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roll and writes

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wob
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Joined: 06/09/2017

hi.
i thought i would try to make a little roll and write game.
the basics involve a red bad die and 2 black good dice.
the red die crosses off 6 sets of boxes (3x each number 1-6). the black dice cross off another 6 sets of boxes (I'm using backgammon rules here, so doubles are used twice etc). nb. each red set is paired with a black set.
if you clear the black boxes before the red you beat that section and can score it. if the red get crossed off first you lose that section.

any dice that cant be used become negative points. there are also a coulple of rules for unusable red rolls and the five 1/36 rolls.

my main problem is that near the end of the game (when most things have been crossed out). as an example i have one red box (say a 6) and a black box (say a 7. so a 1/6 chance) rolling either will end the game. i can roll dozens of times and not roll either. at the moment this racks up the negative score (not really a problem). so i need another way to end the game.

i am also looking for general input on roll and writes. there isnt a lot on here so far.

let-off studios
let-off studios's picture
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Joined: 02/07/2011
RnW Thoughts

Roll n' writes have always interested me, but I only attempted to design one after seeing a contest announcement earlier this year. I think there's been a recent surge in demand for the novelty of roll n' writes lately, but I can't say it's anything more than a gut feeling.

Personally, the idea I'm bouncing round in my head has to deal with the Sandman fairy tale, and how the Sandman will steal away restless children in the night. The player's goal is to ensure the children have a restful night's sleep so the Sandman doesn't kidnap them. Anyway...

Regarding your game idea:

Why not institute a limit on the number of "empty rounds" the game can have? The player must work against the luck of the dice by completing their sets before too many of these empty rounds seal the player's fate. Naturally, more empty rounds will occur the closer to completion the player comes, organically increasing the tension.

Maybe the application of some kind of theme might help you develop other ways to effectively end the game? What could the different sets of dice results represent? Can they be arranged differently - even something as simple as a different layout on the page - to provide you with some inspiration?

wob
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Joined: 06/09/2017
at the moment its 6 disasters

at the moment its 6 disasters you have to avert. unused dice become casualties for negative value. as i was playing the body count really climbs at the end and a score of 0 seems quite good. i might lean into it as the theme. as the city gets destroyed disease spreads.

Fri
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Joined: 09/06/2017
Recommend Listening

Here's a ludology episode on roll and writes:

http://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-180-keep-them-doggies-rollin

Fri
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Joined: 09/06/2017
One time dice manupulation or alternative/Always mark a red box

Could you offer players some one time dice manipulation or maybe just a wild dice? For example you have something like rescue helicopter. The player may use the rescue helicopter once per game to rescue any number instead of the number rolled. Depending on how it plays, you could even add multiply copies of the rescue helicopters.

To help with bring the game to a conclusion, could you add a rule where a red box is always marked every turn? For example if the disasters are ordered in some manner mark the lowest numbered red box in the lowest disaster.

Just some ideas. Feel free to disregard use or improve upon. Good luck with your game.

wob
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Joined: 06/09/2017
those are some good ideas and

those are some good ideas and ludology was very helpful
i have reworked it a bit now.
there are still sets of red but 1-6 will be evenly distributed so it is now the players choice of where to put each bad thing. if you cant it is added to casualties.
the rescue efforts will score per box according to difficulty
i am also trying giving each rescue effort a separate mechanism. some i have come up with are
1) no red boxes. put a tally mark for each 6. worth 1 each.
2) each box must be higher than the last
3) each box must be lower than the last
4) 1-5 in any order
5) 7-12 any order
6) 15, 16, 18, 20, 24 any order.

i have also given a finite number of boxes for casualties as another end trigger.

Fri
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Joined: 09/06/2017
Good work

Good Work. Your games sounds a lot more interesting now. I like the end game trigger of a finite number of casualties.

Good luck with your game.

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