SSSS Monopoly game

[Jitter]

I think we shouldn’t get too deep into “does this make sense in SSSS world” because the Monopoly idea and the SSSS world are at odds anyway

As for the boards, I agree the hexagonal one is way cooler! The only reason I hung on to the square one was thinking that it could be used as an addition to the normal game set. The locations I listed were based on the number and grouping of properties on the normal board. So they will need to modified once it’s decided how many property tiles exactly there will be on the board for each country.

On the Dreamworld side of Purple Wyrm’s board there are the havens and then spaces titled Dreamworld. Should these be a third set of chance cards? If the middle property on that side were the dreamworld transport (spirit boat?) there would be four havens, which could be Onni’s Island, Reynir’s Meadow, Lalli’s Swamp and ... dun dun duuun ... Ensi’s Fog? Which you probably wouldn’t want to land on!

Speaking of transportation squares, Krabben Line is good but as Iceland is the center of the world, it seems more like a way to get to Denmark from there rather than the other way around. For definitely Iceland specific we could also use Stage Coach.

On the question of money, maybe the “tax” squares (I understand the idea is to think of a better name) or one of them could be a square where the player gets money. In any case, do we want that the game is won by driving everyone else bankrupt or as survival of the bravest i.e. the one who stays alive longest wins?

And thank you Wave! It’s generating a number of messages I

[Purple Wyrm]

Thematically I'd go with Houses (Hasbro can't copyright a house!- I hope...) and Inns for the pieces. And for consistency's sake I'd allow fortifications in Iceland and capitals - you can never be too safe after all!

Replacing the coloured strips is no problem - as long as there's still an indication for the number of houses/inns that can be built.

On my board (which is just my concept! Please don't anyone get locked into thinking it has to be that way!) I've assumed a third deck of cards for the dreamworld with dreamworld specific stuff on them. That way no one's encountering mundane stuff in the dreamworld, and no one's running into Handsy-moose in the middle of Mora. I've also left out a transport in the dreamworld as (thematically) it seems weird that you could charge people money for landing on it. I've also left the havens unspecified so players can set up their own house on them and establish their own havens, rather than having them predefined.

Good point on the Krabben line Jitter - the Stage Coach network is more sensible!

In the original game the two 'Tax' squares cost money, but changing them to something else (including getting money) is entirely sensible

Finally I don't see why we can't make a full, hexagonal version of the game, then create a cut down square version that can be overlaid on the standard Monopoly board.

[thegreyarea]

Hello!
I've been quite busy, so it was hard to finish things.. But I finally managed to prepare the cards backside, considering 3 sets: Fate, Scavenge and Dream World.
Cards dimensions would be 10,5 x 5,8 mm, so you could print 10 cards in one A4 sheet.
The font in Papyrus.
The front side could consist just of the title, in black over white background, and the relevant text, topped by the six-pointed SSSS logo.

Here they are. I hope you like it, and, as usual, suggestions are welcomed.

[thegreyarea]

And here are my suggestion for the cards front.



Now I've noticed that this thread is helping me, a lot, to reach the safe-zone! Soon I won't have to ask Reynir to draw a stave around me every night :-)

[Jitter]

They look wonderful! Both in the sense of looking great and in emanating wonder

Do you have ideas for what the Dreamworld cards would be? Do you still basically get or lose money? I can provide ideas for what exactly they could say.

Another thing about the cards. Do we wish to stay close to original monopoly, or could we add completely different cards? Such as:

Grandma’s rifle - when the Troll lands on your square and you have to fight it, add +2 to your throw. (Keep this card in your player area, text face up)
Either one use, after which it goes back into the Scavenging cards pile (shuffled in perhaps) or “Pay 20 for ammo each time you pass GO to keep the rifle. If you fail to pay, return card to pile”.

[thegreyarea]

They look wonderful! Both in the sense of looking great and in emanating wonder

Do you have ideas for what the Dreamworld cards would be? Do you still basically get or lose money? I can provide ideas for what exactly they could say.

Another thing about the cards. Do we wish to stay close to original monopoly, or could we add completely different cards? Such as:

Thanks! I'm very glad that you like them! And the "wonder" is what I was after! I believe that this game we are making should be wonderful to look at, just like the comic. It should be a treat for our eyes, no less. I have a nice idea for the board that I'm working on now. I hope to post it here today... let's see if I manage.

On the cards content I have no ideas so far, but maybe they should not be about money.
In fact I believe that we will end not with a "SSSS monopoly" but with a "SSSS game inspired by monopoly", one that is more interesting to play, going beyond just driving your friends into bankruptcy :-)
That vision would imply that we are free to add new cards, like the ones you mentioned. So, please go forth with those ideas!

Of course this is just my view. I'm open to hear what all the others have to say.

 

[Alkia]

ooo, those are really cool! I haven't read through this whole thread (which I probably should) and so this is probably an unnecessary question, but is there a reason the text on the back of the cards is in Latin? (that is Latin, right...) Is it just a placeholder?

