An Explanation
This is not your traditional PXR Fun & Games Board game...
This is a game that is a favourite amongst the young people I work with. Given lockdown, we had to adjust it to work online, and I've started to realizing that it is only one step away from working on a forum, albeit a longer game.
In person, you have the room set up with enough seats for everyone playing plus one empty one in a circle, but four of those seats are the couch (and if you have a spare couch or two floating around, you use an actual couch.
Everyone is divided into two teams, and placed alternatingly on the seats, so the game begins with two people from each team on the couch.
Everyone writes their name on a piece of paper, before they are all shuffled and distributed randomly.
The person to the right of the empty seat (as we have one more than players) will call out a name. The person who has the piece of paper with the name called out will move to the empty seat, and swap papers (names) with the person who called them over. A person can also call out the name on their bit of paper, and move themselves, though they won't swap, and everyone will know their name.
The goal is to have all four people on the couch be from your team, and you do that by, when you have the power to move someone, attempting to remove a member of the other team off the couch, giving the power to someone else on your team, and if you can put someone else on the couch, putting a member of your team.
Dummy Run
https://i.ibb.co/rm8jDsK/1.png
So the game starts with our two teams. They are seated (as seen in the top row), alternating based on teams, with four seats (outlined in red and bold) as the couch. There is one more seat than there is players.
Each player is given what we call a secret name (essentially the name that is on the piece of paper that they draw out of the hat at the start of the game). Players only know their own secret name (though, if your memory is sharp, you may remember who has what secret name as the game goes on).
Eevee sits to the right of the empty seat, so they get to choose who moves into that seat.
Eevee chooses Bulbasaur, and the player with Bulbasaur as a secret name then moves to Eevee. In this case, it's Charmander...
Charmander moves to the seat next to Eevee and they then swap secret names. So Eevee's secret name is now Bulbasaur, and Charmander's secret name is now Pikachu (which was Eevee's).
https://i.ibb.co/TcZm1FR/2.png
Now Mudkip is to the right of the empty chair, and is able to choose who fills it. Mudkip chooses Squirtle, and the player with Squirtle as their secret name is Skitty, so Skitty moves into the empty seat next to Mudkip, before swapping secret names. Mudkip gets Squirtle as it's secret name, and Skitty gets Ralts as its secret name (which was Mudkip's before.
https://i.ibb.co/BGH4LH1/3.png
This is where being online get's a little tricky, as the empty seat is on the far right. But remember, we are sitting in a circle! So the player to the right is Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur is concerned at the sheer amount of Green Team on the couch, and wants to do something about it. And Bulbasaur has been paying attention. He remembers Mudkip called Skitty over by calling out Squirtle, so Mudkip now has Squirtle as a secret name. So Bulbasaur calls Squirtle out himself. And Mudkip, feeling slightly defeated, moves off the couch into the empty space, before switching secret names with Bulbasaur (leaving Bulbasaur with Squirtle as its secret name), and Mudkip gets Skitty as it's secret name (which was Bulbasaur's before).
https://i.ibb.co/0KYpHDd/4.png
Bulbasaur's pro-gamer move has created an empty seat on the couch, and even more impressive, is the fact that the player choosing who fills the empty seat, is a team mate of Bulbasaur. Squirtle sits to the right, and now chooses who moves into the empty seat, and calls out Squirtle, knowing Bulbasaur has Squirtle as a secret name, due to the swap last round. The pair swap secret names, with Squirtle getting Squirtle, and Bulbasaur getting Treeko (which was Squirtle's secret name until then).
https://i.ibb.co/jTMxYRs/5.png
So how will this work on PXR?
Firstly, we need people to sign up. No complex forms or character references. Just post here to say you're interested, and once we have eight people interested, I will set a start date, when sign ups close and the game begins.
I will then make a post with a screenshot of what the seating arrangement is, with the teams, and private message everyone their secret name. I will tag the person who is sitting to the right of the empty seat, and they choose a name. I then make another post with an updated screenshot of the seating arrangement, private message the two affected people their new secret names, and then tag the person who chooses next. We repeat this until all four spaces on the couch are filled by members of the same team, and if people are keen, open sign ups for another round.
Some things to be aware of:
-This game's challenge is stemmed in the difficulty of remembering who has which secret name, especially with them changing so frequently. The fact we are on a forum eliminates that, so in order to keep the challenge, when it is your turn to choose, don't look further back than the last name called out (in order to emulate short term memory). If you have really good memory, and happen to remember someone's secret name from four turns ago, without having to look back, feel free to call it out, but when it isn't your turn, don't go out of your way to memorize everyone's names between turns.
-In order to keep it fair (and this is something we have to be on the young people about when we play this in person), the person who has to choose is on their own. There is to be no helping them pick the right person behind the scenes, or asking for help.
All that out of the way, would anybody be keen to play? Or does anybody have any questions?
Keen for First Game
-Shruikan
-Desolate Divine (if we need numbers (I'll make sure to take time to forget who is who before I make decisions))
-Neo Emolga
