The first question that must be answered is what is the goal of the game. Bad Grandmas thankfully comes with extremely clear and concise instructions. It says that the aim of the game is, "Score points by pitting your Grandmas against each other. The player with the most points after seven rounds wins!" This is a simple enough goal that makes it very clear what the players are aiming for.
The second question that needs to be answered is what is the core mechanic of the game. In Bad Grandmas, the core mechanic of the game is putting the cards down for the Grandmas to fight. This is a really simple game overall, but I think the special cards and modifiers really make it special.
The next question is the space of the game. Bad Grandmas is a card game so the space is continuous. There isn't a board to play on so I just used a table top. You have to shuffle the cards and then set two aside. This is the modifier. That part of the space is only used to set up a modifier to the game rules, so after the two cards are set aside and the top one is flipped over, you don't touch it again. The next space that is used is the area between the two players. After you deal the cards, this is where each person plays one of their Grandmas. This would be considered the fight area. After the winning Grandma is chosen, the cards get set aside in a discard pile so the area is cleared for another Grandma smack down. The table top is the space where the die is rolled. This happens with some of the Grandmas modifiers or there attack power. You need a way to keep score in the game, so you'll need a pencil and paper. This is another one of the spaces of the game. When I played, I just set this aside until I needed to write down the score. The last space to consider is the players hand. This is where you keep your Grandmas until you're ready to unleash them. The game is 2D.
The next thing to consider is the objects, attributes, and states of the game. There are four objects in the game. The objects are the 16 Grandma cards (I'm counting them as one object, the cards), a six-sided die, a piece of paper, and a pencil. The attributes for the cards are: current attack level, possible modified attack level, special rule, attack weapon, and modified rule on attack weapon. The attributes on the die would be the six sides. The state of the attributes for the cards are: 0-7 attack level with one attack level decided by a die roll, 1-13 attack level with a modifier, special rule dictates that only one point can be scored in a fight against Myrtle, sewing needle or rolling pin, and only certain weapons score against each other or a certain weapon gets a point added to their attack.
Another thing you have to look at is the operative actions that a player can make. Operative actions are the base actions that a player can take. The operative actions a player can make in Bad Grandmas is playing a Grandma card and rolling the die to determine attack power (only with Dame Nellie Cadaver). With every operative actions, there are resultant actions that sprout up. You can send out your lower power Grandmas first thus saving the best for last, play your higher power Grandmas first so you can get more points fast, and take the modifier into account and switch your strategy from high powered Grandmas first to last.
The next thing to define is the rules of the game. The first rules that we must discuss are the operational rules. These are what the player does to play the game. For Bad Grandmas, that is, "In each round both players select one of their Grandmas and place it face-down. Reveal the cards simultaneously. The winner of the round is the player with the strongest Grandma (unless this has been modified). The difference between the two strengths (once any modifier has been applied) gives the points scored by the winner (unless the points have been modified). 1, 2, 3 = 1 point, 4 or 5 = 2 points, 6 or more = 3 points. " One of the things that I noticed when I played was that the point values that the rules provided at the end, I completely ignored. Instead of using the point system that way, I calculated the difference between the the Grandmas attack power. When reading the rules, I didn't make immediate sense of the point system. Without even thinking about the best way to do it, I switched to the way stated above. I asked the other player what he thought about my way of scoring, and he said he thought it was supposed to be like that. This leads me to believe that it is a innate way of playing the game.
When it comes to skill, Bad Grandmas only uses mental and social skills, no physical ones. The mental skills that can be utilized in this game are memory and observation. Memory is used by remembering the attack power of each Grandma. There are only sixteen total so that's not too difficult. The thing I did find a bit more difficult to memorize was the Grandmas weapon. As stated above, each Grandma either has a rolling pin or sewing needles. Some of the modifiers that the game has effects those weapons. When trying to be strategic, knowing what weapons and attack power your opponents Grandmas have was helpful. Observation in this game is based off your memory skills. By knowing all the Grandmas in the deck, you can observe what Grandmas are in you hand. Besides the two cards set aside, this give you a very good idea of what your opponent has in their hand. This makes the rest of the game a game of observation and reading your opponent. That leads into the social skills of the game. There are no teammates to coordinate with so it's just about reading and fooling your opponent. To fool an opponent in this game is difficult if they have memorized the Grandmas. If they have, the only way is to fool them is the act of playing a card. You could pretend it's just a throw away card or act like it's the best card. Then it becomes about reading people. Being able to read your opponent is very important. If you can't, you might waste your most powerful Grandma on their weakest one.
Like any good game, this game has chance. Chance can be found in almost every aspect of the game. The cards that are set aside are chosen by chance as well with the cards in your hand because you shuffle the entire deck. Chance is what Grandma card is used as the modifier. For the Grandma who uses a die roll to determine their attack, that entire card is a chance card.
The next thing to define is the rules of the game. The first rules that we must discuss are the operational rules. These are what the player does to play the game. For Bad Grandmas, that is, "In each round both players select one of their Grandmas and place it face-down. Reveal the cards simultaneously. The winner of the round is the player with the strongest Grandma (unless this has been modified). The difference between the two strengths (once any modifier has been applied) gives the points scored by the winner (unless the points have been modified). 1, 2, 3 = 1 point, 4 or 5 = 2 points, 6 or more = 3 points. " One of the things that I noticed when I played was that the point values that the rules provided at the end, I completely ignored. Instead of using the point system that way, I calculated the difference between the the Grandmas attack power. When reading the rules, I didn't make immediate sense of the point system. Without even thinking about the best way to do it, I switched to the way stated above. I asked the other player what he thought about my way of scoring, and he said he thought it was supposed to be like that. This leads me to believe that it is a innate way of playing the game.
When it comes to skill, Bad Grandmas only uses mental and social skills, no physical ones. The mental skills that can be utilized in this game are memory and observation. Memory is used by remembering the attack power of each Grandma. There are only sixteen total so that's not too difficult. The thing I did find a bit more difficult to memorize was the Grandmas weapon. As stated above, each Grandma either has a rolling pin or sewing needles. Some of the modifiers that the game has effects those weapons. When trying to be strategic, knowing what weapons and attack power your opponents Grandmas have was helpful. Observation in this game is based off your memory skills. By knowing all the Grandmas in the deck, you can observe what Grandmas are in you hand. Besides the two cards set aside, this give you a very good idea of what your opponent has in their hand. This makes the rest of the game a game of observation and reading your opponent. That leads into the social skills of the game. There are no teammates to coordinate with so it's just about reading and fooling your opponent. To fool an opponent in this game is difficult if they have memorized the Grandmas. If they have, the only way is to fool them is the act of playing a card. You could pretend it's just a throw away card or act like it's the best card. Then it becomes about reading people. Being able to read your opponent is very important. If you can't, you might waste your most powerful Grandma on their weakest one.
Like any good game, this game has chance. Chance can be found in almost every aspect of the game. The cards that are set aside are chosen by chance as well with the cards in your hand because you shuffle the entire deck. Chance is what Grandma card is used as the modifier. For the Grandma who uses a die roll to determine their attack, that entire card is a chance card.
