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[Tables]

Bluff
Action - $5(?)
+1 Card
Place a card from your hand face down and name an action card. Any other player may announce that you are bluffing. If no-one does, play the face down card as if it were the named card. If someone calls bluff, reveal the face down card. If it was the named card, +$2 and play the card (if possible). If it was not, that player draws a card, and you play the revealed card.

So, this is an idea I thought of recently based obviously on bluffing, which I was inspired by from another game (the Gambler race in Cosmic Encounter to be precise). The idea is obviously, you can play any card from your hand as though it were any other card, but anyone else could call your bluff and leave you forced to play a copper, or (fail to play an) estate and give them a free Lab effect. I'm really not sure how much it should cost, but I suspect $5 as a start mark might be good start - it's a different cantrip even if it's effect fails, it can be a Psuedo-Grand Market OR transform anything into anything else for a turn if it succeeds.

Just in case I'll give some rule clarifcations for it: If two or more people call your bluff simultaneously take the first one clockwise as the calling person (first on your left). If you would have to play a card which cannot be played after your bluff (e.g. claim an Estate is a village and someone called it), then return it to your hand. Note that you CAN play action cards and it doesn't take an action to do so (which is why I caled the card a 'different cantrip'.

And just for reference the benefits/penalties are changable, they're what I initially thought of which would be good. But something else may be better.

[rinkworks]

This is a great idea.  I like it a lot, though you're right, it's a very different kind of card and could make a very different kind of game.

Suggestion:  Following the lead of Envoy and Contraband, perhaps only allow the player to the left to decide whether to call bluff or not.  But when a bluff is successfully called, have ALL other opponents draw a card, so that seating order with respect to whoever bought the most Bluffs won't result in a substantial advantage or disadvantage.

Thinking out the strategy for playing such a card could be fun but tricky.  If you really need that +$2 for a Province, you'd be tempted to try to angle for that.  But if people suspected you were going for it, they could choose not to call your bluff and risk you getting it.

[AJD]

(The card artwork would be a cliff overlooking a river.)

[Cheese]

Gambler in Cosmic Encounter is stupid fun.


I think this is a neat idea but might need revision to reduce politics, which is deliberately absent from the rest of Dominion. You have not only the issue of people arguing over "who called the bluff first" but also potential for kingmaking by intentionally calling bluff on blatantly legit plays.

[shark_bait]

This card would also make you pay much more attention to your opponents deck.  Towards the end of a reshuffle, you would hope that you could successful call the bluff just by knowing what actions haven't been played yet.  It's a neat card and it seems like it would be balanced.  A successful play results in +1 card and +2 gold.  On the flip side, a called bluff means you just spent $5 to draw a single card.  And as others have mentioned, rewording to prevent player politics would be necessary.

[jotheonah]

A successful play results in +1 card and +2 gold.  On the flip side, a called bluff means you just spent $5 to draw a single card.  And as others have mentioned, rewording to prevent player politics would be necessary.

Rather like playing a Tournament in that respect.

[eHalcyon]

This card would also make you pay much more attention to your opponents deck.  Towards the end of a reshuffle, you would hope that you could successful call the bluff just by knowing what actions haven't been played yet.  It's a neat card and it seems like it would be balanced.  A successful play results in +1 card and +2 gold.  On the flip side, a called bluff means you just spent $5 to draw a single card.  And as others have mentioned, rewording to prevent player politics would be necessary.

Except, as worded, even if the bluff is called you still play the card.  I think that should be removed so that bluffing and getting caught out hurts a little more.  If that caveat remains, a great strategy (if it's available) would be to combine it with Militia.  Bluff with Militia whenever you can and, if you get caught, the extra card they draw isn't all that helpful.

[Tables]

Thanks for the feedback.

Regarding politics, I'd have to see it in practice, but I suspect the potential politics is going to be less than, say, Swindler would be. The first to the left condition could be abused, I guess, though. Making everyone draw a card, not just the calling person, could mitigate that, but then again you could have one person always calling likely legit plays. It could be majority decision, but that's a bit clunky and doesn't work in 3p or 5p.
Maybe each person may choose to call bluff, and if anyone does then they all get rewarded if they're right but punished if they're wrong (e.g. they gain a curse, if they don't, they gain two coppers). But then you can safely call sometimes because you can trash the cards you'd gain. Maybe that's okay though...

