Social Climber Part 1
This is the game I designed for a competition at work. The theme for the competition was relationships. Naturally, I took the best and worst parts of relationships (the things that amuse me the most)to form Social Climber. This game has not be balanced or play tested! It's mostly just a conceptual framework with some ideas thrown together. It's a bit lame and silly in parts, but I was doing this late at night for fun.
This card game is designed to simulate the often brutal and merciless lengths people will go to reach the top of the social ladder. Ultimately, it is a confrontation between two people, one of whom will make the perilous fall to obscurity and public scorn. The other will become popular.
Each player's deck will be filled with Acquaintance cards. Acquaintances can fall into three relationship categories: Personal Life, Love Life, and Professional Life. The ultimate goal is to destroy your opponent's Coolness. Both players start at 20 Coolness, so a player can win by dropping an opponent to 0 Coolness points. To do this, you must develop your Acquaintances and effectively use your Social Cunning Attacks to inflict misery on your opponent.
You may have as many friends and co-workers as you wish, but only one Romantic Interest. That is, only one "official" Romantic Interest. Having more than one can prove to be troublesome. Think of people as creature cards from Magic: The Gathering. Their relationship with you is their HP, so if your opponent sabotages your relationships, the Acquaintance can no longer be used by you. In some cases, your opponent will gain control of them.
Becoming Acquaintances (Summoning in Magic), and using them to "attack" your opponent has a cost. Like all strategy games, your abilities are limited by your resources. The resource in Social Climber is Popularity. These are fun, colorful cards that illustrate stereotypically "cool" things. Throwing a Party, Being the Smart Kid, Class President, Office Suck Up - these are all examples. Popularity is essentially Land/Mana from Magic: The Gathering.
Each player will form a deck of approximately 45 cards. There is no limit to the number of Acquaintance or Popularity cards the player may use. However, the player may only select 2 of the Social Cunning counter cards. Also, Go to the Gym, Practice Speech, Pick up from Airport, and Kiss Ass may only be placed in the deck once.
A quick summary of terms in Social Climber:
Coolness: Player Hit Points
Relationship: Acquaintance Hit Points/Defense
Popularity: Land/Mana. This is the cost of adding an Acquaintance or using Social Cunning.
Acquaintances: The units of Social Climber. They come in 3 flavors: Friends, Romantic Interests, and Office Mates.
Social Cunning: The "spells" of Social Climber. These can be damaging in many ways.
Read Social Climber Part 2 for the good stuff - Acquaintances.
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Social Climber Part 2
Acquaintances
Friends
Casual Acquaintance 1/1 [1 Popularity] - You might drop this guy a nod in the hall on the way to the bathroom. You talked over a drink at that party once...you wouldn't classify your relationship as "Friends," but if asked, you'd definitely say "yeah, I know that guy."
-Rebuild Friendship: Sacrifice Casual Acquaintance to rebuild your relationship with a "true" friend by +1.
Soccer Buddy 1/2 [2 Popularity] - You don't know each other's real names, but you do know that the two of you have never lost a Wednesday afternoon soccer game when the two of you are on defense. Soccer rules! *high-five*
-Trim Up: Tap Soccer Buddy to Work Out, which heals your Relationship with your significant other by +1.
Roommate 2/3 [3 Popularity] - So he doesn't put the toilet lid down. She has no concept of dirty underwear being placed in a basket. It's all good. The rent's on time and the pad's just fine.
Friend 3/3 [4 Popularity] - After an unsuccessful attempt at a romantic relationship, the two of you realized you were destined to be friends. That's okay. Though you love the same things and have a great time with each other, you always knew your children would have been hideous.
-Lie to your Boss: What a great friend! You skipped work and this Friend stood right up to your Boss and flat-out lied about you being sick with "the Topanga" or something. Tap to permanently add +1 to your Boss's Relationship (can only be used once).
Best Friend 4/5 [5 Popularity] - You've been through hell together as well as a few good times. You complain about roommates, work, and have even dated each other's ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/it, but your bond...it was strong enough to withstand those two weeks of angst.
-Jealousy: If opponent has a Romantic Interest in play, Best Friend must attack the Romantic Interest.
Romantic Interest
The Hottie 3/2 [3 Popularity] - Incredibly gorgeous, but entirely without depth, The Hottie is probably not your life-long partner. This is a great relationship for a bit of fun, however.
-Admiration: Your friends respect your romantic prowess! Tap The Hottie to give all of your friends a +1 Relationship boost. (Boost remains in effect as long as The Hottie is tapped. The +1 refreshes at the beginning of each turn.)
Well Bred 2/4 [3 Popularity] - What this RI lacks in looks and sheer appeal is made up with a large trust fund and secure future. Think of it as an investment.
-Professional Boost: Tap this RI to give an Office Mate +2 to their Attack.
"Great Personality" 1/4 [2 Popularity] - Okay, so this RI may not be the best looking person out there, but what a great personality! Conversation over a warm cup of coffee is time well spent.
-Just Friends: Sacrifice RI to permanently add +2 to the Relationship of any Acquaintance.
