Fortune Tellers is a game I’ve been thinking about for 8 years.
Then I tried two different prototypes. The concept had potential, but the gameplay had flaws that we didn’t know how to fix at the time. It was much bigger than anything I had made before, and it was fascinating and intimidating. Shortly thereafter, I was forced to leave the country and remain there.
The theme makes me laugh – as far as I know – I still think about it regularly because there has never been a game like it. Still, it’s a game I want to try, so I think I’ll have to make it myself. We hope the added experience will help you push the limits of gameplay.
So, what is this game about? Here is the synopsis.
You are the village fortune teller. For years, people have come to you for insights into health, relationships, business, and more.
…until something you haven’t seen: a second fortune teller has opened a shop in town, and your steady stream of customers has turned into a trickle of water. It’s time to practice your skills and get your fame back!
The only way to make points is to accurately predict the future. You will write your predictions and put them face down on the table and try to get other players to do what you wrote. When they come true, they say “Aha!”, show their predictions and become very conceited.
The main design challenge for this project is that we need another game to make predictions. for. One lives in the other and they have to work together. The game should have predictable behavior, but not feel too restrictive.
I’m replacing the original worker placement mechanism with a rondel and local majority game to emulate word of mouth around town. As with Cortiça, I started by making mock-up “screenshots” of what it might look like during play to help you visualize the whole game and how many components it will need. Here’s what it looks like now:
The next step is to convert it into a prototype so you can playtest it. It has to be digital as the pandemic continues, which is a good excuse to finally learn to playtest online in Tabletop Simulator. Maybe you can play it!
Stay tuned!