================== MULE GOES CRAZY! ================== --------------- The card game --------------- .. topic:: Links :class: contents * The `Mule Goes Crazy!`_ project * `M.U.L.E. on Wikipedia`_ .. _Mule Goes Crazy!: http://mulegoescrazy.org/ .. _M.U.L.E. on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.U.L.E. .. contents:: Table of Contents Introduction ============ .. sidebar:: Important Note I'm still working on this. It's not ready yet. Leave me alone. What are you doing in my house? Hey, put down that knife! Help, police! .. sidebar:: New Introduction format * Brief description of the game * About M.U.L.E. and Mule Goes Crazy! * explaining inaccuracies vs. original computer game M.U.L.E. is about the bestest game evar, blah blah. This game is not an accurate re-creation, but rather blah blah blah The object of the game is to achieve the highest net worth for yourself, and the highest possible population for the planet, and your mom, blah blah blah This game is part of the Mule Goes Crazy! project, which is a tribute in art and game design to this piece of computing history. For more information go to http://mulegoescrazy.org/ How to play =========== Requirements ------------ .. sidebar:: FIXME: Equipment In a perfect world, no paper, counters, dice, or other props will be necessary outside of the cards. Hopefully some day this game will be able to live in that world. One thought is to use face-down cards as resource counters, and place them in the discard pile when they get spent or sold to the Store. That has a neat side effect of making sure the deck hasn't been completely picked through by the time the Discard pile needs to be shuffled into a new Draw pile, but it has the added expense of needing (potentially lots) more cards printed. I like having lots more cards because the variety can be increased, but some people printing this game out at home may not be so thrilled. It doesn't solve Credits, though, which will go well into the thousands. To play this game, you need: * the special cards * at least one six-sided (cube) die * at least one pencil and one piece of paper per player, to keep track of their resources and Credits, and the resources of the Store. Pencil and paper are also used to keep track of the last prices of each resource. ------------ Setup ----- Players sit around a table, with enough space in front of each of them to lay out the cards they have in play. After shuffling the deck, each player is dealt six cards and assigned 1000 Credits, 10 energy, and 5 Food. The Store starts with 50 energy, 50 Food, 0 Smithore, and 0 Crystite. The Store has unlimited Credits. The remaining cards are placed in the Draw pile. ------------ Basic Gameplay -------------- Favored Player ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. sidebar:: Fairness of the favored player In the original M.U.L.E. computer game, each player has a calculated net worth at the end of a turn, and the order of players is strictly from the lowest to highest net worth. In this case, for simplicity, the player with the least number of Credits is used. This is not always the player who is doing the worst in the game. A player may dliberately abuse this rule by seeing to it that she has the least number of Credits. If this becomes a common problem, a new method will have to be worked out. This system also provides no help for the second-worst-off player. It's just simpler to pass play around the table rather than set a complex play order. One option is to have the favored player also decide which direction each turn will go around the table. Start by deciding who is the favored player. Be fair and choose the one with the least experience or the worst luck with the game, or be cruel and arbitrary and use coin flips or dice or something. In subsequent turns, the player with the least amount of Credits is selected. Land Grant Phase ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before regular gameplay begins, each player may select one Land card from their hand and lay it down in front of them. Any player not holding a Land card during the Land Grant Phase is assed out. Land Auctions ````````````` One card is turned over from the Draw pile. If it is a Land card, the Land Auction begins. Bidding +++++++ If this is the first Land Auction, the opening bid is 200 Credits. Otherwise, if the previous Land auction was successful, use its closing bid minus 50 Credits; if it was not successful, use its opening bid minus 200 Credits. No opening bid may go below 0 Credits. Start with the favored player, who may bid any amount starting at the opening bid, and move clockwise around the table (to each player's left hand side). Each player in turn may bid any amount higher than the current high bid. When no one else bids any higher, that player places the Land card in front of them as their own. If no players bid on a Land, the Land Auction phase is over. If a Land Auction ends with a sucessful bid, the next card from the Draw pile is turned over and the process starts again until a non-Land card appears or a Land does not receive a bid. Remember the value from the last auction's closing bid (or opening Any non-Land card turned over in the Land Auction phase is placed in the Discard pile. Player Turns ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The last player is the one with the most advantage, so start with the player on the favored player's left. The order for each player's turn is: 1. Draw ``````` .. sidebar:: FIXME: grammar nit I'm mixing up my perspectives between third and second person. Draw cards from the Draw pile until the player has six cards in their hand. 2. Play out cards ````````````````` Remember some cards have special rules printed on them that affect whether and how they may be played. Those rules take precedence over the ones printed in the instructions. Here are some card types: Mules +++++ .. sidebar:: Sample Mule card Type: Mule Energy Mule This Mule produces the amount of Energy printed on the Land card to which it is assigned. Energy Use: 5 Move Cost: 5 Food Cost: 5 Smithore, 100 (200) Credits. Mules are purchased from the Store, who manufactures them using Smithore. If the Store begins a turn with