Exploring the use of coins as a divination mechanism in Mechs to Plowshares, a solo TTRPG about war, anxiety, paranoia, identity, and purpose by Anomalous Entertainment.
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The Chaplain's Game is an old magic trick meant to hustle people in bars, but I knew the trick has enough steps and is mathematically deceptive enough that it would work on a player too!
My other favorite trick to play on players is for group games that require close cooperation and teamwork. You hand out a bunch of notes and tell them that two of the players are traitors. Have everyone close their eyes except the traitors so they know who they are.
Thank you so much for this comment! This is so exciting to get a definitive answer!
You have no idea how much time I (and others) spent on figuring this out, modeling it in Python, discussing it on Discord, and trying to guess at your motivations! Your game made us all think!
Was I close on what your "intent" was for the Chaplain's Game?
Yes, absolutely! The Chaplain's Game and the reveal was designed to create a "holy shit" moment where you realize the folly of holding onto your military protocols, that the war was never coming.
Every week in the war, the enemy would come. In peace, they never will. The game has always been a parlor trick by a man trying to calm the nerves of terrified young men.
The reveal (Play again until you understand) is really soft, which allows a lot of players to glaze over it. Only people that are really looking closely realize that it's even a reveal. I considered changing it because so many people were missing out on "core" experience of the game, but I also didn't want to be too heavy handed. In the end, it's really satisfying for the people that DO notice it, like they're solving a secret message they had to be clever to decode. I'm still mixed on this! (Though I'm not gonna change, shit has been out for 6 years lol)
Additionally, all of the COIN FLIPS were equally meaningless. You were never determining what was an enemy or what was an ally. It was always about how you decided to perceive them.
The real sensation I was trying to recreate for players is the perceptions of somebody experiencing hyper vigilance. Learning that it was always better to have turned your mechs into plowshares from the very start; that there was no enemy but the one you trained yourself to expect. But now it's too late, and your debts are due.
Oh, also, I would argue that the game DOES have a core loop, but not much of one. Your thoughts on that made me want to do a "loopless" game, which actually wouldn't be terribly hard if I was to make another linear narrative game!
This is a great write up of a fascinating game. It must be amazing to play without knowing the ‘trick’ of it. I know I was never going to play it, so I ploughed (heh) on into spoiler territory, but what an amazing feeling it must be to come upon that realisation within the game itself.
Thank you! If you listen to the podcast linked in the footnote, you can head the realization in their voices as it begins to dawn on them. Really entertaining episode, especially as they share their thoughts about it.
To make it a random result, only pull (don’t flip) the coins after mixing. If the whole ritual is required count heads first then — without looking — mix, flip and pull last.
Played this way, the game could be used like a yes/no roll. Instead of rolling a d6 a character plays the game.
1. It could be a magic item that hints at some aspect of the game. Players ask a question and the GM must abide by the result… in one way or another <insert evil grin>.
2. It could be tied to a class; maybe soldiers invented it hoping to divine their fate. Or it’s a popular game that anybody might know; like Ouija boards in western culture.
3. By the same token, it could substitute the yes/no roll in solo games. Like in M2P above, it’s diagetic and promotes immersion.
That's correct! I actually thought the game was "broken" or it was a "mistake" at first. If you don't flip the coins, it works as you might expect. More heads, and more risk. But that's not at all what happens as written. Agree that the "no flip" version could be used in other games... it's essentially a low-tech bag-building / pool-building mechanism.
Oh wait, that’s really cool. I hadn’t thought of it as a pool building game. If your system uses spell slots or points, this could inform your priest of their deity’s s fickle demands and limits.
Want more game design thoughts and creative inspiration like this? Subscribe to Tumulus and get a full print-only zine delivered to you each quarter. Learn more here: tumulus.exeunt.press
SPOILERS
The Chaplain's Game is an old magic trick meant to hustle people in bars, but I knew the trick has enough steps and is mathematically deceptive enough that it would work on a player too!
