The Next Big Series (Channel A)

Have you ever wanted to produce an anime?  Have you had just the best idea ever, and no one to share it with?  Good news, that's what this game is all about.  Pitch your idea against various players, give it a strong name, and maybe you'll be the next big name on Channel A.




GAME DESCRIPTION: Channel A is a card game designed for 3 to 6 players or teams, with the primary goal to have your anime chosen by the current Producer.

THE PREMISE:  Every player has a hand of 10 Title Cards.  Each turn, the current Producer takes 5 Premise Cards from the deck.  Premise cards are what structure what the theme of the anime will be, such as Aliens, Cooking, or Video Games.  Players will make an anime based on 2 Premise cards chosen by the Producer.



TITLE CARDS: Title Cards are what make up your hand.  Players make the title of their anime using up to 4 cards for that round, and are first played face-down.  Then, each player takes a few minutes to explain their title and plot in any order they wish.  Any simple articles (a, the, and) are free to use any time and do not count against you.

POINTS: Once all the Titles have been revealed and anime pitched, the Producer then picks the anime they liked, and points are distributed to the players.  Whoever has the most points by the time the game ends wins, generally so that every player has had the same amount of time to be Judge.



CONCLUSION: First off, if you nothing about or don't enjoy anime, then you may want to skip over this one for now.  This is a game about creativity, planning, social cues, and a little bit of improvising.  I said in my last review that games without much structure don't play well, but what I mean by that is if there is no obvious flow, the game grinds to a halt.  This game allows for relaxed, free flow playing, and adaptability in rules on a group-by-group basis.  I love story telling games like this, and I think it did well in its format.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: Could this work as a western focused theme of live action or animated series?  Absolutely, no question.  Video Games?  Considering a lot come from Japan, sure.  Movies?  Books? A bigger stretch, but yeah.  It ultimately works due to the structure of Eastern Animation titles, but I think it'd be neat if there were more games like this that were themed differently.