Area Control deckbuilder w/Poker combat
A quick idea about layering poker hand curation into the framework of a Deckbuilder:
- The board is comprised of hexes, each hex has a card that represents it, and belongs to a suit and value.
- When a player takes control of a hex (moves armies in), he takes the corresponding card from either the deck of unclaimed cards, or the player's deck who currently owns it and adds it to his discard pile.
- Mostly standard Deckbuilder rules:
- Players start with 10 card decks
- 9 cards that do not correspond with the board, and 1 card that corresponds with a player's faction starting hex
- On a turn, a player draws 5 cards, plays them, and makes decisions as to how to allocate the resources and actions those cards give.
- Players may "store" cards for use on a later turn up to their current storage capacity (game start; 2?)
- Used cards and cards claimed on that turn are then discarded in a order of the player's choosing.
- If a player needs to draw but cannot, he shuffles his discard pile and draws from the top.
- Two basic kinds of unmodified cards:
- Troops
- Act like creatures or stations in hero/star realms. Play them and they sit in front of you instead of being discarded. However, when you do use them for their value you do discard them, even on a later turn. They're useful when they're played and they sit around waiting to be useful on a later turn as well. Their bonuses are marginal.
- Taxes
- Economic cards. Generate resources. Once played they are discarded
- Resources:
- Money - used for buying upgrades and technologies
- Upgrades improve a territory card's output. Ex. Placing a castle on a province might increase its military strength. A windmill on a farm will increase its gold value.
- Technology are passive upgrades. Ex. More storage spots for cards, the ability to pitch cards, make certain cards wild during a battle... etc.
- Military Influence - used for marching cubes around the map.
- Battle
- When two players find themselves in conflict, they draw 5 cards off the top of their decks. Best poker hand wins. Before hands are revealed, troops may be discarded to discard and draw a card per troop consumed. Each time a player does, the other player may fold and de-escalate.
- This incentives players to build their decks not only for direct card value and strategic direction, but also to improve the odds of drawing strong hands.
- The geography of how players spread out their empires on the board relates to their deck strategy. Pursuing many lands of the same suit to strengthen your army's ability to present flushes, or reaching out along a particular value to get three and four of a kinds more frequently on the draw.
- Small empires will be more consistant in combat than large sprawling ones, unless the larger empire is mindful of curating the lands they own.
Misc. other thoughts:
- Eclipse style action/tax/expansion linked system?
- Acetate overlay cards?