Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[sudgy]

If you want people to come to a game they've never played before, and then compete in a tournament, I don't think Dominion is the best game for that.  There's Go, there's Spades/Hearts/Euchre/those ones i don't know (very affordable). 

Dominion is the kind of game you spend ages playing and only get a little bit closer to understanding it.  The best experience for players picking up a game and then immediately competing would be one that is a little closer to being solved.

Just a random nitpick when I saw this, Go isn't nearly solved.  I would still suggest it for a noob tournament as the rules are simple.

[StrongRhino]

Yeah, werewolf/mafia/aliens would work well to all play at the same time. Maybe when someone is lynched, they play Inception Tic Tac Toe (print out the rules)

[Tables]

If you wanted a Werewolf like game you could always go for Resistance. It's up to 10 players so you might need two sets (not a huge cost) but it eliminates undesirable player elimination and needs more teamwork and deduction rather than witchhunting. It also doesn't need a moderator so you can start things off and jump between the games, help with rules and the like.

[eHalcyon]

If you are interested in trying Mafia/Werewolf, you can play it right here in the forums.

[Robz888]

If you're interested in a version of Mafia/Werewolf that is like more amenable to winners and losers style tournament play, try Resistance.

[shraeye]

Some great games to play:

tournament-wise:
Gomoku (just puts stones down in squares until somebody gets 5 in a row...simple, yet surprisingly fun), or if your students are clever Renju is a similar game with some rules that try to balance Gomoku, as theoretically there is a player#2-never-wins strategy for player#1 in Gomoku.

sorta-tournamenty. (could be tournament-run, but there is a large luck factor...hard to "win" unless you're dealt good cards):
Oh Hell (though it also goes by the name Down and Up the River, which is more school-friendly).  The wikipedia page here is pretty compllicated, but basically here's what happens:  Deal each player (3-8 players is fine) X cards, then reveal a card from the deck which determines trump.  Starting with the player to the left of the dealer, each player bids the number of tricks they think they will win.  The dealer bids last, and it is their duty to make sure that somebody is wrong (that is, the total tricks bid cannot equal X).  Then play of cards starts with first bidder; players must follow suit, and the trickWinner leads to the next trick.  Easy-scoring too.  if you bid incorrectly (-5)*(number of tricks off...above or below).  If you're right (5) points for being right and then (5)*(number bid).  But you gotta be right to get that x5 bonus.

[Awaclus]

Some great games to play:

tournament-wise:
Gomoku (just puts stones down in squares until somebody gets 5 in a row...simple, yet surprisingly fun), or if your students are clever Renju is a similar game with some rules that try to balance Gomoku, as theoretically there is a player#2-never-wins strategy for player#1 in Gomoku.

Pretty sure the pen-and-paper variant with an unlimited board is better, as that hasn't been solved.

[StrongRhino]

I've think I've played Gomuku under a different name (Pente) and if they are the same, I would second that.

[scott_pilgrim]

I've think I've played Gomuku under a different name (Pente) and if they are the same, I would second that.

In Pente, you can capture a pair of enemy pieces if you surround them.  I think they are the same otherwise.

Edit: And Pente adds an alternate victory condition of capturing 5 pairs of pieces, I think.

[StrongRhino]

I've think I've played Gomuku under a different name (Pente) and if they are the same, I would second that.

In Pente, you can capture a pair of enemy pieces if you surround them.  I think they are the same otherwise.

Edit: And Pente adds an alternate victory condition of capturing 5 pairs of pieces, I think.

That is correct. I think that rule adds a lot when I play.

[pst]

Okay, but playing online just seems convoluted to me.

If you want to go with Dominion for 20 students (5 groups of 4), you only need:
1 Base Set
1 Intrigue Set
3 Base Cards Sets.

The Base and Intrigue set provide 50 total kingdom cards which you can split into 5x10.
They also provide base cards for 2 groups so you only need 3 more.

This would cost around $100 (with shipping) for the school.

Right now, I'm thinking this would actually be nice. There'd be no tournament then. Just exploring the game. If I could make 5 fairly playable kingdoms from those 50 cards and then set a limit of 15 students so everybody would play 3 player games (a better gaming experience than 4 player IMO), then I think people will have a good time.

I would want to show the variant nature of the game. So not only have 5 Kingdoms for the students to try, but if not making totally new kingdoms each round at least switching a few piles between tables who happen to be between games at the same time.

As for fairly playable kingdoms they almost always will be, so I wouldn't think much about it (if boards will change over time anyway), but maybe make sure Torturer's first board is one where it's fairly weak, since getting hit by an effective Torturer chain repeatedly is the main thing that could be unfun with those cards.

[Davio]

You could always just rotate the groups of course.