Feedback Request [GDS] Feb 2011 "Entry #35 - D'ice Cubes: the Battle of Frostflake Pond "

This is a request for feedback on my submission, which unfortunately did not make it past the first round. If you have any suggestions, or if something in the rules did not make sense, please let me know!

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D'ice Cubes: the Battle of Frostflake Pond
Components:

25 white dice (d6)
4 blue dice (d6)
4 transparent pawns (sculpted minis): 2 each of 2 different colors
Set up:

Orient the 25 white dice like so: set 1 die to 6, 4 dice to 5, 5 dice to each 4, 3, 2, and 1. Place the #6 dice in the center of the board. Choose a player to go first. Then, taking turns, each player will take 2 of the remaining dice and place them on the board, with the following restrictions:

* Each die placed must be adjacent (left-right or up-down, NOT diagonal) to an already placed die. (see illustration)
* Each row or column of dice may have a maximum of 5 dice in it.
* Gaps in the grid are allowed (see illustration), but each row and column cannot have more than 5 dice in it.
* Leave some space between the dice, so that they are easier to pick up and change. But, keep the dice in a regular grid pattern when placing them.

Each player then places their 2 pawns on top of any die. Two pawns cannot occupy the same space.

The Dice:

The dice represent a frozen pond, with each die showing the relative thickness of the ice. Your two pawns represent a pair of penguin shamans (they always come in pairs) who have the ability to raise or lower sections of the ice. The goal of the game is to eliminate your opponent's two pawns by sinking the ice chunks they are on, while not getting sunk yourself.

Turn Order:

Roll: take 2 blue dice for each of your pawns and roll them. Arrange all of the dice in numerical order, from lowest to highest. These represent the actions that you can take this turn.

Move: move both pawns to any adjacent empty die. If you cannot move, immediately change the die that pawn is on down by one (6 becomes a 5, a 5 becomes a 4, etc). If that die was a 1, remove both the die and the pawn from the board.

Raise or Lower the Ice: Starting with the lowest blue die, the player must either:

* Drop all the white dice with the matching number by 1, including any dice that have pawns on them. For example, if the player rolled a 4, all dice showing a 4 could be dropped to 3s. Any dice that are dropped to below 1 (that show 1 and are dropped to 0) are removed from the board, along with any pawns that were on them.
* Raise only the die that your shaman is standing on by one, as long as the numbers match. For example, if the player rolled a 2, and one of his shamans was on a die showing a 2, he could raise that die only to a 3.
* If the one of the player’s shamans is on a 6, and the player rolled one or more 6s, he can choose to raise any other die by 1, or add a new die to the board, set to 1.
* If there are no dice on the board that match the rolled die, the die is discarded.

You must use a dice if there are dice on the board that match.

Play continues to the next player.

Doubles:

If a player rolls 2 or more of a number, there are two options:

* Drop all of the dice of that number by one, and discard any matching rolled dice. For example, if the player rolled two 5s, he would be able to drop all the 5s to 4s, but then wouldn’t be able to use the other 5.
* Raise a matching die that his pawn is on, and then lower all other dice that match that number. For example, if the player rolled two 5s, and one of his pawns was on a 5, he could raise just that 5 to a 6, and then lower all of the remaining 5s on the board to 4s.

Chaining:

If a player rolls a string of numbers, they can use them to raise a die (that his pawn is on) by 2 or more. For example, if a player’s pawn is on a 2, and the player rolls a 2, 3, and a 4, the player can (if they choose) raise the die from a 2 to a 5 in one turn (2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5).

Four Player rules:

For a four player game, split the players into two teams. Each team takes the turn steps together, but each player only rolls for their pawn. Teams may take their actions in any order.