Girl Genius: The Works
Encyclopedia
Girl Genius: The Works is a card game
played with a specially designed deck of 108 cards. The game, designed by Phil Foglio
and James Ernest
, takes its theme from the "gaslamp fantasy" of the Girl Genius
comic book series. The goal is to be the first player to reach 100 points by "popping" cards out of a two-dimensional layout.
Unlike most games published by Cheapass Games
, Girl Genius: The Works has high-quality laminated cards with detailed designs. It was nominated for two Origins Award
s (Best Abstract Card Game and Best Graphic Presentation of a Card Game) in 2001, but did not win in either category. (The awards went to Cosmic Coasters
and Zombies!!!
, respectively.)
Girl Genius: The Works uses gaming mechanics similar to those in the collectible card game
XXXenophile
, based on Foglio's earlier graphic-novel work. XXXenophile' s gameplay is largely the same as the present game's, except that the former has each player compose a deck from the pool of 270 available cards, while the latter has a fixed 108-card deck. XXXenophile is now out of print.
Each card in the game has symbols along each of its four edges. The symbols, which come in five types, range in number from one to eight. Each card also has a point value between 0 and 9, and most of the cards have instructions which must be followed when the card is popped.
The game starts with the laying out of 12 cards in a lattice pattern ("the Works"), all face-down, except for two corner cards which are positioned face-up. Each player starts with a hand of five cards, and a score pile, which is initially empty. The players then take their turns in order around the table. Each turn consists of five stages:
; you follow the instructions on the new card before putting it in your score pile, and only then do you put the first-popped card in your score pile. (In other words, the current set of popped cards forms a stack
.)
The game also ends immediately if a player manages to pop a "Racing Dirigible
" while there are two Submarines in his score pile, or a Submarine
when there are three Dirigibles in his score pile. In that case, the player who popped the card immediately wins, regardless of anyone else's score.
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
played with a specially designed deck of 108 cards. The game, designed by Phil Foglio
Phil Foglio
Philip "Phil" Foglio is an American cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his humorous science fiction and fantasy work.-Early life and career:...
and James Ernest
James Ernest
James Ernest is an American game designer and juggler. He is best known as the owner and lead designer of Cheapass Games. Prior to founding Cheapass, he worked as a juggler at various venues, including Camlann Medieval Village, and as a freelancer with Wizards of the Coast. He also worked for...
, takes its theme from the "gaslamp fantasy" of the Girl Genius
Girl Genius
Girl Genius is an ongoing comic book series turned webcomic, written and drawn by Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company, Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment...
comic book series. The goal is to be the first player to reach 100 points by "popping" cards out of a two-dimensional layout.
Unlike most games published by Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, etc., so there is no need to bundle all of these components with every game that...
, Girl Genius: The Works has high-quality laminated cards with detailed designs. It was nominated for two Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
s (Best Abstract Card Game and Best Graphic Presentation of a Card Game) in 2001, but did not win in either category. (The awards went to Cosmic Coasters
Cosmic Coasters
Cosmic Coasters is a board game designed by Andrew Looney and published by Looney Labs.In 2002, Cosmic Coasters won the Origins Award for Best Abstract Board Game of 2001....
and Zombies!!!
Zombies!!!
Zombies!!! is a tile-based strategy board game for two to six players. Zombies!!! won the 2001 Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game, and Zombies!!! 3: Mall Walkers won 2003's Origins Award for Best Board Game Expansion....
, respectively.)
Girl Genius: The Works uses gaming mechanics similar to those in the collectible card game
Collectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
XXXenophile
XXXenophile
XXXenophile is an American comic book series, published by Palliard Press and later Studio Foglio. It is an anthology of short, whimsical, erotic fantasy and science fiction stories, written and penciled by Phil Foglio. Each story is inked by a different artist.XXXenophile was originally...
, based on Foglio's earlier graphic-novel work. XXXenophile
Rules and gameplay
The game starts with the laying out of 12 cards in a lattice pattern ("the Works"), all face-down, except for two corner cards which are positioned face-up. Each player starts with a hand of five cards, and a score pile, which is initially empty. The players then take their turns in order around the table. Each turn consists of five stages:
- Flip a card. If there are any face-down cards in the Works, flip one face-up.
- Spin a card. Pick up any one face-up card, spin it 180 degrees, and put it back in its place.
- Check. Consider in turn each of the four edges of the card you just spun. If the type of symbol on an edge matches the type of the symbol on the neighboring card's edge, then the card with the more symbols "pops" out of the Works. If they have the same number of symbols, both cards pop.
- Replace cards. Any blank spaces in the Works created by removing cards on this turn are now filled with new cards from the hand of the player who created the blank space. The new cards are always placed face-up, except as detailed in the instruction for "Bärenkönig," whose replacement is played face-down. (If the replacing player runs out of cards, then she must draw cards from the draw pile one at a time to finish the replacement stage.)
- Draw cards. Each player now draws cards from the draw pile until he has at least five cards. (If a player already has at least five cards, then that player draws no cards.)
Popping cards
"Popping" a card means that you pick it up, follow its instructions, and then place it in your score pile. If the instructions tell you to pop another card, then the process recursesRecursion
Recursion is the process of repeating items in a self-similar way. For instance, when the surfaces of two mirrors are exactly parallel with each other the nested images that occur are a form of infinite recursion. The term has a variety of meanings specific to a variety of disciplines ranging from...
; you follow the instructions on the new card before putting it in your score pile, and only then do you put the first-popped card in your score pile. (In other words, the current set of popped cards forms a stack
Stack (data structure)
In computer science, a stack is a last in, first out abstract data type and linear data structure. A stack can have any abstract data type as an element, but is characterized by only three fundamental operations: push, pop and stack top. The push operation adds a new item to the top of the stack,...
.)
Game end
The game ends as soon as one player has 100 points or more in her score pile, based on the point values of the cards and any complicating factors such as "Dr. Monahan's Diabolical Rat-Stretching Engine". This may happen even in the middle of another player's turn.The game also ends immediately if a player manages to pop a "Racing Dirigible
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
" while there are two Submarines in his score pile, or a Submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
when there are three Dirigibles in his score pile. In that case, the player who popped the card immediately wins, regardless of anyone else's score.
External links
- Girl Genius: The Works at Cheapass Games
- Review of XXXenophile and Girl Genius: The Works at SciFiSci Fi Channel (United States)Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
.com - Interview with James Ernest at About.comAbout.comAbout.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
, 2001