Entropy City: Making a Wargame

Truth be told I’ver been asked this question directly during playtesting a couple of times and my answer had been that it would be treated like everything else but as the game develops honestly, Im thinking that people have a point and I’m now very seriously considering adding a critical fail but before we get there I should probably provide some context fopr those coming across this for the first time.

The basic dice mechanic from my game essentially works like blackjack/21 you roll 2d10 to begin with and add the result together, the 1 is either a 1 or an 11, you will have a target number to reach for a success and your aim is to get as close to 21 as you can without going over. If you don’t roll high enough you have the option to add a further d10 into the test but theres obviously risks involved because if you do go over 21 your rider will crash out of the game. This is the core basics of how the dice  mechanics work and in this context if you do roll snake eyes at this stage in theory you either have 2, 12 or 22 (you would obviously never choose 22).

So obviously the question in the past is whether snake eyes is an automatic failure and it hadnt been as at the time I always wanted someone to feel like they had a chance, that if they push their luck too far they have no-one to blame but themselves. My thought was that snake eyes always becomes 2 without the option any longer, meaning it makes it harder but at the same time if you bust its not an auto fail and its still only your fault for pushing your luck too far.

So thats the thought behind this new rule I have just finished adding (which will obviously need to be tested.

Snake Eyes:

• During any test should your initial 2d10 roll result in double one’s that result is 2, this is the only occasion where you would not have the option to make one of them 11. Your rider instantly gains 1 stress to represent a moment of panic, you may then choose to push your luck as normal
  but for every dice you add to your test your rider takes an additional 1 stress.

  Thoughts: So where as normally a 1 could be either a 1 or an 11 in this case they’re forced to both be 1’s. Adding that extra stress means it becomes a minimum of 3 (maybe more if you already have stress prior to this). If you chose to push your luck then each dice added adds an extra 1 to that stress. I personally don’t like an auto fail which is why I’m trying to find something else that feels similar but without ever really being able to blame the dice for the risks the player took.