It plays a lot like more like gin rummy than "magic: the gathering." All the cards are in the box.
The art project we're trying to fund is here: http://bit.do/NuclearPokerBunker (pdf) what costs the money is the printing on the dome surface, getting a nice, realistic effect. The actual Nuclear Poker game play is pretty simple. You acquire a hand of cards including [uranium] [refinement] [warhead] then conduct your nuclear test by putting those cards face down in front of you. Then the same thing for the missiles, submarines etc. Build your stockpile! There is a trading mechanic: one of my spare [short range missile] cards in return for your extra [nuclear test] card, that kinda stuff. It allows for partnerships, political blocs, expedient deals. Once you've got a nuclear bomb and at least a short range missile, you can take other players out of the game. But the objective is not to be the last player left alive. In fact, the game has no pre-defined victory condition: you can use your bomb to stop other players going nuclear and impose a stable world peace, for example. People's different ideas about what victory looks like *for them* drive most of the game dynamics. It's a learning process: what do you want? Most of the known equilibria in nuclear game theory emerge: mutually assured destruction, permanent sole superpower, global nuclear disarmament, everyone-dead-but-me and dead-world all emerge very naturally from the rules. The first time you see a superpower conflict in nuclear poker, one which leaves the entire world dead, you really get the deep unease of the global grave. The mood switches from "ha ha! The Bomb is mine!" to "oh my god, what have we done" in one round of play. Next hand of cards, it's back to "hey, does anybody want to trade uranium for my short range rocket technology?" as if nothing had happened. What we've seen is that the game is a hell of a lot of fun for kids as young as eleven. There's literally no unneeded complexity in the rules, they're simpler than rummy. They're really just there to support the strategy and political cooperation/competition. Hands just fly by. Adults have a very different experience of the game because they can map it to the real world: "this is just like the Cold War: two superpowers deadlock" or "Bob's playing like North Korea" or "If I can just get the nuclear submarines, I'll be the only superpower and I can disarm everybody. Peace." This really starts to put a new light on things. And over the course of a couple of dozen hands, you really do get a feel for nuclear strategy, for what's going on in international relations around the nuclear issue. I wrote Nuclear Poker as a tool for people interested in nuclear issues: I did not realize it would be a good game in its own right. Originally written with serious intent, the game turned out to be a whole hell of a lot of fun. It had been sleeping for a few years when my friend Ian <http://twitter.com/ian_willey> took a look at it, made some cards so he could play it himself, and produced the stunning artwork, and discovered it was a hoot. I looked at his cards and was like "my god, we have to do something with this Ian." And here we are. Nuclear Poker: very nearly the most fun you can have in a hexayurt at Burning Man :-) V> PS: http://disastr.org is the nuclear evacuation work I did using hexayurts, also applies to big earthquakes etc. http://bit.do/Nuclear-Poker-DEFCON3 -- *Vinay Gupta * * [email protected] <[email protected]> * *http://re.silience.com* <http://re.silience.com> *Free Science and Engineering in the Global Public Interest* UK Cell : +44 (0)7500 895568 Twitter/Skype/Gtalk: hexayurt "In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer" - Albert Camus On Tue, Aug 5, 2014 at 5:47 AM, Hunter <[email protected]> wrote: > What type of game is it? Are you primarily trading cards with others? > > > On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 1:23 PM, Vinay Gupta (Hexayurt Shelter Project) < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> >> So whadda you guys think of it? >> >> Remember http://disastr.org the nuclear evac stuff that got the HP to >> the Pentagon? >> >> V> >> >> -- >> *Vinay Gupta * * [email protected] <[email protected]> * >> *http://re.silience.com* <http://re.silience.com> >> *Free Science and Engineering in the Global Public Interest* >> UK Cell : +44 (0)7500 895568 Twitter/Skype/Gtalk: hexayurt >> "In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was >> in me an invincible summer" - Albert Camus >> >> >> On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 1:36 AM, Vinay Gupta (Hexayurt Shelter Project) < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> Hello, lovely people! >>> >>> My mate Ian <http://twitter.com/ian_willey>, who is an artist, and I >>> have been hard at work making a game, *Nuclear Poker >>> <http://twitter.com/nuclearpoker>*. There's a lot of very lovely art in >>> this game. It's happens to be game about nuclear war. The fun, chaotic, >>> bluffy side of nuclear war. Not so uch the really gross side. Specifically, >>> players take the role of madcap dictatorships running around trying to get >>> their hands on a nuclear arsenal so they can RULE THE WORLD. >>> >>> A game is over in about 10 minutes, and usually the world doesn't >>> *actually* end because some nice superpower (could be you!) will >>> enforce peace. Usually. And when that doesn't happen, another round only >>> takes 10 minutes. Oh well! It plays like hell, and people love it. >>> >>> It is, needless to say, *ideal* for playing in your hexayurts at >>> Burning Man. >>> >>> Please buy a deck, and make a donation to help us get the Nuclear Poker >>> Bunker ready! >>> >>> *DEFCON 1 Deck + $60 donation >>> <https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/nuclear-poker-playa-edition-2014-defcon-1> >>> *- >>> includes *EMERGENCY KITTENS *and* Priority Pass to Nuclear Bunker >>> Facilities,* as well as >>> *DEFCON 2 Deck + $15 donation >>> <https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/nuclear-poker-playa-edition-2014-defcon-2> >>> *- >>> includes customizable cards for your own *evil and insane* house rules, >>> as well as >>> *DEFCON 3 Deck >>> <https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/nuclear-poker-playa-edition-2014-defcon-3> >>> *- >>> includes the sure-to-be-infamous, possibly illegal in Germany, >>> *Nuclear Poker Jokers * >>> >>> The Nuclear Poker Bunker is our art project for EMF Camp 2014. *Nuclear >>> Poker *is our fundraiser for the Bunker. >>> >>> *EMF Camp* <https://www.emfcamp.org/> is a 1500 person hacker camp in >>> Britain that runs at the same time as Burning Man. It's not *quite* the >>> playa, but it's a lot of fun. We'd like to raise some resources to get a >>> plush mini-quaddome printed with more of Ian's great art, and a large box >>> of creative costumes for players to wear. *And a big red button that >>> goes BOOM.* It's going to cost us about $1000 or $1500 (consider that a >>> stretch goal for costuming etc!) so we need to sell a lot of decks! Pass on >>> the word! We'll let you know how the kickstartering is going. >>> >>> Please buy a deck and help us out! Fulfilment is through The Game >>> Crafter: buy 'em there and they'll ship direct. Nothing for us to screw up! >>> You can see the art from the back of the cards below. >>> >>> Thank you very much for all your help and support over the years, please >>> buy the hell out of this so we can go and have some fun! >>> >>> V> >>> >>> Behold, the wonder. Yes, there'll be T-Shirts and badges and stuff >>> sometime next week. But isn't Ian's art great? You should see the jokers! >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> *Vinay Gupta * * [email protected] <[email protected]> * >>> *http://re.silience.com* <http://re.silience.com> >>> *Free Science and Engineering in the Global Public Interest* >>> UK Cell : +44 (0)7500 895568 Twitter/Skype/Gtalk: hexayurt >>> "In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was >>> in me an invincible summer" - Albert Camus >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "hexayurt" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "hexayurt" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. 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