Crystal Connector

DM3/6: Crystal Connector

The game is played on a 6x6 grid. There is a randomly assigned crystal on each space of the grid, and there will be 9 crystals of each color (red, blue, green, yellow). The DMO chooses whether to be Player 1 or Player 2.

Player 1 chooses whether to pick a color first or second. The player with first pick chooses a color to control -- the player with second pick chooses two of the three remaining colors to control, and the first player gets the remaining color.

Player 2 then chooses to move first or second. Then, the game begins.

Players must make three shifts each turn.

Shifts consist of a file (row or column), a valid direction, and a number of moves: all crystals and items in that row/column move that number of spaces in the given direction. This loops over the edge of the board if necessary. Shifts are permanent, and players cannot shift a file their opponent shifted last turn. Players can shift the same file repeatedly on their turn if they wish.

The board will only be updated between moves, and not individual shifts.

Players have 90 seconds to make a move, and three minutes of reserve time. If a player exhausts all their reserve time, their opponent makes a valid move for them. If their opponent does not make a move, nothing happens.

Once a player's turn finishes, both players score points equal to the product of the sizes of the largest groups of their two colors on the grid. For instance, if you control red and blue, and the largest group sizes of those colors are 4 and 5, respectively, you will score 20 points.

A group of colored crystals is defined the same way as a region in MM2: a maximally large connected group of crystals of the same color.

The threshold is 250 points. If either player to shift reaches or exceeds the threshold at the end of the second player to move’s turn, the game ends. The winner is the player with more points. If there is a tie, the game resumes until a player has more points than the other at the end of the second player to move’s turn.

Anomalies

Bombs: There is one less red crystal and one less blue crystal. The grid will instead have two bombs (💣). All crystals in the same group as a bomb cannot count as the largest group. If every crystal of a given color is in the same group as a bomb, the largest size is zero. The threshold is decreased by 50 points.

Color Convertor: Players can select one space of a color they control at the start of their move (before they use any shifts); that space will change to the other color they control.

Chameleon: There is one less green crystal and one less yellow crystal. The grid will instead have two chameleons (🦎), which count as any crystal when scoring groups. Chameleons can be scored as part of multiple groups at once. The threshold is increased by 50 points.

Pylons: There are one less crystal of each color on the grid. The grid will instead have four pylons (🗼). After your shift, all crystals on a row or column with at least two pylons will count for two crystals instead of one. The threshold is increased by 50 points.

Rocks: There are one less crystal of each color on the grid. The grid will instead have four rocks (🪨), which will begin on different rows and columns. Rocks cannot be shifted over the edge of the board; doing so is not a legal move. The threshold is decreased by 50 points.

Shift Plus: Players start with two shifts in the first three turns but gain one every third turn. This caps at 5.

Spikes: For each color, two crystals on the grid of that color have a set of Spikes on top of them (✵). On your turn, for each space a set of Spikes moves, your opponent gains one point. Spikes vanish after both players have made fifteen moves. The threshold is increased by 50 points.

Example

Suppose Player 1 controls Red and Green and Player 2 controls Yellow and Blue.

Player 1 would score 7*5=35 points. Player 2 would score 4*2=8 points.

Examples of valid shifts include "C up 2" and "2 right 3" (shift row 2 three spaces to the right). Obviously, you cannot shift columns horizontally or rows vertically.