Idea for a chess-like TBS

[Sgt. Groovy]

For the past few hours I'vee been thinking up rules for a chess-like, though a bit more complex TBS game. My design objectives are:

• Rules simple enough to be learnt in haf an hour, the game can be played as a board game.
• Deterministic, no random numbers, no hit points, no bookkeeping.
• The outcome of attacks determined by offensive and defensive ranks on the units, and a terrain modifier.
• KISS (and I don't mean a motherly peck on the cheek, but the French, tonsil licking, tongue wrestling kind)

OK, so what I've come up with so far:

Four kinds of units (offensive/defensive rank):

• Swordsman (4/4)
• Spearman (3/5)
• Archer (6/2)
• Horseman (5/3)

The game is played on a hex board, the size and shape of which can vary. The only hex attribute is height, set for each hex (exept for possible unpassable ones, like water). The composition of the armies can vary too, but if some units turn out to be overpowered (not tested yet), there should be less of them.

On each turn, the player moves one unit. One can pass a turn and move two different units (two must be moved) on the next turn. One can pass as many times during the game as one likes, but not two times in a row (or if one only has one piece left, because there would not be two pieces to move on next turn). Each unit can move up to 4 hexes per turn, except horseman up to 6 hexes, though for the horseman, moving between two hexes of different height counts as an extra hex (this makes the horseman faster than the others on level field, but slower on hilly ground). You can't move through hexes occupied by another unit, friend or foe.

One unit attacks another by moving to the same hex (except the archer, see below). If the attacker's offensive rank is higher than the defender's defensive rank, the defender is removed from the game. If they are equal or if the defensive rank is higher, both are removed (the "suicide option"). If the attacker attacks from a hex with a higher height, it's attack rank increases by one, and if from a lower one, the rank decreases by one (only the relative difference of the heights matters).

The archers attack atypically, by moving to an adjacent hex to the defender (it's a ranged attack, after all). The terrain height modifier applies as usual. When the defender is removed, it's hex will be left empty. The archers don't have the suicide option (they can't die by shooting others).

The winning condition: one player has more than twice the number of units than the other (might be played to the last unit also, or have a "king" unit (possibly secret) to protect).


And that's it, pretty much. Now, I just made up the rules, and haven't tested it yet at all (not that I have anyone to do it with at the moment). But if anyone's interested, it shouldn't be much work to cut the pieces out of cardboard and make a simple board. If someone tests it, I'd be definitely interestied to hear if the game works at all, or if any adjustements are needed. At the top of my head, I'd suggest armies of 4 swordsmen, 5 spearmen, 3 archers and 3 horsmen, on a board 20 hexes across.

[cool evil]

Very nice concept, but i'd just play either chess or wesnoth on my PC. No matter how good the game is, it is still more complicated than chess, you have to follow the rules, which i guess would be harder to remember than those of the chess ones.

On a game board, it's too complex with the terrain height and different unit stats, you need to see if a terrain is higher than the opponent ones, add one or subtract one to the damage, then compare the two unit, and remove the inferior.

On a PC, perhaps as an add-on for wesnoth? Sure, why not, although i doubt people will play this since they already have the standard wesnoth system in use.

[Lorbi]

i like the basic idea but IMHO for a boardgame it is not KISS enough.

[Viliam]

The height could possibly be unified with terrain... assuming that each deep water has height -1, each shallow water is 0, grassland is 1, hills are 2, mountains are 3. The numbers are not necessary. This is simple enough, because players do not have to remember this, it can be displayed by simple picture. Also on the map the "impassable" height differences (differences between adjacent hexes greater than one) could be emphasized by e.g. thick black border.

I think that movement points are relatively simple... because they do not have to be remembered; you just move your unit and forget them. (Let's assume that when player touches the unit, must spend all movement points at the same time... or lose them.) So the movement could be displayed for each unit type like this:

Horseman: 8 movement points
water: forbidden
grassland: 1 MP
hills: 2 MP
mountains: 4 MP

Player cannot pass turn -- this could be done by moving a unit in circle, or something like this. So maybe the rule should be that if all players pass two turns, the game ends without a victory. Or if the same situation happens 3 times. Or something like this.

I also feel that the game could be improved by some important places on the map. Like the villages in Wesnoth. The important places are what prevents player from hiding all their units in the most defensive terrain, and waiting for opponent there. In Wesnoth if you hide with dwarves in mountains, opponent will take all villages, and then kill you with huge number of units. There should be some similar reason why players cannot hide. For example some places could each turn give "victory points" to player standing there... and the first one to reach 50 victory points wins. Or something like this.

[Sgt. Groovy]

i like the basic idea but IMHO for a boardgame it is not KISS enough.

I wouldn't be so sure about that, there are plenty of boardgames more complex than this, many of them quite popular. It might be, of course, that there is a demand gap for this level of complexity in strategy games. People either want them simpler and more formalised, like chess, or more complex and full fledged, with some sort of hit point system, unit advancement, resource management, etc.

The height could possibly be unified with terrain... assuming that each deep water has height -1, each shallow water is 0, grassland is 1, hills are 2, mountains are 3.

I precicely selected no terrain "types", so that players don't need to remember the unit stats for each terrain. That is, all terrain is the same, it's only "good" or "bad" terrain in relation to neighbouring hexes (the only absolute "good" and "bad" terrains are hilltops and valley bottoms).

I think that movement points are relatively simple... because they do not have to be remembered;

Well, I basically have movement points, horsemen have 6 and the rest have 4, and the horsemen have to spend and extra point to change elevation. Players just don't have to remeber a bunch of different movement stats for each unit type, like in the system you suggest.

Player cannot pass turn -- this could be done by moving a unit in circle, or something like this. So maybe the rule should be that if all players pass two turns, the game ends without a victory. Or if the same situation happens 3 times. Or something like this.

I added to passing rule to add an tactical option to the game. Like, if you only have bad moves you can make, you can pass and hope the opponent makes a mistake and breaks your mate, or if you are in a good position and can afford not to do anything, you can pass and launch a double attack next turn.

I also feel that the game could be improved by some important places on the map. Like the villages in Wesnoth. The important places are what prevents player from hiding all their units in the most defensive terrain, and waiting for opponent there.

I have thought about the possibility of conflict avoidance and one way to counter it would be the "hidden king" option: each player will choose one of their units to be the "king," the fall of which will cause their defeat, but doesn't disclose it to the opponent. This will encourage offensive gameplay, as any taken enemy unit can potentially grant you victory. It would also make the game strategically more challenging, as you would have to protect your king, but not to do it too obviously, so the opponent can't figure out which one it is.

One use for the villages could be that occupying a certain number of them simultaneously would make you able to recruit back some of your fallen units. This way the villages would be of no interst in the beginning, and their placement would not unbalance the map so easily, but holing up in a stronghold would be a poor strategy, because the opponent would take the villages, launch suicide attacks and then recruit the units back, wearing you out eventually. But, still, I would rather do without any "special" hexes.

[Danceman]

Take a look at Orions Belt. I think its the chess like turn based game your looking for.

check this battle:
http://s1.orionsbelt.eu/Battle/Battle.aspx?Id=59579799