Gaming

Written January 14, 2025 in 12 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit

A game for two

The two players are thieves going on a series of burglaries in a single night. They have 2 bags each for each burglary, and agree to splitting each targets take using a weird method.

Components: 2 copies of cards numbered 1-12 (total of 24 cards). You can use two suits from a deck of playing cards, Ace through 10, Jack (11) and Queen (12).

Each round:

• One player designated to cut, the other to choose
• Each player is dealt two cards
• The players set the cards face down, and at the same time reveal one of them.
• The cutting player groups the cards in pairs as they like. The choosing player then chooses a pair to keep. The other player gets the other pair.
• If there are cards remaining in the deck, swap roles and play another round. Otherwise move on to scoring.

Scoring:

• Each player takes the sum of the value of their cards. Highest wins.

Written January 13, 2025 in 11 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit

Note: I skipped writing a game yesterday, but thought about these cards a bunch. As a blog/2024/09/22/backgammon-crown winner, I'm excited to come up with an option for each card and then try it out.

Note: I've worked on this a little more, see: Card Backgammon

A backgammon variant, using cards instead of dice.

On your turn, rather than roll dice, you can draw a card or play a card.

When you play a card, you can advance stones the number of spaces listed in parentheses. The card may also offer an option to do something else.

The Cards

2 each of these:

• (1) (2) -OR- If you have a piece on the bar, play another card then advance (1) (2).
• (1) (3) -OR- Keep this in play. When your opponent finishes playing a card you may discard this to take that card into hand.
• (1) (4)
• (1) (5)
• (1) (6)
• (2) (3)
• (2) (4)
• (2) (5)
• (2) (6) -OR- Draw 2 Cards
• (3) (4)
• (3) (5)
• (3) (6) -OR- Discard a card to draw 3 cards.
• (4) (5) -OR- Play a card from your hand, returning it to hand when done.
• (4) (6) -OR- Leave this in play. After playing another card, you may discard this to play that card again.
• (5) (6) -OR- Send an opponent's blot in your home board to the bar.

And one each of these:

• (1) (1) (1) (1)
• (2) (2) (2) (2) - OR- Draw 3 Cards
• (3) (3) (3) (3)
• (4) (4) (4) (4)
• (5) (5) (5) (5)
• (6) (6) (6) (6) -OR- Advance all your pieces on the bar to one empty space in your opponent's home board.

Written January 11, 2025 in (more than) 10 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit

Note: I made this one up sorta quickly, then played it out before writing it. I'll just present it as I played.

Solo game, played on a hex map using 35 6-sided dice and 35 blocks.

Notation: The [n] means a die turned up with n pips.

Goal: Get as many [6]s on the map as you can.

Use these 6 cards:

• Place a [1] adjacent to a die. Add the next card to the discard pile.
• Place [2]s adjacent to [1]s. Replace [1]s with a block.
• Place 2 [3]s in a line out from any number of [2]s. Replace [2]s adjacent to [3]s with [1]s.
• Place [4]s on either side of any number of [3]s. Replace [3]s with [2]. Remove [2]s so that there are no [2]s adjacent to one another.
• Place [5]s adjacent to [4]s. Remove all [4]s.
• Place [6]s adjacent to [5]s. Replace [5]s with [1]s. Remove [6]s with less than 3 empty spaces adjacent to them.

Start an event deck with just the first card.

Flip over each card in the deck one at a time and follow the instructions. All placements are options. Replacements and removals are not. When there are no more cards in the deck, shuffle the discard pile and resume flipping cards over.

Game end: When you need to place a block but are unable to.

Play notes

I imagined this could be a multiplayer game, probably could be.

A little bit cumbersome to be turning the dice, but I felt like there was a game in here that was worth chipping away at. Custom dice would be easier to locate, or using chits.

The hex map I used was probably too big - there was no crowding on the map, which should probably be a significant part of the game, and would be if it were multiplayer.

There should probably be rules about removing pieces if there are too many black dice next to them - make them detrimental rather than just eating space on the board. In a multiplayer game, a rule about removing pieces if there are too many enemy pieces next to yours.

On my too-spacious hex map I scored 13 [6]s. Having played once, I could probably do much more.

I'd like to imagine a different function for each of the numbered dice and come up with a variety of ways to fulfill that function. Functions would be things like: [1]s establish new locations; [2]s expand locally. [3]s expand outward. [4] and [5] maybe could have player interaction. The [6] would be ways to score.

