’t know what it is?

IDEA: Some actions, once used, are removed. (Or does this happen to ALL actions? It would be possible, because doing an action always adds a new one to replace the old one.)

IDEA: Maybe Gods can have multiple suits or “combos” to sacrifice to them. This would allow a low number of different cards, with a huge variety of different gods that can appear in a game. => EXAMPLE: A god that needs “blue + red”. Every (blue,red) pair is 1 vote for this God.

Rules

Setup

Draw as many random God cards as there are players. Deal every player 8 Vote cards.

Objective

The game ends when, at the end of a round, a player is out of cards. The player with the most cards inside their score pile wins.

Gameplay

Play goes in rounds. Each round has two phases: BID and VISIT

BID

All players secretly play cards from their hand to bid on certain gods.

The Messenger says a number between 2 and 5. That’s the maximum number of cards you’re allowed to play. Everyone must play at least 1.

Then reveal the votes.

If you have the most votes for a certain God, you visit them. (In case of a tie, highest sum of numbers wins.)
If you don’t win the bid for any God, you visit the God of Stray Cats.

Yes, you can win the favor of multiple Gods. You cannot, however, re-use a vote card for multiple gods. It’s up to you how you “divide” your cards and apply them. (More advanced Gods can require combos or special bidding rules.)

Any unused votes go into the point pile (relevant in the next phase).

VISIT

Handle the Gods from low to high.

If a player visits them, they

Place one card (which they used to bid on them) underneath the God card.
Take one action that was already there. (Either the God’s default action or another card played before.)

The God of Stray Cats is evaluated last and simply gives all visitors a new card.

Any points scored are taken from the point pile of this round. Once its empty, nobody can score any more points (for the remainder of this round).

That’s it! Have fun!

Notes / Verdict

Alternative Names: Pantheohno or Pantheohmy or Pantheohnotagain

@TODO: This should be a GREAT game. Simple, unique, great engine.

I just need to …

Figure out a way to ensure that any random selection of Gods can be voted on using the deck of cards. => Maybe it’s best to work with “sets” and “expansions” again.
- The base set just has 3 or 4 suits, with the Gods to match. (A god that accepts “any” or “all different” or “pairs of X/pairs of the same”?)
- Then the expansion adds another suit, with a few Gods to match.
- Then another expansion adds another suit, with Gods that use it (or combos).
Get a list of strong actions for cards + default actions for Gods.
- Already mentioned good stuff below. Actions could …
- Score (in varying ways): fixed points, # of cards here, “pay 1 card for 1 point, up to 5 points at most”, etcetera
- Change cards: draw, discard, steal, reveal, …
- Change gods: add/remove cards underneath them, swap a god for another
Make sure there’s a constant negative flow of cards (more leave the game than are added), to ensure the game ends within a pretty constant time frame.

@IDEA (expansion/spin-off): Superherohno. Same idea, but everybody plays a superhero / villain with some ridiculous power. (“Sleep-with-eyes-open-man!”) You’re traveling a city, battling each other to resolve conflicts/complete missions. Superheroes/Supervillains can assemble.