[Purple Wyrm]

Those are beautiful thegreyarea!

On the cards content I have no ideas so far, but maybe they should not be about money.
In fact I believe that we will end not with a "SSSS monopoly" but with a "SSSS game inspired by monopoly", one that is more interesting to play, going beyond just driving your friends into bankruptcy :-)
That vision would imply that we are free to add new cards, like the ones you mentioned. So, please go forth with those ideas!

Absolutely agree on every point! Looking forward to seeing your board too!

is there a reason the text on the back of the cards is in Latin? (that is Latin, right...) Is it just a placeholder?

"Lorem Ipsum" is garbled Latin (based on a text by Cicero) that has been used as placeholder since (probably) the 15th century. It was popularised in the 1960s when Letraset used it on their dry transfer sheets. It's used because it resembles English in word and sentence length, but is complete gibberish and hence doesn't distract from layout and design.

[thegreyarea]

ooo, those are really cool! I haven't read through this whole thread (which I probably should) and so this is probably an unnecessary question, but is there a reason the text on the back of the cards is in Latin? (that is Latin, right...) Is it just a placeholder?

Purple Wyrm is 100% right. Wiki has a nice page over that : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum

But the true* reason is that we're making a version in Latin! We contacted the Catholic Church and they were very interested in a martyr that sacrificed her own life to guide souls to the afterlife, and that a column of fire (very old testament) came to collect them. So we're going to include Pastor Anne and her church in the game and sell it on Vatican City stores.

* Sorry, but it's not true :-) However it made me think that we should consider a way to include her, even if through cards, because Pastor Anne, Sleipnope and the murderghosts played such an important part in the first story.

Those are beautiful thegreyarea!

Absolutely agree on every point! Looking forward to seeing your board too!

Thanks! Those cards were bubbling on my head the whole weekend, And I'm quite happy with them and, more important, that you and Jitter liked the concept. :-)
Now to the board!

BTW I'm limiting myself, for the moment, to create a graphical concept that pleases us. I'm passing by on the game mechanic.
(We will have to, at some point, organize this (ad)venture in tasks...)

[Purple Wyrm]

But the true* reason is that we're making a version in Latin! We contacted the Catholic Church and they were very interested in a martyr that sacrificed her own life to guide souls to the afterlife, and that a column of fire (very old testament) came to collect them. So we're going to include Pastor Anne and her church in the game and sell it on Vatican City stores.

Ah yes, Sile Silere, coming soon to a Catholic church near you! 

Edit: Sudden Crazy idea - what if landing on the Kastellet space (assuming we have one) can (depending on dice roll maybe) spawn a murderghost piece that moves around the board like the troll piece, except that THERE CAN BE MORE THAN ONE! So over time the entire board gets clogged up with murderghosts? Then Pastor Anne cards from the dreamworld deck can be used to remove one or more of them?

[thegreyarea]

Ah yes, Sile Silere, coming soon to a Catholic church near you! 

Edit: Sudden Crazy idea - what if landing on the Kastellet space (assuming we have one) can (depending on dice roll maybe) spawn a murderghost piece that moves around the board like the troll piece, except that THERE CAN BE MORE THAN ONE! So over time the entire board gets clogged up with murderghosts? Then Pastor Anne cards from the dreamworld deck can be used to remove one or more of them?

We just have to not tell their God has been forgotten for most people... :-)

I lost account on how many times things that started like that "Hey, here's a crazy idea" turned out to be key pieces on a project. I love crazy ideas, and I love your idea! :-)
Now I think we must have a Kastellet space! We just have to refine and integrate that concept into the game "flow". Should the church be a place in the board or just a special card (a Fate one, I suppose, and maybe more than just one card, a few of them...)

[Jitter]

I love the murderghosts idea! There could be one Pastor Anne card in Fate and another in Dreamworld decks.

And I'm happy we are drifting away from the original monopoly thing. Although as I'm not a game designer and I assume no one else on this thread isn't either, I see a distinct possibility our first "finished" version will turn out completely unplayable I mean the more potential player death we include the less likely it is that anyone will ever finish. That would be "realistic" in the SSSS setting, but would not necessarily make a good game. What is the finish anyways? Being the last survivor?

Now this is NOT a complaint! Just doing this is fun even if it never gets printed and played at all. But it's best to bear in mind that likely there will be lots of rule changes needed after the first test games.

One of the points I'm concerned is immediate player death by Troll. I would suggest to include either a "damage throw" or a "saving throw" if the Troll wins the first battle roll, that would include the possibility that the player dies but also that they are injured and just lose turns. If it were a saving throw, it could be e.g. 1 - you die and leave the game immediately, 2-3 badly injured, lose 3 turns 4-5 injured, lose 2 turns, 6 - minor injury, lose 1 turn only. Or the other way around if it's a damage roll by the Troll. It's a balance between easy rules for battle (I don't think we want to end up with a Tome of Rules) and the likelihood of it being overly disruptive, I think. In any case I suggest we keep to normal cubic dice only although I personally think the roleplaying dice are both lovely and cool.

