BSG Boardgame to Forum Adaptation (RIP)

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BSG Boardgame to Forum Adaptation (RIP)

Post by BadgeAddict » Wed Apr 15, 2015 9:10 am

As a fan of both the show (New one, but the original was good too) and the Board game version of BSG I have been thinking recently about a way to make it playable within the realms of "Forum Games".

That being said, before I begin such an endeavor full force, I wonder if anyone would actually be interested in playing. This would not be "playing the board game" but rather an adaption of it.

What to expect:
1. To start the game each player chooses to play a certain character each of which have their own bonuses.
2. Each player is randomly given a card on which they are told if they are Human or Cylon. (Due to complexities, I will probably not be using Sympathizers)
a. Humans win when certain conditions are met, causing Cylons to lose.
b. Cylons win when Humans lose.
- Typically a game is limited to 6 people, but I would probably lift that cap if possible.
This would be somewhat similar to the riddle game, except more game and less random riddles...
You are not allowed to show proof of what you are "cylon or Human", but you can lie as much as you want.

The adaptation part will be mostly adapting crises cards, skill cards and how to implement the battleship action areas.

I'm willing to throw myself into this, collaborating with some other GM's in and effort to make something awesome..but, if there is no interest, then I won't.

edit: Also, as I'm thinking it sounds overly complex, my intention will be to eliminate a lot of the complexities and cards with simplicity and die rolls. The only PM you'll get from me or contact will be the initial, *you are a Cylon* or *You aren't a Cylon*
Last edited by BadgeAddict on Mon Jun 15, 2015 1:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by nikohl » Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:58 am

Oh my word. I would play the heckity heck out of this. I have the BG and expansions and NONE OF MY FRIENDS WILL PLAY WITH ME. Something about how I always win, and I'm always a frakkin' toaster, and they always, always believe me when I tell them I'm not, despite my having form. And then they die. :cheer: (I'm genuinely not a cylon more often than probability would dictate. They just remember those times wherein I was a cylon and royally boned them.)

Things I have concerns/questions about:
  • Sympathisers are vital for balance in games with specific numbers of players; not using them leaves you with an issue you will have to plan around. There is usually a sympathiser card in a six player game, to allow for a balancing swing either way at the halfway point - the humans winning makes the sympathiser into a cylon, the cylons winning makes them a human. How are you going to deal with not having that, if you're taking six people?
  • I am always Baltar when we play the real game, which leads me to query how you are handling the few characters who a) by their mere presence increase the number of cards in the pool and b) get dealt extra cards, giving them a slightly greater likelihood of being from the start, or becoming revealed as, a baddie or sympathiser - the other one being Boomer, in the base game. Are you just gonna not have that element? That would work.
  • How are you going to adapt the mechanics of the coloured cards reflecting the "working together/secret sabotage" element? I know you've said you WILL adapt that... I kinda wanna know what your plan is there. That's like, the main mechanic of the game, so taking that away takes away much of what makes it functional as a stealth-y diplomacy-y co-op/actually-not-co-op thing. Without that, it's just words, and while words are fine and dandy and that'd be fun too... I got the feeling you wanted there to be like, winners, a la boardgame.
  • Are you considering any of the BG expansions and if so would you consider not, because the original is complex enough as it is? I can see trying to have cylon leaders and extra ships and stuff as just... headache-inducing for you and potentially everyone else.
  • How are you handling Revealed Cylons? The main way for Cylons to actually -win- the boardgame is by hiding and messing stuff up for a little while, then when that stops being effective or people start being suspicious, just flipping the table, jumping out of the airlock, appearing back on the Resurrection Ship and raining down hell from where the humans can't stop you. Without the ability to suicide and actually "be a cylon", you -will- eventually be found out, at which point you'll just get put in the brig and then not get to participate in any meaningful way whatsoever. That's the other main mechanic of BSG the Boardgame, and without it, again... how to win/lose?

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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by BadgeAddict » Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:05 pm

nikohl wrote:Oh my word. I would play the heckity heck out of this. I have the BG and expansions and NONE OF MY FRIENDS WILL PLAY WITH ME. Something about how I always win, and I'm always a frakkin' toaster, and they always, always believe me when I tell them I'm not, despite my having form. And then they die. :cheer: (I'm genuinely not a cylon more often than probability would dictate. They just remember those times wherein I was a cylon and royally boned them.)

