Ben Cheung

GAME CONCEPT

Prisoner's Trilemma is a Game about Game theory. Players enact different scenarios representing Dilemmas and Trilemmas to consider. Players play cards representing whether they cooperate, betray, or compromise in the situation. Based on the revealed cards, players determine outcomes from a Game theory payoff matrix to determine scoring.

GAME SETUP

The following diagram shows the steps in Game Setup:

1. CREATE TEAMS - This is a head-to-head game. If playing with more than 2 players, divide players into two teams. One player/team is designated Player A or Pa. The other player/team is designated Player B or Pb.
2. PREPARE DECKS - Expel (remove) the Wild cards. Take out the Science domain cards to form the Payout deck. Expel the values 8 through 13 of the Technology domain cards. Shuffle the remaining cards together to form the draw deck.
5. DRAW CARDS - Each player/team draws 13 cards from the common draw deck. Have the Trilemmas ready for use.

PRISONER'S TRILEMMA GAME PLAY OVERVIEW

Prisoner's Trilemma is played in rounds. Each game round has the following phases:

DRAW A CARD - Each player/team draws two cards from the deck.
SELECT TRILEMMA PHASE Select a Trilemma for the round. You may use any of the 20 Trilemmas from the Trilemma home page, or from the printed rules.
TRILEMMA PHASE - In this phase, players consider the selected Trilemma with a fixed payout table. If playing in teams, players may deliberate. Decide whether you/team will cooperate, defect or compromise. Choose a service domain card to represent cooperating. Use a knowledge domain card to defect. Choose a technology domain card to compromise. Each player/team plays their chosen card face down. Reveal cards and consult the Trilemma phase payout table. Find the cell in the Payout table based on the cards played to calculate scores. Note the scores.

GAME THEORY PHASE - Reveal a card from the Payout Deck for the cooperate payout score card; another for the defect payout score card. Place the compromise payout card face down. Reshuffle the payout discard to form a new Payout Deck if necessary. Players consider the Trilemma again. If playing in teams, players may deliberate. Decide whether you/team will cooperate, defect or compromise. Choose a service domain card from your hand to represent cooperating. Use a knowledge domain card to defect. Choose a technology domain card to represent compromising. Play the chosen card face down.
GAME THEORY SCORING PHASE - Both players/teams reveal their chosen face-down play cards. The Game Theory Phase uses the Game Theory Payout table. Find the cell in the Game Theory Payout table based on the row and column of the revealed player cards. Follow the instructions in the Game Theory Payout table cell. Some instructions will have you claim Payout (science) score cards. Discard any unclaimed Payout (science) score cards.

CHECK FOR END OF GAME - The game ends after the fifth game round. Afterwards, calculate scores. Add the points earned from all five Trilemma phases. Value 1-8 Payout (science) score cards in your/team score pile are worth 1 point. Value 9-13 Payout (science) score cards are worth 2 points.

GAME PLAY TRILEMMAS

Trilemmas 1-15:

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Additional Trilemmas 16-30:

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TRILEMMA PHASE GAME PLAY EXAMPLE

TRILEMMA PHASE PLAY EXAMPLE - An example of the Trilemma Phase is illustrated in the following diagram. Here, there are two players: Player #A and Player #B. They are considering Trilemma #1: The Prisoner's Trilemma. Player #A plays the 4-Services (Construction Services) card representing cooperation face down as her Card for this phase. Player #B plays the 2-Technology (Cloud Computing) card representing compromise face down as his Card for this phase. After they both reveal their cards, they consult the Trilemma Phase Payout Table. Player #A chose to Cooperate. So, To find the appropriate payout cell, they will use the left-most payout column. Player #B choose to Compromise, so they will use the bottom-most payout Row. In the left-most bottom cell is their payout description which reads: Pb looks at the face down card for the Game Theory Phase and Pa scores 0 points. They resolve the effects and move to the next Phase of the game.

GAME THEORY PHASE GAME PLAY EXAMPLE

GAME THEORY PHASE EXAMPLE - An example of the Game Theory Phase is illustrated in the following diagram. Here, there are two players again: Player #A and Player #B. They are still considering Trilemma #1: The Prisoner's Trilemma from the previous phase. At the start of the phase three Payout (score) cards are revealed for the Payout deck. A card is revealed face-up from the Payout (score) deck as the Cooperate Payout Card. A card is revealed face-up from the Payout (score) deck as the Defect Payout Card. Finally, a card is placed face-down from the Payout (score) deck for the Compromise Payout Card. Player #A plays the 11-Services (Transportation Services) card representing cooperation face down as her Card for this phase. Player #B plays the 7-Knowledge (Cloud Storage) card representing Defect face down as his Card for this phase. After they both reveal their cards, they consult the Game Theory Payout Table. Player #A chose to Cooperate. So, To find the appropriate payout cell, they will use the left-most payout column. Player #B choose to Defect, so they will use the middle payout Row. In the left-most middle cell is their payout description which reads: Pb takes the lowest payout (score) card from a player. Cooperator (Pb) takes the cooperate Payout card which in this case is the 7-Science (Earth Sciences) score card. Player #B will take Player #A's lowest score card currently in their Score pile. The 7-Science score card is not yet there as Pb is takes a score card. They resolve the effects and move to the next Phase of the game.

DOWNLOAD THE RULES

Prisoner's Trilemma Full Rules: Prisoner's Trilemma Rules Full
Prisoner's Trilemma Compact Rules: Prisoner's Trilemma Rules Compact

INTRODUCTION VIDEO

Watch a video on the introduction of Prisoner's Trilemma. The introduction video describes the basic concepts, objectives and an introduction to the Tech Deck.

PLAY GUIDE VIDEO

Watch a play guide video for Prisoner's Trilemma. The play guide video is an in depth video on how to setup the game, and all the steps involved in playing the game.

ENTRY ON BOARD GAME GEEK

You can read and explore the BoardGameGeek entry for Prisoner's Trilemma.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION
· Published: April 10, 2023
· Format: Card Game
· Elements: 54 Cards
· Size: 3.75" x 2.8751" x .875"

ORDERING PRISONER'S TRILEMMA
· To purchase the Tech Deck: Contact Me