A Deconstruction of The Worst Game Ever
Basic Game Rules-
The Worst Game Ever is a turn-based card game, with turns going around the players in a circle until the game is over. Turns start with the player doing their ‘Ante Up’, where they put a token into the center pot, aka ‘kitty’. Then they draw a card, and ‘attack’ other players. Attacking goes in two phases, where the attacking player chooses a player to attack and how many tokens they want. Then, they roll their die, and if the roll is higher than the declared number, the attacker gains the declared amount of tokens.
Also, players draw a card each round and have a hand of 5 at the start. Cards can be played at any time that they apply, (unless stated otherwise.) Some cards, marked ‘Stays in Play’ sits in front of you on the table once played, and remain in play (affecting the gameplay) until something else cancels it.
Goal of the game - Keeley Tober
The goal of the game is to have the most tokens left when any one player is eliminated, also to screw over anyone and everyone you are playing with. If there is a tie the first player to shout “Worst Game Ever!” wins, any player can do this. It only takes one player to lose all of his token for the game to be over, so depending on how people gang up on each other the game can move quickly or go on for a while.
Core Mechanic - Adrian Hutson
The game is driven by turn-based play as this happens most frequently. In a turn players are to ante up one token, draw a card, and attack another player for that person’s tokens with a die roll. The rules of this mechanic may change throughout the game as defined by cards other players may play at any time.
Space of the game - Adrian Hutson
This game takes place mostly in a continuous 2 dimensional space but tends to dip into a zero dimensional space as well. As cards are played they have an affect on other elements of the game in it’s 2 dimensional space. Use of many of these cards depend on taking the game to a more zero dimensional space where continuing play of the game involves the space of the players’ minds and behavior.
Objects, Attributes, States - Melvin Rice
In the game, there are 5 objects active in the space each with their own attributes and states.
In the game, there are 5 objects active in the space each with their own attributes and states.
- The cards
- The most versatile object(s) of the game. The cards are what are picked up and played by the player at any time during the game. The cards have one attribute, its current state of play, and that attribute has a multitude of states: Being in the deck, having been discarded being, in a players hand, being in play, remaining in play revealed, and remaining in play hidden. The possible states for each card varies as some allow certain forms of play and some do not.
- the dice
- The simplest object in the game. The dice is used to attack players and be rolled for various other reasons dictated by the cards in play. It has one attribute, its number, with a state of 1-6.
- the tokens
- The most important object(s) of the game. These are the main objective of the game, as running out of them means you’re eliminated and having the most of them usually results in your victory. These have one attribute, its location, with 4 states: a player’s pot, a player’s card, the kitty, or out of the game.
- the player’s pot
- A more unknown/unnoticed object but still an important one. This is where the tokens gained by the player go. It has one attribute, its current number, with a state of 0 (which means the player is out from the game) or higher (up to the 1+14 x the number of players in the game, as each player is given 15 tokens to start, and the game ends when one player runs out.)
- the kitty
- Another basic object. The kitty is where the player must give one (sometimes more) token(s) to before starting their turn. It has one attribute, its number of tokens with a state of 0 to 1+14 x the number of players in the game.
Operative Actions - Teddy Mundy
In the game, there are only 4 Operative Actions that dominate the game.
- Paying a Token to the ‘Kitty’, aka the center pot.
- Drawing a Card
- ‘Attacking’ other players
- Using Cards
The first two actions are default actions that the player must take, while the second two really define the shape of the game. All of the tactics that you can do in the game stem from these, which lead in to our...
Resultant Actions - Teddy Mundy
There are a lot of different specific resultant actions, but they can be boiled down to:
- Attacking players to gain tokens for yourself
- Attacking players to hinder their token amount
- Using cards to gain more tokens for yourself
- Using cards to hinder others’ token amount
Now, like I said, there are a lot more sub-resultant actions here. For example, when attacking players, you can declare a low number to make more sure you succeed, or you can bet a higher number for a chance at getting more tokens from the enemy, but with a lower chance of success.
Another example can be when attacking players, or playing cards which work against them, is what player you are choosing to work against. Sometimes, it can be a player with less tokens, working to eliminate them quickly and end the game while you are ahead, or attacking a player with more tokens, to bring them down and yourself up.
Any notes about rules you notice - Catherine
The written rules cover basic mechanics of the game. It lists the contents, how to set up the game, sequence of play, terms and meanings on the cards, and the objective of the game.
Operational Rules:
The deck of cards is shuffled, and each player is dealt 5 cards. The player also receives 15 tokens, which is equivalent to money and points. On turn, a player is allowed to pick someone and “attack” them for their tokens. They call out a number, and if the die roll is higher than the declared number they get that number of tokens. Any player is allowed to play the cards in their hand if the rules on the card allow it. Whenever a player loses all their tokens, the game is over. The winner is decided with whoever has the most tokens, unless stated otherwise.
Behavioral Rules:
Behavioral rules are implied and often times played with. Rules on the cards tend to play with how people act socially, and often times cards punish those who aren’t paying attention to what’s happening in the game.
Advisory Rules:
Through playing the game, I advise players to pay attention to what cards are being played, how many tokens a player has, and how alliances can be formed.
Another advisory rule is to read the cards in your hand carefully and play them as soon as an opportunity arises. The game moves fairly quickly, so playing them strategically and quickly gives a player a definite advantage.
Skills players learn - Catherine
Players will learn a lot of strategy through playing the game. i.e: When it’s better to use certain cards over another, when one can play a card to overrule another, etc.
Physical:
- There is little physical skill required to play this game, but reaction time will benefit a player.
Mental:
- Players gain observation and strategy skills as the game goes on, because they have to pay attention to all cards that are being played onto the field.
Social:
- Players gain social skills by reading their opponents, whether it is their turn or not, and often aim to form alliances between themselves so that both parties will gain an advantage.
The role of chance in the game.-Keeley
The game is about 70% chance and 30% skill. Rolling the die and drawing cards from the deck makes the game very chance oriented. There are several different types of cards and very few of them are repeated making it unlikely that you will get the same card twice in one game. When rolling the die you have to roll a number higher than the number of tokens you are trying to take from another player. Mental skills and social skills are used to try and win the game. Mental skills are used to observe other players and their tokens and to try and remember all the cards that are in play at the same time. Social skills are used to coordinate with other players to gang up on specific player(s) to win the game. Although the game does not require a ton of skill to play chance makes the game fun by providing uncertainty and the surprises that come along with the uncertainty.
Pictures of the game
