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Subterfuge


Subject: Subterfuge (once again)
From: silver@metonymy.ots.utexas.edu (silver Harloe)
Date: 8 Mar 1994 18:16:13 GMT
Message-ID: <2lifdd$pm5@geraldo.cc.utexas.edu>

Here's my subterfuge rules, posted again for your net.edification...
I've slightly modified the rules from my last post to include a
subterfuge for the Unused Flare deck, modify the Lucre subterfuge to
recognize the fact that not all chips are valued "1" anymore, and to
add a subterfuge related power with a flare in both a continuous and
one-shot version... happiness.

As far as I know, this is an original attempt at a game add-on.
Rather, the idea was toyed with in the Wild Filch, and of course
similar games allow things like this sometimes (Illuminati, for
instance).  However, I think the final execution is that of an
original game add-on idea.  (Which is to say, I didn't steal it from
some other gaming group, some other post on here, or some suggestion
in some gaming magazine somewhere).

Anyway, the idea is to (a) replace the Eon Wild Filch flare which
Mayfair had disintegrated unceremoniously (though rightly, since it
was poorly executed), (b) extend the concept of legalized cheating to
a more useful form, (c) place different, probably better, restrictions
on legalized cheating than are placed on Flares, and (d) create havoc
and confusion and suspicion, without causing too much pain.

These rules absolutely will NOT work if you are not playing with
honest people.  They allow 'cheating', but dishonest people will cheat
anyway, and/or lie about the use of these cards, and generally cause a
great deal of hostility.

What I've done is created a new set of cards, called 'subterfuge'
cards.  My present deck just has one of each. I didn't use a
spectacular card design, just wrote 'subterfuge' along the top, the
name of the card in the second line, and a paragraph describing what
the card can get away with on the rest of the card.

First some general rules about subterfuge:
   While holding the subterfuge card, you may 'cheat' within the
limits set on the card. Distraction and sleight-of-hand, but you may
not 'cheat' while the game is in recess (to move the board, get snacks
or a meal, or watch TV en masse (i.e. Star Trek). Note that a single
player leaving the table for any of the above reasons or any others
(i.e. the restroom) does NOT count as a general recess, even if it's
that player's turn, unless it is a two player game.)
   Sanity and Non-Interference cards DO prevent the use of subterfuge.
   Being caught in the act of some sleight of hand or similar 'cheat'
requires that you discard the subterfuge card AND undo the 'cheat'.
   If caught later in the same challenge, the nature of your
subterfuge, and the fact that _you_ (and not some other player)
committed the action must be correctly identified on the first guess
(i.e. no haphazard guessing.  "Hey, I'm missing three tokens. Blue -
did you put those in the warp?" is fine.  Going on from there to "Ok,
then did Green? Red? Purple?" is wrong.)  In case of the 'Lie' card,
the accusation must come from someone who has reason to know the
contents of your hand - or at least that you have the card you should
have played (i.e. seen it with the Wild Siren, gave it to you in
consolation or with the Philanthropist. You can't claim to have
discarded cards other people have seen at this point, unless you
really have.  See below, though, for times when you can.) The penalty
for being caught later in the same challenge is discard of the
subterfuge card, however the 'cheat' stands.
   If the nature of your subterfuge is discovered on a subsequent
challenge, you may claim honest error (assuming your gaming group lets
honest errors stand after a challenge is over), failure of the other
players to notice some 'legal' action you or some other player took,
or anything else you can think of to cover your tracks. You need not
discard the card, even if you admit to having committed the 'crime'.
   You need not discard the card if falsely accused. This can get
tricky and/or dangerous. The reason 'cheat' and 'crime' and 'legal'
and similar things are in quotes above is to remind everyone that use
of subterfuge is NOT cheating. Cheating is still punishable by
whatever means your gaming group prefers, and is still amazingly
pointless in a social game like Cosmic.  Subterfuge is just a chaos
element. Subterfuge does not allow you to affect components from
outside the game (moons, powers, cards from your own deck, etc.)
   The only other rule we play with when using subterfuge is this:
There are a number of componenets to the game that sit beside the
board.  We got into arguments over where those components should sit
when we're worried about subterfuge, so here's how we settled it: We
listed the components: Lucre Bank, Challenge Deck, Destiny Pile,
Discard Pile, and Unused Flare Deck. (The Destiny Deck doesn't matter
since we don't have a subterfuge card affecting it). At the beginning
of each offensive TURN (not challenge) (generally at the same time
you're taking Lucre), you may move ONE of those components to any
'beside the board' position, and it MUST be left there until someone
elects to move it with this rule.  
   Presumably with something like technology, we'll have a Technology
subterfuge card, allowing you to play with the technology chips, and
the cup of technology chips will be another movable component. Or
perhaps someone in net.idea.land might come up with a use for a
Destiny Pile subterfuge card, and the Destiny Pile will become a
movable component, or something.

