President Who

Below are two ideas that are both related to voting for each other and trying to become “president” (or king or whatever) by ending the game with the most votes.

The first one uses cards and is very simple. The second one uses tiles but has more potential and strategic depth.

Idea 1 (Cards)

Setup

Deal every player X cards. (Exactly as many cards as needed to play Y full rounds. Everyone had the same number of turns.)

Objective

At the end of the game, everybody reveals their secret vote pile = how many votes they received. The highest number wins.

Gameplay

On your turn, you may play a card from your hand. Execute that action.

Then, others may claim that card. Anybody who wants to, secretly places a bet by placing facedown cards. Then they are revealed (simultaneously).

Highest bet wins the action card.
The active player gets all cards played and may choose whether to take them in their hand or add them to their vote pile.

If nobody challenges, you get the card back in your hand.

Finally, you always end your turn by placing a facedown card to another player’s vote pile.

Cards

The most prominent (and important) card is a vote. This simply adds 1 vote to your tally.

There are vote cards:

A vote for your left/right neighbor
A supervote (2 or 3 votes)
A minus vote (-1)
An empty vote (0)
One that doubles/triple the card after it.
One that’s worth the number of cards of the same type in your pile. (Let’s call it the “counter”. If you have 2, they’re both worth 2 votes. If you have three, they’re both worth 3 votes.)

There are in-game actions. These always trigger when somebody reveals/modifies their pile while playing. During scoring, ignore this.

Discard the next three cards.
If this is faceup on top of a pile, all votes played (to this player only??) must be revealed as well.
Swap the top 3 cards of your pile with those of another pile.
Shuffle: shuffle to change the order of your pile
Duel: pick another player. You both look at your top 3 cards and count the value. Highest value wins: they’re allowed to see your pile and give or steal 3 cards.
Reverse: place your bottom card on top and reveal

Other general cards:

Reveal the top card of all piles.
Look at the top 3 cards of your vote pile
Reveal the top 5 cards of your pile. However, if they contain an action, you immediately execute. (Which means you risk throwing away points now.)
Distrust => play when you receive a card (at the end of someone else’s turn). You reveal the card given. If it’s an in-game action, you execute it. Then decide if you want to keep it or give it back to their vote pile.

Issues I see right now.

Betting: maybe it’s too strong if the active player receives all cards bet. The non-winning cards just go back to your hand? (The fact that they are now publicly revealed might be enough?)
- The idea of “betting” feels anti-thematic as well. It should be about voting, raising funds, raising awareness, convincing people.
- How do we change the rules towards that?
Agency: there’s not enough control over what cards you have and what goes into your vote pile.

Idea 2 (Tiles)

Instead of individualized piles, and general “vote” cards, we have a general vote area.

Each player has a role/character. Your cards only show those character icons. That’s how you vote.

Setup

Create as many “voting stations” as the table indicates. For each station …

Draw a space card ( = how many votes can be cast here)
Draw a close card ( = when this station closes)
Draw an action card ( = what happens if you vote here or the station closes)

Make sure they are separated clearly, so no player is confused where one station stops and another starts.

Each player picks one (unique) vote chip. That’s their candidate.

@TODO: Create that actual table. It also shows how many vote chips you must use per player. That’s always equal to the number of rounds? Yes, because then they’ll all be exactly used.

Objective

The game ends once all voting stations are closed. The player whose candidate has the highest number of votes (in total) wins.

Round

Go clockwise around the table, taking one turn. That is one “round”.

In general, it’s your job to influence the speed + order + importance + votes of locations.

On your turn

Grab a vote chip for any character. Place it at any open location that has space.

If no such location exists, the game ends immediately.

Beware! Some locations activate a special action when you vote there.

Close a Station

At the end of each round, one station is closed. Its votes are counted and scored. Then the location is removed from the table.

Beware! Some locations activate a special action when they close.

Which station to close?

Calculate the number for each station by summing the numbers on its cards. (Space card + close card + vote card.) Also consider special rules mentioned on them.

The highest number is closed.

If any station is full, double the number of their space card.

Voting Stations

Each location has a specialty:

What happens when you cast a vote there => remove a vote somewhere else, do another vote, bump the important of another location, vote once for yourself, etcetera
What happens when it closes (or when it closes, in general)
How many slots there are (or how important they are) => some slots are “more important”? They count double? Only they grant the extra power of the voting station?

In general, I want to recapture the feeling of “some stations are really important (swing states)” and “timing of the vote/count is crucial to a station’s value”

IDEA: If you control this station (majority votes), you win if there’s a tie at the end. (Multiple players with the most votes.) => This means it’s kept on the table, not removed when closed?

IDEA: The player with the majority when this station closes, gets all the votes. Swap other characters for their character chip before counting its score.

IDEA: The player who closes this station, removes two votes from it before counting its score.

IDEA: When voting here, you may swap an existing vote for your new one. The player to whom this existing vote belonged immediately places it at another voting station. (What if not possible? Forbid swap? Destroy vote?)

IDEA: When this station closes, its first vote is doubled.

