I’m trying to implement a card game where each player has a private hand, but occasionally needs to be able to show a single card to one of the other players (both chosen by the person showing the card) without any of the other players seeing it.
Any ideas on how this might be implemented?
Hmmm… I can think of a couple ways to work it that would at least capture the overall thrust:
METHOD 1:
(A) The right-click menu for a card includes options for “Show to Player 1”, “Show to Player 2”, etc.
(B) Selecting one of these options actually temporarily moves the card to that player’s private hand. Perhaps to a specific separate area “shown cards” inside the hand window. And then the card has a “Give back to Player X” option (could even be done with the keystroke-to-reverse-this-action part of the Send To Location that got it there in the first place, so it would “know” which player hand to go back to).
(C) PROS: definitely shows the card and only to the one player, CONS: relies on the other player remember to give the card back.
METHOD 2:
(A) Again there are right+click boxes for “Show to Player 1”, etc.
(B) But this time the method uses “Place Marker” instead of “Send To Location”, and places an entirely new marker, perhaps a “miniaturized version of the card” or even a “counter/marker”, which contains enough information the player seeing it will understand what has been shown, but cannot in any way be mistaken for “an actual playable card in his hand”. He’d have the option to “delete” this miniature card marker, or keep it around in his hand for recordkeeping.
(C) In the “place marker” trait, you’d need a “keystroke to apply when placed” which caused the marker to be placed in the correct player’s hand. Obviously you might not want to have to define a different marker version of each card for every single player it could be passed to, so you could have the keystroke be one that sent the card/marker to a location specified by the contents of a Global Property, and then in the trigger for e.g. “Send To Player A”, it would first load the Global Property with a location in Player A’s hand before doing the Place Marker.
(D) PROS: definitely shows the card to the right player, actual card never leaves your hand, other player has option of retaining record of being shown. CONS: you have to create an extra miniature/marker version of each possible card. A little more complicated to implement, but not super-complicated.
Maybe someone has an even better method, but that’s what I can think of!
Brian
add private windows that only apply for each player who needs to see it (i.e owner access). Use Menu Toolbars to reduce all the clutter on your top bar - make it a drop down
Pretty simple,
No need to get extravagant
Thanks both for your ideas.
I’m new to Vassal, and there’s clearly a different mindset you have to learn. Once someone has pointed you in the right general direction, it’s SO much easier!
I’ll let you know how I get on.