Advent of Wyrms doesn’t push any boundaries but I had fun

 Advent of the Wyrms was one of the games that made me want to revisit the Decktet. It’s a soliatire game that was released in 2020 so it gave me a way to see what people have been doing with the Decktet more recently. For a certain definition of recent. I suppose.

The theme is that you are trying to prevent the revival of world destroying dragons. Wyrms are one of the six suits of the Decktet and this game revolves around that suit. Oh and you use the extended deck so 45 cards.

To win the game, you need to place four sets of three ascending cards. Each set needs to share a common suit. Remember, most of the cards have more than one suit. You can be working on up to five sets.

Shuffle the deck and deal out a hand of four cards. If you get a Wyrm card, shuffle it back in and deal out a new card. A turn is play a card/discard a card, then draw a card.

If you draw a card that includes the Wyrm, you have to discard a card that matches its rank, matches one of its other suits, the suit-free Excuse card or two cards from the top of the deck (which is the worst option) You discard the Wyrm card too.

If you make four sets before you run out of cards, you win. If you don’t, you lose.

I can’t help but compare Advent of Wyrms to Adaman, one of the first, if not the first, solitaire games for the Decktet. Both games definitely feel games originally designed for traditional cards adopted for the Decktet. 

Adaman is more intricate and I think it’s more difficult. I have managed to win Advent of the Wyrms and I haven’t won Adaman yet. I feel safe saying it’s the deeper game.

On the other hand, Advent of the Wyrms is a more fluid game with a definite tempo of play. It’s definitely simpler but that also makes it easier to 

just get a game rolling. Advent of Wyrms is, at least for me, more fun.

Mind you, I don’t think Advent of Wyrms really pushes what you can do with the Decktet. Not it has to. Innovation is not a requirement for quality.

Advent of the Wyrms is a fun game but more of one I’ll probably use to warm up before playing another Decktet game than on its own.

http://wiki.decktet.com/game:advent-of-the-wyrms

Adaman is a good but not to my taste

 When I decided that I needed to revisit the Decktet with a focus on solitaire games, I knew that my starting place was going to be Adaman, It is one of the earliest Decktet games, developed by the same guy who developed the Decktet itself, P.D. Magnus. Now, I had played it before, about twelve years ago. On the one hand, I remembered almost nothing about the game. On the other hand, I did remember playing it, which is still something.

The Decktet is broken down into two groups, the basic deck, which uses ranks like conventional deck of cards; and the extended deck, which has Tarot-like trumps. The deck has six suits but most of the cards have more than one suit on them, All of the cards have Tarot-like artwork, not unlike what you might expect if Pamala Smith had been possessed by Sir John Tennial while he was on a laudanum bender. Adaman, at least as it was originally designed, only uses the basic deck. The cards are also broken down into subcategories, indicated by the artwork. Your goal in Adaman is to discard/score/claim the eleven personage cards, ie, the cards that have 'people' on them.

The theme of Adaman is that you are one of the heirs to the throne and are building up power via palace intrigue. Gameplay takes place in three rows that can only be five cards long. The bottom row is resources, which functions as your hand. The middle row is the market and the top row is the palace. 

Shuffle up the basic cards. Deal out five to the market. Then deal out five to the resource row. However, if you deal a personage to the resource card, you move it to the palace row and deal a replacement card. So, the market can have any card in it. Resources cannot have any personages. The palace can only be personages.

Gameplay goes as follows. You discard cards from resources to claim cards from the market or palace. The discarded cards have to equal or be more than the rank of the claimed card and each card has to share suit with the claimed card. If you claim a personage, add it to your scoring pile. If it's any other card, put it in the resource row. Deal out cards to fill in any gaps in the market or resources and keep going.

You win if you score all eleven personages. You lose if you have to add a sixth card to the palace or you run out of moves.

All right. I would honestly describe Adaman as "just okay', at least for me. Mechanically, it definitely works. In fact, I'm finding it to actually be a tough game to beat. The royal cards, which are rank ten and have only one suit, are particularly tricky and help make the game interesting. However, there wasn't anything that really made the game sparkle for me. It doesn't have a hook, at least not for me. Adaman feels like a solitaire game for a regular deck of cards that has been adjusted for the Decktet. (In fact, that game may be Portraits)

There is a caveat. If you view Adaman as an introduction to the Decktet and a way to familiarize yourself with the cards, Adaman does an excellent job of doing that. It gets you used to the idea of a card having more than one suit and which cards are which. Another one of the early Decktet games, Bharg, was a two-player rummy game that felt like it had a similar goal and Adaman does it better. It forces you to examine the cards more closely and it makes use of the artwork. I feel no need to go back to Bharg while I still like there's some fun left in Adaman.

