Ugh, honestly the name for this prototype bugs me. But it's a prototype, so let's not get hung up on it.
I like the idea of a game that has a double-sided board...but that the pieces stay where they are as the board flips. There’s basically a normal board of 4 quarters, with a clear & stiff acrylic sheet overlay. Lift the plastic overlay with pieces on it, flip the boards over, and put the overlay back down.
Inspiration
This game was inspired by a Tim Powers book “Last Call” - a great story. Instead of being set in Las Vegas, I sent it to a center of weirdness, Albuquerque. Each player controls their character. In the “normal world” side of the board, they are mundane people. In the “mystic world”, they are characters based on Tarot cards.
Story
As you play, your character is drawn into a mystery in Albuquerque. Something is afoot – it could maim your character, maybe even kill it – removing you from the game. Your resources can be spent here or in the mystic world – your win condition in the real world and mystic world are going to be different, giving you options on how you win/play the game.
You might even be on the verge of winning the game in the mystic world, only to have a player or event revert it to the normal world. As the Empress, you were powerful and magnificent preparing to take the orb in the throne room. Shunted back into the real world, you are back to being a drunk in a dead-end alley, facing down a corrupt cop with a gun drawn on you. You spent so many resources making you powerful in the other world, that the neglect might finally catch up with you here.
Design Issues
I really like the double-sided board, alongside the two win conditions. I was considering even having each Major Arcana having its own goal, and each real world character having their own – almost too much design space.
Using the deck of 56 Minor Arcana is likewise a fun tie-in. If I had each one doing a different thing, it would require a custom Tarot deck with extra text, or I would need to reduce the variety of gameplay down so the Minor Arcana become more of a trick-taking or set-making game.
Overall
I really like the give-and-take of playing in two different arenas. If you're behind on one board, you can pivot to trying to win on the other. (I'm imagining that it would be hard to be winning on both boards at the same time.)
It has an additional game design difficulty, as you need to design two separate-but-overlapping board games. Balance one, you might need to go back and balance the other...risking a seasaw effect at the drawing board.
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