IC Apples to Apples

[Liatai]

A few days ago, I got curious (as I often do) and started looking to see if anyone had made a program to let people play Apples to Apples over the internet. It turns out the fine folks at sandyapples.com have made a module for the VASSAL engine (a Java program which, hopefully, should work on any OS) that lets people do just that.

Then, I remembered a little variant that a few roleplaying friends and I used to play... IC Apples to Apples. The name is self-explanatory; pick a character of yours, from any roleplay, world, story, comic, what have you, and play Apples to Apples in-character. (The game takes place "backstage," in a sense, so nothing that happens in the game will affect anything in the story/game/comic/what have you that the character is from. It's all silly, pretendy-fun-time-games stuff.) The VASSAL engine has a built-in chat function... So, I thought I would ask if anyone might be interested in setting up/playing in a game or two. We could use this thread like the D&D thread on this same forum, to find groups and set up games.

Current Games

• Hosted by Liatai: Thursday, June 8, Basic Card Set, 8:00 PM GMT. The theme is Old Characters. Who was the first character you created that you still feel comfortable writing for? Bring him or her out to play!

For those not familiar with the game, Apples to Apples is a card game based on comparisons. There are two decks of cards; red cards, which are nouns, and green cards, which are adjectives. You need a minimum of four players. In standard play, everyone draws seven red cards for their hand. One player is the judge. The judge draws a green card from the deck and places it face-up on the table. Let's say, for example, that the green card says "Dainty." Every player (except for the judge) takes a red card from their hand that they think is "dainty" and places it face-down on the table.

When everyone has played, the judge picks up the cards and lays them face-up on the table. (Most people read the cards aloud as they place them face-up, but it's not a requirement. ) Let's say that the red cards played were "Helen Keller," "Lace," "Tea Parties," and "Birds." The judge would pick whichever red card he/she thinks matches the green card best, i.e. which is the most "dainty." Whoever played the red card that the judge picks gets the green card. Everyone then draws until they have seven cards again, and then the next player becomes the judge. The goal is to get a certain number of green cards; the first person to reach that number of green cards wins the game. The number of required cards depends on how many people are playing; the online version can have up to 8 players.

Playing in-character is a fun little character-building exercise, since you never know what's going to come up. What does your character think is "unscrupulous?" Say your character is the judge for a round. Which does your character think is more "aged;" "Owls," "Violins," "Prickly Pears," or "Cheese?" If your character's hand contains nothing that jumps out at someone as being "fast," which card would he/she play? How would he/she try to convince the judge that his/her card is best? (That's half the fun, after all!) Even if you've played/written for the character for years, sometimes the game will make you think about an aspect of him/her that you hadn't given much thought to before. (Plus, it's fun to just bounce characters off of each other and see what happens. )

There are also variants like "Apple Turnovers" (in which the roles of green and red cards are reversed) and "Crab Apples" (in which you try to play the red card that is least like the green card), all of which can be played in-character. The Wikipedia page for Apples to Apples has more information.


There are a few optional rule changes for IC Apples to Apples concerning person and place cards (cards like "Michael Jackson" and "Rome") if said person/place doesn't exist in the character's world....

• You can play the cards straight and use your character's confusion as a roleplaying hook, or just assume that the character knows who/what it is if it would be IC for them to know it.
• If the character has an analogous person/place in his/her world, then you can play that card as though it describes that person/place. (Your character might need to explain it to the other people at the table, though, and you'll need to tell the other players in an out-of-character way what the card is supposed to say.)
• Treat the card as a "blank card." In the real version of the game, there are blank cards which can be filled in to say anything you like. The virtual version has no such cards, but we could use the person/place cards in a similar way. (If groups continue to meet, they could build up their own lists of substitutions over time; like, say, "Teddy Roosevelt" is always "Teddy Bears" in one group, or it might be "World Domination" or "Mythos" in another.)
• Any person/place cards are just discarded. The person gets to draw another card until he/she has no person/place cards.
• ... Some other variant that I haven't thought of.

I personally lean toward number 3 when I play, but it's really up to the people playing the game which variant they go for. Different groups could also develop their own "house rules;" for example, among some of the friends I play with, "Pirates," "Ninjas," and "Helen Keller" are trump cards that automatically win any hand.


So! Anyone interested?

[Chairtastic]

I hereby express interest!

[Angel]

(pokes her head in) Can't say I don't love this game. I'll think about it.

[VAE]

This seems quite interesting.

[Boog]

This is the BEST idea, I want in.

[lucas marcone]

i express interest conditionally....if my computer can handle it without a hissy  im in.

[Liatai]

I think it's time that we start setting up some games, then!

I know I'd be happy to host a game sometime this week using the basic set of cards; is there a day/time that works well for people? I'm pretty much good for anything that isn't between 2 AM and 6 AM EDT, although nights (past 7 or 8 PM EDT) would probably work best.

[thefoxwithout]

My internet is a bit iffy at times, but if I can I'd like to get in, we used to play that game in my ap english class. I'll probably be able to play on the weekends though.

[Chairtastic]

The best time for me would be sometime after 5pm, CST.  No particular day is better or worse than any other. 