Re: Shark Bait: It's not $5 for +1 card, it's $5 for essentially +1 card, +1 action (as you get to play an action for free). Of course, if you bluffed with e.g. a Victory card (not unlikely) then it is just +1 action. Re: eHalcyon, I've tried to ensure getting caught isn't too damaging - you end up playing a suboptimal card and giving your opponents a card, that seems bad enough generally. But I like your Militia strategy.

[shark_bait]

I realized mistake later but didn't have internet to fix it, thanks for pointing that out.

[Deadlock39]

This card would also make you pay much more attention to your opponents deck.  Towards the end of a reshuffle, you would hope that you could successful call the bluff just by knowing what actions haven't been played yet.  It's a neat card and it seems like it would be balanced.  A successful play results in +1 card and +2 gold.  On the flip side, a called bluff means you just spent $5 to draw a single card.  And as others have mentioned, rewording to prevent player politics would be necessary.

Except, as worded, even if the bluff is called you still play the card.  I think that should be removed so that bluffing and getting caught out hurts a little more.  If that caveat remains, a great strategy (if it's available) would be to combine it with Militia.  Bluff with Militia whenever you can and, if you get caught, the extra card they draw isn't all that helpful.

If you get called when you are bluffing, you get to play the card you were actually playing, not the card you said you were playing, so your opponents aren't going to draw a card and then discard down to three.  They will draw their card, and then you will play your Pearl Diver, or Copper, or fail to play your Estate.

[ecq]

I love the idea for the card.  I'd make two tweaks, though:

1) Force the named card to be a card present in the current game, otherwise you end up in situations where someone plays double-Tactician and you're stuck either letting them play a platinum during their action phase or letting them play arbitrary cards from outside the game.

2) Have the bluff-caller draw a card *after* you play the revealed card, otherwise you could, say, bluff King's Court using a Militia and negate most of the drawback of bluffing.

[ycz6]

I like the idea, though it is hilariously bad in 2-player games with Possession.

1) Force the named card to be a card present in the current game, otherwise you end up in situations where someone plays double-Tactician and you're stuck either letting them play a platinum during their action phase or letting them play arbitrary cards from outside the game.

I think playing a Platinum during the action phase counts as an impossible play?

[rinkworks]

I think playing a Platinum during the action phase counts as an impossible play?

Black Market lets you play Treasures during your action phase, so it's not impossible in principle.  If you obey the rules on the card as written, I'd say you can wind up playing any Treasure card -- either face-up, because it was the card you bluffed with and it got called, or face-down because that's what you said it was and nobody questioned it -- during your Action phase with this card.  That's actually one of the reasons I like it.  There need to be more cards that permit Treasures to be snuck into the Action phase, just because the combo potential is so cool, and this is one of the more creative and different ways of managing that.

[Tables]

As it's currently worded, that'd be legitimate. Platinum isn't an action, but it still has rules for how it's played, so you're able to play it. Regarding the tweaks:

1) Agreed with being in the game, primarily for simplicity (Man, I hate when I'm playing Dominion and my opponent plays a Black Lotus). Situations like the one you described seem rare, and if you can activate them, well, they're just clever combos.

2) Yeah, that seems reasonable.

How does this sound?

Bluff
Action - $5
+1 card
Place a card from your hand face down and name an action card in the current game. Each other player may claim you are bluffing, or choose not to. If every player declines, play the face down card as if it were the named card. If any number of players call bluff, reveal the face down card. If it was the named card, +$1 per player who called bluff. If it was not, discard the revealed card, +1 action and each player who called bluff draws a card.

So a few notable changes. Everyone can call bluff or not, but 1 person is significantly different to 0 people calling (that should be taken into account by the bluffing player - you probably want to bluff less with more players). Everyone who bluffs could get an advantage, but gives the bluffing player more money if they're wrong - perhaps that's not the best solution but it works. Finally if you don't play the named card, that card is just discarded and you get an action.