Make Me An Offer: Apples to Apples as a Euro Card Game [In the Lab]

A stranger, Flea market
I was thinking about the basic exchange mechanics of Apples to Apples and how they might be adapted to a deeper Euro strategy experience. The basic idea is "Make Me An Offer."

CARDS
The game is a deck of cards, each with a point value (a household object?) and a combination of suits (rooms in which the object can be placed?).

SETUP
Each player begins with a random hand.

ON YOUR TURN
On your turn, you tell the other players "Make me an offer."

Each offers you one card face-down. Then you shuffle and reveal them a la Apples to Apples. You choose which card(s) you want to accept. Yes, you can accept multiple offers.

When a card is accepted, the player who offered that card gets points. Those points could be a flat rate (3 pts) or be based on the other offers (3 points per wood offered this turn). It all depends on what that card says.

Your card you accept goes into your private tableau. Everyone refreshes back up to a full hand of cards and the next turn proceeds.

ENDGAME
At the end of the game, you score bonus points based on your tableau. X points for flushes + Y points for sets. To win, you have to balance good offers with good collections.

TENSION
The central inherent tension of the game is two-fold:
Do I offer a suit I know you desire?
Do I accept an offer, knowing someone will score big?

VARIANT
Some cards could have special effects based on certain conditions:

* When this card is revealed
* When this card is accepted
* When this card is declined

Resolve those effects in that order. (Clearly I continue to be influenced by Libertalia.)

Again, I find myself with a theme-less mechanic. I figure this fits the market-trading genre pretty well. Your thoughts?

Comments

  1. Bradley RoseSeptember 24, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    Theme suggestion: Toys. A theme reminiscent of Toy Story makes this trading of objects more endearing and relatable than regular household objects or other such items (like jewels or luxuries) to a wider audience.

    The suits would be different types of toys. Figurines/dolls, electronics, etc. Haven't figured out what each suit could specifically be, though. Marbles, ball & jacks, and paddle, and etc. seem to fit the same category.

    ReplyDelete

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