The Experienced Thinker

I'm finally getting around to working on the revised Pettyland Character Cards. There are 8 playable characters in all. Three of them are aligned with the subconscious mind, three of them are aligned with the conscious mind, and two of them are "neutral", having interests in both areas of the mind.

This first character -- The Experienced Thinker, is aligned with the subconscious mind. He was always trouble to to balance in the past, because his goal of gaining 15 in 3 out 4 of his characteristics at one time can be quite challenging, because most of the cards in Pettyland manipulate characteristics in some way. However, a change to his abilities and a change to the way in which most cards work in Pettyland should make this more achievable. 

In most cases, when a player draws a card in Pettyland, they can choose which player is affected by the result, whereas in the past, it was nearly always the card-drawer. I changed this because this was punishing the player for drawing cards, which is the primary means that the each character's personal goal is advanced. By allowing the card drawer to choose which player is affected by the cards (not in all cases -- there is still some risk/reward to drawing cards), it is not only less punishing, but also places more emphasis on player interaction, and player alliances, which are major elements of the game.