Category: Game Rules

Rules Update

Madison Hurst

Mow Masters!

Objective:

• The objective of the game is to get as many grass points/cards as you and your opponent mow all the grass on the board in order to end the game. 

Materials needed:

• Board
• Grass cards
• Setback cards
• Two dice
• meebles  (marks which space/tile was mowed already)
• Paper and pencil to keep track of score
• Iphone timer

Setup:

• Take all of the cards and shuffle them into one deck and place them in a empty space on the board.
• The tallest player will start the game or be the first turn.

Turn:

• Both players are going simultaneously

• The player will roll one dice, and move the amount of spaces of that number on the dice.
• The player can go anywhere on the board, no restrictions.
• The player will pick a card for each space they move. For example, they roll a 2 and move 2 spaces hence pick up 2 cards. 
• After you have moved (mowed) a space, you will mark it with a x  or a meeble.

(you can still use this space to move around in it but you can not get a card from it.)

Ex: rolls the dice and gets 3, but ⅔ spaces are mowed already. So, you can only pick up one card. 

• If you pick up a card that has a setback, you will have to complete the task on the card in order to continue. 
• You have approx. 25 seconds to complete the 

1. Out of gas 
2. Nebby neighbor 
3. Dinner time
4. Reapply sunscreen

• You do not have a time limit with:

1. Mower broke
2. Dog poop on the blade

• If you do not complete the setback challenge within the time constraints then you have to remove one grass card point from your pile. 

Winning/Losing:

• Once the whole lawn is mowed, and there is no more space to collect cards then the game is over.
• Count up your points, and the points win.

Madison Hurst

Grass mower is a board game in which you are racing your opponent and you are trying to mow the most grass as you endure different setbacks (ex: a wrench in the grass that breaks your mower). You have to fix these setback before you move forward in the game. The tools used in the game is a board, two-four mini mowers, cards, and a dice.

Objective: The first player to get their mini mower across the entire board or mow the most grass as they endure various setbacks wins.

Players: 2-4 players

Materials:

• one game board
• 4 mini mowers
• 6 sided dice
• 45 Grass Cards (green)
• 20 setback cards (red)
• 15 tool kit cards (purple)

Setup:

• Place board in the center of the players
• Each player is to pick a mini mower piece of their choosing
• Shuffle all three deck of cards
• Each player will roll the dice, and whoever has the highest number will go first. If two players have the same number, they will roll until one player has the highest.

How to Play/ Players turn:

1. Player is to roll the 6 sided dice to see how many spaces their mower will move on the board
2. After the player’s mower lands on a space, they will need to check the space to what card they may have to pick up next.
3. There are 3 deck of cards: Grass cards, Tool kit, and Setbacks
4. If the space has a green tile, then the player will pick up a grass card that will determine how many patches of grass is on that space.
5. If the space is red, the player has hit a setback and will pull from the setback deck
6. In random spaces, they player will have the opportunity to collect a tool kit card. This will help them with their setback cards.
7. But, if you have a setback in your hand you will not be able to roll the dice until they solve the setback.
8. They player will have to manually fix it by skipping their turn, matching one of their tool cards with that setback, or remove one of their grass cards in order to roll the dice.
9. After the players turn they will add up their points

Additional Rules/Actions:

Rule 1: Player can tool trade with their opponents. This can benefit or sabotage either player.

Rule 2: Players can use their turn twice in the whole game to setback their opponent. If they decide to go through with it, they will roll the dice and that’s the amount of spaces the opponent will go back. The opponent will not be able to collect any grass cards until the surpass their initial starting point prior.

Winner: The game will end once the player crosses the finish space. All players will count up how many grass cards they mowed. Additional points will be added to the player that finished the game first.

A grass card will have a number ranging from 1-7 on it. For instance, a player receives a grass card and on the right hand side it has a 4 on it. This means that the player has gained 4 points because they mowed 4 grass patches in that space.

A setback card will have various issues the player will have to solve before moving forward. The card will state what happened to the mower, and what tool kit card the player will need in order to resolve this issue. One example, of a setback card is “a wrench was left in the yard and broke your mower. Fix mower by matching a tool kit card.” The tool kit card will have an image of a brand new mower and says “new engine” and on the back it will say what the card can match to.

Setup: There are little slotted trays (the cake table) given to each player to hold main card stacks. Each player gets dealt 7 (for now if that makes sense) cards from the main deck and places them in order in the cake table. Then they are dealt 5 more cards to hold in their hands.

Objective(s): To be the first to complete your “cake” in the slots and also accumulate the most “ingredients”

Actions players take: Every turn players can (1) choose to replace a card from their cake table by taking a new card from the card pile, the discard pile or a card in their hand OR (2) replace 1-3 cards in their hands from the card pile.

The point of the game is to correctly order the fillings of your cake. The different cards have different types of fillings on them and the order they go in indicated on the card. Players must work to order their cakes correctly. You also create mini hands for extra points out of ingredient cards. (I might do different types of card piles that once you ‘finish’ and ingredient stack you can get higher valued ingredients that are worth more we’ll see) It is part of the strategy to either focus on more cake table cards or the mini hands.

