Mad concoction
While I was waiting for a maddeningly huge Excel file to load (65 Megs), my mind started wandering and I started thinking about Hearts. I started thinking about how it's very limiting that only 14 of the 52 cards can be bad and are only good under one very strict condition which changes all of those cards from bad to good.
So, the next step my brain took was 'what if all of the cards Could be bad?' I like the simplicity of not needing to track How or When a card is taken, just the stack you have at the end of a round, so the condition has to be end-round for whether cards are good or bad. My brain went to the conditional in Poison, which is that every non-poison card is worth 1 point unless you have the most of that colour in which case they are all worth 0 points. Perfect.
Now, Hearts is not very good for any number of players but 4. I wanted this game to be playable by a range of players, including 3, 4, and 5 (thus also including 6), so I picked a deck size of 60 cards.
I like the idea of 5 suits, as they can easily balance each other, so I chose 5 suits of 12 cards each.
I didn't want a flat progression like a standard deck of cards, so I decided to double up the low numbers. Thus, there are 2 each of 1, 2, 3, and 4 in each suit plus 1 each of 5, 6, 7, and 8.
I like the added tension of a high-level card which can penalize you, so I thought that double or triple-suit cards could be interesting. If I were to include triple-suited cards, I would make all 10 1s triple-suited, but I think that is too messy for counting, so I've abandoned it for now. But, I like the idea of 6s & 7s being double-suit cards. They can be trumped by 8s, but will usually take the trick. A double-suit card will count as a point unless you have the most in both suits, but they do count when adding up each colour.
Due to the complexity of the double-suit cards, I'm making a normal set and a double set for 6s & 7s, so that it can be tested both ways.
I have left out passing cards until at least some playtesting has been done. I don't know that it's strictly necessary, but is worth exploring.
Rules for play:
A number of rounds equal to the number of players should be played or until a player reaches a number of points determined before play begins (200 seems likely to be good, but will need tested)
The role of dealer will rotate clockwise each Round of play.
A card with two suits counts as being in both suits for all purposes.
Round:
The dealer will gather up all cards, shuffle them, and deal one card to each player starting with the player on their left until all cards have been dealt out.
The dealer will play a 1 from their hand. If they have no 1s, they must announce this and the player to their left must play a 1 from their hand. This continues to pass until a player has led a 1.
Each player must play a card from their hand in order clockwise from the person who led until all players have played one card.
If a player has a card in the same suit as the card which was led, then they must play a card in the same suit as the led card.
If a player has no cards in the suit as the card which was led, then they may play any card from their hand.
If the led card is a double-suit card, then a card of either suit may be played.
If one card sharing a suit with the led card is of the highest value, that player takes all cards. If there is a tie for highest value, then all players must take back the cards they played this round and the player who led must lead a different card than that previously played. If these are the last cards in the players hands, the cards are removed from play and nobody scores them.
The player who takes the trick of cards leads the next card.
Play continues until all cards have been played.
Each player counts how many cards they have in each suit. If a player has more than any other player in a given suit, they take no points for that colour. All other cards are worth 1 point each.
So, the next step my brain took was 'what if all of the cards Could be bad?' I like the simplicity of not needing to track How or When a card is taken, just the stack you have at the end of a round, so the condition has to be end-round for whether cards are good or bad. My brain went to the conditional in Poison, which is that every non-poison card is worth 1 point unless you have the most of that colour in which case they are all worth 0 points. Perfect.
Now, Hearts is not very good for any number of players but 4. I wanted this game to be playable by a range of players, including 3, 4, and 5 (thus also including 6), so I picked a deck size of 60 cards.
I like the idea of 5 suits, as they can easily balance each other, so I chose 5 suits of 12 cards each.
I didn't want a flat progression like a standard deck of cards, so I decided to double up the low numbers. Thus, there are 2 each of 1, 2, 3, and 4 in each suit plus 1 each of 5, 6, 7, and 8.
I like the added tension of a high-level card which can penalize you, so I thought that double or triple-suit cards could be interesting. If I were to include triple-suited cards, I would make all 10 1s triple-suited, but I think that is too messy for counting, so I've abandoned it for now. But, I like the idea of 6s & 7s being double-suit cards. They can be trumped by 8s, but will usually take the trick. A double-suit card will count as a point unless you have the most in both suits, but they do count when adding up each colour.
Due to the complexity of the double-suit cards, I'm making a normal set and a double set for 6s & 7s, so that it can be tested both ways.
I have left out passing cards until at least some playtesting has been done. I don't know that it's strictly necessary, but is worth exploring.
Rules for play:
A number of rounds equal to the number of players should be played or until a player reaches a number of points determined before play begins (200 seems likely to be good, but will need tested)
The role of dealer will rotate clockwise each Round of play.
A card with two suits counts as being in both suits for all purposes.
Round:
The dealer will gather up all cards, shuffle them, and deal one card to each player starting with the player on their left until all cards have been dealt out.
The dealer will play a 1 from their hand. If they have no 1s, they must announce this and the player to their left must play a 1 from their hand. This continues to pass until a player has led a 1.
Each player must play a card from their hand in order clockwise from the person who led until all players have played one card.
If a player has a card in the same suit as the card which was led, then they must play a card in the same suit as the led card.
If a player has no cards in the suit as the card which was led, then they may play any card from their hand.
If the led card is a double-suit card, then a card of either suit may be played.
If one card sharing a suit with the led card is of the highest value, that player takes all cards. If there is a tie for highest value, then all players must take back the cards they played this round and the player who led must lead a different card than that previously played. If these are the last cards in the players hands, the cards are removed from play and nobody scores them.
The player who takes the trick of cards leads the next card.
Play continues until all cards have been played.
Each player counts how many cards they have in each suit. If a player has more than any other player in a given suit, they take no points for that colour. All other cards are worth 1 point each.