A quick look at my post count shows just how new i am here. However, i was wondering what sort (if any) discussion has been generated regarding state-tracking pawns.
State tracking pawns are basically a dual purpose piece that is used to track location (and possibly facing) as well as one or more other game effecting states. The most prevelent comercial application i can think of off the top of my head is the stuff that Wiz Kids produces which involve highly specialized (and i assume expensive) game pieces.
The other day i stumbled upon the fact that you can use dice as state tracking pawns. You can shift the die's position on the board to track one state (generally location) and use the value shown on the die face to track a different state altogether (movement rate or whatever is appropriate). Then i realized that in addition to that you can use them for a third purpose: randomization.
So i guess my question is, what other kinds of ideas have people put forward regarding the use of state-tracking pawns in general and dice as state-tracking pawns in particular?
Thomas
I get the feeling you have something in mind when you posted. Do you have a great idea you're holding back on? Possibly to see if someone else has already done it?
-Darke
First, Diceland rocks. It uses all three modes for dice: Pawns (position and facing on a non-delineated surface), state (weapons, abilities, etc.) and randomization (you have to roll them onto the play surface). A quick side note: Diceland uses oversized pasteboard 8-sided dice (two pyramidal prisms stacked bottom to bottom) that are pretty large. Part of the game involves the option to bump and move dice already in play as you put a new die into play.
As to whether i have ideas, yes. I am not really "holding back" (i hope). It is more a case of still formulating and finalizing my ideas. The basic design is a 10x10 grid board using d6s as pawns. They can move orthogonally (not diagonally) any number of spaces up to the value showing on the die and can capture any die with an equal or higher value showing. You can choose to reroll any of your dice instead of moving. Play alternates back and forth with each of two players getting one action (to move a die which may or may not include capturing an opponent's die, or rerolling a die). There is a scoring system and a simple victory condition which i could go into if anyone is really interested.
But i am not really worried about other people doing it first. I tend to favor self publishing and if i think it will sell, i will probably package it up (which is why i was inquiring about vinyl boards). The main thrust was: what other (or even similar) ideas have people played around with? Are there other things you can do with state-tracking Pawns and dice-as-pawns that i have not really considered yet?
Thomas