Amon: is your new pc there yet??

auntie: not for another week

Amon: torrrrture .
doing any boardgame work?

auntie: i’m playing some boardgames tomorrow

Amon: what do you think of a tabletop game that doesnt have a board?
and isnt a variant of ‘pass the pigs’

auntie: what do i think about it?

Amon: feasiable?

auntie: why not

Amon: imagine pieces that have tiny little retract-o strings in their bases?
that being the measure of their movement

auntie: you mean like that star wars game?

Amon: im not aware of such a game

auntie: the pieces have little ticker rolls in their bases that click as you slide them

Amon: ooo also clever

auntie: so you can measure how far each piece moves

Amon: i didnt know thats how they worked, thats kinda cool
yeah, so no need for a board. also! the players would be encouraged to use the items on any table as obstacles

auntie: i’ll try to remember the name of the game
it’s pretty clever

Amon: so salt/pepper shakers, cans, ashtrays

auntie: so what is the player trying to accomplish

Amon: hmm
capture the fish
nonono
capture the penny
each player has 3 pieces she/he can move

auntie: how

Amon: penny in center of table, pieces start out at the players respectable edges
they must go toward the penny, the piece that gets the penny can only move every other round
each time the players pieces move into contact with eachother, they roll a die to decide outcome of a quick fight
a die, or maybe some other kind of deciding factor.

auntie: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17274/attacktix-battle-figure-game-star-wars

Amon: (im making this up as i go)

auntie: okay
keep going

Amon: the die roll/combat is just a 1 time thing for each round, each piece has 3 points of health
so after those 2 pieces fight, the round continues to the player moving her/his next piece
the penny-holder has to make their way back to the starting edge of the table

auntie: what affects the die roll

Amon: both players roll the die, whoever rolls highest scores a hit

auntie: if the players are completely symmetrical, whoever goes first has a huge advantage in this game

Amon: oooh true
ideas on how to fix that?

auntie: and players aren’t going to engage in a fight they have a random chance of losing unless it’s an opponent holding the penny, which is to say, they’re forced to

Amon: well when a fight event happens, the loser only takes 1 point of damage on that piece
so a loser doesnt immediatley lose that piece
and an attacker cant just choose to attack again and again during her/his round

auntie: you gave me a good idea for a game

Amon: ohh?

auntie: i’m not sure it’s the game you want to make though

Amon: im just brainstorming here
whatcha got?
my idea was to make something that requires super minimal rules, and pieces, can be played anywhere and taught in 1 quick mock-game

auntie: players are flicking coins at the penny to knock it around

Amon: ooo\

auntie: but they have to knock it back to their side where their pieces started
and pieces can knock each other around, of course

Amon: oooooo

auntie: any piece that goes off the table is out of play

Amon: so wait, they shoot the coins across the table like a hocky puck, at the penny?

auntie: each player gets say three pieces that start just inside that player’s edge of the table
yeah

Amon: but they have to knock the penny back at themselves?

auntie: but to capture the penny they have to shoot their pieces out and then use them to shoot the penny back
yes
while the other player is trying to manuever the penny to her own advantage

Amon: can you move a coin thats been shot onto the table?

auntie: yes. you can always move a coin that’s yours, regardless of where it is
unless it falls off

Amon: okay, so i still dont get how the coins and the play pieces are interconnected

auntie: the coins are the play pieces

Amon: ah HA i gotcha
so the pieces would be disc-shaped, not so much like a standing statuette

auntie: one player gets quarters heads-up, say, the other tails-up
because they would have to be the same weight for it to be fair
but what happens if a piece lands the other side up

Amon: righto

auntie: does it change sides?
that could be interesting

Amon: oooo
yes
(could be a gambling game at this rate!)

auntie: i wonder how often they flip over
i’m gonna clear off this table in a little while and try this out

Amon: 50 percent of the time, lol
also, depends on the floor!
solid floor, 50 percent, carpet, less
(maybe)
dess, we’re smart ppl. :}

auntie: i was thinking a game to play on tables
i’m going to try it on my wooden table

Amon: yeah i mean when they fall OFF the table
onto the floor

auntie: well when they fall off they’re done

Amon: if a heads coin falls on the floor, flips to tails, does the tails team get to keep the coin?
for the next round?
;}

auntie: haha
that is too much randomness
we can always just have the player flip the coin right side up after she shoots it

Amon: never such a thing as too much randomness!

auntie: amon if you want a game to have STRATEGY

Amon: ohh true

auntie: you have to be careful how much RANDOMNESS there is

Amon: darn you and your facts.
:D

auntie: amon let’s post this entire conversation as the rules to our game

Amon: i figured it was already printed and in stores by now.
we should go buy a copy