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Mechanic Monday: Movement Based On Adjacency Strength

Honestly, I just want to get through Mechanic Monday today.  It’s been a long week with plenty of stress and disappointments, and I don’t have much cute noodling to offer for filling in the blanks.  So let’s get to it, shall we?

Movement Based On Adjacency Strength

GREEM is a 2-player area control game where 25 Markers are up for grabs on a 5x5 grid.  You and your opponent start out in control of Markers on opposite corners of the grid.  On your turn you either move pieces from one Marker or add a piece from your reserve to a Marker you control.  The distance that pieces may travel from their starting Marker are determined by the number of friendly pieces on the starting and adjacent Markers; on a turn, any number of friendly pieces may be moved from one Marker, and pieces may be moved together to another Marker or split up to multiple Markers, but the maximum number of moves is determined by the number of friendly pieces adjacent to the origin Marker.  Control of Markers is determined by a simple majority; a Marker may have up to seven Pieces in all.  The game ends once one player controls 13 Markers, or when a player controls four more Markers than their opponent at any given moment.

Right, so the experience I’m going for is a balancing act between spreading out, consolidating your strengths, and jockeying and blockeying for position.  I want to see seemingly sedentary consolidation turned into a burst of mobility; I want to see Sure Things overcome, Feints as positions of Strength are abandoned/endangered for a quick win or a setup for the inevitable Big Majority.  Maybe there needs to be some kind of blocking Mechanic, or a Cala-style track requiring that pieces be left in each moved-to Marker.  Either way, it seems like there’s a fun elegance with Room for Drama.

Ok, that’s it, good night!

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