Now, on the third hand, I decided to revisit the Decktet because I've been playing a lot of Mysticana games. And the direct comparison to Adaman is Nine Perils, which also functions as an introduction to the core concepts of the deck. And that is a game I go back to a lot. In fact, I usually play a game of it as a warm-up before playing other Mysticana games.  Adaman doesn't have that kind of umph.

Adaman represents, more than some other Decktet games, using the game system like a regular deck of cards. Which isn't a bad thing. The standard deck of cards has to be one of the most, if not the most, successful gaming system in history. (Now someone will argue with me using dice as a counterexample) 

Adaman is a solid, good game but it's not why I like the Decktet. 

The Decktet’s vast potential

For years, I have said that if you were to only make one PnP project, it should be the Decktet. And, to be honest, I haven't changed my mind yet about that. It is one of the versatile one-and-done projects I can think of.

The Decktet is a game system that consists of a deck of 45 cards with six suits. The clever bit, and this is honestly clever, is that almost all of the cards are mulit-suited.

I have seen decks that add extra suits and ranks. The Decktet, having the cards be more than one suit? That I hadn't seen before and I'm not sure I have seen it since. Added to that, the deck is divided between 36 basic cards and nine extended cards. And eight of those extended cards are triple suited while the last one has no suits at all. 

And the Decktet has some crazy artwork, which I would describe as Tarot-adjacent, cartoony  and grotesque. It's definitely memorable.

A game system is just a concept without actual games. And the Decktet has some that I quite enjoy. The three that really stick with me are Magnate, a resource management game; Emu Ranchers, a Lost Cities variant that I like more than Lost Cities in some ways; and Jacynth, a Carcassonne-style tile laying game. All three very different games and, if they were all there were, the Decktet would still be worth it.

As I wrote that list out, I realized that those three games are like a snapshot of a slightly earlier time in gaming, a time when German Family games had more of the market share. And, frankly, when I first got into designer board games. So I might be a little biased.

I have been looking back at the Decktet because I have been actively exploring the Mysticana game system. To the point where half my blogs for the spring might be about it. It's a very different approach, only three suits that are interlocking and module expansions. Its also much more solitaire focused, which plays more to my current gaming.

I have only lightly looked into the Decktet's solitaire options and, quite frankly, I wasn't interested in what I saw. However, that was before I had any real interest in solitaire gaming. I really need to go back and take a second look. 

While Decktet games are still being developed, its heyday seems clearly in the past. And I think that is really because here isn't a company driving its development. Sadly, that’s a real thing. Support makes a difference.

That said, the Decktet remains a very versatile gaming system with a game library worth exploring and plenty of untapped potential.

I don’t know what an essential PnP library is anymore- and why that’s cool

Every once in a while, I try and write about what I think would be a good introduction to Print and Play. What would be good to start with, what would be easy to craft. 

I think the last time I did that was during the lockdown. At that time, I wanted to put together a list for folks who weren’t used to print and play but could use the games. Mind you, I imagine most people reading my blog are into print and play lol 

And it has occurred to me that it wouldn't be as easy to try and do that again. 

And that is because it feels like so many games are available in the PnP format. Mind you, I honestly think that is because of how Covid created a demand for that. But the market for actually buying PnP files really has grown.

When I first started poking around PnP, it felt like most of the stuff out there was free. From what I could tell, most of the files that were for sale were for war games and 18XX games. (I may not have known where to look)

And there are some jolly good experiences that you just have to pay for the materials. 

30 Rails still hold up and you could draw it freehand if you didn’t have a printer. I have tried so many Roll and Writes that involve a six by six grid but 30 Rails still stands out by giving you lots of interesting choices and a train theme that works.

If you wanted to take the extra step of making cards, I still recommend the Decktet. Heck, I have said before and I will say it again: if you only plan on making one PnP project ever, it should be the Decktet. It is a game system that just keeps on giving.

