Game Concept: Factions

[rdonj]

An idea I had that I thought might make for an interesting game. This would be fairly similar to a team game, but with some twists. Main points...

1. I'm thinking there should be at least 4 teams. I'm not quite sure exactly how to divide the teams up yet. Ideology, physiology, political beliefs, power level... probably whichever proved most popular. With 3 of the teams, they act relatively normally for the most part. They can trade and communicate freely between team members and need never consider themselves at war with other members of their faction. Maybe somewhat abnormally for a team game, faction members can make NAPs with members of the other factions on an individual basis. However you cannot trade with them.

2. The fourth faction is an exception. This is where all the high-powered nations are. This faction is always at war with everyone, and cannot communicate or trade with anyone else, including other members of their own faction.

3. Precise victory conditions would vary depending on how many people were playing. But each faction would earn points based on meeting certain conditions, though some might earn more for doing the same thing to help balance the game out.

Conditions: One point for each capitol belonging to your faction. One point for each category of the score graphs in which your team holds the top position (2 for dominion, for thematic reasons). One point for each surviving member of your faction. You get extra points for taking underwater captiols as a land nation, and vice versa. I'm also thinking that 4th faction capitols and captures might be worth extra as well.

4. Another twist. Either a team can win, or a player can win. Scores are counted again for each player individually, and if a player reaches a certain point goal or possibly advantage level over all other players before a faction victory is achieved, that player wins. If a team wins, whoever the player on that team is with the most points is declared the winner, not the team itself. So while you want your faction to do well, you don't want it to do too well. I see this as a bit of a machiavellian style game where players may see it to their advantage to let their faction suffer as long as they come out ahead. As such, naps in this scenario can be followed or disregarded as one sees fit.

5. I am considering allowing nations that are losing a war to turn coat ONCE per game and become a member of the faction that they lost to. If they switch sides, they must give all of their gold and gems to the nation that defeated them as reparations before beginning to rebuild their armies. However, the player they are warring with does not have to accept the defeated nation into the fold and can decide to destroy them instead (taking their gold and gems in this situation is not allowed).

6. I was thinking this should be a no gem-producer game type, but with all the big spells (nexus, forge, corruption) still intact. Other game settings depend largely on number of people and player input. Particularly I think this would be an interesting way to do the next mega game it could get pretty interesting with that number of players.


There are a few things to work out and I would need a bit of help from some of the more experienced players especially, but if enough people would be interested in playing a game like this, I would be willing to organize/admin it for them. Any comments or suggestions are of course welcome.