Homebrew Games Part 2: Splendor

Splendor is a simple strategy game about becoming as influential as possible in the gem industry.  On your turn, you may do one of 3 actions: take up to 3 gems (as long as there are some left in the bank!); buy a card on the table using gems (granting you Prestige Points and permanent gems); or reserve a card (you gain a wild "gold" gem token and you may use a future turn to purchase your reserved card).  If you meet the requirements to collect a Noble card, then you automatically take it and gain 3 Prestige Points at the end of your turn.  The first player to reach 15 Prestige Points wins the game.

The game starts off relatively slowly.  Players spend most of their turns collecting gems to buy basic cards with.  As you gain more cards, you also gain "permanent gems."  You may use the card's gem over and over to buy newer, more expensive/more valuable cards.  By the end of the game, most players are taking cards (and therefore usually aquiring Prestige Points) almost every turn.  Each turn becomes a critical decision in the race to 15 points.

While visiting some extended family, we wanted to play Splendor.  Most of us owned it, but we didn't have it on-hand.  We were going to stay for a while, so we decided to make our own.

First, I researched the cost/type/points of each of the game's 100 cards.  I then cut index cards down and marked cost/type/point values on all of them, to match the original game (I didn't want to change the mechanical balance).  After every card was prepared and playable, I recruited some friends and family to contribute to adding art to the 100 cards.  This process has taken almost a year, but now each card has its own unique drawing!

A few months after we started, we purchased a plastic gem set from www.topshelfgamer.com and made a "bank" with a half-dozen muffin tray from the dollar store.  We also added felt in the bottom of the tray wells to reduce the noise.

Some of the cards are part of a set (e.g. the 3 Powerpuff Girls cards).  Our house rules include +1 point for completing a set of 2 and +2 points for completing a set of 3.  We also play to 20 points, just for fun.

Everything is hand-drawn in marker/pencil by me, Kristen, Eric, Andrew, Trevor, and Chase.

Homebrew Games Part 1: Arcomage

Over the years, I've made a couple Homebrew board/card/paper games to play when friends and I haven't had access to the real thing for some reason or another.  I'll describe them and post pictures during these next few blog entries.

The first one is from an old computer game series called Might and Magic.  Released before the more popular Heroes of Might and Magic strategy series, you could build a party and explore towns and dungeons and perform quests for NPCs.  In the 7th and 8th entries in the series, you could visit any tavern and play a virtual card game called Arcomage.

The game is played with 2 players (you vs. the computer).  Players take turns playing cards from their 6-card hand, and taking new cards to always have 6 cards in-hand.  To play a card, you must spend the resources required (shown by color/number in the bottom-right corner).  There are 3 types of resources, and each type has a "generator" to allot you at the beginning of your turn.  Bricks are Red, and are generated by Quarries.  Gems are Blue, and are generated by Magic.  Recruits are Green, and are generated by Dungeons.

There are three ways to win the game.  The first way is to increase your Tower to a predetermined amount (such as 50).  The second way is to reduce the opponent's Tower to zero.  The third way is to gain a predetermined ridiculous amount of any resource (such as 300 gems).  Therefore, Towers are your most precious attribute.  You can also build up your Wall to soak up damage and protect your Tower.

It's surprisingly fun, and actually really easy to play once you get the hang of it.  There is some luck involved, but you can start to see patterns and accommodate your strategy accordingly.  For example, red cards tend to focus on building up your wall; blue cards your tower; and green cards focus on damaging the enemy.  The biggest complaint I had was that the only way you could play Arcomage was to play against a computer within a video game...

...So I made my own.

First, I printed out every card from Might and Magic VIII.  I also printed out duplicates for some "common" cards.  I also bought some cheap card protector sleeves to make them easier to handle.  After that, I had to figure out how to make an intuitive board for tracking all the numbers in the game (tower, wall, resources).  I ended up buying some magnetic dry-erase boards and markers (some permanent and some dry-erase).

With a ruler and permanent markers, I drew the Tower/Wall indicators on a 1-foot by 1-foot board.  With magnets, cardstock, and double-sided tape, I made the pieces.  Each player has a Resources board with slots to write in generators, and resources that can be adjusted each turn by sliding magnets to the appropriate ones- and tens-slots.

It has been a blast playing with other people, and everyone who has played has enjoyed it.  I even made a few custom cards to throw some personal flavor in:

I'd recommend Arcomage to anyone of any age or strategy skill level.  If you get the chance, find a way to play it!  Oh, and if you're into party-building fantasy adventure - Might and Magic VII & VIII are some of my favorite video games in existence - and I don't say that lightly.