IDEA: This station only scores points if it’s full when it closes.

IDEA: This station scores double if it’s the last one to close.

IDEA: This station scores double if it’s the first one to close.

IDEA: This station cannot contain two consecutive votes for the same character.

IDEA: If a character has multiple votes (within this station), they are all worthless.

IDEA: If a character has only one vote (within this station), it is worthless.

IDEA: The first player to vote here, owns the station. When deciding which station to close, they may decide to add or subtract 5 points to this station’s total.

IDEA: When this station closes, count how many full stations there are. If more than one, all the votes inside go back into the pile (and it scores nothing).

IDEA: When this station closes and it’s not full, it doesn’t actually close. The last player to vote here redistributes all votes inside at other stations. (The station only closes if this distributing isn’t possible.)

IDEA: If you vote here, you must do a big swap. At another station, swap all characters of one type for characters of another type. (Example: all XX for YY.) You can’t pick your own character.

IDEA: Things that allow chain reactions. “Vote here, you may immediately vote in another station.” => “When this station is full, it immediately closes. Don’t close another station at the end of the round.”

About “voting for yourself” (which isn’t an issue anymore with the current rules, right?)

Is voting for yourself allowed or not? It feels easiest to work around this by giving players a hand of tokens: some are yours, most are not. This means you need to consider votes for yourself carefully.

Additional idea! There’s a penalty to voting for yourself. If you’re “caught” doing it. This feels thematic and fun.
Forbidding this (voting for yourself) would mean: if you hold a lot from your own character, you want it to get in the hands of other players first.

Possible Issues/Todo

Now the space in each station is random. This might mean there’s too little space (some players don’t get their last turn) or way too much. How to control? => Always one station with “infinite space”. A sort of base/default station that’s the first part of setup for every game. But … that would also mean it never closes—aaaargh.
- Maybe the idea of limited space should be abandoned mostly. It should be rare that a station has a limit on space.
One vote per turn might be too little agency. On low player counts, stations close too quickly. On high player counts, there’s too much time between your decisions to form a strategy.
Blind voting!? Might be even more exciting if votes are hidden. You place them facedown. They should come from your hand, then. Or you grab X at random and pick one.
Many locations do things like double votes. That would mean, however, a near infinite supply of vote chips to add. Instead, I want to limit that.
- Either keep a limited set of material, and remove such offenders
- Or give players a hand of vote tokens they must choose from.

