Semi-regular pentagons

I was unable to find any information on the “Cairo tile pattern” that would shed light on the nature of these irregular pentagons.

I guess the big question is not what they are but what they provide for your game that hexagons don’t.

It has been used in at least one abstract game. Nothing to worry about. It's so obscure i can't remember it.

I was wondering more about how does the pattern aid game play or work better then plain hexes. If one is the same as the other when it comes to play then the more aesthetic should be used.

It's a neat pattern, but I have doubts that it would "sell" your game to anyone on the basis of its uniqueness. The cultural significance, too, would probably be lost on most players.

I feel that the strongest justification for using it would be that - for whatever reason - exactly five directional choices are desired from each space. Or, in light of the shape being irregular, a special significance is attributed to certain facings.

If more people (designers) would remember this, I strongly suspect there'd be a lot more games with squares instead of hexes. This is one of my favorite "design tricks". Even if you don't use it in your final game, it's a life-saver when you're prototyping.

It didn't occur to me until someone else mentioned it that you might be considering this pattern for tile placement. If you are, then I think a board with outlined spaces where the tiles would be placed would be absolutely necessary to eliminate the problems people would have with orienting the tiles.

I didn't mean to imply that the pattern would not add novelty, indeed I believe it would. However, I don't feel that the interest generated by this novelty alone would be a significant factor in very many individuals' desire to own/play the game. In other words, if you're worried about your design being looked at as "just another one of those hex tile placement or hex-and-counter games," the use of your Cairo pattern will not be enough to counter that reaction. Worse, without proper justification, I would fear that savvy gamers would view it with distaste as kind of a needless gimmick.

I would give players handouts instead of using a board. Tiles would move on a board.

As far as Cairo vs. hex or square goes - as long as the Cairo can do the same job use it. If it interferes in the play more than a fraction than it is just a gimmick. Incorporate it nicely and you'll have a winner.

I just can't agree that it will be enough. To illustrate with a simple example, given 2 pieces from this pattern, a user could easily put 2 faces together the "right way" or the "wrong way..." and each would look equally right without consulting the pattern in the rulebook - and rather carefully at that. It will be frustrating to a lot of players. You'll need something more than a picture in the rule book to make legal placements more intuitive.

But no matter what you will be adding difficulty to the simple task of placing a tile that simply does not exist for square, triangle or hex patterns. Adding any difficulty at all without some justification beyond novelty should be avoided IMHO.

I just want to clarify that I'm not knocking the idea of this pattern at all - even if it is the inspiration behind your game. But if you're going to use it I think the game needs to tie into it in deeper ways than those given so far in this thread. If you'd care to share a little more about how your game works and what it's about I'm sure folks would come with several ways to do this.

@schmanthony

I feel your correct, an illustrating might not be enough if the system works like Carcassonne placing the tiles down at a time, if it where like Settles of Catan where you build it all up at the start, then it would have been fine.

Maybe having a game board that holds the pattern will work, the way some puzzle games have a frame and a back board to have the pieces placed into it, it will be the reference you need to and you will know immediately if it is right or wrong. Its just that there is a hassle of the size of the game and utilizing that board for more than just a play mat.