Tuesday, August 18, 2015

First Draft Event Cards for Jeff Shyluk's Toilet Chase: The Poop Deck Building Game

Jeff is working on a Toilet Chase deck building game based on our shared experiences at the Bleak House of Blahs back in the early 90s and the Toilet Chase screenplay, which concerns a toilet that comes to life and wreaks havoc in the house. In a lengthy exchange of e-mails between Jeff, me, and Bleak House survivors Ron and Allan, we inventoried every last possession we kept at the house so that Jeff could incorporate the items into the game. Jeff wrote in passing that these lists might amuse readers of this blog, but I don't want to invade the privacy or Ron or Allan. Instead, I'll share some of my early Event Card ideas, formed before Jeff had finished explaining his vision for the game. Since it's unlikely these Event Cards will appear in the finished game (at least in this initial form), I thought I'd share them here. Each card is (very loosely) based on real events that happened at the Bleak House of Blahs. 

By way of explanation, "Dummies" are the game's non-player characters, the guests who dropped by the Bleak House from time to time.  

Duck!
While racing down (or up) the stairs from/to the Loft, you crack your skull on the low-clearance overhang. 5 points damage. (Or whatever system you're using to track health.)

Shower Slime Mold
The downstairs shower hasn't been cleaned in so long that a Dummy gets exasperated and has to clean it. Maybe this card could result in an injury?

Crass Shinglers
Shinglers rain nails and scrap metal down onto the lawn. Anyone caught outside sustains an injury or has to dodge indoors, maybe?

Garage Thieves
Hoodlums break in and steal stuff, represented by cards from the inventory pile?

Fence Vandals
Vandals kick in the fence, reducing defences against the toilet and requiring repairs?

Cook It and Eat It
Jeff and Susan invite the Blahs-ians over for a Cook It and Eat It dinner. Invites free Toilet attack but replenishes Health if the attack evaded, perhaps? I guess this doesn't work if the Dummies are always inside the house. But it could still be done in-house - maybe the Dummies came over for a Cook It and Eat It in the first place.

Stupid Movie Night
Desperate for entertainment, the Blahs-ians (Bleak Housers?) make an emergency trip to the video store. Invites a free Toilet attack?

Food Poisoning
All Characters and Dummies have diarrhea, but there are only two toilets available (the third having been transformed into a monster). The two Characters and Dummies closest to the main floor and basement toilet suffer minus one to all CHASE stats. All other Characters and Dummies suffer minus three to all CHASE stats and have to change their clothes and shower!

Your Turn to Mow
Play against a Character. That Character has to go the garage and mow the lawn, risking Toilet attack and suffering a stat reduction of some kind? Or another penalty?

Your Turn to Wash the Dishes
Play against a Character. That Character is forced to wash the dishes, risking Mold and Disgust.

Unpaid Bills (This would be five separate cards: Gas or Water or Power or Cable or Phone)
Power or Water Cable are turned off, rendering certain Event or Inventory cards useless - cards that have one of the corresponding Tags. I have no idea if your cards have tags, but maybe they could! E.G. Microwave Oven card has a Power Tag, Toilets have Water tags, Stupid Movie Night would have Power and Cable tags, etc.)

How Can a Toilet Cut the Phone Lines? and How Can a Toilet Cut the Power Lines?
The Toilet cuts the phone or power lines, affecting Event or Inventory cards with the relevant tags in the same way as the Unpaid Bills cards do.

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