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Pocket Tennis - grand slammin' dice tennis

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HPS74
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Joined: 01/06/2009
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Pocket Tennis - 2/4 players

I'd love some playtesters to give this a roll through. Play a set or more. It's light, fun and fast and hopefully captures the theme for casual gamers and fans of tennis

The final game will have engraved custom dice, but for now, you can use a D6 and follow the action on the tables. Pen & paper for scoring.

*Note - it is a light dice rolling mini simulation of Tennis. You can choose how to serve and when to use 'challenge' points*

Serving
There are two SERVE dice - one is more aggressive and may result in an ACE, but also has more chances to FAULT.
ACE = immediate winning point
KICK / GOOD / SLICE = all in the service area and need to be played at by the receiver with the BASELINE die
LET / FAULT = only 1 LET is allowed, should you roll this a second time during one SERVE attempt, it is then counted as a FAULT
FAULT = the ball has not made it in the serving area. 2 x FAULT is the loss of a point
FLAT = is a safer serve, however, it allows the receiver to use the ATTACK dice for a powerful return

Returning serve
Returning a KICK /GOOD / SLICE will use the BASELINE die.
During rallies, any 'DEEP' shot will use the BASELINE die to return. Any 'SHORT' or DROP SHOT' will use the 'AT THE NET' die.
A 'FLAT' serve or return allows the ATTACK die to be used
WINNER = results in the point being won by the person who rolled this

At the Net
VOLLEY DEEP = pushes the ball back and your opponent will use the BASELINE die
DROP SHOT / VOLLEY SHORT = allows your opponent to use the 'AT THE NET' die
LOB = attempts to hit the ball over your opponent's head - he may then use the ATTACK die
INTO THE NET = results in the point being lost
WINNER = results in the point being won by the person who rolled this

Attack
Miss Hit Out = results in the point being lost
FOREHAND / BACKHAND DEEP = keeps the ball in play to your opponent's baseline
WINNER = results in the point being won by the person who rolled this

Bird's Eye challenge
On any losing point, including an ACE, players may choose to challenge and have the point turned over.
To over turn an ACE - you must roll a 5/6
To over turn an OUT- you must roll a 4/5/6
Each player has 3 challenges per set. If the challenge is successful, they maintain all 3. If unsuccessful, it will reduce by 1 on each unsuccessful challenges until none remain for the set.

That's it so far...

dcrowell
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Joined: 10/13/2013
I'm a tennis fan and a gamer

I'm a tennis fan and a gamer so I might be interested in something like this. Unfortunately I'm typically limited to solo gaming so it would be great if you could come up with some kind of solo/bot rules.

One observation from what I can see in your post is that it seems to be missing a couple aspects that I think would add interest.

_Guessing/Gameplan_
I think one of the most interesting aspects of a tennis match is watching the players try to outguess each other. For example, if I'm expecting you to hit a cross-court baseline shot and then you hit a short drop-shot, I'm in trouble.

_Individualization/Customization_
Different dice for different styles of play, or even different game plans, would be cool.

HPS74
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Joined: 01/06/2009
Simplicity is key

Thanks for those suggestions! I appreciate any feedback people may offer!

As our games don't have a board, tracking the ball and player position takes place in one's head, after they've made the shot.

To have a mechanic that indicates how far a player is from the 'drop shot' may over complicate what the game is trying to do......in saying that, I'll definitely have a look and see what could be done.

Never say never! Different dice for different positioning might be interesting....they'd have to be locked in though....

Sarge-Pepper
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Joined: 08/28/2014
Maybe on the lines of

Maybe on the lines of guessing the shot, instead of having the players both roll at the same time, the defender could roll 2-3 times to get a good result, in anticipation of what the attacker will try to throw. The attacker would then roll in response, trying to set up a good shot.

For example:
In order to make a Lob shot, because your opponent hit you a spike last turn and is vulnerable to a lob shot, you'd have to make 4 3's in two rolls. So you take one of your 5 dice and set it to a 3, declaring your intent to lob.

The defender would have three rolls to make a match that could counter a lob, say a spin, which could be 3 5's. If they make it, they set up correctly for the incoming shot. If they don't make it, then the attacker get a bonus dice for his attack roll.

The attacker would then have to make his match that he declared and gets the point, or he does not, and play switches to the defender.

All the numbers are arbitrary, and it's just a rough idea i came up with at work. You could even have it work

HPS74
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Joined: 01/06/2009
Interesting......our target

Interesting......our target market is for tennis fans that would be happy with a simulation of sorts. Roll and have the dice tell you the result.

I know most designers will see it as nothing more than roll and respond, but most casual gamers would enjoy this a light, themed tennis punch in the face.......over and done in 20mins (depending on how many sets you play)

More for the merchandise market is the driving goal. I will allow for some more advanced rules though :)

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