Looney Labs Icehouse Mailing list Archive

[Icehouse] New Icehouse Game - Zamboni Wars!

  • FromChris Kice <me@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • DateWed, 22 Nov 2006 16:24:34 -0600
After ChiTAG last weekend, I've been trying to come up with a single Treehouse stash game that could also include Martian Coasters. This is my first concept, but thus far seems to be playing really well. (The language of the rules needs some tweaking and I need illustrations for the setup and movement rules, but I think the core idea is pretty solid.)

Let me know what you think!

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Zamboni Wars

An Icehouse/Treehouse game for 2-4 players

Requires: - 1 Treehouse set
   - Martian Coasters
   - 6-sided die

Concept:

What could possibly be cooler than driving a Zamboni? How about armor plating your Zamboni and arming it with a giant, frickin' laser!

Setup:

- Place the coasters in their normal starting position with the "dotted" corners facing into the center. - Each player creates a 3-piece nest of their pieces and places them on their side ("flat") in the corner of their color board with the tip pointing clockwise.

Turn Sequence:
- Roll and move
- Fire your laser at another Zamboni (if you can)

Movement:

- At the start of their turn, a player rolls the six-sided die to determine their movement points. - Movement costs 1 point per space in the direction the piece is pointing and must respect directional arrows on the board. You can only move "forward" in the direction your Zamboni is pointing. - Turning (reorienting your Zamboni) also costs 1 point, regardless of the amount turned. You can not turn 360 degrees - each turn must face your Zamboni in a new direction. While you can turn to a 45-degree diagonal for aiming purposes (see below) you can only move in straight lines according to the arrows on the board spaces. - ** All points must be used on each turn. ** You can not stop before your points have been expended. - Two Zamobnis can not occupy the same space at the same time. If another player is in your way, you have to go around them.

Firing Your Laser:

- If, after the movement is complete, you are aimed at another Zamboni in range (within 4 squares) you can fire your laser. Zamobnis can fire along straight or diagonal paths on the board. (However, you will need to use your last movement point to turn 45-degrees to pull off a diagonal shot.) - If you have a clear shot, roll the six-sided die to see if you hit. If the target still has a complete Zamboni [all 3 pieces of their color stacked], you need a 4, 5 or 6 to hit. If they only have 2 pieces left [small and medium], you need a 5 or 6 to hit. If they only have a small piece left, you need a 6 to hit. - If you hit the target, one layer of armor is removed from the target Zamboni. (Take the largest piece from the stack and remove it from the game.) If the Zamboni is already down to its last piece, it is destroyed and the player has been eliminated. Play until only one Zamboni remains.

Optional Rules:

- Treehouse Cover Rule: You have the option of using the Treehouse die as cover for the game. You can have 1 die for every two players in the game. The dice start at the center of one of the four boards, as chosen by a six-sided die roll-off. (The player with the highest roll gets the cover on their quarter of the board.) The Treehouse die can be pushed at no movement expense by any Zamboni. Lasers cannot penetrate the cover. Be careful - it is possible to move the die to a position where it is stuck due to the restrictions of the movement arrows. (If the die needs to be pushed from a direction that you can't enter the space from, it still works as cover but is no longer portable.)

- Warp Zone Rule: The center of each board is a Warp Zone and, for one movement point, can transport your Zamboni to the center of any other board. It does not reorient your piece - you just move to the other board's center facing the same direction as when you departed your previous location.

Tips:

- Be careful of diagonal shots. While it may get you a quick hit, you need to spend the last point of your current turn to rotate 45-degrees to take your shot and the first movement point of your next turn to turn in the direction you wish to move. If you roll a 1 on your next turn, you're a sitting duck for the entire round!

- Have an escape plan. If you manage to corner another player and miss your shot, one lucky roll on their part can easily turn the tables!

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