Catamaran Game Design #1

I have been working on Catamaran for the last two months off and on since I got the idea while drafting on Magic Online. I was waiting for my next round to start, when I started to think about what has kept me playing Magic for so long. Knowing that drafting has always been one of the big parts that I enjoy making me lave constructed Magic in the dust. Then I started to think how Dominion was able to prove that the mechanic is still alive and that really the variations are ripe for the picking. One of these variations that is used in Magic is called the Rochester format. The gist of how the format works is the pack is placed face up on the table and then the players take turns picking a card. The problem with this format in Magic is it takes far longer than hidden drafting because only one player is picking at a time versus the 8 or so players that are usually doing it at the same time. Yet this format still can be incredibly enticing due to the amount of information the player has from seeing all the cards that will be in play. This forms the main mechanic that makes up Catamaran. Next I will take a look at how the other mechanics are brought together to hopefully make this a game worth playing.