Bit of a stretch, eh?
Well, my last post came two days before being laid off from my cushy 9-5 job. I immediately had to change gears and start looking for a job. I've since been working multiple jobs to cover rent, bills, loans, etc. BLAH BLAH SOB STORY, I've been getting by alright, and I've also been as busy with theatre stuff as ever (perhaps even more so) so in general, I haven't had time at a desk to sit and update this. But I've certainly still been turning the gears; in fact, my primary place of employment right now is the fabulous Cat n Mouse Game Store, here in Chicago. I was incredibly lucky to get the job, especially so soon after being laid off, and it's meant a great grounding in all things to do with games, puzzles and toys. Unfortunately, it's not a desk job, and I spend my time actually working in the store rather than whiling away on the computer (couldn't anyway, the computer's a bit of a relic).
So anyway, I've been cogitating on game design, just not blogging about it. In fact, I've got a few designs to share with you.
For today (since it is a special, if not necessarily meaningful, day) I've got a new take on an old classic, themed for the "holiday".
Components:
- Standard Mancala/Kalah/Oware Board with two rows of six wells, and a well for each player at the end.
- One bag of small candies that Player 1 loves and Player 2 does not. At least 36 candies.
- One bag of small candies that Player 2 loves and Player 1 does not. At least 36 candies.
Setup:
- Combine the two bags of candy.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Seed the board: Place three randomly selected candies in each of the twelve small wells.
Gameplay:
The game is a co-operative, rather than competitive, version of Mancala, where the players are trying to use Mancala well-moving rules to separate the candies by preference into each player's well.
- On each player's turn, that player takes all the candies from one of the smaller wells and moves clockwise, leaving one candy in each well until there are no more.
- If the last candy is deposited in one of the larger Player wells, the player whose turn it was goes again.
- The game ends when all of the candies have been played into the two larger Player wells.
- Tally the number of Player 1's candies that are in Player 2's well, and add that to the number of Player 2's candies that are in Player 2's well. That is your final score. Try for the lowest score.
Notes:
- You can always choose which kind of candy to leave in which well.
- Because this game is co-op, it should theoretically be solvable. However, the random seeding of the candies allows for replayability, and overly cautious play will grow boring and stale. Get together with your honey and just try to have fun!
Gross, isn't it? Ah well, it's just a simple game. Don't let it bother you. Just go out and have a good night, however you want to.
More game design to come.
Slan!
Well, my last post came two days before being laid off from my cushy 9-5 job. I immediately had to change gears and start looking for a job. I've since been working multiple jobs to cover rent, bills, loans, etc. BLAH BLAH SOB STORY, I've been getting by alright, and I've also been as busy with theatre stuff as ever (perhaps even more so) so in general, I haven't had time at a desk to sit and update this. But I've certainly still been turning the gears; in fact, my primary place of employment right now is the fabulous Cat n Mouse Game Store, here in Chicago. I was incredibly lucky to get the job, especially so soon after being laid off, and it's meant a great grounding in all things to do with games, puzzles and toys. Unfortunately, it's not a desk job, and I spend my time actually working in the store rather than whiling away on the computer (couldn't anyway, the computer's a bit of a relic).
So anyway, I've been cogitating on game design, just not blogging about it. In fact, I've got a few designs to share with you.
For today (since it is a special, if not necessarily meaningful, day) I've got a new take on an old classic, themed for the "holiday".
The Sweet Game
Valencala! Or ManVala. Whatever you'd like to call it.Components:
- Standard Mancala/Kalah/Oware Board with two rows of six wells, and a well for each player at the end.
- One bag of small candies that Player 1 loves and Player 2 does not. At least 36 candies.
- One bag of small candies that Player 2 loves and Player 1 does not. At least 36 candies.
Setup:
- Combine the two bags of candy.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Seed the board: Place three randomly selected candies in each of the twelve small wells.
Gameplay:
The game is a co-operative, rather than competitive, version of Mancala, where the players are trying to use Mancala well-moving rules to separate the candies by preference into each player's well.
- On each player's turn, that player takes all the candies from one of the smaller wells and moves clockwise, leaving one candy in each well until there are no more.
- If the last candy is deposited in one of the larger Player wells, the player whose turn it was goes again.
- The game ends when all of the candies have been played into the two larger Player wells.
- Tally the number of Player 1's candies that are in Player 2's well, and add that to the number of Player 2's candies that are in Player 2's well. That is your final score. Try for the lowest score.
Notes:
- You can always choose which kind of candy to leave in which well.
- Because this game is co-op, it should theoretically be solvable. However, the random seeding of the candies allows for replayability, and overly cautious play will grow boring and stale. Get together with your honey and just try to have fun!
Gross, isn't it? Ah well, it's just a simple game. Don't let it bother you. Just go out and have a good night, however you want to.
More game design to come.
Slan!
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