Ending the game: The game ends when correctly fills up their cake table or the card piles run out.

1. Setup
   • All players get 2 character cards that say what they can do throughout the game, and remaining cards get put into a pile in the middle. Then they all get 4 dollars to start the game, and the rest of the dollars get put into the middle of the game.
2. Objective(s)
   • The objective of the game is to be the last player standing, and overthrow all your opponents. By collecting dollars, BLUFFING, and spending dollars to “overthrow” your competition you can win.
3. Actions players take
   • All players can perform ONE action per turn, and there are basic actions without using a special position. These actions include: collecting 2 dollars per turn, and spending a total of 8 dollars to overthrow someone.
     • Overthrowing: Once you have overthrown another player, they must flip one of their cards, that they choose, up and keep it there the remainder of the game, and this card is dead and cannot be used.
   • Calling Bluff, an action anyone can perform after any player’s action is called bluff, but cannot be done to another player if it is not their turn performing an action.
     • If you call bluff and they are NOT bluffing, one of your character cards becomes dead
     • If you call bluff, and they ARE bluffing one of their character cards becomes dead and cannot be used.
   • But, each player is equipped with 2 characters that have different actions they can perform:
     • Lawyer: Can call a person’s bluff without losing one of their cards.
     • Banker: Can take more than up to three dollars per turn
     • Politician: Can go through the extra deck of cards and swap one character for another
     • CEO: Can overthrow someone during their turn for 4 dollars
     • Businessman: Can block someone’s “overthrow” to themselves
4. Ending the game (win, lose states)
   • The ending of the game is when there is one person left who is not overthrown, and that is the winner. Players are only out of the game if both of their cards are flipped.
5. Examples
   • During your turn, you would say “I am the Banker, so I am going to take 3 dollars” and if weather or not you are bluffing you can take the 3 dollars, UNLESS someone calls your bluff.
     • If you ARE the banker, you would flip your card and reveal you are not lying, so your opponent who called you out would lose one of their positions, and flip one of their cards face up for the remainder of the game
     • If you are NOT the banker, you would flip whatever card you would rather lose, and since you lied and was caught you only have one position the rest of the game.

Aleah Dudek

• Homework: begin writing rules for at least 1 of your top ideas
  • Rules must include:
  • Setup
  • Gather 3–8 players and sit in a circle or line so everyone can see each other.
  • Prepare a stack of Message Cards (each card has a short phrase, word, or sentence).
  • Have a timer (1–3 minutes depending on group preference).
  • Choose one player to be the Message Starter for the first round.
  • Objective(s)
  • Players work together to successfully pass the secret message from the first player to the last player without speaking or writing.
  • The group wins if the last player says the correct message before time runs out.
  • Actions players take
  • Message Starter draws a Message Card and secretly reads it.
  • Using only gestures, sounds, or nearby objects (no words, letters, or mouthing allowed), the Message Starter communicates the message to the next player.
  • Each subsequent player then translates what they understood into gestures/sounds/objects for the next person in line.
  • Players can’t repeat what they saw exactly — they must interpret and pass it on.
  • When the message reaches the final player, that person must say the message out loud.
  • Ending the game (win, lose states)
  • Win: The final player’s spoken message matches the original Message Card.
  • Lose: The group runs out of time or the final message is incorrect.
  • After each round, rotate the Message Starter role to the next player. Continue until everyone has had a turn or a set number of rounds is complete.
  • Examples
  • Original Message: “Pizza Delivery.”
  • Player 1 mimes eating.
  • Player 2 pretends to drive a car and hold a box.
  • Player 3 knocks on an invisible door.
  • Final Player guesses: “Pizza Delivery.” (correct is a win).
• Original Message: “Dancing in the Rain.”
• Player 1 twirls with arms out and pretends to splash in puddles.
• Player 2 spins around, flaps arms like an umbrella.
• Player 3 mimes singing.
• Final Player guesses: “Singing in the Rain.” (close, but not exact is a lose).

1st Playtest

During the first playtest, several critical issues surfaced that needed attention to make Anansi’s Web of Tricks more enjoyable and accessible:

1. Pacing Issues:

• Players often took a long time to complete their turns because they had too many options available (e.g., playing Number Cards, using Mischief Cards, activating character abilities, and drawing cards all in one turn).

• The combination of multiple actions led to decision fatigue, especially for younger players in the target age range of 10+.

2. Disruptive Mischief Cards:

• Certain Mischief Cards, such as the original version of Wild Distractions, which forced all players to pass cards to one another, caused significant delays and confusion.

• Group-wide effects often felt frustrating for players who had carefully planned their strategies, only to have their progress upended without much recourse.

3. Rule Complexity:

• Players struggled to follow the game’s flow because the rules for Mischief Cards, character abilities, and the multiple actions allowed in one turn were not clearly delineated.

• Younger players found it hard to track which cards were played and what their effects were, leading to slower rounds and frequent rule clarifications.