Playing Granny Wars
Mechanics: Hand Management, Secret Identity, Bluffing, Take That
At the beginning of the game select a number of matching score pile and loyalty card pairs equal to the number of players plus one. Put the score pile cards face up in a circle all players can reach. Then deal each player a loyalty card to let them know their secret granny, the one they will try to help. They should keep this card hidden until the end of the game.
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Help–and hindrances for your opponents–come in the form of victory point and Gold cards. Ten of these are dealt to each player. The numbers on the cards represent hours Nana spends crafting (or distracted away from her knitting and purling.)
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On your turn, you may put any card from your hand onto any pile. Gold cards give you a special granny power in addition to any points they contain. For example, Sweet Old Lady, worth -2, also allows you to steal and play a card from another player’s hand. Senior Moment lets you put a second card facedown on any pile, which keeps your opponents guessing.
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Bouncing allows you to affect two score piles with one card. If the card you play covers up a card that is its equal and opposite (such as -3 on +3), then you must ‘bounce’ the card being covered to a different pile of your choice.
Hence “Tit for Tat”. Nana can’t find her glasses? No worries! Bounce that problem to a different granny and give your granny a shiny new pair of specs.
When all players have run out of cards, you reveal your loyalty, claim your score pile, and sum the numbers on your cards. The winner is the player with the highest sum.
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