Pig farmers wanted! (Control thread)
Hi, I'm looking for people to playtest a simple game I have been working out. It should adapt easily to play on the forums, and may even amuse the onlookers:
Pigsty to Palace
A multi-player game of trading and ethics
1. Description
Pigsty to Palace is a game in which Pig Farmers try to make more Pigs and earn enough to move into a Palace. They can do this by investing, trading, even stealing – and some may offer quick profits but prove harmful in the long run, or even mean that everyone loses out!
2. Equipment
You don't need this on the forums.
3. Beginning the game
At least three Pig Farmers should play. Every Pig Farmer begins with 10 Pigs. There is one Yeoman in play at the start of the game and the Yeoman Fund is at zero. There is one Bandit in play at the start of the game, but no Lost pigs.
4. How to play
Every turn, Pig Farmers get one Pork for each Pig they have, less any that they lost due to Punishment last turn, and they write down how they will spend it. All orders are submitted by PM. Players choose how much they will spend on each of these:
Punishment – Take Pork away from people who Steal from you this turn.
Investment – Breed more Pigs.
Guards – Make it harder to Steal from you.
Stealing – Take someone else’s Pigs. You get some, the rest are lost.
Trading – Breed more Pigs for yourself, and help someone else.
Yeomen – Contribute to a fund that provides Neutral Guards and Punishers who also return lost property. They only help honest people.
4.1. Punishment
If you spend Pork on Punishment, everyone who Steals from you this turn loses this much Pork from their allowance next turn. You still lose your stolen Pigs. (So if you spend 2 Pork this way and three people Steal from you, they all lose 2 Pork next turn.)
4.2. Investment
Every 5 Pork you spend on buying Pigs earns you one new one.
4.3. Guards
One Pork hires one Guard to protect you from Stealing this turn.
4.4. Stealing
You choose which Pig Farmer to steal from and how much Pork to spend.
4.4.1. One Pork hires one Thief for this turn.
4.4.2. Every Guard your victim has stops one of your Thieves.
4.4.3. Every Yeoman in play stops one of your Thieves (if your victim is Honest).
4.4.4. Every two Thieves left over take one Pig.
4.4.5. The first Pig taken is lost, the next is stolen (you get it) and so on, so you must take at least two Pigs to get one.
4.4.6. Lost Pigs may be returned by the Yeomen (if the owner is Honest).
Example: Bill spends 8 Pork to hire Thieves to Steal from Ted. Ted has one Guard. The Guard stops one Thief, leaving 7 Thieves. Six Thieves take 3 Pigs, and the seventh Thief has no effect. The first Pig is lost, Bill gets the next one, and the last one is lost. Without the Guard, 4 Pigs would have been taken, and Bill would get two of these (it goes lost – stolen – lost – stolen)
4.4.7. Overkill
No-one can lose more Pigs than he has! If a Pig Farmer doesn’t have enough Pigs for all the thieves who Steal from him in one turn, whoever hired most Thieves gets their Pigs first, and whoever spent least goes short. (The GM will resolve ties in an arbitrary and transparently unfair manner.)
4.5. Trading
You can trade 5 Pork to another Pig Farmer. You still earn Pigs from it as if you had Invested it, but he also gets a Pig.
4.5.1. You can Trade with as many players as you like (as long as you have enough Pork).
4.5.2. Trading to someone else earns you nothing, but if he doesn’t Trade back to you, you will probably not Trade to him any more until he pays you back.
4.5.3. Trading is the only way to give Pigs to another Pig Farmer.
4.5.4. You only get one Pig from any one Pig Farmer this way in one turn, no matter how much Pork he Trades to you, but you can receive 5 Pork in Trade from several Pig Farmers and get one Pig for each.
4.5.5. Stealing cancels Trade
Anyone who has Pigs taken by someone’s Stealing has any Trade he was doing that turn cancelled. It counts as Investing instead and the person who was to receive the Trade gets nothing. But if Guards and Yeomen keep all the Thieves out, Trade goes ahead as normal. However, if you Steal from someone who is Trading to you, you get nothing from the Trade even no Pigs were taken, and even if you stay Honest.
Anyone who is Stolen from while receiving Trade gets the Trade benefit normally, although this may only give him extra Pigs to lose!
