Our Big Show of Worth

This is a write-up of a solo run-through of what is actually a game for two players! Our Big Show of Worth is a micro game by Vian Nguyen available for purchase from the following link:

https://jubnuggets.itch.io/big-show-of-worth

An unknown deity challenges the existence of the world you call home.

It’s up to you, the most  acclaimed theater group of your town to represent the worth of your existence through your dramatic performance.

This is a proof of concept prompted by PARIAH: VOLUME, wherein it is suggested that this game be introduced following a pariah imbibing a heroic dose of Desert Rue. 

The game utilises a deck of standard playing cards, with the court cards separated from the number cards.

For the purpose of this game aces are counted as court cards.

Set Up

Separate all the face cards (K, Q, J, A) from the rest of a 52 card deck.

Draw a random card from the deck of only face cards. Use the chart below to determine your role in the performance:

K Supporting Role

Q  Love Interest

J   Villain

A  Rising Star

Domain of motion and♠   kinetic movement

Domain of life that draws♥   power from the earth

Domain of beings with a♦   beating heart (why is this not hearts?)

Domain of earth’s non-living♣  creations

Note:

I'd previously played this with one other person a few years back, but had sort of imagined it could work for a larger group, as the opening scene-setter describes the characters as belonging to "the most acclaimed theater group of your town". Doesn't seem the card mechanism could support a larger group.... but straight away I'm imagining being stuck repeating different scenes between the same two characters. Would it not make sense for the players to switch roles (or their characters to do so?)

Regardless, I draw:

Q♠ love interest kinetic movement

J♥   villain, power from the earth

Remaining face cards form health pile- sort of stops them being used as characters again. We'll see.

Health Points

• Once players have drawn their character cards, draw 5 cards from the same stack, face down for each player. 
• These will represent their Health Points.
• The remaining face cards are placed face up beside the numbered card pile. 
• This face up pile is the communal Health Pile.

This means both players have 5 health points each, and there's a community health pool of four points. Not sure why some cards are face up or down as their suit and type doesn't seem to have any bearing on their value.

The Show

• Each player draws 5 numbered cards into their hand from the draw pile.
• The player who most recently was on a stage starts the round. 
• The starting player of a round alternates.
  
  
• Red Cards are defensive cards: describe a protective spell you cast on yourself.
• Black Cards are offensive cards: describe an attack you inflict on the other player.
• # on the card represents is level of effectiveness.

The performance, then, is a gladiatorial one: we may be the best theatrical troupe in town, but we are showing our worth by murdering one another

Winning Battles

• The higher number value per round wins.
• If a black card wins, the losing player takes the difference as damage to their health and returns that number of Health Points to the communal Health Pile.
• If a red card wins, the winning player takes the difference as Health Points from the communal Health Pile.

Round 1

Emilia is playing the love interest. Emerging from the domain of kinetic movement, she uses her training in dance to bewitch and entrance the audience. Whether the audience will read it that way is anyone's guess.

She is joined on stage by the sombre figure of Merrywell. They usually play the comic relief and would bring that element even to a villainous role, but in the existential threat imposed by the unknown deity is overwhelming them, so instead they are pouring some of that energy into their performance.

[I'm going to toss a coin to see who goes first as I'm on my own. If it's heads it's going to go to Emilia, tails Merrywell... it's tails! Never fails...]

...but does it matter who starts? My assumption would be that the player who "attacks" is obliged to play an attacking card, but this is not stated anywhere in the text.

Let's go with that... though we have already hit a snag because- due to the random draw- Emilia has nearly all attack cards...

Okay, how about this house rule:

• Player who "opens" the round must play a black/attacking card if they have any in their hand
• Player who goes second must play a red/defensive card if they have any in their hand

This isn't the only option of course, we could:

• Keep it as a free choice (the "attacking player" dictates the "tone")
• Just do a random draw

As it's just me the free choice option is a bit dull, so I'm going to enforce some constraints on myself in order to randomise proceedings in a more structure way than just a "blind draw".