[VAE]

hmm what is that in GMT?? I am not understand of american times at all
Also i think the best might be friday or thursday, this week is rather busy otherwise

[Liatai]

These links might help people with time zone issues. (Also, if you use Firefox, I can heartily recommend FoxClocks. )

Hm... How does 10:30 PM GMT on Friday or Saturday sound to people? (That's 6:30 PM Eastern time, I think, and 5:30 PM Central time.) If all else fails, I can always host two games at different times. We just need to make sure we have a minimum of four players for each game.

[VAE]

KTHX! B-D
The timing is good enough, now only to think which character i will put through

[Toric]

Interest! Apples to Apples is at its best with people who know each other either too well or not at all!

I'm occupied on most friday nights, but I'd gladly pitch in on Saturdays. I hope you don't mind dwarves and gnomes.

[Angel]

Well, my work schedule isn't decided yet, but once it is, I'll let you guys know. The only day that I know for sure I'm not free is May 22.

[Caswin]

You have my attention.

That said, I'm having trouble with the module.  Is it supposed to take over ten minutes for VASSAL to open it?

[Liatai]

Not as far as I know... Which module are you trying to load? I know when I first started it up, the Basic card set and Basic + Kids worked just fine, but Basic + Kids + Custom didn't work until my third try at loading it. (If you just clicked the "most recent Apples to Apples module" here, you have the Basic + Kids + Custom module.) I'd scroll down the page and try "Apples to Apples 2.0 Basic" to see if it loads any faster. If that doesn't work... um. I'll see if I can't find some advice from either the module-makers or the VASSAL website, just in case.

(By the way, folks... If you're planning to join in the games I'm hosting on Friday/Saturday, please make sure you have the "Apples to Apples 2.0 Basic" module. Otherwise, you won't be able to see or enter the game rooms I'll make for them. )

Also, I've updated the first post with a list of scheduled games, which I'll try my hardest to keep current. If you want to try hosting your own game at any time, I'll add yours to the list to make it easier both for you to find players and for players to find you.

[Caswin]

I'd scroll down the page and try "Apples to Apples 2.0 Basic" to see if it loads any faster.

The funny thing is, that's what I was trying.  I'll give the "most recent" module a shot.

EDIT: That doesn't seem to be working, either.  Multiple tries, you say?

[Liatai]

That's my best guess, for now. The programs loaded faster for me on my second/third/fourth tries.

The only other thing I can think of (and I'm not very technology-inclined, so if anyone else can think of anything to try, by all means, speak up!) is checking to make sure your version of Java is up-to-date. I don't know if that would do anything, but it doesn't hurt to check, I suppose.

[Chairtastic]

I'm all up for the Friday game.

EDIT: Okay..upon seeing the filesize AtA Basic is, I might take a bit longer than that.  I'm still on for Friday, unless something goes wrong at the eleventh hour of download.

[Liatai]

Yeah, I think that's just due to the sheer number of JPG files for the cards...

In any case, just a reminder that there is a game tonight! I'll open up the room at around 10 PM GMT, to allow people time to get in/get situated/get things working right. (I'll make the room's name obvious, in case there are other games going on.)

To join the room, start the module, select "Look for a game online," and hit the "connect" button on the toolbar (it looks like two arrows, or like equilibrium arrows if you're a chemistry geek ). You should see the name of the room underneath "Main Room." Double-click on the room to join it. After that (this is important), right-click (or control-click if you're using a Mac) on my username, Liatai, under the room's name. Hit "Synchronize." If you don't do this, you won't be able to see or play in the game, so. Yeah. If you have any questions or problems, feel free to send me a message either here or on VASSAL any time.

Hope to see you there! 

[VAE]

this is strange - i can run the program etc , i just don't see the game being there

[Liatai]

The IC game's room, or the game board itself?

If it's the game's room, it's not up yet. Once it's up and you join, then hit "Syncronize," you should be able to see it.

If it's the game board itself... try going up to "File" and clicking "New Game." That should open up the game board.

[VAE]

the room.
I was just wondering since it is now 10.30 GMT no? or it is only 9.30??
Meh, i am no geographist

[Liatai]

By my clock, it's 9:28 PM GMT right now. It'll be ready in about half an hour.

[VAE]

neat! i just had it mixed up.
Is that i am in england i thought they have GMT. I only know for sure slovak republic is gmt +2
duh, i should have figured that i am gmt+1 from that datum 

[Liatai]

Just a reminder that there's a game today, too, for those of us who couldn't catch the game last night. I'll be opening the room's doors in about half an hour, and then locking the room at 10:30 PM GMT. If you arrive after then, just send me a message either on VASSAL or here, and I'll invite you in.

*edit* As of right now, we only have two players out of a minimum of four; I'll keep the doors open until 10:45 PM.

[thefoxwithout]

I'm downloading the module but wich one are you using, basic, basic+kids, or basic+kids+custom

[Liatai]

Basic. When I'm hosting, it's always going to be Basic.

[thefoxwithout]

k, got it going now It says it should take about 14 minutes to download.

[Liatai]

All right, I'll pass on the message.

This means that the room will now be open until at least 11:10 PM GMT if other people want to come in.