Estate of Panic

GalakStarscraper · Estate of Panic

Okay ... guilty pleasure admission time.

New series on Sci-Fi channel has become my family's favourite to watch together.

It's easy fun reality viewing and lacks most of the nastiness I hate in normal reality show contests.

If you have an ability to see it ... I think its a lot of fun.

Galak

Dark Lord

Hmmn. haven't heard of it. Realty on sci-fi channel? Isn't that an oxymoron?

GalakStarscraper

Free replays of the 2 episodes they've had so far on the net:

http://www.scifi.com/rewind/?sid=818441

Thom

I watched the first episode, it got me to thinking that it would make an outstanding miniature game!

As I see it, the game should be a cross between RP and traditional mini games. You would need a game master to run the Estate while the players moved as a group through the various trap rooms, rolling dice to search and avoid traps. Since it would be a tabletop game you could go with two rulesets, one "PG" family flavored and the other in total WaHoo fashion where the traps kill with particularly graphic deaths!

Or if you went with a purely random ruleset then you could use pregenerated decks of cards with Events. Traps & Loot on them, then everyone could play.

(Eviscerated by a spring loaded axe trap! Eaten by piranha in a flooded room! Electrocuted by a booby trapped lamp cord!)

Sales would focus more on the estate it's self than minis, with modular expansion rooms sold individualy after the basic four room set. New pregenrated decks of event/trap/loot cards could be sold with each expansion!

The general idea really runs away with you the more you think about it!

SillySod

Awww, unavailable in the uk

GalakStarscraper

GalakStarscraper

Actually Thom ... I have to agree .. it would be very easy to turn this show into a board game.

Have a square mapped board for each room. Then have say 30 to 50 numbered chits that the players place on the board. Then you set out a 2nd set of numbered chits with card underneath each one.

Some cards would just be cash with no fear challenge to take them. Others would have a fear challenge that you'd have to roll higher than on D20 in order to put the card in your hand and only you would now the amount.

There would be 2 exit points in each room and after each player moved you'd roll to see which on a D20 to see which door was open 1: No Door open; 2-9: Door 1, 10-19 Door 2; 20 - Both Doors.

Last person left in the room loses. Person with least amount of money cards in his hand loses.

Then you create different boards with different special rules to mimic the complexity of the room. Say in the freezer ... you could could use different borders to show the thickness of the ice and this would be a +x modifer to the fear challenge to take the card for that numbered chit.

Or in the sewers ... you could colour code the sewer grates in the tunnels. Roll a D20 to kick them in ... some colours would have a higher value needed to pass then others to get through them. For rooms like this ... I'd have a few bonus cards available. So that say any chit in a tunnel past a higher toughness grate automatically allows you to take a bonus card or two depending on the type of grate needed to get past to get to them.

Given that most of the rooms become much more scary as time passes ... you could easily emulate that in the game by having a +x modifer fear challenge to any money card where x is number of turns in the game / 2 or 3 (ignoring factions).

Movement would be static (like each player can move up to 6 squares per a turn) ... but would be modified by the room type (like maybe the sewer only allows 5 squares per a turn) or in the collapsing room ... maybe you'd need to pass a fear challenge to not have your movement halfed.

Yeah ... I could easily see this being a board game and could probably have it mocked up over a weekend in fact. I might just do that and see what my kids think. Problem is of course that I see no way to market this without approaching Sci-Fi channel and Impact! just doesn't have the budget to create a Toys 'R Us version of this game.

But I beat my kids would love it. The other problem is that it would require a minimum of 3 players ... and that can be a turnoff for board games.

Galak

Dark Lord

Instead of all those chits why not just a large deck of cards that you may draw from? Do a "Move or Draw" mechanic. Then in the cards you could put free cash cards, cash cards that require a roll, cards that activate a special feature in the room etc.

Personally, I'd rather see a roller derby minis game right now. It's popular, cool and sexy. And IMO Impact would do it best.

I know, you're poor.

I can dream can't I?

Thom

SillySod

GalakStarscraper

Dark Lord

That seems a strange restriction in the days of the internet.
I wonder what the logic is?

Maybe it's so the Brits can't see the horrors of what we have done to shows like Life on Mars and The Office?