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[SirPeebles]

I like how City and Trade Route create an interactive tension amongst players by drawing their power from a common resource.  While cards like Tournament and Black Market reward one lucky player with a unique reward, strengthening your City or Trade Route is apt to help your opponent just as much.

Yesterday I posted a treasure card named Diamond which drew its value from a shared source as well, creating player interaction.  It got mostly positive feedback, so today I want to share another shared resource idea I've been thinking about.

Town Commons
$2 Action

+2 Cards

Choose one:  Place three cards from your hand face up on the Town Commons mat; or put three cards from the Town Commons mat into your hand.

The catch?  There is just one shared Town Commons mat.  At the end of the game, cards are on the Town Commons mat are NOT returned to any player's deck.

It's a bit like a mix of Chapel and Beggar.  It seems like it would be a popular opener.  It doesn't thin your deck as quickly as Chapel, but you do get to draw two cards first, which can help you out.  You are forced to return three cards.  In part this is to prod the player into tossing something better than copper/estate/curse into the commons.  Drawing two cards first should make this a bit more palatable.  Also, what if you have two junk cards?  Do you hope to draw a third from the +2 Cards?  If you don't draw another junk card, you're likely to either throw in a Silver or take three cards out of the Commons.  Taking three Coppers out could be quite nice at times.  Taking out three Estates may even be a wise move in the end game.

[LastFootnote]

Another interesting idea. I'd had a similar common-pool of cards idea at one time, but I couldn't think of a way to make it work. This card may very well be workable, and if it's not, hopefully it can be tweaked. I very much like the idea.

[GendoIkari]

If both options said "up to", I think this would be way better... as it is, I just can't quite see when I would want to buy one... sure it's nice on turn 3, but after that it seems almost worthless... worse than a card that had nothing but a Vanilla +2 cards. Playing it after the opening means I risk being forced to choose between adding 3 crappy cards to my deck or killing my current turn's buying power. After you play this card, if you do choose the first option, you're left with 3 cards in hand.

I like the concept, I just find it hard to think of a situation where I'd want one of these in my deck... certainly it could be good in end-game; quickly grabbing up 3 Estate for points, or 3 Coppers to buy a Province. But I think it would be extremely rare for there to be a good card on the matt.

[SirPeebles]

If both options said "up to", I think this would be way better... as it is, I just can't quite see when I would want to buy one... sure it's nice on turn 3, but after that it seems almost worthless... worse than a card that had nothing but a Vanilla +2 cards. Playing it after the opening means I risk being forced to choose between adding 3 crappy cards to my deck or killing my current turn's buying power. After you play this card, if you do choose the first option, you're left with 3 cards in hand.

I like the concept, I just find it hard to think of a situation where I'd want one of these in my deck... certainly it could be good in end-game; quickly grabbing up 3 Estate for points, or 3 Coppers to buy a Province. But I think it would be extremely rare for there to be a good card on the matt.

Hmm.  I think you could definitely hope to get two early game uses of it at least, since with the +2 cards you are more likely to get three lining up.  If you open Town Commons/Silver then you would be guaranteed at least $3 left to spend if you play Town Commons on turn 3, which is better economy than a Chapel would provide.  I admit that it wouldn't be the best in the mid-game usually, but it would pick up a bit at the end.  Chapel is usually a dead card for most of a standard Chapel game, even in the final hands.

On the other hand, if you're being cursed, and you have 2 curses in hand mid-game, you may well be willing to play your Town Commons even if it means you risk tossing in a Silver-ish card.  And then there's a not so bad card which may entice your opponent to fish it, even if it is comes with a bit of Copper.

"Up to" would guarantee that no good cards are ever put into the Commons, unless you pulled Town Commons out of the Black Market.

But I agree it would need some play testing to get right.  Any other suggestions for enticing a player to either put good cards in or to take lousy cards out?

[Bron]

Are the cards on the common mat public knowledge or not ? Do you choose which cards you take from the mat or you take last three?  I guess that it is the first option for both questions, I just wanted to be sure.

[LastFootnote]

You could have a clause like: At the end of each turn, if the player bought a Province, put a Silver from the Supply on the Commons mat.

[cluckyb]

Maybe make it half a Salvager? So "Place three cards from your hand face up on the Town Commons mat. +$ Equal to the total cost of all the cards you placed, divided by two." That doesn't encourage picking up the bad stuff, but it might be worth it to take the curse if someone dumped it alongside their more expensive card.

[One Armed Man]

Cluckyb, That would make it swingy where you get more money having all your estates together.

[LastFootnote]

Cluckyb, That would make it swingy where you get more money having all your estates together.

I don't think that's any more swingy than a lot of stuff already in the game, like opening with Remake or Trading Post and drawing it with 2 Estates on turn 3.