I suggest we take a moment to think and agree about what would be the win scenario(s). After that it'll be easier (and good fun!) to come up with new cards and other rules. I'm also thinking about a personal rule for each of the players depending on which team member they are, but I don't want to go into that before we know what is the thing the players should be striving for.

[Purple Wyrm]

If we go with multiple murderghosts on the board at a time I think there should be a few cards that remove one ghost (drawer's choice), and one special Pastor Anne card that removes every one on the board.

Another thought was if too many murderghosts occupy the same space, they turn into Sliepnope. We'd obviously need a mechanic to move the ghosts around without over-complicating things - rolling a dice for each one each turn would get really tedious!

Instant death by troll is a bit harsh, the saving throw seems a sensible compromise. If we have different coloured dice they could be rolled at the same time and the save dice only read if appropriate.

I was actually thinking about win conditions - what if the aim of the game is to collect enough money to found an Exploration agency? So the first player to have a certain amount (5,000? 10,000?) at the start of their move wins. Getting everyone else eaten by trolls would still be an option, but not the primary way to win!

[thegreyarea]

I love the murderghosts idea! There could be one Pastor Anne card in Fate and another in Dreamworld decks.

And I'm happy we are drifting away from the original monopoly thing. Although as I'm not a game designer and I assume no one else on this thread isn't either, I see a distinct possibility our first "finished" version will turn out completely unplayable I mean the more potential player death we include the less likely it is that anyone will ever finish. That would be "realistic" in the SSSS setting, but would not necessarily make a good game. What is the finish anyways? Being the last survivor?

Now this is NOT a complaint! Just doing this is fun even if it never gets printed and played at all. But it's best to bear in mind that likely there will be lots of rule changes needed after the first test games.
...
I suggest we take a moment to think and agree about what would be the win scenario(s). After that it'll be easier (and good fun!) to come up with new cards and other rules. I'm also thinking about a personal rule for each of the players depending on which team member they are, but I don't want to go into that before we know what is the thing the players should be striving for.

It's good that we agree in so many things. :-)
I'm also happy to deviate from tho original monopoly. As I said, I think we will come up with a better game. However we should balance things so we can use components from the original game to make it easier for anyone that wants to really make the thing. Dices, Money and the small houses and hotels come to mind. Many people have a Monopoly, so those are already available.
But I'm 100% on making new rules and cards, and even more on creating new game mechanics. As you said it will not be that easy, and the initial tests are going to be fun...
(Now talking about that, we should find a way to play it online...)

Most important, you're very right on the necessity to define the winning conditions. It is determinant. Anyway I don't know if a game so dangerous that the winner is the lone survivor is the best choice (but it can be. I really don't know).
However in the beginning I was thinking more in inserting some peril on the game, so it goes beyond just accumulating money. And now with the dream world set + locations we could also insert... quests?
We will need to become (a bit) game designers, it seems... I'll think about that :-)

BTW The board is coming very nice, I think. I modulated to be 81cm. This way it fits on a A0 sheet, making it easier and cheaper to print (although it would be better in photographic paper). The cards, as I said, are fit to A4, so one can print 10 on each sheet. The tokens can also be made in paper, with a little cut+fold&glue. I've already been thinking on a solution for that.

If we go with multiple murderghosts on the board at a time I think there should be a few cards that remove one ghost (drawer's choice), and one special Pastor Anne card that removes every one on the board.

Another thought was if too many murderghosts occupy the same space, they turn into Sliepnope. We'd obviously need a mechanic to move the ghosts around without over-complicating things - rolling a dice for each one each turn would get really tedious!

Instant death by troll is a bit harsh, the saving throw seems a sensible compromise. If we have different coloured dice they could be rolled at the same time and the save dice only read if appropriate.

I was actually thinking about win conditions - what if the aim of the game is to collect enough money to found an Exploration agency? So the first player to have a certain amount (5,000? 10,000?) at the start of their move wins. Getting everyone else eaten by trolls would still be an option, but not the primary way to win!

All good ideas! I like the money target option!

[Jitter]

Haha, great minds think alike! I was going to suggest the same solution for winning! I didn’t think of an exploration agency (which is great!) but the same basic idea that the goal would be to accumulate enough money for some type of dream (your own farm / ship / children’s hospital / remote wilderness fort) but exploration agency is spot on! It’s very good it has to do with money because that makes it so much easier and adaptability from Monopoly concepts is easier. But collecting money for something rather than for the purpose of just becoming rich is much more in line with SSSS.

I’ll try to think up more cards and maybe ditch some if the more boring ones. With the Troll and also the murderghosts, the lose turns penalties are actual penalties, since they add risk when stuck, which is also very useful in terms of how many new mechanics we want to introduce.