zero of either of these two resources, they cost more Credits. A Mule's cost entry looks like: Cost: 5 Smithore, 5 Crystite, 100 (200) Credits. The number in parenthesis (200) is the cost if the Store is short on necessary resources. When playing a Mule card, subtract its cost in Credits from your account, and its cost in Smithore from the Store. Place it in front of you, but not attached to a Land card. If the Store ends up with 0 or less Smithore, leave it at 0. The additional cost for Mules will not take place until the next turn. Interrupts ++++++++++ .. sidebar:: Sample Interrupt Card Type: Interrupt Lose Money Gambling Target player must give you 100 Credits. Cost: 0 Interrupt cards may be played at any time, even during another player's turn. Some interrupts have a cost required to invoke, and some are free. Further instructions and effects are printed on the card. Events ++++++ .. sidebar:: Sample Event Card Type: Event Radiation Storm Mule goes crazy! Target Mule destroys its Land's improvements, then runs away. Discard Mule and any Upgrades to it or its Land. Cost: 0 Event cards may only be played during your turn. Some events only affect one player of your choosing, while others affect all of them. Only one Event card may be played per player per turn. Events often have more severe effects than Interrupts. Population and Facilities ************************* These cards are special types of Events that affect every player. .. sidebar:: population and score As an incentive, it's possible that population cards will need to be forced into a player's score by using it as a direct multiplier or something. Should these be called People cards instead? .. sidebar:: Sample Population Card Type: Event (Population) Population Colony population increases by 100 people. Upkeep: 20 Food and 10 Energy per Turn from the Store The game's global score is based on Population cards. When one of these cards is played, it represents a direct increase in the number of colonists by [n] people. A Population card has a per-turn cost in Food and Energy, which are taken from the stock in the Store. If a Population card cannot be maintained, it is removed from play and sent to the Discard pile. .. sidebar:: Sample Facility Card Type: Event (Facility) Facility: Hydroponic Gardens Instead of its regular Food upkeep, the Population attached to this card generates 10 Food for the Store, and costs an additional 5 Energy per turn. When a Facility card is played, it has a per-turn cost for a set number of turns, after which a Population card becomes assigned to it. A Facility has a global effect every turn that it remains in play. Any Facility that has lost its Population card at the end of the turn falls into disrepair and is sent to the Discard pile. Population cards may be moved at any time, but this requires a majority vote among the players. Upgrades ++++++++ .. sidebar:: Sample Upgrade Card Type: Upgrade (Mule) Photosynthesis A biotech upgrade causes this Mule to produce Food using its Land's Energy output level. This is in addition to whatever the Mule and the Land Upgrades provide, regardless of the type of Mule. Cost: 400 Credits Upgrades may be played to a Land card or a Mule card, and usually affect their production. Spend the resources or Credits necessary, and place the upgrade on the Mule or Land it affects. Each Land and Mule may only have one upgrade. Any upgrade can be discarded during this phase by simply placing it in the discard pile. Upgrades otherwise stay in place until some other card expresly removes it. 3. Discard `````````` After playing out cards, a player may place any of the remaining cards in their hand into the Discard pile, at their option. 4. Move Mules ````````````` .. sidebar:: Food Perhaps Mules should also require Food in order to keep them from running away. If so, it shouldn't be a lot, because players need to be able to have Mules in reserve to shift around. In order to be useful, a Mule must be moved to a Land. Each Mule has a moving cost printed on its card. To move a Mule, subtract that amount of resources from those you have (if you don't have those resources, you may not move the Mule). Place the Mule directly below the Land card to which it will attend. Mules that are not assigned to a Land do not run away. When finished, play passes to the next person. Production Phase ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Consumption of Energy ````````````````````` Each Mule consumes a certain amount of energy. If the total amount of energy needed is not available, some or all Mules will have to be under-powered. Under-powering Mules ++++++++++++++++++++ .. sidebar:: Consider this Not sure. Maybe the lowest power consumption should be used, in order to force the player to shut down more Mules.... ...or maybe another player gets to decide... Only the Mule with the highest power consumption may be under-powered. If there is a tie, the player may select from among the highest. Continue under-powering Mules until there is enough energy to power the remaining Mules. .. sidebar:: Fipping over cards Be careful when flipping over cards not to rotate them. Rotating cards is a violation of a patent owned by a famous collectible card game company, and is by no means condoned by this game. Violating this advice is done at your own legal risk. To under-power a Mule, flip its card over. When it comes to the production phase, any dice its Land would have contributed to output are automatically set to 1s, so a Land that would normally provide 3 dice of Energy will produce exactly 3 Energy when under-powered. Production `````````` Each Land dictates how many dice it contributes to resource output. For each Land that is tended by a Mule, roll the corresponding number of dice for that Mule's resource, including any bonuses or upgrades, and add them to the total output for that resource. Remember that under-powered Mules force all of their dice to a result of 1, and any Land without a Mule produces no resources. Spoilage ```````` If a player's Food level is above 10, subtract 5 from it. If a player's Energy level is above 20, divide it by 2. Resource Auctions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~