What book are you reading?

[Centurion1]

Lao Tzu again, thinking about a Spring/Autumn or Warring States boardgame with philosophers roaming the map affecting the states they settle in, and armies that eat one a village per turn (so war is really disasterous).

How to embody Chinese philosophical principles in a board game? The game that can be played is not the eternal game...

Thread?

depends on what philosophers we talking the classic ones? Confucius, Lao Tzu, the legalist bro?

[Cyclops]

Thread?...

I don't understand. I'nm reading the Tao Te Ching, isn't this thread about what book I'm reading?

..depends on what philosophers we talking the classic ones? Confucius, Lao Tzu, the legalist bro?

Yes all of them. I thought it'd be interesting to have a number of schools embodied by certain famous names eg Master Kung, Master Mo, that legalist bloke, the egoist bloke, maybe a "Way of Heaven" to represent the Chou mindset. Maybe throw in Master Sun (or both, Sun Wu and Sun Pin). Not central to the game, just flavouring a players approach if the opportunity arose.

Each philosopher would move around the map and if they entered your kingdom you could employ them and gain certain bonuses. Eg Confucius might give you a legitimacy bonus for extra filial piety. Mo Tzu might give more benevolence, the legalist might make ruler actions more decisive (but with higher stability costs for being more cruel or whatever), Sun Tzu might guive a military bonus, haven't thought it through really.

Lao Tzu would be the joker in the pack, sort of a Socratic smartalec who negates other master's bonuses (he's reputed to have shut Confucius up one time) or maybe give some bonus if the player refrains from action that turn.

Of course there'd be action/event cards (with cool names and matching qoutes eg Straw Dogs card: remove one official from a neighbouring state The fates treat people like straw dogs : Lao Tzu) and a "Chou Ruler" piece in Loy Yang. If you control the Chou Ruler you win under the "Spring and Autumn" victory conditions, but if he's killed or you've lost too much legitimacy then you have to win under the warring states victory conditions (aka Total Victory).