Bullets and Teeth is a satirical casual card game for 3-5 players where you don't have to outrun the dead if you can outrun the living.
Designed by Gavin Valentine & Kevin Roberson
Artwork by Gavin Valentine
Bullets and Teeth
Design Walkthrough Video
Design Goals
Target Audience
Ages 13+
Casual
Players who enjoy Exploding Kittens and Munchkin
Rules light, Fast paced, No setup
Enable player stories through exciting moments of variance
Keep asset count low to reduce risk in manufacturing
Create a game foundation to build upon
Challenges
Player Elimination
Solution: Quick rounds of game play gets players back into the action soon after being eliminated.
Asymmetrical Turns
Solution: The Bait! Card moves around the table letting players know when they are in danger of being consumed by the zombie horde.
Analysis Paralysis
Solution: Chunking card information into three types: Weapons, Supplies, and Traps. This allowed us to limit the amount of cards playable on any given turn.
Design Highlights
The Bait! Card
The Bait! card is the cornerstone of Bullets and Teeth. Not only is it an indicator to the players that they are the one in danger of being eaten alive, but it also an essential mechanic to gameplay.
With asymmetrical turns we needed a way for players to track if they had a non-bait turn or a bait turn. The player who is the bait can play as many cards of a single type as they want, while non-bait may only play one. This allows us to create very rapid turns and get to the action right away while lowering complexity.
Once we started exploring what was possible with this system we found that the Bait! unlocked the path to deeper gameplay. Understanding how the Bait! can be moved and used to your advantage increased the skill ceiling and rewards veteran players. While the variance of gameplay ensures it’s always possible for new players to win.
The Bullets Deck
The Bullets deck contains the weapons, supplies, and traps that players will use to survive and sabotage their way to victory.
Each card type has a specific role to play in how you will survive. Weapons can directly remove zombies from play. Supplies can refill your hand and temporarily stop the horde. And traps allow you to directly, and indirectly, sabotage other players.
Players choose which card type they will be playing that turn and can play as many cards of that type as they would like, but sometimes that will not be enough to survive. That’s where duct tape comes in, a special card that allows you to change which type you’re playing.
This easy to learn casting system allows players to intuitively use cards without worrying about casting cost and create more powerful effects by combining cards together.
The Teeth Deck
The Teeth deck contains the zombies and locations that will challenge the player throughout the game.
The mindless horde grows every turn making an increasingly complex puzzle to solve to survive. New players will be intimidated by the vast number of zombies, but veterans will know the horde can be your best weapon against your fellow players.
Enemies like Scabby Tabby create a sense of dread each time you must draw a card from the Teeth deck, because it could be your last. Locations have global effects across the horde creating dynamic moments that make each game unique.
Outcome
Successful Kickstarter raising over $43,000 with over 1,200 backers
Positive player and game critic reviews
Sold out of first print run
Reviews
“The gameplay is outstanding!”
“So much fun”
“Fun, quick, and ruthless”