Power Of Yore -- Zilch
Hadsil
Interferes While Not Playing
You have the power to kibbitz. You do not get any tokens, bases,
cards, Lucre, or other powers. You are not a regular player. Secretly
write down the name of a player you want to win. During the game, you
may look at whatever you want, whenever you want, including what
anyone has written. You may also give advice, good or bad, to any
player throughout the game. If the person you wanted to win does so
alone or with others, you win as well. You are only affected by Super
Zilch flare, Cosmic Zaps, and Wild Silencer Flare.
Use Only In Games With At Least Four Players
FLARE
Wild: You may be nosy and look at anything you want at any time. This
includes anything players have written, the destiny pile, and
challenge cards before they are revealed.
Super: If you win the game and are the person the Zilch declared, the
Zilch now loses, and you and everyone else wins.
PULSAR
Con: Zilch is affected by this card. Zilch may not give you bad
advice.
Pro: Zilch is affected by this card. If you win and Zilch declared
you to win, only Zilch wins.
Commentary: This is a rules power. As with Shark, Zilch is not my
creation but an idea presented in the old Encounter Magazine as an
attempt to include a seventh player to the game, for which I attempted
to make a regular power. I would soon find it not a fun aspect to the
game, either to be Zilch or have Zilch in the game, and abandoned this
power. Shark I would eventually resurrect into Beckett, but Zilch
remained unused. In an unrelated matter, I would eventually create a
power called Illuminati that allowed the player to make secret deals
with other players that transcend the normal rules for making deals.
However, I would conclude the power wouldn’t work because players can
easily just ignore the Illuminati player, nullifying the power, and no
one else would be disadvantaged. I would change Illuminati into the
power to cheat where it utilizes the various subterfuge cards
abilities from Jack Reda’s website. While Illuminati is not quite
Zilch, it is a cousin in concept.
Gerald Katz
Don’t forget to tip the Butler!