Once upon a time, there was a pleasant young girl named Pollyanna. She found herself in an orphanage one Christmas, and she was the last one to get a gift out of the charity barrel. Though she was hoping for a beautiful doll like the one she'd seen in the shop window, all she actually found was a pair of crutches. She was at first sad, because what did she need crutches for? But then she remembered what her wonderful Dad had taught her long ago... always find something good about every situation you are in. Then she cheered up, because the crutches reminded her how glad she was that she didn't need them.
And then the goblins came to burn down the orphanage...
* * * * * * * * *
This is a game in which players take turns as goblins putting Pollyanna into a jamb... until Pollyanna gets out. But being a sweet and positive child, she does not fight goblins with bloody violence... she fights back with optimism!
SETUP
Each player will have as many tokens as there are players. A stack of index cards will be shared by all.
The most disgruntled player will be the goblin chief the first round, and the player to their left will begin as Pollyanna.
Each player will take one turn playing Pollyanna while the other players play the goblins that turn. After each time that a player acts as Pollyanna, the role of Pollyanna passes to that player's left. After everyone has had one turn each as Pollyanna, the game will conclude. There is a little more to the structure, but this is the basic structure of the game.
The players, beginning with the first round Pollyanna, will
frame the story, determining the stakes, the locations that
Pollyanna must traverse to deal with the goblins, and the first
hazard the goblins inflict upon Pollyanna and the orphanage.
FRAMING THE STORY
Pollyanna will begin by describing the scene, answering each of these questions briefly but colorfully:
1) What time is it? The time of year, and the hour included.
2) Where in the orphanage is Pollyanna? Write this on an index card with the time.
3) What is Pollyanna doing?
THE STAKES
Next, the player who begins as the chief goblin will begin listing the stakes - those things which Pollyanna must defend, or recover. The goblins will each list one stake, each of which Pollyanna may make a single modification to if she likes. The goblins will answer the following questions when naming the stakes:
1) What is at stake? This can be another orphan, a birthday cake, or any other concrete thing.
2) Where is that located in the orphanage? Write the location on an index card, with the stake noted beneath. The things at stake should be things that Pollyanna will really care about enough to go after.
3) How do you get there from where Pollyanna is? This path should include no more than three elements. For example, "down the hall, up the stairs to the attic, and in the wardrobe on the left". Briefly note this on the card, and place the card adjacent to Pollyanna's card in relation more or less to her location.
GOBLIN TROUBLE
The chief goblin will now describe the way in which goblin mischief begins. He can name one particular fact that will cause Pollyanna trouble, and will put a token on a location working from the point farthest from her. The troublesome fact can be anything that the devious goblin chooses relating to the location, or something that the Goblin has chosen to bring to the mayhem. For example, suppose the Goblin places a token on a location noted to be "The Kitchen". He may with his token declare that he is putting a dead coyote in the stove. The fact introduced by the token is the dead coyote, and it is in a kitchen so of course there is a stove which requires no token to declare.
AND WORSE GOBLIN TROUBLE
The next goblin to act continues in kind to declare mischief with a token, either making the previous trouble worse, or moving inward to a new location, placing a token on that card, and declaring a new fact. For example, the second goblin may place a second token in The Kitchen, declaring "...with your birthday cake..." which is a fact that aggravates the first fact. Alternatively, he may choose to place a token on the next card called, let's say, "The Dining Room", and declare that he has lit all the candles in the room.
After placing a token, the goblin notes the fact briefly on the card (e.g. "dead coyote").
Troubles should can be pretty much anything the goblin chooses from the merely annoying such as defacing the founder's portrait, to the dangerously malicious like knocking over the lit candles onto the table cloth. Narrative and creative freedom are encouraged. The only stipulation, is that whatever trouble the goblins create, they cannot harm either Pollyanna, or any of the stakes in an immediate, direct, or permanent fashion. Anything else goes.
Pollyanna may act as well at this time, if she chooses. If at any point while the goblins are making mischief, Pollyanna decides that she does not like the fact laid down by a goblin, she can give one of her own tokens to the offending goblin, and modify the troublesome fact with a "...yes, but..." statement. She cannot nullify the fact entirely, but she can add a condition to it. For example, if the goblin in the Dining Room knocked over all the lit candles onto the tablecloth, Pollyanna might put a token in and say "...yes, but the table cloth is still wet from spilling all the sun tea on it at lunch". The wax will surely ruin the table cloth, but it won't be catching fire.
GOBLINS AND STAKES
Goblins may choose to make mischief in a way that potentially threatens the stake, as long as they recall that they may not harm the stakes in an immediate, direct, or permanent fashion. If for instance, Pollyanna's birthday cake is in the oven, the dead coyote cannot be used to smash the cake directly, nor may they eat it (though licking the frosting with their nasty tongues is just fine), and the rotting coyote carcass inside with it will not immediately ruin the cake, but Pollyanna must certainly act fast or it soon will spoil the cake.
POLLYANNA'S TURN
After each goblin has had a chance to make mischief, Pollyanna gets her turn. With an indomitable optimism, Pollyanna now has the opportunity to observe and declare ways that any mischief the goblins make is actually helpful to her, and harmful to them.
