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Online Dice Game: Hungry Jack

Tue, 09/22/2020 - 21:59 — let-off studios
Screen shot of an online version of the "Hungry Jack" dice game - or toy.

So I made a digital version of a classic dice game for a virtual workshop on game design. The game - if you want to consider it one - is called Hungry Jack. It's roots rest somewhere deep in European antiquity.

You can play it here. It's made with HTML5 and works in nearly any web browser:

https://let-off.neocities.org/games/hjack/index.html

To play, click the mouse on the "click here to play" button. When in the game, click on the "Throw Dice!" button or press the SPACEBAR when it's your turn.

Dice App

Fri, 09/04/2020 - 10:54 — let-off studios

I created a very simple dice-throwing application. I intend to use this while teaching game design online and to play simple dice games. It's made for HTML5, and so can be used in nearly any browser. It stretches or contracts to fit a screen display on computers, tablets, and smartphones.

https://let-off.neocities.org/games/dice-app/index.html

  • Throw dice by clicking on the image of the die on the left, and the result is displayed in the dice pool to the right.

Games at my Day Job

Sun, 08/09/2020 - 13:24 — let-off studios

I've been a game design tinker for much of my adult life. Very recently, I finally acknowledged that at least a large part of my day job and how I make a living is in making games.

As of this writing, I'm at the start of my first vacation since late December, and I took the opportunity to reflect at least a little bit on my creative (and as it happens, professional) output over the past several months.

Analog Version: Three Sisters

Sat, 03/14/2020 - 18:16 — let-off studios

Came up with some physical components to test out some mechanics for Three Sisters. The "hexinos" or "heximos" or whatever turned out pretty nice and are certainly functional.

I also created single-hex tiles, both for the center/start of the game (for which I made the Beehive) and for the random tiles.

WIP: Digital Roll n' Write: "Three Sisters"

Mon, 03/09/2020 - 07:47 — let-off studios

Image of the work in progress here:
https://imgur.com/a/YRkgWpU

Working on a digital roll n' write for a friend of mine. This is called Three Sisters and is based on creating adjacent sets of corn, squash, and beans. I also have bees and stones in there to make things a bit more challenging. Eventually I'll turn this into a tabletop version.

Right now, the game is supposed to be about the length of a coffee break. I'm not looking for anything more than that at this point.

Group Game Debrief: "Snowblowers + Lawnmowers"

Wed, 02/26/2020 - 16:26 — let-off studios

At my day job, I teach employment skills and trade-specific orientation. This particular cohort focused on port-related industries, material handling, and logistics. I developed a game for the classroom that dealt with the concepts of wave-planning (the changing of demand for a good over time and/or seasonal demand patterns), supply & demand/market forces, and secret bidding. To focus on different commodities but still keep it simple, I decided to choose snowblowers and lawnmowers.

The let-off Leap Year Flash Drive!

Sun, 02/16/2020 - 11:58 — let-off studios

ONE DAY, 24 HOURS, ONLY! 18 FEBRUARY 2020: It's the let-off leap year flash drive!!!

18th February happens to be my birthday. 2020 also happens to be a leap year. $0 is typically what it costs to download and play my games. So I figure once every four years is good for an experiment like this.

For 24 hours, I will raise the minimum price of all my games posted on itch.io to $2. I’m inviting you and humbly requesting that you buy just one thing from me, once every four years.

Your generosity can gain you some other stuff, too. Here’s a breakdown:

Roll n' Write: "WriteScape"

Mon, 12/09/2019 - 14:45 — let-off studios

Jotting down some brief notes here on a roughed-out roll n' write I've developed in the past week or so. As opposed to an economic-based rnw, this is one of those map-making ones. At this point, it's a single-player game. I am wondering if there's a way to allow a multiplayer version, but that may come at a later time.

In a future update, I'll post photos/graphic elements.

Development: "Coal N' Write"

Sun, 11/17/2019 - 09:32 — let-off studios

-Direct Links-
Here's a link to the game sheets in PDF form. Last updated 19 February 2022 (rules version 7).

Game Rules:
https://let-off.neocities.org/bgdesign/coalnwrite/cnw-rules.pdf
-or-
http://www.let-off.com/bgames/cnw/cnw-rules.pdf

Player Sheet, Single-Page Version:
https://let-off.neocities.org/bgdesign/coalnwrite/cnw-player-sheet.pdf
-or-
http://www.let-off.com/bgames/cnw/cnw-player-sheet.pdf

Player Sheet, "Dee-Lux" Two-Page Version:
https://let-off.neocities.org/bgdesign/coalnwrite/player-sheet-deluxe-mi...
-and-

Fun Stuff: Making Games with Kids

Sun, 07/28/2019 - 21:16 — let-off studios
Kid's Game - Climby's Tree House

Today I brought some of my game-making supplies along on a visit with my family. I have two young twin nephews (age 6) and we sat down for a bit to make games together. Here are two of the results.

HUNGRY JACK

This is my nephew's version of the simple dice game Hungry Jack, which I had taught them on a previous visit. This version uses a single six-sided die, but it's otherwise a faithful rendition. Note that the number 4 spot is - in his words - the dead spot, and chips go there until the end of the game.

CLIMBY'S TREE HOUSE

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by Dr. Radut