But, if you were willing to spend a little money, I’d say buy Postmark Games’ catalog. Don’t get me wrong. There are other companies like HammerDice or Button Shy are amazing. But Postmark has a small but robust set of games that just require printing out the game sheets and every one is solid. It is an easy and accessible entry point.

I think trying out any of these games would be an enriching experience. I don’t think they are the definitive introduction to PnP but I think they are a good one.

But the idea of an essential library of PnP games? At this point, between what someone’s interests are and how much work they want to put in and how much is available, I have no idea. Heck, I’m not sure what it would be for me.

So what is a foundation deck?

 Button Shy’s June Kickstarter is Mysticana: A Foundation Deck. I haven’t finished making a copy of the demo version but I did want to get some thoughts out before the Kickstarter ends.

(And, yes, I can make a functional copy with a regular deck of cards. However, let’s be honest, artwork does make a difference in how a game feels. Also, the built-in rock-paper-scissors of Mysticana’s element system is a good visual shorthand)

So, what is a foundation deck? That just sounds like a way of saying a game system that you can try and copywrite. Well, it turns out a foundation deck is a subset of game systems. 

A game system is a set of components that you can use to play multiple games with. A standard deck of cards is the most quintessential example that I can think of. Even the most conservative estimates say there are over a thousand games you can play with the regular deck of cards.

A foundation deck is a game system where you add additional cards for different games. Some games just require the base deck but you can modify the deck with other cards for specific games.

This isn’t a new concept. Looney Labs Looney Pyramids is totally a foundation system. Almost all its games (at least the good ones) add things like boards and dice or other stuff. And I think there’s nothing wrong with that. Yeah, the purity of a game system that uses a core set of components is appealing but purity tests are just for gate keeping.

What I think will make or break Mysticana is whether or not it has a killer app. If a game system has one really good game, one that people want to play, then it will have legs. A game system can survive having plenty of meh games as long as it has one good one. Poker is a great example of a game system’s killer app, although the standard deck of cards has a whole bunch of them. (Being around for centuries helps with that)

And I don’t know the answer to that yet. It’s not even a decision I can come to. It will end up being a community call.

I was very pleased that the designer diary explicitly mentions the Decktet as a major influence. A six-suited deck with multi-suited cards, the Decktet remains one of the most flexible game system decks I have found that isn’t just a modified standard deck. And it’s killer app, Magnate, requires additional components so it’s a foundation deck too.

Some Print and Play suggestions for folks on lockdown

I recently wrote about how PnP has helped me decompress and deal with the stress of being on lockdown. Both in the act of actual of making stuff and looking for things that I can get on the table. And there’s actually a lot less spare time under these circumstances. 

And then I was asked for some suggestions.

With so many of us not able to leave the home and so many game shops not open, print and play is an option really worth discussing. I know that other folks have been discussing this and I also know that I’ll suggest is stuff I’ve discussed before. Still, if I help even one person, I should.

30 Rails - if I was told to suggest only one game for folks stuck in their homes, 30 Rails is the game I’d suggest. It is so easy to build that even folks without access to a printer can make a copy. It can play any number of players, including solitaire. And it’s really good. The love child of Take It Easy and Metro, 30 Rails is a connections Roll and Write game where you draw out paths on a grid. It uses familiar ideas and has plenty of tough decisions.

Outlaw - A dice game that just requires you to print out a couple pieces of paper with no cutting, Outlaw is a Pikomino-style game. I like Pikomino better but not everyone has access to Pikomino. Not everyone has a big game collection at home. For some people, someone else owns the games they play and they may be cut off from those games. 

Okay. Moving onto to a little bit on construction.

Autumn - An eighteen-card tile-laying game, Autumn is very simple but very solid. Between using the pie rule and requiring cards to overlap, Autumn offers some real choices and some real variety in its play. Plus, it has a nice solitaire option. It a game that I’ve kept coming back to for more than two years.

The Decktet - The Decktet is a deck of cards with six suites BUT the cards are multi-suited. It offers a real twist on the deck of cards. More importantly, the Decktet has some very solid games. Games like Emu Ranchers, Jacynth and Magnate. I made my first copy years ago by printing it out on card stock and cutting them out with scissors. And I’ve never looked back.

This is not my final word on the subject. Heck, this is barely scratching the surface of the subject. But I think these four games a good start.