She gets to make one optimistic declaration for every goblin in play on her turn. This declaration directly addresses any particular trouble of her choice. She may declare one optimistic fact for each goblin for free (that is, she does not have to give a token to that goblin). The new fact is noted on the card below the previous one. For example, she will begin by saying something like, "well even though the goblins put the dead coyote in the oven with my birthday cake, at least my cake was on the top rack". This is helpful to her, though not particularly harmful to the goblin cause.
However, just like the goblins, Pollyanna can add facts to facts that she has already declared. Unlike her initial declarations though, she must give a token to the goblin who made the mischief before she can add a second declaration to the first. For example, if she noted that her birthday cake was on the top rack, and then decided to add "...and I'm really lucky that the smell of warm chocolate cake is irresistible". Then she gives the goblin who put the dead coyote in the oven a token.
When Pollyanna makes a declaration that is both helpful to her, and bad for the goblins, she may take that trouble token. If Pollyanna had declared "...the luckiest part is that now, the goblins are fighting among themselves over who gets to eat the cake..." she will have made a declaration helpful to her ("top rack" because it keeps her cake safe), and harmful to the goblins ("fighting among themselves over cake"). She gets to take the trouble token for her own use, and then mark a line through cake on the card, which now makes it safe from further mischief.
AFTER EVERYONE HAS HAD A TURN
All tokens not in play on cards are now passed to the left, and the player to Pollyanna's left becomes the new Pollyanna. Play proceeds from the last point as described.
GETTING RID OF THE GOBLINS
On the last round, when the last player to play Pollyanna takes her turn, any tokens in hand can be used to add facts that may conclusively defeat goblins, by spending one token at a time per fact. The facts must all build on already established facts to be valid. For example, Pollyanna has previously declared that the goblins are fighting over the cake in the kitchen, so she might now spend a token to declare "...and I sure am glad that all that fighting made the littlest goblin decide to go home!" which effectively removes the goblin from play.
The only way the goblin may counter this at this point, is if he still has a token in hand, and decides to use it to make a "...yes, but..." declaration. For example, the littlest goblin player may have decided to go home, but spending that token could declare "...yes, I've decided this fighting makes me want to go home, but only after the chief goblin goes first...", or "yes, I've decided to go home in a huff, but not until I've gobbled the cake...".
WINNING
Pollyanna wins under the following conditions:
1) All of her stakes have been lined out of play
2) None of the goblins have any tokens left, and none are in play on cards (all are in Pollyanna's hand)
The goblins win under the following conditions:
1) Pollyanna fails to preserve any of her stakes before all tokens are in play
2) Pollyanna has no tokens in hand, and she has failed to protect all of her stakes
*** Picture: "Hope" at http://redreevgeorge.deviantart.com/
* * * * * * * * *
This is a game in which players take turns as goblins putting Pollyanna into a jamb... until Pollyanna gets out. But being a sweet and positive child, she does not fight goblins with bloody violence... she fights back with optimism!
SETUP
Each player will have as many tokens as there are players. A stack of index cards will be shared by all.
The most disgruntled player will be the goblin chief the first round, and the player to their left will begin as Pollyanna.
Each player will take one turn playing Pollyanna while the other players play the goblins that turn. After each time that a player acts as Pollyanna, the role of Pollyanna passes to that player's left. After everyone has had one turn each as Pollyanna, the game will conclude. There is a little more to the structure, but this is the basic structure of the game.
The players, beginning with the first round Pollyanna, will
frame the story, determining the stakes, the locations that
Pollyanna must traverse to deal with the goblins, and the first
hazard the goblins inflict upon Pollyanna and the orphanage.
FRAMING THE STORY
Pollyanna will begin by describing the scene, answering each of these questions briefly but colorfully:
1) What time is it? The time of year, and the hour included.
2) Where in the orphanage is Pollyanna? Write this on an index card with the time.
3) What is Pollyanna doing?
THE STAKES
Next, the player who begins as the chief goblin will begin listing the stakes - those things which Pollyanna must defend, or recover. The goblins will each list one stake, each of which Pollyanna may make a single modification to if she likes. The goblins will answer the following questions when naming the stakes:
1) What is at stake? This can be another orphan, a birthday cake, or any other concrete thing.
2) Where is that located in the orphanage? Write the location on an index card, with the stake noted beneath. The things at stake should be things that Pollyanna will really care about enough to go after.
3) How do you get there from where Pollyanna is? This path should include no more than three elements. For example, "down the hall, up the stairs to the attic, and in the wardrobe on the left". Briefly note this on the card, and place the card adjacent to Pollyanna's card in relation more or less to her location.
GOBLIN TROUBLE
The chief goblin will now describe the way in which goblin mischief begins. He can name one particular fact that will cause Pollyanna trouble, and will put a token on a location working from the point farthest from her. The troublesome fact can be anything that the devious goblin chooses relating to the location, or something that the Goblin has chosen to bring to the mayhem. For example, suppose the Goblin places a token on a location noted to be "The Kitchen". He may with his token declare that he is putting a dead coyote in the stove. The fact introduced by the token is the dead coyote, and it is in a kitchen so of course there is a stove which requires no token to declare.
