06 · Design note · FrostZero
How a table works in FrostZero.
Hidden roles, a shrinking table and the cards in your hand: the skeleton of a FrostZero session.
A FrostZero table seats 4 to 7 players. Everyone gets a character and a hidden role; only the Base Commander reveals their role from the start, and everyone else stays hidden for the whole game. Roles are fixed: nobody gets infected and nobody switches role or side.
A turn has three steps: draw two cards, play as many cards as you like, then discard down to your hand limit. You may play only one FIRE! card per turn, and you can carry only one weapon at a time.
Distance at the table is the seating itself: the distance between two players is the shortest number of seats between them. As players are eliminated the table tightens, and someone you could not reach a moment ago suddenly becomes your neighbour.
The cards in your hand are not all the same shape either. Some show their effect once and leave the table, others stay in front of you for good. Weapons do not change distance; they only set the furthest point your FIRE! can reach.
The tension does not come from a twist or a transformation. It comes from fixed roles, a table that keeps closing in, and deciding when to show the cards in your hand. We will keep sharing design notes here.