These are the seven subterfuge cards presently in our deck:

Tokens
 You may move tokens in and out of the warp, between planets and moons,
 on and off the cone, etc. so long as you move only one token at a time
 and don't grant or remove more than one base per challenge (to or from
 any player).

Cards/Discarded Pile
 You may move cards to or from the dicard pile, to or from any player's
 hand, so long as you move only one card at a time.

Cards/Challenge Deck
 You may remove cards from the deck to the discard pile or to any player's
 hand, so long as you move only one card at a time.

Cards/Unused Flares
 You may remove flares from the unused flare deck to any player's hand, so
 long as you move only one card at a time.

Lucre
 You may move lucre to or from the bank, and among player's personal
supplies, as long as you move only one lucre chip at a time and do not
more than double any one player's supply of lucre chips in any one
challenge. You may, however, place one lucre chip in an empty bank.

Fudge
 You may mis-announce numbers of lucre, cards, or tokens; or challenge
totals; to an error of +/- 100%. Catching you 'in the act' on
challenge totals means any time before other players move tokens in
response to your mis-anounced total.

Forget
 You may 'forget' to use a mandatory power (e.g. the Anti-Matter), or
that you've invoked an invokable power (e.g. Loser, Calculator), or
that you've used a 'use only once per challenge' power or flare
(e.g. Trader, Wild Oracle). You may only forget one fact per
challenge.

Lie
 You may 'lie' about the contents of your hand - allowing you to play
or not play, reveal or not reveal, a certain card or type of card
(e.g. when plagued, or under the Wild Magnet, Visionary, or Wild
Siren). 'Catching' you requires knowledge that you hold or don't hold
certain cards (i.e. from the Mind). (e.g. the Loser must know you have
an attack card before accusing you of illegally playing a compromise).

By nature of clarification: I did not intend for the 'Lie' to allow
you to lie about the use of some _other_ subterfuge card in your
hand. This may or may not be a valid interpretation (house rule!).

   Finally, we came up with a subterfuge power, 
The ESPIONAGE

You have the power to be sneaky. As long as you have one or more lucre
in your bank and this power is revealed and not Zapped or nullified,
you may perform any Subterfuge for which there is a card already. If
caught performing subterfuge with this power, you lose one lucre to
the bank and one token to the warp (you select which token) and must
undo the act you were caught doing (though you need not admit to any
other acts). If you have a Subterfuge card in your hand, you may
perform that subterfuge "normally" (i.e. you needn't have any lucre to
perform it and the penalty for being caught is discarding the card
rather than losing a lucre and a token).

Wild [1 shot] - Whenever someone takes cards from your hand for any
reason (consolation, Extortionist, Mutant, part of a deal, etc.) and
you still hold this card after the draw, you may play this card and
"reclaim" one of the cards taken from you (i.e. "well, I'll just be
taking that Attack 40 back").

Wild [continuous] - Whenever someone takes cards from your hand for
any reason (consolation, Extortionist, Mutant, part of a deal, etc.)
and you still hold this card after the draw, you may trade this card
for one of the cards taken from you (i.e. "well, you'll be getting
this card instead of that Attack 40").

Super [1 shot] - If caught performing Subterfuge, you may play this
card to make the cheat you were caught doing "stand," though you must
still pay one lucre and one token to the warp. You may not use this
card to give anyone an instant win (unless you play with Sudden Death
and the game is in Sudden Death).

Super [continuous] - When caught cheating, you may opt to lose three
lucre instead of one lucre and one token to the warp.

Enjoy, and don't hurt each other too much.

--silver--
silver@bga.com

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From: silver@metonymy.ots.utexas.edu (silver Harloe)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board.ce
Subject: Subterfuge (once again)
Date: 8 Mar 1994 18:16:13 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
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Message-ID: <2lifdd$pm5@geraldo.cc.utexas.edu>
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