AND WORSE GOBLIN TROUBLE
The next goblin to act continues in kind to declare mischief with a token, either making the previous trouble worse, or moving inward to a new location, placing a token on that card, and declaring a new fact. For example, the second goblin may place a second token in The Kitchen, declaring "...with your birthday cake..." which is a fact that aggravates the first fact. Alternatively, he may choose to place a token on the next card called, let's say, "The Dining Room", and declare that he has lit all the candles in the room.
After placing a token, the goblin notes the fact briefly on the card (e.g. "dead coyote").
Troubles should can be pretty much anything the goblin chooses from the merely annoying such as defacing the founder's portrait, to the dangerously malicious like knocking over the lit candles onto the table cloth. Narrative and creative freedom are encouraged. The only stipulation, is that whatever trouble the goblins create, they cannot harm either Pollyanna, or any of the stakes in an immediate, direct, or permanent fashion. Anything else goes.
Pollyanna may act as well at this time, if she chooses. If at any point while the goblins are making mischief, Pollyanna decides that she does not like the fact laid down by a goblin, she can give one of her own tokens to the offending goblin, and modify the troublesome fact with a "...yes, but..." statement. She cannot nullify the fact entirely, but she can add a condition to it. For example, if the goblin in the Dining Room knocked over all the lit candles onto the tablecloth, Pollyanna might put a token in and say "...yes, but the table cloth is still wet from spilling all the sun tea on it at lunch". The wax will surely ruin the table cloth, but it won't be catching fire.
GOBLINS AND STAKES
Goblins may choose to make mischief in a way that potentially threatens the stake, as long as they recall that they may not harm the stakes in an immediate, direct, or permanent fashion. If for instance, Pollyanna's birthday cake is in the oven, the dead coyote cannot be used to smash the cake directly, nor may they eat it (though licking the frosting with their nasty tongues is just fine), and the rotting coyote carcass inside with it will not immediately ruin the cake, but Pollyanna must certainly act fast or it soon will spoil the cake.
POLLYANNA'S TURN
After each goblin has had a chance to make mischief, Pollyanna gets her turn. With an indomitable optimism, Pollyanna now has the opportunity to observe and declare ways that any mischief the goblins make is actually helpful to her, and harmful to them.
She gets to make one optimistic declaration for every goblin in play on her turn. This declaration directly addresses any particular trouble of her choice. She may declare one optimistic fact for each goblin for free (that is, she does not have to give a token to that goblin). The new fact is noted on the card below the previous one. For example, she will begin by saying something like, "well even though the goblins put the dead coyote in the oven with my birthday cake, at least my cake was on the top rack". This is helpful to her, though not particularly harmful to the goblin cause.
However, just like the goblins, Pollyanna can add facts to facts that she has already declared. Unlike her initial declarations though, she must give a token to the goblin who made the mischief before she can add a second declaration to the first. For example, if she noted that her birthday cake was on the top rack, and then decided to add "...and I'm really lucky that the smell of warm chocolate cake is irresistible". Then she gives the goblin who put the dead coyote in the oven a token.
When Pollyanna makes a declaration that is both helpful to her, and bad for the goblins, she may take that trouble token. If Pollyanna had declared "...the luckiest part is that now, the goblins are fighting among themselves over who gets to eat the cake..." she will have made a declaration helpful to her ("top rack" because it keeps her cake safe), and harmful to the goblins ("fighting among themselves over cake"). She gets to take the trouble token for her own use, and then mark a line through cake on the card, which now makes it safe from further mischief.
AFTER EVERYONE HAS HAD A TURN
All tokens not in play on cards are now passed to the left, and the player to Pollyanna's left becomes the new Pollyanna. Play proceeds from the last point as described.
GETTING RID OF THE GOBLINS
On the last round, when the last player to play Pollyanna takes her turn, any tokens in hand can be used to add facts that may conclusively defeat goblins, by spending one token at a time per fact. The facts must all build on already established facts to be valid. For example, Pollyanna has previously declared that the goblins are fighting over the cake in the kitchen, so she might now spend a token to declare "...and I sure am glad that all that fighting made the littlest goblin decide to go home!" which effectively removes the goblin from play.
The only way the goblin may counter this at this point, is if he still has a token in hand, and decides to use it to make a "...yes, but..." declaration. For example, the littlest goblin player may have decided to go home, but spending that token could declare "...yes, I've decided this fighting makes me want to go home, but only after the chief goblin goes first...", or "yes, I've decided to go home in a huff, but not until I've gobbled the cake...".
WINNING
Pollyanna wins under the following conditions:
1) All of her stakes have been lined out of play
2) None of the goblins have any tokens left, and none are in play on cards (all are in Pollyanna's hand)
The goblins win under the following conditions:
1) Pollyanna fails to preserve any of her stakes before all tokens are in play
2) Pollyanna has no tokens in hand, and she has failed to protect all of her stakes
*** Picture: "Hope" at http://redreevgeorge.deviantart.com/
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