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.