Quo Vadis!


Quo Vadis? is a one of my favorite negotiation games, designed by Reiner Knizia. However, the game has what us game design types call "Hidden Trackable" information, in that there is no real hidden information. If you have a piece of paper and a pen, or a really good memory, you know what everyone has score-wise at all times. The rules say the score is hidden, and that indeterminate score at the end is a really interesting and important part of the game. An interesting part, unfortunately, that is ruined by the hidden trackable problem. If you were to play with open scores, the game would not be good.

So I've created a variant for the game. I modified the pieces in my set, however, if you're really gung-ho you could create your own new tiles for it.

Take the scoring tiles and divide them up into four piles: IV and V tiles, II and III tiles, II Caesar Head tiles, and the I tiles. Mark the seperate piles different colors. I used shiny stick-on stars from Staples. The IV and V got gold stars on the back, II and III tiles got silver stars, the II Caesar Head got red stars, and the I's were left blank.

Shuffle the non I tiles together like normal, but make them into a stack with the star side up instead of putting them into a bag. (You’ll always know the type of score coming.) Fill the board as per the normal game, but declare a preset way you're going to fill the board, since you'll be able to see the next tile coming at all times.

Play the game as normal, except that whenever a tile is placed, it is placed facedown from the top of the stack. The person who takes the tile may look at it, but no one else may until the game is over. Whenever a red tile is taken, the Caesar Head is moved like normal.