Below are two ideas that are both related to voting for each other and trying to become "president" (or king or whatever) by ending the game with the most votes. The first one uses cards and is very simple. The second one uses tiles but has more potential and strategic depth. ## Idea 1 (Cards) ### Setup Deal every player X cards. (Exactly as many cards as needed to play Y *full rounds*. Everyone had the same number of turns.) ### Objective At the end of the game, everybody reveals their secret vote pile = how many votes they received. The highest number wins. ### Gameplay On your turn, you may play a card from your hand. Execute that action. Then, others may claim that card. Anybody who wants to, secretly places a bet by placing facedown cards. Then they are revealed (simultaneously). - Highest bet wins the action card. - The active player gets all cards played and may choose whether to take them in their hand or add them to their vote pile. If nobody challenges, you get the card back in your hand. Finally, you **always** end your turn by placing a facedown card to another player's vote pile. ### Cards The most prominent (and important) card is a **vote.** This simply adds 1 vote to your tally. There are **vote cards:** - A vote for your left/right neighbor - A supervote (2 or 3 votes) - A minus vote (-1) - An empty vote (0) - One that doubles/triple the card after it. - One that's worth the *number of cards of the same type* in your pile. (Let's call it the "counter". If you have 2, they're both worth 2 votes. If you have three, they're both worth 3 votes.) There are **in-game actions.** These always trigger when somebody reveals/modifies their pile while playing. During scoring, ignore this. - Discard the next three cards. - If this is *faceup* on top of a pile, all votes played (to this player only??) must be revealed as well. - Swap the top 3 cards of your pile with those of another pile. - Shuffle: shuffle to change the order of your pile - Duel: pick another player. You both look at your top 3 cards and count the value. Highest value wins: they're allowed to see your pile and give or steal 3 cards. - Reverse: place your bottom card on top and reveal Other **general cards:** - Reveal the top card of *all piles*. - Look at the top 3 cards of your vote pile - *Reveal* the top 5 cards of your pile. However, if they contain an action, you immediately execute. (Which means you risk throwing away points now.) - **Distrust =>** play when you receive a card (at the end of someone else's turn). You reveal the card given. If it's an in-game action, you execute it. Then decide if you want to keep it or give it back to *their* vote pile. Issues I see right now. * **Betting:** maybe it's too strong if the active player receives all cards bet. The non-winning cards just go back to your hand? (The fact that they are now *publicly revealed* might be enough?) - The idea of "betting" feels **anti-thematic** as well. It should be about **voting, raising funds, raising awareness, convincing people.** - How do we change the rules towards that? * **Agency:** there's not enough control over what cards you have *and* what goes into your vote pile. ## Idea 2 (Tiles) Instead of individualized piles, and general "vote" cards, we have a *general* vote area. Each player has a role/character. Your cards only show those *character icons*. That's how you vote. ## Setup Create as many "voting stations" as the table indicates. For each station ... - Draw a *space card* ( = how many votes can be cast here) - Draw a *close card* ( = when this station closes) - Draw an *action card* ( = what happens if you vote here *or* the station closes) Make sure they are separated clearly, so no player is confused where one station stops and another starts. Each player picks one (unique) vote chip. That's their candidate. **\@TODO: Create that actual table.** It also shows how many vote chips you must use per player. That's always equal to the number of rounds? Yes, because then they'll all be exactly used. ## Objective The game ends once **all voting stations are closed.** The player whose candidate has the highest number of votes (in total) wins. ## Round Go clockwise around the table, taking one turn. That is one "round". In general, it's your job to **influence** the speed + order + importance + votes of locations. ### On your turn Grab a vote chip for *any* character. Place it at *any* open location that has space. If no such location exists, the game ends immediately. *Beware!* Some locations activate a special action when you vote there. ### Close a Station At the end of each round, one station is **closed**. Its votes are counted and scored. Then the location is removed from the table. *Beware!* Some locations activate a special action when they close. ### Which station to close? Calculate the *number* for each station by summing the numbers on its cards. (Space card + close card + vote card.) Also consider special rules mentioned on them. > **The highest number is closed.** If any station is full, *double* the number of their space card. ## Voting Stations Each location has a **specialty**: - What happens when you cast a vote there => remove a vote somewhere else, do another vote, bump the important of another location, vote once for yourself, etcetera - What happens when it closes (or when it closes, in general) - How many slots there are (or how important they are) => some slots are "more important"? They count double? Only *they* grant the extra power of the voting station? **In general,** I want to recapture the feeling of "some stations are really important (*swing states*)" and "timing of the vote/count is crucial to a station's value" **IDEA:** If you control this station (majority votes), you win if there's a *tie* at the end. (Multiple players with the most votes.) => This means it's kept on the table, not removed when closed? **IDEA:** The player with the majority *when this station closes*, gets *all the votes*. Swap other characters for their character chip before counting its score. **IDEA:** The player who closes this station, removes *two votes* from it before counting its score. **IDEA:** When voting here, you may *swap* an existing vote for your new one. The player to whom this existing vote belonged immediately places it at another voting station. (*What if not possible? Forbid swap? Destroy vote?*) **IDEA:** When this station closes, its *first* vote is doubled. **IDEA:** This station only scores points if it's *full* when it closes. **IDEA:** This station scores *double* if it's the last one to close. **IDEA:** This station scores *double* if it's the first one to close. **IDEA:** This station cannot contain two consecutive votes for the same character. **IDEA:** If a character has multiple votes (within this station), they are all worthless. **IDEA:** If a character has only one vote (within this station), it is worthless. **IDEA:** The first player to vote here, owns the station. When deciding which station to close, they *may* decide to add or subtract 5 points to this station's total. **IDEA:** When this station closes, count how many full stations there are. If more than one, all the votes inside go back into the pile (and it scores nothing). **IDEA:** When this station closes *and it's not full*, it doesn't actually close. The last player to vote here redistributes all votes inside at other stations. (The station only closes if this distributing *isn't possible*.) **IDEA:** If you vote here, you must do a **big swap.** At another station, swap all characters of one type for characters of another type. (Example: all XX for YY.) You can't pick your own character. **IDEA:** Things that allow chain reactions. "Vote here, you may immediately vote in another station." => "When this station is full, it *immediately* closes. Don't close another station at the end of the round." **About "voting for yourself"** (which isn't an issue anymore with the current rules, right?) Is voting for yourself allowed or not? It feels easiest to work around this by giving players a hand of tokens: some are yours, most are not. This means you need to consider votes for yourself *carefully*. - Additional idea! There's a **penalty** to voting for yourself. If you're "caught" doing it. This feels thematic and fun. - **Forbidding this** (voting for yourself) would mean: if you hold a lot from your own character, you want it to get in the hands of other players first. ## Possible Issues/Todo - Now the space in each station is random. This might mean there's too little space (some players don't get their last turn) or way too much. How to control? => **Always one station with "infinite space".** A sort of base/default station that's the first part of setup for every game. But ... that would also mean it never *closes*---aaaargh. - Maybe the idea of limited space should be abandoned mostly. It should be **rare** that a station has a limit on space. - One vote per turn might be too little agency. On low player counts, stations close too quickly. On high player counts, there's too much time between your decisions to form a strategy. - **Blind voting!?** Might be even more exciting if votes are *hidden*. You place them facedown. They should come from your hand, then. Or you grab X at random and pick one. - Many locations do things like **double votes**. That would mean, however, a near infinite supply of vote chips to add. Instead, I want to limit that. - Either keep a limited set of material, and remove such offenders - Or give players a *hand* of vote tokens they must choose from.