Sunday 31 May 2020

D10 poker minigame for Mothership

Cowboy Bebop

The first session of my new Mothership campaign featured a game of poker between three humans and an android. One of my players came up with this system. I predict it'll keep coming up in this campaign, the players seem to like it.
  • The higher your dice pool total the better your hand
  • Each player starts by rolling 2d10
  • Place bets (call/raise/fold) each round (clockwise around table from dealer)
  • Roll another d10 each round
  • Everyone shows their hand after 5 rounds
  • Highest number wins
There are probably lots of ways to adapt these rules for sci-fi settings. Some ideas:
  • Telepathy. Definitely counts as cheating. You can peek at one other player's hand.
  • Uncanny valley. Your face is inhuman and unreadable. You can announce your bet last in the turn, no matter where you sit.
  • Marked cards. You'll absolutely get beaten up if you're caught using them. You get to peek at anyone's hand at any point in the game, but you'll need to pass a skill check to get away with it.

1 comment:

  1. This seems like it strikes a good balance between abstraction and agency; definitely using this for the next time players get casino cravings!

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