Written January 10, 2025 in 9 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit

A solo journaling RPG about scheduling RPGs.

You are an aspiring game master, trying to organize an RPG campaign. Follow the following steps to get the experience.

Phase 1: the game master

In this phase, you take the role of the game master.

1. Get a journal, or keep a set of files on your computer as your Scheduling Next Session (SNS) game journal.
2. Find an RPG book and read it. In your SNS journal, take notes on the system.
3. Devise a story arc for the game, take notes on it in your journal.
4. When you have overthought it enough, in your SNS journal, draft a message to friends to enthusiastically pitch the game to them.

Phase 2: the players

Before starting this phase, wait a few days. Imagine the game master's friend who would receive this pitch, and take on this role.

1. Read the email pitch from Phase 1, Step 4.
2. Write an enthusiastic or doubting response about your desire to play.

Repeat these steps for as many players as you'd like to.

Phase 3: the game master

1. Read the player responses
2. Draft scheduling emails to them.

Phase 4: the players

1. Read the scheduling email
2. Choose: ignore it, respond enthusiastically, turn down the game session.

Phase 5: the session

1. As game master: on the date of the game session, gather your material together
2. As players: write emails saying you cannot make the game.
3. As game master: journal about the experience of reading the emails.
4. Decide if you want to play Scheduling Next Session again or not. If so, return to any step of phase 1 you'd like. If not, write a nasty, overly-emotive email to the players.

Written January 08, 2025 in 8 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit

A collaborative GM-less roleplaying using d6 dice of two colors (light and dark).

The world is in turmoil. The mythic Egg of Gungyria, which has been lost to the ages, provides the possibility of a better future.

The players are adventurers who have been on an epic quest to find the egg and bring it to their homeland to incubate it so it might give birth to a better age. However, if the egg cracks before incubation, even more terrible things will be born of it.

The story starts after the epic quest, when the adventurers are returning the egg home. The players may discuss and describe the quest if they'd like.

Character Creation

Players make up characters with names, looks, etc. They also have three stats:

• Strong
• Smart
• Social

Players rank these stats in an order, the characters strongest trait at top, weakest at the bottom.

Threat Creation

Each player also makes a threat. It can be a person, group of people, cosmic force, or force of nature (or anything else). The threat also has the same three skills listed in order of strength. Keep the skill stack secret from other players.

Playing scenes

Each player gets a scene featuring their character encountering a threat while in the caravan bringing the egg home. Another player plays their threat.

When the scene culminates in the character using a skill to neutralize the threat, they roll to see how it goes.

The roll

Build a dice pool based on the skill the player used and the threats skills.

The player's dice (based on position in the stack) are:

• 2 light dice
• 1 light die
• 1 dark die

The threat also adds dice based on the chosen skill and where that skill is in their stack:

• 2 dark die
• 1 dark die
• No dice

If the highest die is a:

• 6: the threat is neutralized
• 4 or 5: the threat is neutralized, but the egg takes a hit
• 1, 2 or 3: the threat overpowers the character; the whole party comes together to fend it off. The egg takes 2 hits.

If the highest die is dark, the egg takes 1 extra hit. (Ties for highest count as dark)

If there are multiple dark 6s in the roll, the egg takes an additional hit.

Describe how the egg is damaged if it is.

The egg cracks when it has taken 2 hits per player.

Note: I didn't have enough time to think through these dice pool odds and the egg hits count, so they likely need to be completely reworked.

End of the Game

If the egg has cracked, each player describes one terrible thing that is born of the egg the causes more suffering in the world.

If the egg has not cracked, the egg gets to the characters home safely and is incubated until safely hatched. Each player describes how something that emerges from the egg improves the world.

2025-01-10: Further Reflection

The success/mixed success/party comes together states don't so much change the narrative. Should be something more like:

• 1, 2, 3: the character fails to neutralize the threat. The egg takes 2 hits. The character must choose another approach using a different skill and try again.

Written January 07, 2025 in 7 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit

A cooperative game of describing a home.

Players take turns going in a circle describing different aspects of a home. When done, the home can be used as a setting for some type of roleplaying game, story, other creative project, or just an imaginary place people enjoy thinking about.

On your turn, choose one thing about the home to describe.

