So I make card games, program simple computer games, and design board games as a hobby. I have a particular board game design that is built around the notion of the prisoner's dilemma. The idea was to create a simple game that could be used to teach probability as well as notions of social capital, trade, and cooperation. I'm satisfied enough with it that I'm thinking I might try and make it as a board game rather than just program a proof of concept. I am interested in feedback though, so here's the rules:
--- The Goal ---The goal is to have accumulated 100 gold pieces at the end of a round. The first player to do so wins.
(10 by 10 squares)
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
2 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
3 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
4 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
5 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
1 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
2 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
3 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
4 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
5 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
Each player takes a turn rolling (like they would during a normal turn) and the player chooses from one of the activated spaces to place their initial city. A city cannot be placed next to another city (as per usual buildign rules) however the requirement that a road be next to the building site does obviously not apply. If a player rolls and none of the activates psaces are legal placement spots, then the player rerolls.
Each round consists of each player taking their turn, then trading occurs, then if a player has at least 100 gold pieces they win. If two or more players have at least 100 gold pieces then the one with the most gold pieces wins. If there is a tie, then the game is not over and another round is played. This continues until there is a winner.
On each player's turn they first roll both the dice. Then when the rolling phase is over the player who's turn it is may build.
When a player rolls the dice there will either be doubles or two different numbers. If the numbers are different then the player who rolled decides which die goes with which axis on the board. If the two numbers are the same then it does not matter which die is associated with which axis.
Example(s):
Player 1 rolls a 2 and a 3. Player 1 decides to pick 2 from the top and 3 on the left.
1[2]3 ... 1[2]3
_ _ _ _ _ _
1 |2|_|_| |_|_|_|
2 |_|_|_| |_|_|_|
[3] |_|1|_| |_|_|_|
Next places where rolled numbers meet are activated. Notice that the numbers repeat on both axis.
Example(s):
So if a 2 is associated with top axis and a 3 with the left axis, 4 spaces will be activated.
1[2]3 4 5 1[2]3 4 5
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
2 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
[3] |_|X|_|_|_|_|X|_|_|_|
4 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
5 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
1 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
2 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
[3] |_|X|_|_|_|_|X|_|_|_|
4 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
5 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
In the case of double 4s...
1 2 3[4]5 1 2 3[4]5
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
2 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
3 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
[4] |_|_|_|X|_|_|_|_|X|_|
5 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
1 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
2 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
3 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
[4] |_|_|_|X|_|_|_|_|X|_|
5 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
Activated spaces do the following depending on what kind of space they are:
Cities - When a city is activated the player who owns that city gets 5 gold pieces.
Empty Space - If the empty space is next to any cities (kitty corner counts) then those cities each get 3 gold pieces. If the empty space is not next to any cities then nobody gets anything.
Road - Imagine that the space is a city for the purposes of trading. All other cities that woudl be able to trade directly with the activated space collect 1 gold piece (a player may collect mutliple gold pieces this way by having more than one city which is able to trade with the activated space).
Cities cost 10 gold each. Cities can only be built on empty spaces. No city may be built in any location touching another city.
Example(s):
Allowed Not Allowed Allowed
|_|_|_|2| |3|_|_|2|_| |3|_|_|_|_|
|_|1|_|_| |_|1|_|_|_| |_|_|2|_|_|
|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|1|_| |1|_|_|_|3|
In order to build a new city, it must be next to a road. It must also be able to directly trade with an already existing city owned by the player who is building it.
Example(s):
In the following example the two spaces that player 1 could potentially build a city are marked by circles (o).
|R|R|R|o|R|_|_|R|_|
|R|_|R|R|R|2|R|R|_|
|1|_|R|o|_|_|_|R|_|
Roads cost 3 gold each. Roads can only be built on empty spaces. No player may build a road that is touching a city, other than the player who owns that city.
Example(s):
Here roads can be built on the dot (.) by player 1, on the circles (o) by player 3, on the open space (_) by anybody, and cannot be built on the spaces marked (X) by anybody.
|_|o|o|o|
|.|X|3|o|
|1|X|o|o|
Roads must also be built on spaces where (if the were cities) they would be able to trade with an existing city owned by the player building the road.
When two players agree to trade with one another they get 3 gold pieces to split as they agree. Both players must agree to the trade and the distribution of the gold pieces in order to trade. Players can only trade directly with each other if their cities are connected by roads.
Example(s):
Can Trade Cannot Trade Cannot Trade
|_|_|_|_| |R|_|_|_|_|_| |R|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|R|R|2| |R|_|R|R|R|2| |R|R|_|_|_|_|
|1|R|_|_| |1|_|_|R|_|_| |1|_|R|R|2|_|
Players can trade through another player, but only if that player agrees to the trade (and they can demand a fee). Enabling two other players to trade (and potentially charging a service fee) does not count as that player using their city to make a trade.
Example(s):
Players 1 and 2 can trade, but only if player 3 agrees to allow the trade.
|R|R|R|_|R|2|
|R|_|3|_|R|_|
|1|_|R|R|R|_|
Each player may only trade once per city per round. When a trade is made they must specify which cities made the trade (and each city must be able to participate in the trade as defined by the rules above). That city cannot then be used to make any other trades that round.
Example(s):
Here player 1 and player 2 each have two cities and are connected. However, they can only trade once because player 1's city on the right end of the map is not connected with either of player 2's cities.
|R|R|2|_|R|_|
|R|_|R|_|R|1|
|1|_|R|2|_|_|