The Keeper 3/4 [3 Popularity] - Not special, not flawed, this RI is just right. Your troubles are a thing of the past, because this RI is low maintenance.
-Note: The Keeper is immune to The Geek.
-Note: If opponent uses Reveal Affair while you have The Keeper in play, the RI deals -1 damage to your Coolness, even if countered.
Office Mates
Co-Worker 1/1 [1 Popularity] - The drones of the cubicle farm, Co-Workers won't stop working until told. Low pay, poor benefits...it doesn't matter, because they have to pay the bills!
-Overwork: Co-Workers can attack twice per turn. However, they cannot Attack, then un-tap to defend. They can only be untapped to attack a second time.
That Guy in Accounting 2/3 [4 Popularity] - Sure he's incredibly boring and lame. Sure he still lives with his parents. This guy has covered for your countless times at work. He's got your back because he thinks you like him.
-Take the Fall: It turns out you did some "unethical" things at work and somebody needs to be blamed. You told That Guy you'd hang out with him next weekend if he did "just this one favor" for you. You'll hang out with him all right...when he gets out of the Federal Penitentiary. Sacrifice That Guy in Accounting to add +2 to your Coolness.
-Internal Audit: Sacrifice That Guy in Accounting to block two damage from the External Audit.
The Boss 4/4 [5 Popularity] - The tyrant in your life, your nemesis, your...boss. The Boss controls your fate, mostly because it is such a powerful Acquaintance. Keep the Boss happy and you'll be happy, get it?
-Overtime: Production is behind schedule and it looks like your team may miss that deadline. Good thing The Boss pulled some strings and got help from another division. Tap The Boss to tap all of your opponent's Professional Acquaintances.
-Unique: Only one Boss can be in-play per-side.
Social Cunning
Seduce [3 Popularity] - Your opponent has it and you want it. What you can't have must be destroyed. Sabotage the relationship with one Romantic Interest by using Seduction.
Strictly Platonic [3 Popularity] - This adds insult to injury. Not only does it neutralize Seduce, but it damages the one who used it by -3.
Reveal Affair [3 Popularity] - If your opponent has more than one Romantic Interest in play, break it up! Reveal Affair will destroy the player's relationship with all of his Romantic Interests, removing all of them from play.
Come Clean [3 Popularity] - You look like a jerk, but you've decided to Come Clean. Still though, you'll have decide and pick your favorite. You may only keep 1 Romantic Interest. The rest are discarded.
External Audit [3 Popularity] - Your friend at the SEC has been dying to investigate your opponent's financial records from the office. Good thing you have an inside source and can provide him with all the necessary documents. Internal Audit deals -3 damage to your Coolness.
-Note: Can only be countered by That Guy in Accounting.
Rumor [4 Popularity] - Few things are more devastating than a rumor. By manipulating the truth, your opponent can turn your friends against you. By playing Rumor, a player gains control of two of his opponent's Friends.
Truth [4 Popularity] - If anything can topple a rumor, it's the truth. Deploy this handy item to turn the cards against the spreader of rumors. Take one of your opponent's Friends and let the truth set you free.
Talk to the Hand [2 Popularity] - Pssah, talk to the hand! You can ignore the truth because your just so much cooler than that. Talk to the Hand neutralizes any Social Cunning attack unless otherwise noted.
Whoopee Cushion [2 Popularity] - Your opponent passed gas! At least, it seems like it happened. Nonetheless, this won't be good for popularity. Opponent discards one Popularity card.
Kiss Ass [1 Popularity] - Your Boss decided to go to lunch with the Kiss Ass. While he's out, you are manning the phones. Kiss Ass counters special ability of the Boss. It can also be used to tap one of your opponent's Professional Acquaintances for one turn.
The Geek [2 Popularity] - The Geek is so ugly that some find his geekiness adorable. The Geek slips under the radar to completely foul up your evening with your Romantic Interest. The Geek can be used to counter the special ability of any Romantic Interest. It can also be used to tap one of your opponent's Romantic Interests for one turn.
Just Friends [3 Popularity] - On the advice of your girlfriend's best friend, she no longer wants to go out with you. However, the Romantic Interest would be just distraught without you as a friend. By playing Just Friends, your opponent's Romantic Interest is stripped of all special abilities and is now just a Friend. This means the opponent can recruit a girlfriend again without penalty.
Go to the Gym [1 Popularity] - You really need to work out if you want to keep your Romantic Interest...interested. Sure, it's really the inside that's important. Assuming the outside's appealing. Go to the Gym gives a +1/+1 enhancement to any Romantic Interest's Relationship.
Practice Speech [1 Popularity] - Practicing speeches has made you far more charismatic and the boss has noticed. Practice Speech gives a +1/+1 enhancement to any Office Mate's Relationship.
Pick Friend up at Airport [1 Popularity] - Dude, that was so cool of you to pick me up at the airport. I seriously thought I was going to have to walk home. And like, there's a good chance I would've died. Pick Friend up from Airport gives a +1/+1 enhancement to any Friend's Relationship.
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