« September 2005 | Main | November 2005 »
October 04, 2005
CTIN 534: Clusterfuck -- An Asshole Mod
Bluffing and hidden information are two game mechanics that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. Since bluffing is often employed as a desperation strategy, this mechanism seems especially appropriate in a game where players are trying to move beyond their existing social station by any means possible.
In my Asshole mod – Clusterfuck – players are assigned a social status that is kept secret from other players. Since no one knows what anyone’s position in the hierarchy is, they can pretend to be someone more important than they really are.
To start a hypothetical 8 player game (the more players the better, but fewer than 5 is not advised), 8 cards -- "Social Status" cards, numbered 1-8 -- are dealt out randomly to the players, each player receiving one card. This card determines the player's social position, the lower the number, the better (the player who gets the "1" card is at the top of the hierarchy and is granted the title of “Magnate;” the player with the highest numbered card, in this case, the "8" card, is the “Asshole” / “Desperado”). Two other cards have titles (but no real game consequences): the player with the “2” card is the “Magnate’s Lackey / Man-behind-the-Man” (who really knows?), and the player with the second highest card is the “Jackass.” Out of politeness and the protocol of society, players are not allowed to talk about their social status and position, and accordingly, cannot show their Social Status card to any other player unless under certain game conditions.
The game is played like traditional Asshole (using a traditional card deck, same card hierarchy with "2" being the most powerful card): players try to be the first to get rid of all their cards in order to win. However, any time a player wins a round (playing a card/card combination that no one else can top, or a “2”), he/she can attempt to order another individual around. This can include asking for that player’s best card (or a specific card), or silly things such as making that player drink, fetch refreshments, or play standing on one leg for the next 5 minutes.
However, the player receiving the request may choose to refuse the order, stating that he has more power than the other player. In such a case, the two players compare “Social Status” cards secretly amongst themselves. The player with the lower social status is forced to eat crow and must do what the higher ranked player asks (card trade, or some other humiliating activity, but not both). However, if a player asks for a card from a player who turns out to be of higher rank, the higher ranked player can turn the tables and ask for 2 of the player’s cards.
There is one caveat to this linear social order. Because of his/her low position on the social totem pole, the Asshole is desperate and has nothing to lose, and can therefore harass the Magnate and is impervious to his demands (card trades or orders). In a power struggle, the Asshole can trump the “Magnate” when it comes to making demands. While the Asshole cannot order the Magnate to do silly things, he can steal (request) cards from the Magnate (one card per turn as usual; if the Magnate asks a player who turns out to be the Asshole for the card, he must trade 2 cards).
However, if the Magnate has 2 or more “2”s in his hand, he is “protected” from the Asshole and does not have to submit to card requests (thefts) from him/her. If the Magnate has less than 2 “2”s, he must give the Asshole whichever one card he wants. So once the Asshole discovers a defenseless Magnate, the Magnate could be in trouble! (But the Asshole must still win a round in order to make card requests.)
The person who plays out all his/her cards first wins the game round and is crowned as the Magnate. Play continues until only one player still has cards remaining; that player becomes the new Asshole. The Magnate starts the new game round by collecting all the “Social Status” cards. He deals the highest number card (the “Asshole” card) to the new Asshole and selects a rank card for himself (usually retaining the "Magnate" card or perhaps the "Man-behind-the-Man" position). In addition, he can assign one rank card to one other player (representing a promotion/reward or demotion/punishment for the prior game performance). The remaining Social Status cards are shuffled and dealt out secretly and randomly to the other players who have not been yet dealt cards. Players change their seating position depending on the order they played out their cards in the previous game round.
The object of the game is to be the first player to finish 5 game rounds as the Magnate. In the game fiction, after a Magnate wins 5 game rounds, he has consolidated his position as the True Magnate. The True Magnate then legislates the Asshole and Jackass out of his/her utopian society (execution, imprisonment, banishment, or some other appropriate fate).
Posted by hyang at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)