Do you have a steady hand and a penchant for histrionic, scenery-chewing outbursts? Is your medical license a sham, and is the bandaged patient in 32-A really your twin sister? If so, I need some informal help testing out various bits of Medical Hospital. I’m at a point where I would benefit from feedback on both the rules and the current approach to surgical procedures, which means it may be arts and crafts time at your kitchen table!
Wish I could be there.
Will Hindmarch has built a mind-bending Fiasco playset, in a Primer/Timecrimes sort of way, and I love it. All the Damn Time needs playtesting from experienced Fiasco players (it is not an ideal first playset). If that’s you, check it out, give it a try, and report back. If you are interested in how far you can push the game’s constraints, I think this set is a good example along one axis.
Turns out Medical Hospital has a lot of moving parts. There’s a die mechanic that relies on three dice that are always visible on the table. There are 18 objects that can be bought and stolen during the game with the currency you gain (or lose) through surgery, and the surgery itself is very equipment and paper intensive. The currency also needs to be tracked. The easiest way to handle all this is to atomize each of the 18 elements onto a little card, which can literally change hands. People understand this. But it poses two problems. First, production – packaging 18 cards is just a pain on a number of levels. And second, it clutters the playing area to an insane degree, and playtesting shows this is not OK. The surgery itself is hugely cluttered and full of mess (which is very appropriate and fun).
So I’m thinking about trying to consolidate all the stuff onto pages that you can write on, record sheets that tell you:
1. Who the player-surgeons are
2. How much currency they currently have
3. The status of the dice, as well as instruction about what that means
4. The status of each object and who controls it
That’s a lot.
Here’s a Here’s a revised example…I am actively killing my darlings. Complications are gone, relegated to an optional component. Here’s some post-playtest detritus.
I am not sure if this remains too dense, too complex, too hard to use. Let me know what you think, approaching it strictly from the point of view of the usability of the materials. Thanks!
Bully Pulpit Games wins in the Best Support category for Fiasco, for which I am very grateful! It is a vote of confidence for what at times felt like absolute folly. Congratulations to Danielle Lewon, who had a very good year with Kagematsu, John Harper, who killed everyone with fire with Lady Blackbird, and Paul Tevis, who rightly won the Most Innovative award for A Penny For My Thoughts.
