The Game of The Game of Thrones "Talking Paper"
Publishing
I. Self Published
George keeps all rights and title to himself. Allan and Walt act as employed designers/developers paid by George. They are either paid by fee, comission or a combination of the two. Allan and Walt assist in finding publisher/printer, but all costs, expenses are borne by George.
Pros: More Profit, More Control
Cons: Highest Risk, Pricey
II.Licensed to a Company
A third party (Critical Hit, Carta Mundi, Rio Grande, etc.) publishes the game. They pay for all licensing rights, comissions, etc. per George's personal agreements for licensing rights. Allan and Walt are included in any contract as third party designers/developers.
Pros: Less Risk, Probably a good looking product.
Cons: Smaller "Pie", Finding a good game publisher could be tough if you want the game tied to a book release.
III. BANTAM pays for publishing costs, releases GOGOT in conjunction with the paperback release of A Clash of Kings, possibly in time for Christmas "Impulse Buy" season. Allan and Walt are employed as consultant designers/developers paid by Bantam(?). A&W assist with finding printers.
Mediums
I. Strictly a card game similiar to Blue vs Gray. Not collectible, not expandable. ALL mechanics of the game are conducted using cards and not much else. Just cards and a rulebook. PRICE POINT: Anywhere from 14.95 to 25.95
Carta Munde
QED Games(?)
Artwork?
II. Plastics similiar to Samurai Blades. Include cardboard and cards. A "Deluxe" package, with associated higher price point. Armies, Leaders, Resources done as little plastic figures. Very cool looking, visually. PRICE POINT: Easily $40 Retail, or higher.
Publisher?
Casting?
III. Traditional boardgame, include cards. This would entail a folding map, somewhat traditional cardboard playing pieces, possibly cards to control random elements of game play. PRICE POINT: Between 35 to 50 dollars, depending on the component quality.
IV. Hybrid card/map game with some status/control marker element in cardboard (my recommendation-- Walt). Game play done with cards, plus a status map of the Seven Kingdoms to keep track of who controls what, with markers to help track things visually.
PRICE POINT: Between 20 and 30 dollars.
Focus
I. Dynasties, Power Politics: GOGOT players are playing the role of Great Houses, collectively, not one individual character of the game. GOGOT does not seek to recreate the narrative of Ice and Fire using a game as a medium-- this sort of game has little to no replay value and we hope to be able to add an expansion when the third book gets published. Rather, GOGOT is a game of power politics where the conflict is simulated on many, many levels. The key to victory is legitimacy and power, not necessarily how many armies you have or how much gold you earn every turn. The goal of the game design is to get players to interact around the table, build dynasties, conduct diplomacy and dirty tricks upon one another. GOGOT should "keep the players guessing" as to who will win right up until the last moment.
Target Market
I. Primarily those that already know the series (first). Games that are tied to books usually have a built-in fan base waiting to be exploited. The challenge is to make the game like the book, but unlike enough to make it unique every time you play.
II. Science Fiction/Fantasy fans: Fans of GM's previous work, SF Fandom in general-- especially those with time on their hands and money in their wallets.
III. Comic Book Store patrons (if a card or card/hybrid option is chosen). The spillover market from the Magic: The Gathering community may have lost some steam over the last few years, but the impetus is still there to purchase card games.
Schedule:
See attached
DESIGN (SO FAR)
GOGOT (Game Of Game Of Thrones)
Introduction
GOGOT is a game of great houses contending for a the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, inspired by the series of the same name authored by George Martin. The Throne of the Seven Kingdoms was formerly held by Robert Baratheon, who himself usurped it from the Dragon Kings some fifteen years before the events of the series. The game of GOGOT picks up the storyline, roughly speaking, about the end of the first book of the series (The Game of Thrones) and extends well into the second book (A Clash of Kings). Not being omniscient, the designers can't forsee where the series will go beyond this point, but we hope to make an expansion to the basic game with future books!
Players of GOGOT assume the role of the role of a great House in the game-- NOT an individual. Thus, "Tywin Lannister" is a unit you can utilize (if you command him during the game) but he doesn't represent the hopes, dreams and aspirations of House Lannister by himself (regardless of how he is depicted in the series!). Most of the Great Houses in the game of GOGOT were the ones contending with each other in the series-- we have taken the liberty of adding Arryn and Dorne for a potential 7th and 8th player.
The following game design is heavily influenced by the hybrid card/map publishing choice, which seems to fit the basic themes of Power, Conflict, Intrigue and Chaos that the series depicts so well.
Cards
GOGOT is played with cards of two types: a HOUSE card which tracks the basic status of the house-- the income, diplomacy and goals of that house, and ACTION cards that you use to play the game itself.