Things I have concerns/questions about:
  • Sympathisers are vital for balance in games with specific numbers of players; not using them leaves you with an issue you will have to plan around. There is usually a sympathiser card in a six player game, to allow for a balancing swing either way at the halfway point - the humans winning makes the sympathiser into a cylon, the cylons winning makes them a human. How are you going to deal with not having that, if you're taking six people?
  • I am always Baltar when we play the real game, which leads me to query how you are handling the few characters who a) by their mere presence increase the number of cards in the pool and b) get dealt extra cards, giving them a slightly greater likelihood of being from the start, or becoming revealed as, a baddie or sympathiser - the other one being Boomer, in the base game. Are you just gonna not have that element? That would work.
  • How are you going to adapt the mechanics of the coloured cards reflecting the "working together/secret sabotage" element? I know you've said you WILL adapt that... I kinda wanna know what your plan is there. That's like, the main mechanic of the game, so taking that away takes away much of what makes it functional as a stealth-y diplomacy-y co-op/actually-not-co-op thing. Without that, it's just words, and while words are fine and dandy and that'd be fun too... I got the feeling you wanted there to be like, winners, a la boardgame.
  • Are you considering any of the BG expansions and if so would you consider not, because the original is complex enough as it is? I can see trying to have cylon leaders and extra ships and stuff as just... headache-inducing for you and potentially everyone else.
  • How are you handling Revealed Cylons? The main way for Cylons to actually -win- the boardgame is by hiding and messing stuff up for a little while, then when that stops being effective or people start being suspicious, just flipping the table, jumping out of the airlock, appearing back on the Resurrection Ship and raining down hell from where the humans can't stop you. Without the ability to suicide and actually "be a cylon", you -will- eventually be found out, at which point you'll just get put in the brig and then not get to participate in any meaningful way whatsoever. That's the other main mechanic of BSG the Boardgame, and without it, again... how to win/lose?
Thank you for your questions Nikohl.

1. I was thinking about taking on more than 6 players at a time and although I realize that sympathizers make the game more balanced...lets be honest..typically the cylons win (when playing the original game) I'm not sure they need much more help.
a. But, it would still be possible to include Symp's..just a matter of working it in..as my intention would be to maximize fun while minimizing complexity.
2. As for bonuses involving cards...I'm thinking of exchanging the word card for Die...
a. BSG board game(ex: Lee Adama = 1 Tactics, 2 Piloting & 2 leadership/politics (<--Cards) (OPGA: activate 6 unmanned vipers), (Weakness: Headstrong)
b. BSG Forum Game (ex: Lee Adama = 1d3 Tactics, 2d3 Piloting & 2d3 leadership or 2d3 Politics or 1d3 Leadership & 1d3 Politics) (As for Once Per Game Abilities and Weaknesses, I'll need to think more about it)
c. ^As shown, the initial idea that I had was to allow the collection of Dice in each area that you typically collect in. Crisis & Event Cards would have a certain number required to pass/fail and then players would offer a number of dice to the dice pool in order to pass. The number of die that people have would be secret from everyone but themselves...,maybe (still need to think it through more)..
i. As the amount of Dice would be hidden, and destiny deck (destiny die) would throw in 2d3 random colors, people would say what color they were adding to the dice pool. Anyone could of course lie, and if you were planning on lying about the color, you would pm the GM the actual color you wanted to use..again, since die are hidden (much like cards are hidden)
3. ^See c. Above
4. I would be using the original only, no expansions.
5. So, you've asked some good questions..and I intend on including Morale, Food and Population (as these are the main areas causing Humans to lose). Cylons would still have their special abilities of "Revealing themselves". As to revealing yourself and remaining secret, the Secret Die method above should fix this.

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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by nikohl » Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:19 pm

Okay.

Two new concerns:

1. Dice: d3, etc, add a random element that is not there in the original game. You know the value you're adding when you add it - you have a 1 card or maybe a 4 card or whatever, but you're adding exactly that. For humans that's important because you're doing what you think is the right maths to pass a check regardless of what the Destiny Deck does; for Cylons, you're trying to mess it up but only just enough that it looks accidental. The dice changes that a lot.

2. SO MANY PMs. So many. It might not translate as well as you'd like to a forum. An IRC channel, sure; lots of Whisper windows. A forum, mmmm. You're going to have to do so much inbox management. So many spreadsheets. And if you're adding actual dice despite the above.... so many dice rolls.

I'd give it a shot, it'll be fun to play and even though there might be kinks that need working out as we go along, it'll still be enjoyable. I just think you'll find yourself having to do an incredible amount of admin, and it might not go how you expected.

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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by BadgeAddict » Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:31 pm

Well, I have a lot to think about, but if there is interest in such a thing...it will happen. :D

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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by ChuckDaRighteous » Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:50 pm

It sounds interesting. But I have no familiarity with the original game, so I'd need to know a little more about the mechanics of it all before I decide to play. The actual game mechanics not just the tidbits you're changing.
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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by BadgeAddict » Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:58 pm

The Rules

I will try to go over what all that means when I get home.

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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by Arch Lich Burns » Wed Apr 15, 2015 6:33 pm

I am a cylon! :P


And ...I am interested in a forum version. not sure how it would work out though.

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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by Runsaround » Thu Apr 16, 2015 5:08 am

It being that I have no clue how this Battlestar Galactica board game works, but I would if it was an available thing.
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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by Theonewhoisodd » Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:46 pm

I would most definitely play though don't expect me to help with the rules. I'm completely clueless when it comes to that (see all my past games basically being rip offs).
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Re: Battle-Star Galactica Boardgame to Forum Adaptation

Post by BadgeAddict » Mon Jun 15, 2015 1:22 pm

The biggest problem that I've run into with thinking through this has been an effort to limit or eliminate "secret information". Though, without said "secret info" the game doesn't exist as it should.

This is what caused me to re-think "secret information" which is how I landed on the idea for Meta-Knight, a game in which secret information is disclosed but in which characters are forbidden to act on things their character should not know. Though, that isn't gaining as much traction yet.

Though, it is more in the form of Goblin Serial Killers, just with more for players to do besides voting..

thus, the BSG forum game attempt is...dead...

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