4.5.6. You can Trade even if you are Dishonest.
4.6. Yeomen
There is one Yeoman at the start of the game. All Pork spent on Yeomen goes into a Fund. As soon as the Yeoman Fund reaches 10, one more Yeoman enters play and the fund total is reset to zero. Yeomen have the following effects:
4.6.1. Every Yeoman counts as a free Guard for every Honest Pig Farmer.
4.6.2. Every Yeoman returns one lost Pig to its rightful Honest owner after a theft.
4.6.3. Every two Yeomen counts as one level of Punishment against thieves who steal from Honest Pig Farmers.
4.6.4. Honesty:
4.6.4.1. Everyone is Dishonest at the start of the game. You become Honest as soon as you spend Pork on Yeomen. You can become Dishonest and Honest repeatedly during the game.
4.6.4.2. You become Dishonest at the end of the turn if you Steal and are Punished for it. You can become Honest and Dishonest in the same turn!
4.6.4.3. Once there are two Yeomen in play, Punishment is automatic, so Stealing (from an Honest person) will then always turn you Dishonest.
5. Use it or lose it
Pork cannot be saved up from turn to turn. You don’t have to spend all your Pork, but you get nothing for any Pork you don’t spend. (Pork goes bad…)
6. Making deals
Pig Farmers are free to talk to each other between turns about what they will do next turn. However, what is written down is what counts. Telling lies isn’t punished by the rules, but Pig Farmers can decide for themselves how they will treat liars in future.
7. Losing the game
A Pig Farmer who has lost all his Pigs is out of the game. A Pig Farmer with less than four Pigs has to hope someone will Trade something to him, as he can neither Invest, nor Trade, nor Steal himself any Pigs.
7.1. M.A.D. If ever the number of Pigs in play is less than 5 per Pig Farmer, the game is over and everyone loses. (You have destroyed the local pork industry, and spend the rest of your lives living in your own pigsty while your customers import beef instead.)
Example: In a game with four Pig Farmers, a turn ends and the four have only 18 Pigs between them. This is less than 20 (5 times 4). Game over, it’s Pigsty time!
8. Winning the game
If any player has 100 or more Pigs at the end of the turn, he can afford a Palace and has won the game. Note that several players might win in the same turn.
9. Gamesmaster
That's me. You PM me your orders and I resolve them. Everyone finds out what orders were submitted and what the results of them were. I keep track of Honesty, Reputation, yeomanry, banditry etc.
10. Writing orders
10.1.
Pig Farmers write orders as follows:
It is enough to write the initial letter (P, I, G, S, T, Y) of each option, but you can write it in full if you prefer. Then write down how much Pork you are spending on it. In the case of Stealing or Trade, also write down the name of the Pig Farmer you are stealing from or trading to.
Example: Charlie has 10 Pigs, so he has 10 Pork to spend this turn. He writes:
T 5 Danny
S 4 Eddie
G 1
------
10
meaning that he is Trading 5 Pork to Danny, hiring 4 Thieves to Steal from Eddie, and hiring 1 Guard, spending 10 Pork in total.
10.2. If a Pig Farmer accidentally spends more Pork than he has, his orders are carried out working from the top of his orders; as soon as an order is reached that can’t be paid for in full, his spending on this is reduced to match, and any remaining orders on the list are cancelled.
10.3. If you don’t spend enough on any order (Trade, Investment, Stealing) to have any effect, too bad – you have wasted that Pork for this turn.
11. Bandits
Lost Pigs roaming the countryside will be rounded up by Bandits, who, as they are encouraged by all the free Pigs, will start to steal as well.
11.1. There is one Bandit in play at the start of the game.
11.2. Every 10 Pigs lost (and not returned) attracts another Bandit.
11.3. Bandits automatically Steal from everyone every turn as if they were neutral Thieves.
11.4. Pigs taken by Bandits are all lost (and count towards rule 11.2).
12. Reputation
The more crime you commit, the harder it is to get on the right side of the law.
12.1. You earn one point of (bad) Reputation every time you become Dishonest.
There's no way to lose it.
12.2. Spending Pork on Yeomen only turns you Honest if you spend as much Pork in one turn as you have Reputation.
Any takers? I'd like at least three, six or so should be plenty.
