[GDS] SEPTEMBER 2014 "Stand up Games" Questions and Comments

Very busy this month :(

I only just logged on and looked at this months challenge. It's definitely not my cup of tea and I doubt I would have entered if I'd seen it in time.

Then again, designing things you normally wouldnt go anywhere near is a big part of the challenges.

Anyhow, this is what I came up with over the last hour - in case (and its a very small possibility) anyone ever wants to play it or fiddle with it.

Sack Race

Mechanics – Line Auction and Set Collection

Players – 4

The objective of the game is to acquire two bean bags that equal the total score of two rolled d6. To do this the players perform actions associated with cards in a shifting row. The card that they can use to perform an action corresponds to the bean bag(s) they are holding.

Success is dependant on tactical decisions about when to move and when not to move, in conjunction with the changing opportunities presented by the card(s) matching their bean bags.

Components

A marker board with spaces for seven cards, aligned in a row. The 1st slot houses the draw deck and the other 6 slots house cards drawn from the deck.

The draw deck features 52 cards that feature actions or movements. These include things like jump, hop, step, duck, exchange a bean bag by throwing (the recipient must throw their bean bag back in return), grab a bean bag from another player, drop a bean bag, pick up a bean bag off the ground, and re-roll the win dice.

6 small bean bags numbered 1 -6

2 d6

Game Preparation

1 person is given the roll of Game Master.

The remaining players take 1 bean bag each and stand in the centre of the gaming area, which should be a 4-6 meter square. They should arrange themselves in a close circle facing outwards.

The players then take 3 steps in any direction and turn to face each other as best they can. After this the Game Master should toss or place the remaining bean bags into the gaming area, as far apart from each other as possible and within equal distance of each player.

The Game Master is then required to shuffle the deck and deal 6 cards into the slots next to it and roll the 2d6 to establish the winning score.

The Game

Any player can call out their desire to move at any time during a round. However, once a player has made a move they can’t move again until every other player has moved. If two players call out at the same time the player holding the bean bag with the lowest number moves first.

When a player moves they can perform the action of the card in the slot that matches the number of the bean bag they are holding. If a player is holding two bean bags they can choose which of the matching cards that they action.

After a player has moved the card that they used in support of their action is placed on the bottom of the draw deck. The remaining cards shift to fill the vacant position, moving closer to the draw deck, and a new card is added to the vacant slot in the 7th position.

A player can only hold one bean bag in each hand. The first player to match the total of the win dice with 2 bean bags is the winner.

The submitted entries look very interesting and I will certainly be casting a vote :)

Ps - my favourite stand up and move about the room game is Dancing Eggs by Habba, which is awesome if you havent heard of it.

http://boardgamegeek.com/video/696/dancing-eggs/video-review-dancing-eggs

I also liked this month’s challenge but did not submit anything. Working on the entry evoked ideas about how to facilitate games. Great practice. Thanks!

There’s no need to inflict the rules on anyone, but the general idea was a mash-up of Battleship, Musical Chairs and Mancala. And yes, it was worse than it sounds.

Anyway, thanks for the challenge!