• Type of home - Victorian house, industrial loft, apartment, yurt, cob hut, shack, etc.
• Add a person to live at the home - where do they sleep and spend their time in the home?
• Add a room to the home - could be indoor or even an outdoor space
• Describe the function of a room, beyond the obvious - it's a kitchen, used for cooking. But what else? House meetings? Dance parties? Awkward passings by?
• Add a descriptor to a room - could be decoration, wall color, furniture, messiness
• Describe a significant event that happened in a room - a happy memory or a painful memory of the people who live there

If someone is artistically inclined, they can draw the home, or everyone can draw as they're describing it.

Players can pass if they'd prefer or offer suggestions to other players when it's not their turn. End when everyone agrees they feel complete.

Written January 06, 2025 in 6 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit

A Tetris-like pencil and paper game.

Each player has graph paper and borders a playfield 10 squares wide and 20 squares tall.

One player draws two different pentominos: 5 contiguous squares in any shape. Each block of the pentomino must be adjacent to another.

The other player chooses one of the pentominos. Both players draw the shape in their playfields as if it were being dropped in from the top. They can rotate it any way they'd like, but they can't have any blocks above it.

When a player is done, they can start a 10 second timer. If the other player hasn't drawn the pentomino in their playfield before the timer goes off, the player who set the timer may do so.

Players then switch roles and repeat.

When a player cannot place a pentomino without going over the top of the field they are done placing pentominos, but still get to draw and choose as if they were playing. Play ends when both players have "topped out" like this.

The winner is the player who has the most full rows in their playfield. If it's a tie, whomever topped out last wins. If they topped out at the same time, it's a tie.

Written January 05, 2025 in 5 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit

A game for 2 players using a regular deck of cards.

This game is a variant of rummy, based on a "I cut, you choose" mechanic.

Deal each player 10 cards. Designate one player "the cutter", the other "the chooser".

The players play a round:

• Each player places one card from their hand face down between them, and adds a card from the top of the deck. (See variant rule below)
• The Cutter flips them over and groups them into two pairs. The chooser chooses a pair, takes them into hand, and then discards a card to a discard pile. The cutter takes the other pair and discards a card.

The players then swap roles (the cutter becomes the chooser and the chooser becomes the cutter) and play another round. Play repeats like this until a player discards a card and they can reveal a hand where all the cards are part of a meld - that player wins.

Melds are standard rummy melds: 3 or 4 of a kind, straights of 3 or more cards in the same suit.

Variant Rule: Rather than adding a card from the top of the deck, the player may add the top card from the discard pile - this card should be face up.

Variant Rule Variant: The player can add any card from the discard pile, not just the top card.

2025-01-06 Playtest

Played with someone who is not enthusiastic about card games. Seemed to play just fine. I tend to forget in games like this who is the cutter and who is the chooser. If something distracts me I won't remember who was the cutter. It's not a huge problem - the game functions - but it'd be helpful to have some element make it obvious who is cutting next.

I don't like this idea, but: there could be a token you take from the other player when you choose your cards after the cut. Then when next cut happens, the player with the token makes the cut.

Written January 4, 2025 in 4 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit. Conceived during a workshop with Randy O'Connor.

A race game for 2 or more players.

Draw a track with 36 squares. Each player gets a marker on the first square of the track.

Each player starts with a pool of 12d6.

On your turn, throw as many dice as you'd like. If any of them are a 6, discard all the thrown dice and end your turn. Otherwise, total the dice and advance that many squares on the track.

If you ever have no dice, return to the beginning of the track and take 12 new dice.

When a player makes it to the last square, continue play until everyone has had an even number of turns. The game is then over. Who ever arrived to the end of the track with the most dice remaining wins.

Written January 3, 2025 in 3 minutes as part of the Gentle Games Habit

A drawing game for 4+ players.

On a sheet of paper, each player draws 1 to 3 objects. They then write 6 works to describe those objects - an even number of words per object (6 for 1 object; 3 each for 2 objects; 2 each for 3 objects). They fold back their drawing and pass the paper so only the words are visible to the next player.

Each player looks at the words, then draws a scene containing what they think the 1 to 3 objects are. They fold back the words, and pass their drawing on.

Each player looks at the scene and writes 6 words to describe it and the objects in it. They fold back the drawing, and pass the words on.

This player looks at the words and then draws what they think the initial 1 to 3 objects were.

Everyone then unfolds their paper and enjoys looking at the whole thing. Everyone's a winner.