Critique the July 2008 GDS Challenge Entries

Critique posted by Isamoor on the old site:

I was out of town and didn't get an entry in for this challenging challenge. Here's my thoughts:

1 No Touchy -

I'm a big fan of silly fun with balls. Given a ball and a willing participant, I will gladly toss a ball around for hours. So this game did appeal to me.

However, a couple realistic issues came up. What about inertia and relative weights? Wouldn't a heavier individual have more ability to relocate their opponents?

Also, from trying similar silliness, it's darn near impossible to land the ball in the center without any residual motion that would bring it closer to another player.

These are just nit picks though. I love balls.

2 Sea Serpent

I've played the much simpler congo line version in my younger days. It works on a playground, so I assume it would work in a pool.

The extra rules about splits and brains and "everyone touching the tail" don't really do it for me though. This style game screams to be simple and fun, not convoluted and confusing. Also, any touch style game will always breakdown with some complaining at some point.

I'm not terribly impressed overall.

3 Pool War

Most Extreme Challenge!!!!

Well, it's pretty much not possible from an implementation stand point, but it sure does sound fun. Some game show could pull it off with a large enough budget.

I do like the idea of jousting with hula hoops. All on slippery platforms and the like.

Do they get to wear goggles since I know I'd just shoot straight for the eyes with the water guns.

Beyond the plausability of the setup, I do like the idea of the game.

4 Sharkball

Balls with strategy!!!! Now that is cool. It's ultimate frisbee in the pool with an added twist!

I really like how only the leading team has to worry about the shark getting them. It's kind of a built in catch-up mechanic.

I like how the designer has thought of many of the small nuances without dragging the game down in exceptions. The shark must wait 5 seconds between dives. The thrower must fetch the ball, not the bungler.

I wonder how this would work for Ultimate Frisbee if you put the shark on a tricycle or something else to limit his movement. I almost want to try that now!