Houses & House Cards
There are Six Possible Players in the basic game, with an Option for a Seventh or Eighth:
LannisterR5 P4 L2 / Stark
R3 P3 L4/2 / Baratheon (Stannis) R2 P2 L4 / Baratheon (Renly) R3 P4 L4
Greyjoy R2 P3 L4 / Tygaron (Dragon Queen) R2 P3 L5 / Dorne (optional) R3 P4 L2 / Arryn (optional)
R3 P3 L2
You will note that each house card has a series of letters and numbers after them. These are an indication of that house's Base Resources, Power and Legitimacy. Resources are units, holdings, or forces that benefit the current player somehow. Power is the indication of how many actions a house can take during the given turn. Legitimacy is the level of acceptance a current house has with other powers in the game, used to gain victory levels.
Action Cards
Action cards are used to play the game itself, and come in many different flavors.
Types / DescriptionLEADERS / Dealt at start. May: Lead Hosts. Rule. Marry. Use Dirty Tricks. Play Special Events. House Specific.
MEMBERS / Dealt during play. May: Lead hosts. Marry. Use Dirty Tricks. Play Special Events. House Specific
RESOURCES / Dealt at Start/During Play. May: Generate Income. Be a Host. Be a Location. Can be House Specific…
HOSTS / Dealt at Start/During Play. May: Engage in Battles. Conduct SACK and COUPS DE MAIN events.
EVENTS / Dealt During Play. May: Do all sorts of things-- can be played FOR your house or AGAINST another. House Specific.
GOAL / An objective, either for victory or not, of a specific House. May: Cause play to win game early, gain legitimacy, or gain power.
DIPLOMACY / A Diplomatic condition (truce, war, etc.). May: Be played on another house, establishing diplomatic conditions with that house.
DIRTY TRICKS / Espionage, Assassination, Rumor Campaigns. May: Be played on another House. House Specific (sometimes)
There may be other types of cards as the game design matures; these are the ones we see as being appropriate for the game milieu at the moment. Each ACTION CARD has a series of five random numerals in boxes at the bottom of the card, with an icon of a Sword, Shield, Arrow, Boots, and a Human Face. These are used to conduct actions-- they also are a category of results for card interactions, representing (respectively) Attack, Defense, Missile or Siege, Retreat and Negotiations.
How to Setup the Game
The oldest player is the first DEALER. DEALERship rotates to the player on the current dealer's left after every other turn. It's important to know where the current dealer is because some events in the game are tied to the number of revolutions around the table the deck has taken (and the number of players).
DEALER ACTIONS
Dealer pulls out the HOUSE CARDS (which are larger in format than ACTION CARDS), randomizes them, and holds them out for people to pick them blindly. He* gets someone else to hold the deck for him with their eyes shut, so he can pick a House, too. (* I'm using a generic "he" here, but we all know I mean "he or she," right?)
Dealer pulls the special COUNCIL OF LORDS card out of the deck, as this is an ACTION CARD that can only be added in after so many rotations of the deck around the table (depending on players). He sets this card aside.
Dealer selects the INITIAL HOLDINGS (see below) for each House in play, and deals them to each player. These cards are placed face up so that players can see what resources/leaders/members are in play at start.
The ACTION DECK (the deck with the ACTION CARDS in it) is shuffled, and hands are dealt out to each player. The number of cards each player gets depends on the RESOURCE LEVEL of that House. The remaining cards in the ACTION DECK are placed in a pile in front of the current dealer. A DEAD PILE of cards that aren't used, or are used up, or killed in combat, etc., is maintained in a stack of cards next to the ACTION DECK.
Each player keeps those cards he wishes to be seen (in play) face UP in front of him, along with those cards that were part of his initial draw. These cards are called the player's HOLDINGS.
SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Starting from the player with the lowest current POWER level, the players enact this sequence of play:
DRAW 1 CARD FROM THE ACTION DECK
DISCARD DOWN TO YOUR RESOURCE LEVEL
PLAY ACTION CARDS
This could be:
DIPLOMACY (Marriages, Treaty Cards, etc.)
EVENTS (Sacks, Coup De Main, Raids, Riots, Plagues, Winter, etc.)
PLACE GOALS (King of the North, King of the South, etc.)
DIRTY TRICKS (Espionage, Assassination, etc.)
MOVE HOSTS (Attack Holdings/Resources)
PLACE RESOURCES in your HOLDINGS
PLACE MEMBERS OR LEADERS in your HOLDINGS.
PLAY SPECIAL CARDS (Council of Lords, etc.)
UPKEEP PHASE (write income from all income generating sources… lands etc. and pay out income for all debits… mercenaries, fleets, etc… this may be optional, I dunno yet).
PASS THE TURN (play shifts to the player with the next highest current power level).