One card wonders
The 2020 1-Card Game Print and Play Design Contest is up and running on BGG, with many designers submitting solo games. As the contest is nearing its final days, one by one the games are declared 'contest ready', so anyone willing to give them a try will find fully written rules and graphic designs completed. I have only had time to play one of the submissions, but wanted to bring the contest to your attention, even if you don't practice the PnP sport. It's just one card!
And the question that follows is, how much game can you cram into such a tight space? Apparently, enough, and of various genres. Eurogames, dungeon crawlers, wargames, there's something for everyone. Let's take Beast of Bastogne, for example. The game I chose to print. This is a very light wargame in which you take on the role of an American soldier during the Battle of the Bulge. He is all alone with his machine gun in Bastogne, trying to fend off incoming German soldiers.
Gameplay is very simple: you begin with 3 ammo and 3 health points on your white dice. The enemies will spawn at the top of the 3x3 grid, and will start coming down in each of the three lanes, sometimes moving diagonally depending on the number you have rolled on your black and red dice. Then, on your turn, it's shooting time. You roll the 2 black dice. On a 6 total, it's one Nazi down. If they are not on your lane or have terrain protection, you have to apply modifiers to your result. If you roll a 1, you have to spend ammo, and if your run out, you lose one action to reload. You only have two actions per turn, so you better roll high.
If you survive 3 enemy waves, you win the game. Don't expect much depth here, this is basically roll and shoot. I suspect it won't win the best game award but the Space Invaders-style shoot' em up design is simple, good fun.
So take a look at the submissions, and try the one(s) that pique your interest. You will find well-known designers like Tom Lehmann and Scott Allen here, but also lesser known ones with equally intriguing proposals. I will surely try more. It's just a single card, after all.
This one reminds me more of Space Invaders, as the enemies gradually descend towards you. PL feels more varied and polished.
Beast of Bastogne is just one card though, so you can easily print it and spend an afternoon with it.
And.. how does this compare to the Pocket Landship pnp?
(I also have the retail of PL, btw, core game plays are nearly identical - you don't need both).