I’ve been mulling over another game development idea in the back of my mind over the last few days – I’ve already got two other projects in active development, so this one is going to go on the back burner. But that doesn’t mean it will be neglected – ideas tend to form in my brain at unpredictable moments, particularly when I know I’ve got something I want to do but can’t get to it right away. 8-9-3 is just such a project.

What is 8-9-3? To be specific, 8-9-3 is a losing hand in the card game oicho-kabu…a sort of Japanese version of blackjack. The numbers 8-9-3 translate roughly as ‘ya’, ‘ku’, and ‘za’. Indeed – the yakuza reportedly took their name from this dubious hand of cards, seeing themselves as born losers.

8-9-3 will be an RPG set in post WWII  Hiroshima – the players will be yakuza gangsters, all members of the same clan, fighting to gain and preserve turf amidst the ruins of post-war Japan. I have absolutely no idea how the systems will work, although I think it would be neat to incorporate the odds and evens mechanic behind cho-han, the dice game you see played in many yakuza films. Hanafuda would also seem to be a neat mechanic, although it doesn’t seem to lend itself well to conflict resolution.

I don’t anticipate any active development on 8-9-3 to take place in the near future, but as GECKI nears completion I may make room for 8-9-3 as it seems like it could be a lot of fun to play.