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HeadBake

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Mark Hatch
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Joined: 07/19/2019

Players: 2-5
Time: 15-30mins

Summary
HeadBake is a competitive game card game where players score points by collecting sets of the same coloured cards. The twist is, players can only see one part of the card information ie. the number or the colour, the other part of information is on the reverse of the card.

Rules: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GBpGOkxxNxAYnuo4ZfM7122hAND4PY6z/view?u...

Cards: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dn2BhzfbTLvbSBwKcnKn-jTaApKT1iS9/view?u...

This is my very first attempt at designing a game so wanted to keep it simple. HeadBake is a 2-5 player card game with 56 cards. I have written some rules and wondered if anyone would mind taking a look at them, any feedback would be great. I am also trying to think of a better theme to go with it, any suggestions would be welcome, im thinking may different fruit as the colours possibly.

Thanks for reading and look forward to your comments

Jay103
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Joined: 01/23/2018
"Sorry, the file you have

"Sorry, the file you have requested does not exist"

Mark Hatch
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Jay103
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That seems like it would be

That seems like it would be very difficult, plus it has a huge penalty for making an error. How has play-testing gone?

Mark Hatch
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Joined: 07/19/2019
Playtests

They have gone really well so far, even played with my 14 neice and she won. Admittedly, I have not come across a situation where someone has made an error yet. I was inspired by the game Hanabi, which is also a game where you don't see your cards. It gets easier the more you play and develop your own way of remembering the backs of cards. I may have to rethink the penalty.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Jay103
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The main flaw, I think,

The main flaw, I think, relates to that.. In the harder modes, there's a LOT to remember. I think the barrier to entry is high, in the sense that if I knew the game and wanted to introduce a new player to it, I would be guaranteed a win. A new player couldn't possibly compete.

Now, yes, that's true of a game like Chess too, but I think in this case someone who's played 5 games ever would definitely beat an equally intelligent player who's new.

Maybe not.. just a thought.

Mark Hatch
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Good point

Maybe back to the drawing board. haha

Jay103
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No, just play-test a lot!

No, just play-test a lot! With as many different people as you can get.

You'll find out pretty quickly whether or not it works.. however, if you're using family, make sure they know you don't just want them to say how awesome you are :)

wob
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i definitely think it has

i definitely think it has potential.
the error penalty does seem high. i would try just losing those cards. they could be removed from the game, added to the draw pile or given to your opponents. this needn't be all the cards either, it could be just those that dont match the 1 colour.
perhaps the set can be stolen if a player can correct the set ie if 1,2 &4 match but 3 is the wrong colour, if a player can play the matching 3 they claim the entire set. this could have the error penalty of the value of the card played to steal the set.
as a small aside printers usually put 18 poker cards on a sheet, so 54 cards might be better than 56. but saying that you wont need a lot of info on each card so you can probably use mini cards etc.

Mark Hatch
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Like it

thanks for your ideas, will test it a few ways but thinking they may return to the draw deck. I considered taking it down to 6 colours and so only 48 cards. Then have the option of adding "jokers" and special action cards, but think then that may add another level of complexity.

Jay103
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In terms of pure practicality

In terms of pure practicality of manufacturing, if these are normal-sized cards, you get 54 in a deck (or 55 on some kinds of card stock, apparently). Bumping it to 56 could be costly.

Mark Hatch
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Played a four-player playtest

Played a four-player playtest last night and a wrong hand was played. Shuffling back into the deck is definitely the best option. Yeah, think I may loose one of the colours, and may add some wildcards and a possible variant.

Maddgames
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This idea sounds good. Do

This idea sounds good.

Do you have any example cards?

Mark Hatch
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Going to playtest again

Going to playtest again tomorrow so will take some pictures.

I really would like to put a theme on it so that it is not just colours and numbers. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

let-off studios
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Playtesting; Theme

Good to hear you're responding well to the playtests and considering updates and changes. Not sure of your design experience, but oftentimes designers find that it's difficult to let go of ideas that aren't serving their goal of coming up with a great game.

Regarding theme, from the first moment I saw this thread and your call for theme ideas, I couldn't help but thing of something to do with mythical vampires. They're afraid of the sun, and are hunted by humans during the day. Maybe players are trying to hunt down vampires in crypts? Maybe the players are vampire hunters trying to slay Vlad the Impaler, Dracula, or Nosferatu? Maybe they're trying to break into a crypt, and need to find the proper keys or combination to unlock its vault?

...I also have been preoccupied with thoughts about Halloween lately, so my apologies if all this strays too far away from your design goals. :)

Mark Hatch
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Haha amazing. Love the idea.

Haha amazing. Love the idea. Not sure how I would make it fit this particular game, but has got me thinking of another blind card game, with maybe 2 decks each. One you can see and one you can't. Thanks for the suggestion.

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