My other favorite trick to play on players is for group games that require close cooperation and teamwork. You hand out a bunch of notes and tell them that two of the players are traitors. Have everyone close their eyes except the traitors so they know who they are.
There are no traitors.
Thank you so much for this comment! This is so exciting to get a definitive answer!
You have no idea how much time I (and others) spent on figuring this out, modeling it in Python, discussing it on Discord, and trying to guess at your motivations! Your game made us all think!
Was I close on what your "intent" was for the Chaplain's Game?
Yes, absolutely! The Chaplain's Game and the reveal was designed to create a "holy shit" moment where you realize the folly of holding onto your military protocols, that the war was never coming.
Every week in the war, the enemy would come. In peace, they never will. The game has always been a parlor trick by a man trying to calm the nerves of terrified young men.
The reveal (Play again until you understand) is really soft, which allows a lot of players to glaze over it. Only people that are really looking closely realize that it's even a reveal. I considered changing it because so many people were missing out on "core" experience of the game, but I also didn't want to be too heavy handed. In the end, it's really satisfying for the people that DO notice it, like they're solving a secret message they had to be clever to decode. I'm still mixed on this! (Though I'm not gonna change, shit has been out for 6 years lol)
Additionally, all of the COIN FLIPS were equally meaningless. You were never determining what was an enemy or what was an ally. It was always about how you decided to perceive them.
The real sensation I was trying to recreate for players is the perceptions of somebody experiencing hyper vigilance. Learning that it was always better to have turned your mechs into plowshares from the very start; that there was no enemy but the one you trained yourself to expect. But now it's too late, and your debts are due.
My goodness this is amazing! Thank you so much for the detailed follow up!
Oh, also, I would argue that the game DOES have a core loop, but not much of one. Your thoughts on that made me want to do a "loopless" game, which actually wouldn't be terribly hard if I was to make another linear narrative game!
If you have any specific questions or anything, I'm happy to answer. Thanks again for your awesome review! Really made my week
Oh PS I wrote this game.
Thank you so much for the review!! It really makes me happy to see this baby hitting right 6 years later
This is a great write up of a fascinating game. It must be amazing to play without knowing the ‘trick’ of it. I know I was never going to play it, so I ploughed (heh) on into spoiler territory, but what an amazing feeling it must be to come upon that realisation within the game itself.
Thank you! If you listen to the podcast linked in the footnote, you can head the realization in their voices as it begins to dawn on them. Really entertaining episode, especially as they share their thoughts about it.
Aha, I’ll grab that podcast now!
They figure it out in the second half.
Reminds me of another Micro-game: Roll 3d6. If the sum is less than 20, you should subscribe to Skeleton Code Machine!
Hahah! You aren’t wrong! 😂
SPOILER BELOW. You’ve been warned.
To make it a random result, only pull (don’t flip) the coins after mixing. If the whole ritual is required count heads first then — without looking — mix, flip and pull last.
Played this way, the game could be used like a yes/no roll. Instead of rolling a d6 a character plays the game.
1. It could be a magic item that hints at some aspect of the game. Players ask a question and the GM must abide by the result… in one way or another <insert evil grin>.
2. It could be tied to a class; maybe soldiers invented it hoping to divine their fate. Or it’s a popular game that anybody might know; like Ouija boards in western culture.
3. By the same token, it could substitute the yes/no roll in solo games. Like in M2P above, it’s diagetic and promotes immersion.
That's correct! I actually thought the game was "broken" or it was a "mistake" at first. If you don't flip the coins, it works as you might expect. More heads, and more risk. But that's not at all what happens as written. Agree that the "no flip" version could be used in other games... it's essentially a low-tech bag-building / pool-building mechanism.
Oh wait, that’s really cool. I hadn’t thought of it as a pool building game. If your system uses spell slots or points, this could inform your priest of their deity’s s fickle demands and limits.