I totally missed Mechanic Monday last week and almost missed it again today. Buh, my brain. Work’s slammed, my theatre’s slammed, and my rehearsal schedule is a lot to adjust back to after having been off the stage for… two years? Anyhow. Probably going to do some rpg stuff for a TTRPG Tuesday, but for today, let’s just do something that popped into my brain earlier this weekend.
Ball as Scoring and as Capture Tool
In GREEMBALL, every player has a ball, but may only be in possession of one ball at a time. The only way to lose possession of a ball is to pass possession of it onto another player. This is achieved by using the ball to touch them, by tagging them with it, throwing it at/to them, or otherwise making contact with them. If a player is hit with a ball but does not have possession of a ball (usually from having just passed possession to another player), the ball they are hit with becomes their ball. If a player ever has possession of more than one ball, they are Out. A player who has possession of a ball, and is not out, can move into a scoring area to gain points. They accumulate points based on the length of time they spend, in possession of a ball, not out, and within a scoring area. A period concludes after twenty minutes, and the team with more points in that period gains a match point. After a five minute rest, another period is played. The first team to two match points wins the game.
So… not especially tabletop, I know. But as Chicago experiences flashes of sunshine (smiles nervously into the new climate sky) my thoughts bend toward outdoors play, and as sports are a trillions-dollar industry with enduring traditions and public consumption that dwarf other forms of entertainment, I often think about how theatre (and games) can stand to learn from and take from it. Hence this study. I think it would be fun to try and balance the fast with the cautious, the utility of the ball as weapon vs scoring tool. This feels quite a lot of iterations off from something that really gels, but the design goal here is to find a game of timing and balance, parity broken by moments of truly excelling.
Yeah so anyway see you… again soon! Maybe.
Ball as Scoring and as Capture Tool
In GREEMBALL, every player has a ball, but may only be in possession of one ball at a time. The only way to lose possession of a ball is to pass possession of it onto another player. This is achieved by using the ball to touch them, by tagging them with it, throwing it at/to them, or otherwise making contact with them. If a player is hit with a ball but does not have possession of a ball (usually from having just passed possession to another player), the ball they are hit with becomes their ball. If a player ever has possession of more than one ball, they are Out. A player who has possession of a ball, and is not out, can move into a scoring area to gain points. They accumulate points based on the length of time they spend, in possession of a ball, not out, and within a scoring area. A period concludes after twenty minutes, and the team with more points in that period gains a match point. After a five minute rest, another period is played. The first team to two match points wins the game.
So… not especially tabletop, I know. But as Chicago experiences flashes of sunshine (smiles nervously into the new climate sky) my thoughts bend toward outdoors play, and as sports are a trillions-dollar industry with enduring traditions and public consumption that dwarf other forms of entertainment, I often think about how theatre (and games) can stand to learn from and take from it. Hence this study. I think it would be fun to try and balance the fast with the cautious, the utility of the ball as weapon vs scoring tool. This feels quite a lot of iterations off from something that really gels, but the design goal here is to find a game of timing and balance, parity broken by moments of truly excelling.
Yeah so anyway see you… again soon! Maybe.
Comments
Post a Comment