I draw a  10 of clubs for Merrywell, a powerful piece of rock magic. 

The villain spies the love interest beside the mountain stream and decides to crack the ground beneath the  feet, allowing water to seep in from the stream and destabilise her footing. She gasps.

I draw a 6 of hearts for Emilia

Our heroine counteracts the cracking rock by calling upon the roots of the ancient yew beside her: the roots erupt like tendrils from the ground and encase her.... but it is in vain, the villain's magic is too powerful and the stream swallows the ground and sweeps the heroine downriver.

10 beats 6, Emilia loses 4 of her 5 heart points. I remove four cards and place them on the communal health pile with the two "combat/performance" cards from this round.

Round 2

It's Emilia's go next. She is obliged to play an attacking card: I pick her most powerful, the eight of clubs.

As the current sweeps the heroine downstream she releases a foul curse, turning the villain's rock magic against them, and the precipice upon which they overlooked her peril itself begins to crack and crumble.

Merrywell plays the 9 of diamonds, their second most powerful defensive card.

As the ground beneath them crumbles, the villain invokes the spirit of a mighty beast, and a pterosaur swoops from the sky and safely grips them in its talons. They continue to pursue the heroine downstream.

The difference is 1 but, as it was a defensive card which won, this damage is dealt to the communal pile, of which 3 cards now remain. That card goes to Merrywell's HP pile

Round 3

It's the villain's attack again, and they only have one black card left, the 4♣. 

Carried by the pterosaur, the villain gestures to their faithful rock-spirit patron and an enormous stalagmite rises from the rapids beneath the heroine...

Emilia plays the 7♠: she has no red cards left

The heroine- like the woman portraying her, Emilia- is buoyed by the forces of "kinetic movement", and flips, twists and somersaults deftly beyond the stalagmite's reach, landing safely on the shore. The sunlight bounces off her chestnut eyes and she snarls at the villain: "This ends now!"

A difference of 3, black victor. Merrywell takes 3 cars from their health pile, 2 remaining...

Round 4

Galvanised by her impressive turn and cautious regarding her one remaining health-point, Emilia looks to end things on a high note and deploys the 6 ♠. 

The heroine leaps, then pirouettes, gradually building momentum until encompassed by a whirlwind, extending from her and catching up the villain in its skirt. 

Merrywell is fighting for their life, they play a 10 of hearts

The villain can do nothing but plead with the living forces beneath their friend the rocks to protect them from this dynamic vortex. The grasses and roots envelope the villain as the maelstrom gathers about them, their eyes glowering, fixed on the heroine, who begins to slowly advance.

Victory to red, 4 points. 4 communal cards to the Merrywell.

Round 5

Though it is Merrywell's attack, they are out of black cards, and are forced to play their final card: two of hearts.

Surrounded by the protective plant cage, the villain implores the earth-mother to transform her nurturing energies into a vile attack. She denies them that request, and feebly reinforces the plant-cage surrounding them, in the hope of defending the villain against the heroine's wrathful onslaught.

Emilia's last card is the three of clubs.

 With a single word the heroine dismisses the whirlwind and piles a landslide against the villain in its stead, but the earth-mother's blessing proves sufficient to prevent worse harm. The villain emerges from the rock-pile battered and bruised, facing down the woman they so ruthlessly sought to vanquish: at last, the two foes face one another, energies spent....

They embrace.


...then bow

-SCENE-

The Verdict

Depending on the performance the players put on, they can try to prove their worth to the unknown deity.

• The Deity will be pleased if your performance totals an accumulative round difference of greater than 10.
• The Deity will be displeased if either: 
• A player dies/loses all their health points
• Players’ total round difference is less than 10

So, the good news:

No one died!

Now lets look at the round totals:

ROUND 1 = 4

ROUND 2 = 1

ROUND 3 = 3

ROUND 4 = 4

ROUND 5 = 1

...which I make to be 13, which is greater than 10! We saved the world with our epic battle-ritual, thanks for not killing us, unknown deity!