1 July 2009
"Smartie" a fun format
Introduction
We all know the situation where you find that you have a bunch of magic players and you all want to play casually. The conversation normally follows a line like this:
Player 1: "What shall we play?"
Player 2: "Multiplayer!".
Player 3: "Nice! I have an Extended deck"
Player 1: "I only have my Standard and EDH* deck"
Player 2: "I have Standard too."
Player 1: "What type of Extended deck?"
Player 3: "Combo with possible 3rd turn kill!"
Player 2: "That doesn't sound fun." The conversation from there on might vary, but more often than not it ends up with no magic being played. The "Smartie" format doesn't care which formats are being played or what type of decks are available. Hey! Even sideboards are welcome. There is only one requirement ... the sleeves of each deck has to be a different colour. Before we go further, let's just clarify for our international readers what a Smartie really is. A Smartie is a sugar coated chocolate sweet that comes in different colours, popular in most Commonwealth countries. They are similar to Skittles. Now that we have that clarified let's continue. How it is played "Smartie" is exactly like any other multiplayer game; except that all the different decks are shuffled together to form a huge deck, as everybody will be drawing from the same deck. First determine which player will be starting by random method like a dice roll. That player then draws 8 cards. Then the other players draw 8 cards in clockwise order. Each player may get a no-land mulligan (it is a free mulligan if you have no lands in your hand.) Each player does not draw a card during his or her first round. Then the rest of the game continues like any other chaos (free for all) multiplayer. When the game is done, sorting of the decks is now very easy due to the fact that all the decks were in different coloured sleeves. There is now no quarrelling over which card belongs to which player. The suggested starting life total for a "Smartie" is 30. Technical Clarifications Why draw 8 cards? That is the first question everybody asks and the answer is simple. It helps you decide if you need to mulligan. In a "Smartie" you will most likely be playing with all five magic colours. By drawing 8 cards, the player has a better chance to get a more varied hand and not to end up getting stuck without mana. The second question is why don't you do not draw a card during your first round. Actually you have already. It was the 8th card! Normally the player going first would not draw a card, but the advantage gained is very tiny in a multiplayer game and thus ignored for better game play and simplicity. If strange situations pop up due to having a single deck, it is normally solved with a method determined by all the players. Variations The great thing about "Smartie" is how adaptable it is to different rules. Here are two variations on the game: Mutant Smartie The only difference here is that you have two life totals. You and each player next to you share a life total, one on your right and one on your left, thus making a big mutant multi-headed giant. Whenever you are dealt damage you may decide on which side you apply it. A player gets eliminated when both his life totals are zero. Whenever a player is eliminated, the players on either side of that player then "merge". The life total between them is then determined by averaging the life totals on their other sides rounded up. The two last remaining players are then the winners. Cluedo Smartie Basically each player is given a random other player to kill and a random other player to keep alive. The game is about bonuses and penalties which are decided beforehand. For instance you would gain 5 life and draw two cards if the opponent you were suppose to kill is eliminated. Similarly there is a penalty for failing to keep your one player alive. For instance lose 5 life and discard 2 cards. Sometimes the person killing you is the person you have to keep alive. Conclusion I hope this makes you're casual gaming a lot more fun and a lot more consistent. Just a friendly warning, "Smarties" tend to be very political and involves a lot of backstabbing and yelling, but still very entertaining. *EDH = Elder Dragon Highlander Author: Roelf Pringle
We all know the situation where you find that you have a bunch of magic players and you all want to play casually. The conversation normally follows a line like this:
Player 1: "What shall we play?"Player 2: "Multiplayer!".
Player 3: "Nice! I have an Extended deck"
Player 1: "I only have my Standard and EDH* deck"
Player 2: "I have Standard too."
Player 1: "What type of Extended deck?"
Player 3: "Combo with possible 3rd turn kill!"
Player 2: "That doesn't sound fun." The conversation from there on might vary, but more often than not it ends up with no magic being played. The "Smartie" format doesn't care which formats are being played or what type of decks are available. Hey! Even sideboards are welcome. There is only one requirement ... the sleeves of each deck has to be a different colour. Before we go further, let's just clarify for our international readers what a Smartie really is. A Smartie is a sugar coated chocolate sweet that comes in different colours, popular in most Commonwealth countries. They are similar to Skittles. Now that we have that clarified let's continue. How it is played "Smartie" is exactly like any other multiplayer game; except that all the different decks are shuffled together to form a huge deck, as everybody will be drawing from the same deck. First determine which player will be starting by random method like a dice roll. That player then draws 8 cards. Then the other players draw 8 cards in clockwise order. Each player may get a no-land mulligan (it is a free mulligan if you have no lands in your hand.) Each player does not draw a card during his or her first round. Then the rest of the game continues like any other chaos (free for all) multiplayer. When the game is done, sorting of the decks is now very easy due to the fact that all the decks were in different coloured sleeves. There is now no quarrelling over which card belongs to which player. The suggested starting life total for a "Smartie" is 30. Technical Clarifications Why draw 8 cards? That is the first question everybody asks and the answer is simple. It helps you decide if you need to mulligan. In a "Smartie" you will most likely be playing with all five magic colours. By drawing 8 cards, the player has a better chance to get a more varied hand and not to end up getting stuck without mana. The second question is why don't you do not draw a card during your first round. Actually you have already. It was the 8th card! Normally the player going first would not draw a card, but the advantage gained is very tiny in a multiplayer game and thus ignored for better game play and simplicity. If strange situations pop up due to having a single deck, it is normally solved with a method determined by all the players. Variations The great thing about "Smartie" is how adaptable it is to different rules. Here are two variations on the game: Mutant Smartie The only difference here is that you have two life totals. You and each player next to you share a life total, one on your right and one on your left, thus making a big mutant multi-headed giant. Whenever you are dealt damage you may decide on which side you apply it. A player gets eliminated when both his life totals are zero. Whenever a player is eliminated, the players on either side of that player then "merge". The life total between them is then determined by averaging the life totals on their other sides rounded up. The two last remaining players are then the winners. Cluedo Smartie Basically each player is given a random other player to kill and a random other player to keep alive. The game is about bonuses and penalties which are decided beforehand. For instance you would gain 5 life and draw two cards if the opponent you were suppose to kill is eliminated. Similarly there is a penalty for failing to keep your one player alive. For instance lose 5 life and discard 2 cards. Sometimes the person killing you is the person you have to keep alive. Conclusion I hope this makes you're casual gaming a lot more fun and a lot more consistent. Just a friendly warning, "Smarties" tend to be very political and involves a lot of backstabbing and yelling, but still very entertaining. *EDH = Elder Dragon Highlander Author: Roelf Pringle