How to Use Game Plans

Game Plans initially function in a similar way to Guild Plots. Both coaches share a single deck of 18 cards, this deck is shuffled before the game starts and both coaches are dealt 7 random Game Plans. Each coach then looks at the Game Plans they were dealt, in secret, and chooses 5 to keep. These 5 cards then become that coach’s ‘hand’ of cards for the duration of the game.

Then make a die roll to determine the kicker and the receiver as normal. We considered having the Game Plans cover this as well, but through testing we discovered that we would need to rebalance a number of cards specifically because of how they could be used in the first turn. This skewed the cards quite a bit and would have eventually led to the cards having to be a lot less interesting overall. Therefore we decided that the kick and receive die roll would remain, and that Game Plan cards would come into effect from the second turn onwards.

At the start of the second turn, in the Initiative Phase, instead of rolling a die to determine the initiative, both players secretly select a Game Plan from their hand. Both coaches then reveal their selected card at the same time and compare the initiative values of their selected Game Plan. Each player adds their unspent momentum from the previous turn to their revealed initiative value, the player with the highest total initiative value chooses who will have the initiative (the first activation of the turn). If the total initiative values are tied, both coaches roll a 1D6, the coach who rolls higher chooses who will have the initiative, rerolling further ties. The coach that does not have the initiative still gains 1 momentum point as normal.

Once the initiative has been determined, Game Plan text effects will be resolved. The player with the initiative resolves their Game Plan text effect first. Any Game Plans which affect the entire turn take effect from this point onward.

Then we return to resolving the Maintenance Phase as normal, in initiative order. When each coach generates their influence pool, remember that they need to add or subtract the influence value of their revealed Game Plan before allocating their influence.

The Activation Phase then progresses as normal, remember to use your text effects! When playtesting, we found it a good idea to leave both coach’s revealed Game Plans somewhere clearly visible to both coaches. Or at least, easily within each if either coach needs to re-read one.

During the End Phase each coach discards their revealed Game Plan. Each coach should keep their own discard pile, which is important if a coach runs out of Game Plans in their hand. If a coach’s hand of Game Plans is empty, the coach simply picks up their discarded Game Plans to form a new hand and continues as normal.

How Do I Choose a Game Plan?

With so many aspects to each Game Plan, and how different each Game Plan is, it can be difficult to choose the ones you want. So let’s go through a few examples of where different types of Game Plan can be very useful.

Perhaps the most obvious one is the highest initiative value cards. These are great for when you really need to put everything you have into bidding for that first activation. Coaches do need to consider that a lot of the highest initiative value Game Plans also come with a negative influence value and/or a text effect which applies a penalty or even helps your opponent! A fantastic example of this is the Seize the Initiative Game Plan, which allows both coaches to Dodge one of their players [4”]. Grudge Match is another Game Plan which does something both for you, and for your opponent. There will be plenty of situations where these types of Game Plan could benefit your opponent just as much, or even more, than you. Use high initiative Game Plans when you really need to win initiative, and when you can afford any potentially negative effects that these Game Plans have.

Some of the strongest text effects, such as Kick ‘Em When They’re Down, which grants friendly Squaddies Shove the Boot In, and Hunker Down, which grants your whole team Resolute while within their own half of the pitch, also have some of the lowest initiative values. You could choose a low initiative Game Plan when the race for momentum in the previous turn has been quite close, but this will likely mean that your opponent will get to choose who has the initiative, since they have a lot of options for playing a higher initiative card. You need to consider whether going first in the turn is important to you or not, if it isn’t important to you, then you can almost choose a Game Plan without worrying about its initiative value at all. Similarly, if you have way more momentum than your opponent, it may not matter what Game Plan you choose because you’ll still very likely have a higher initiative total thanks to your momentum. Use Game Plans with a strong text effect when you don’t need to guarantee the first activation of the turn, when the initiative value doesn’t matter because one coach has a huge stack of momentum, or when you have a specific plan which requires a certain text effect.

While most Game Plans have an influence value of +0, about a quarter of the Game Plan deck has a +1 influence value and about another quarter has a -1 influence value. The choice of whether to use these Game Plans largely depends on how your team will be affected by gaining or losing influence. Guilds which are particularly tight on influence, such as the Blacksmiths or the Hunters, won’t want to see Game Plans with a -1 influence value very often. On the other hand, Guilds which can have above average amounts of influence, such as the Farmers or the Morticians, may not mind quite as much about using a Game Plan with a -1 influence value. This can also differ from team to team and captain to captain. However, cards with -1 influence values often have especially powerful text effects, which may be more valuable than 1 influence for one turn. When considering a Game Plan’s influence value, consider your chosen Guild, preferred team composition, and what the other effects of the card are. If your team does not want to see -1 influence values you may wish to discard these cards when choosing the 5 you wish to keep in your hand. Additionally, you may wish to keep Game Plans with an influence value of +1 because that bonus influence will have a huge impact on how your team plays.

That’s all we have for today! Go play some games of Guild Ball with your brand new Game Plan deck! Join us again next week to see the updated Regional Cup Organised Play document in full, where we will reveal the specific rules surrounding how Minor Guilds will operate in Guild Ball Organised Play. See below for a link to the digital files for the Game Plan deck.