I'm designing a game around a mechanic that each player is secretly one of the characters on the board.
I'm not sure if this can work (or if there are already games that use this mechanic), but the gist is:
- There are many face up character cards
- At the start, each player secretly draws a matching character goal card
- Each face up character has a corresponding character goal card
- You're eliminated if your corresponding face up character card is eliminated
- You win if you accomplish the goal listed on your character goal card.
One problem I have is how to collect information on your opponents.
My current solution is, players can draw from the remaining character goal cards, and by process of elimination slowly figure out who their enemies are. This won't work if there are more than 2 players though.
So, basically,
- Do you know any games that use a similar mechanic?
- What are ways of collecting hidden information?
More details on the game, the backdrop is the French Revolution, and played using modified standard poker deck. Each suit represents a class: Aristocrats and military, Clergy, Bourgeois, and Sans-culottes. Each suit has 3 "leaders" that you try to influence, and having influence allows you to activate their power (at the cost of losing some influence). Some of the powers are geared towards eliminating people. Otherwise, you could denounce a person for treason, and players can throw influence to influence the trial.
I didn't think drawing from the remaining character goal cards would work with more than 2 players, was because the information would be spread out, and nobody would have enough information to pinpoint their enemies.
Another problem I had, was how to stop players from attacking other characters randomly. My original solution was you had to reveal your own character if you wanted to denounce another character, but this always seemed a little harsh. I think only revealing your suit or your number seems like a good compromise in this situation.
The cigar box is really cool. Glad you pointed it out.