The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Joe Slack, a frequent guest of the show, joined me once again to help me dip our toes into the conversation about AI art in board games. We did our best to explain AI art from our knowledge base and to explore some of the uses of it so far and even what future uses should look like.

I have an ongoing cough, so I did my best to remove those loud coughs.

I asked ChatGPT to write me a script for a podcast about AI art. I will release that as an episode in December.

Also, I asked ChatGPT to create an Arkham Horror trick-taking game. The game is enclosed in quotation marks.

"Absolutely! Let's call it "Eldritch Echoes: Arkham Trickery." Here's a basic idea for how the game might work:

Number of Players: 3-5

Objective: Players aim to gather Eldritch Echoes, fragments of cosmic knowledge, by winning tricks through strategic card play.

Setup:

1. Deck: A custom deck with suits representing different aspects of the Arkham Horror universe (e.g., Mysteries, Artifacts, Creatures, Spells).
2. Eldritch Echoes Cards: Special cards with varying point values representing the cosmic knowledge players seek.

Gameplay:

1. Dealing: Deal a set number of cards to each player, creating their starting hand.
2. Trick-Taking: Players take turns playing cards to form a trick, following suit if possible. The highest-value card of the leading suit or the highest trump card wins the trick.
3. Eldritch Echoes: Certain cards hold Eldritch Echoes values; winning a trick earns those points for the player who won it.
4. Special Cards: Include special cards that can alter gameplay (e.g., Ancient Tome that acts as a wild card, Shub-Niggurath as a powerful trump card).
5. Strategic Elements: Introduce elements like sanity cards or mythos cards that add unpredictability or risk, affecting the outcome of tricks or forcing players to discard.

Winning:

1. The game can be played over several rounds or until a set score is reached.
2. The player with the highest accumulated Eldritch Echoes at the end wins.

Strategy:

1. Players need to gauge when to play their powerful cards strategically to win high-value tricks.
2. Balancing the use of trump cards or Eldritch Echoes cards with keeping useful cards for later rounds becomes crucial.

Thematically: Incorporate elements of Arkham Horror lore, where players are investigators seeking cosmic knowledge, encountering mystical artifacts, eldritch creatures, and otherworldly spells.

Remember, the fun in trick-taking games often lies in their simplicity and the layers of strategy that develop as players become more familiar with the deck and its nuances. Adjustments and balancing may be needed through playtesting, but this framework could provide a solid foundation for an Arkham Horror trick-taking game!"