Week 4 – Engine Building

Tsuro Game review

1. Was it fun?
   • Yes, the concept of the game was not only interesting, but competitive.
2. What were the player interactions?
   • The objective of the game was to eliminate the other players. Furthermore, each player was not only making sure they were able to stay on the board, but also trying to eliminate the others.
3. How long did it take to learn?
   • The game concept was super simple, which made the game very easy to learn. Learning the game took about 2 minutes before we got into the swing of things.
4. Would you ever play it again?
   • I would most definitely play this game again.
5. Analyze the game using the 3-act structure.
   • The game setup was super simple, which required everybody to choose their respected color piece and pick three cards to hold onto.
   • Once the game has started, everybody moved around the board, inching towards other players, while making sure they don’t get killed. The paths connect from other players which cause people to slide around the board.
   • Once there were a few players left, people started targeting each other, altering their own paths to move towards the rest of the players. Once the players faced each other, they used their path pieces to throw each other off of the board.
6. What are the collaborative/competitive aspects of the game?
   • The entire game is competitive. Although I’m sure people could team up, everybody was striving to eliminate each other. The objective was to be the last person standing on the board, by pushing others off.
7. What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?
   • I’d say that a good metaphor for Tsuro is travel. The mechanic that sticks out most is when you run into another player, both you and the other person are out. I think this stands out the most due to the double-edged sword concept.

5 game ideas revolving around the same theme

Theme: Pirates

1. Sharks n pirates – Players must make it around the board while a shark piece inches up behind them. The spaces that the shark piece moves depend on a wheel between 1-3. On the other hand, players get to roll some dice to get away from the shark, make it around the board and win.
2. Treasure-seize – Players must take turns throwing a net onto plastic treasure scattered around the carpet. They must stand a reasonable distance from the chests, and rotate turns throwing the net. Once the pieces are out, the player with the most chests wins.
3. Drunken Buccaneer – During a turn, the player must spin around a certain number of times (determined by a wheel) and throw their ball at a target. They must make sure they stand a reasonable distance from the target, while everybody rotates turns. (The target is not too small, so it the game isn’t too difficult)
4. Ship builder – A fast paced game, that involves players shifting through scattered wooden pieces in order to build their ship. Players draw a small card with ship instructions on it, but they must race to shift through a pile of wood while other players do. The person that completes their instructions first yells “ahoy!” to signify they have won.
5. Loot luck – Players wear two pirate eye-patches while they sift through a treasure chest, using their sense of touch to decipher the right loot (they must pick a card to determine what they have to find). Ex: A plastic fish must be found in the chest, so you must feel out the item in the chest blinded.

Rules for Baller Buddies

Setup – Each player is given three small rubber/plastic balls and a ball launcher. There is a spinner, as well as three different heighted hoops on a board. (2-3 players)

Objective – Launch your ball into a chosen hoop which gathers points. There are three different hoops with different points.

Actions players take – During a turn, a player will place their ball into their launcher and aim for one of three hoops to score in. Each hoop is a different height. The higher the hoop, the more points the player will earn. After choosing a hoop to aim for, the player can shoot from anywhere in a region of the board, as long as it doesn’t pass the red lining. Each player determines how many attempts they get per ball by spinning a wheel from 1-3. If they don’t make the ball within the set number of attempts, then the player must forfeit the ball, move onto the next and let the next player make their move.

Ending the Game – Once everybody has made all three attempts with all three basketballs, the points are tallied up. The person with the highest score wins.

Example – Jimmy takes his turn and misses the hoop. Jimmy is left with two more basketballs. Next it is Brent’s turn. Brent makes it in the tallest hoop and earns three points. Brent is left with two more basketballs. Now back to Jimmy, he makes it in the medium hoop and earns two points. Jimmy is now at 2 and Brent is at 3. This goes on until all balls are gone. Brent and Jimmy ran out of balls, so they track how many points they have made. Brent wins with 9 and Jimmy with 4.

Example #2 – At the start of Jimmy’s turn, he spins the wheel. The wheel lands on 3, so Jimmy has three attempts to make his first ball into a hoop. Jimmy has missed all three opportunities, so his first ball gains 0 points.