Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money - Minimalist Jam 2026 Entry

Yesterday I submitted an entry for Binary Star Games' Minimalist Jam 26, a jam focused on delivering something punchy and playable with an active de-emphasis on production value. I'd kicked around a few different ideas over the last two months with my friend Zak H at Bommyknocker Press but yesterday I just happened to have the exact right mix of inspiration and time on my hands to hammer something into shape. Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money is a three-player card game that gamifies the 1979 Warren Zevon song (youtube link).The song is a wry romp through the Cold War where some unnamed rapscallion is putting himself in dangerous situations and begging an unknown audience for lawyers, guns, and money to get to safety. I just recently played FIST, a game with similar themes to Metal Gear Solid, and have been on something of a Zevon kick for the past few weeks, so I think a perfect storm had been set. The rest of this post will be a reflection on my final submission and where I'd like to go…