It's a game about bribing Gods of Meaningless Stuff for their abilities. In a smart way. At the right time. All the Gods have silly names and functions. "God of Stubbed Toes", "God of Narrowly Missed Deadlines", etcetera. I try to combine two fun, unique game engines, while keeping material and rules extremely light. * **Cards/Tiles** show a suit (general color/icon), a special action, and a number. * **Gods** have a big drawing + name + number, a default action, and "slots" to indicate where you place new cards. First the general engine ideas, then a quick overview of the rules below that. ## Engine 1: Sacrificing for favor All players simultaneously *bid* by placing cards (facedown) in front of them. They hold cards showing certain suits (and numbers?), which they place facedown in front of them. *How many?* The current auctioneer calls a **number**. That's a maximum. You can play fewer than that. (QUESTION: Is participation required? Or can you bid 0?) The current auctioneer may also decide if the bidding is **open** (cards faceup, bid in turn) or **secret**? Then you reveal the votes. * If you have the most cards for a specific God, you visit them. * In case of a tie, highest total number wins. If you can't visit any God, you always visit the God of Stray Cats. (This is like a fallback that can be visited by anyone, in any number?) All cards that aren't used to visit a God, go into one **point pile**. _WHY DO I LIKE THIS? It's about making the best use of a random hand of cards. It adds great tension, interactivity, planning ahead._ ## Engine 2: Bid cards = action cards When you visit a god, you place _one_ of your cards (which you used to bid on them) underneath them. Then you execute one other action that was already present at this god. _WHY DO I LIKE THIS? By bidding on a god, you add one more action you can take there, making future turns potentially more powerful for other players. Cards are multifunctional and you can have reasons to NOT bid on something you would win. HUGE interactivity, HUGE consequences to each choice._ Most actions allow you to **score**. When you score a point, you grab one card from the **point pile** and add it to your score pile. Scoring happens in the order of the number on the Gods cards (low to high). _WHY DO I LIKE THIS? The total score of a round is limited by how much people bid! Additionally, I don't need extra material, or score tokens, or whatever._ Other actions might allow drawing more cards, seeing other player's hands, stealing cards, executing any action of ANOTHER god, etcetera. IDEA: An action that can be placed facedown? So people don't know what it is? IDEA: Some actions, once used, are removed. (Or does this happen to ALL actions? It would be possible, because doing an action always adds a new one to replace the old one.) IDEA: Maybe Gods can have multiple suits or "combos" to sacrifice to them. This would allow a low number of different cards, with a huge variety of different gods that can appear in a game. => EXAMPLE: A god that needs "blue + red". Every (blue,red) pair is 1 vote for this God. ## Rules ### Setup Draw as many random God cards as there are players. Deal every player 8 Vote cards. ### Objective The game ends when, at the end of a round, a player is out of cards. The player with the most cards inside their score pile wins. ### Gameplay Play goes in rounds. Each round has two phases: BID and VISIT #### BID All players secretly play cards from their hand to bid on certain gods. The Messenger says a **number** between 2 and 5. That's the _maximum_ number of cards you're allowed to play. Everyone must play at least 1. Then reveal the votes. * If you have the most votes for a certain God, you visit them. (In case of a tie, highest sum of numbers wins.) * If you don't win the bid for any God, you visit the God of Stray Cats. Yes, you can win the favor of multiple Gods. You cannot, however, re-use a vote card for multiple gods. It's up to you how you "divide" your cards and apply them. (More advanced Gods can require combos or special bidding rules.) Any unused votes go into the **point pile** (relevant in the next phase). #### VISIT Handle the Gods from low to high. If a player visits them, they * Place _one_ card (which they used to bid on them) underneath the God card. * Take _one_ action that was already there. (Either the God's default action or another card played before.) The God of Stray Cats is evaluated last and simply gives all visitors a new card. Any points scored are taken from the _point pile_ of this round. Once its empty, nobody can score any more points (for the remainder of this round). That's it! Have fun! ## Notes / Verdict Alternative Names: **Pantheohno** or **Pantheohmy** or **Pantheohnotagain** **@TODO: This should be a GREAT game. Simple, unique, great engine.** I just need to ... * Figure out a way to ensure that any random selection of Gods can be voted on using the deck of cards. => Maybe it's best to work with "sets" and "expansions" again. * The base set just has 3 or 4 suits, with the Gods to match. (A god that accepts "any" or "all different" or "pairs of X/pairs of the same"?) * Then the expansion adds another suit, with a few Gods to match. * Then another expansion adds another suit, with Gods that use it (or combos). * Get a list of strong actions for cards + default actions for Gods. * Already mentioned good stuff below. Actions could ... * **Score** (in varying ways): fixed points, # of cards here, "pay 1 card for 1 point, up to 5 points at most", etcetera * **Change cards**: draw, discard, steal, reveal, ... * **Change gods**: add/remove cards underneath them, swap a god for another * Make sure there's a constant negative flow of cards (more leave the game than are added), to ensure the game ends within a pretty constant time frame. **@IDEA (expansion/spin-off): Superherohno**. Same idea, but everybody plays a superhero / villain with some ridiculous power. ("Sleep-with-eyes-open-man!") You're traveling a city, battling each other to resolve conflicts/complete missions. Superheroes/Supervillains can _assemble_.