Galespiel

👑 Final Match 2: Galespiel 👑

Outplay your opponent so you can build a bridge across.

This game has inspirations from two games, Gale (also known as Bridg-It) and Goofspiel (also known as GOPS). In ORG history, Gale was also used as a component in The Biggest Brain, a game that appeared in DM Colosseum as well as Community-Hosted Genius Game. Meanwhile, Goofspiel has been used by itself and as a component in numerous games, including Hexspiel, a game that also appeared in DM Colosseum.

RULES

Your goal is to build bridges across the board, in order to connect your two opposite sides. However, bridges require time and material. You have to compete in Goofspiel rounds against your opponent. The winner of a round wins some material, and is given the right to build a bridge. The first player to successfully build bridges to connect their sides wins the game.

📌 The game components

The game is played on the following board, consisting of interlocking 6x7 grids of dots. One set of dots (brown) belongs to Danny; the other (blue) belongs to pseud.

You will be able to build bridges between your dots. Bridges are always between dots of the same color, and they only go horizontally or vertically, so each bridge will cover one of the numbers. Bridges may not cross, so once you build a bridge covering a number, your opponent cannot build a bridge covering the same number.

Throughout the game, you will accumulate materials (abbreviated M) and spend them to build bridges. At the beginning of the game, you start with no material.

The game also involves Goofspiel components. You have a full set of the following bidding cards. The bidding cards has a value that runs from 1-9, and some of them have other effects.

• 1: When you play this, get 1 material (whether you win the round or not).
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8: If you win the round, get 1 less material.
• 9: If you win the round, get 2 less materials.

It is also possible to upgrade your bidding cards. The rules to upgrade bidding cards are described later in the rules. Only even-valued bidding cards have upgraded versions, which replace the card of the same value (except in one instance).

• 2: When you play this, get 2 materials (whether you win the round or not).
• 4: This round, whenever you build a bridge, it costs 1 material less.
• 6: If you win the round, get 2 additional materials.
• 8.5: The material penalty is removed, and this card's value is increased by 0.5. (This means it now wins against a non-upgraded 8.)

You will play bidding cards to contest prize cards. There are 7 prize cards with the following numbers: 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8. A prize card awards an amount of materials equal to its number, as well as the right to build a bridge for the winner.

📌 Gameplay of a round

The game is divided into rounds and is played until one player wins.

At the start of a round, a random prize card is revealed. Then you will play a bidding card from your hand. Bidding cards are played simultaneously.

The player that plays the higher-valued bidding card wins the round. They get an amount of materials as indicated on the prize card, and they also win the right to build a bridge this round. In case of a tie, neither player wins the round, so neither player gets the material nor the right to build a bridge, although effects that trigger when you play a bidding card still happen.

To build a bridge, simply indicate the spot you wish to build a bridge on. You will pay the indicated amount of materials (given as the number over the spot) and build a bridge over that spot. You cannot choose a spot if you cannot pay the cost or it is already occupied. You may build multiple bridges in the same round, if you have the materials to do so.

If you manage to completely surround some number of the opponent's dots using your bridges, you gain the right to upgrade your bidding cards. (The two sides of the board that you have to connect also count for surrounding dots.) You don't have to surround a dot individually; you can surround multiple dots all at once. Each surrounded dot allows you to upgrade one of your cards by replacing a basic version with its upgraded version. Only the even-valued cards can be upgraded, as described earlier in the rules.

Your materials do not persist forever; having too many stored at once weakens them. At the end of each round, regardless of whether you won the round or not (including if you are tied), you lose 1 material per 6 you have (rounded down). For example, if you have 16 materials, you lose 2, bringing you down to 14. This only counts materials that you have not spent, and this only happens at the end of the round after building bridges.

All bidding cards you use are removed from your hand and can no longer be used until your hand is refilled. There are 7 prize cards, and they will all appear in a random order over 7 rounds. At the end of every 7th round, all prize cards are shuffled again, ready to be given out over the next 7 rounds; in addition, you get back all your bidding cards.

The game ends once a player successfully builds a bridge to connect their two opposite sides. That player wins.

📌 TL;DR

• You have 9 bidding cards that you use to play Goofspiel.
• You collect materials to be used to build bridges. You start with 0 material.
• Each Goofspiel round is for an amount of materials and the right to build bridges.
• Each opponent's dot you fully surround lets you upgrade one of your bidding cards. There are 4 upgrades available.
• After each round, you lose 1 material per 6 you have (rounded down).
• After 7 rounds, all prize cards are reshuffled and you take back all your bidding cards.
• The first player to connect their opposite sides wins.

GAME ITEMS

The four game items available in this game are as follows:

• Crystal Ball: This item lets you look into the future. Use this before a round begins. You will privately learn all the remaining prize cards for this set of 7. (If you used this right after a reshuffle, you will learn all 7 upcoming prize cards.)

• Emergency Delivery: This item lets you get some materials in a pinch. Use this when you are able to build bridges. (Usually this means when you have the right to build bridges, but this can also be applied together with the Rush Order item.) You get 3 materials, which you may immediately use in the same round.

• Rush Order: This item lets you build bridges even when you're not supposed to. Use this after the round's results are revealed. You may build bridges immediately; if your opponent won the round, you build bridges before they do. You don't get any additional material, though; you can only use what you have.

• Specialist's Aid: This item gives you a free upgrade without the hassle of surrounding an opponent's dot. Use this as you play a bidding card that can still be upgraded. You upgrade that bidding card before you play it, which means its upgraded effect applies immediately in the same round.

ADMINISTRATION

📌 ⏰ Timing

When it is time to play a bidding card, you have 60 seconds (1 minute). When it is time to build bridges, you have 30 seconds; you are expected to already know where you want to build bridges during your decision to play a bidding card.

You also have a time bank of 5 minutes. If you run out of time for your decision, you will begin using up your time bank in 5-second increments. If your time bank is depleted and you run out of the time you have for your turn, you lose the game immediately.

During bidding card selection, it will be announced when the 60 seconds have expired. If either player hasn't yet made their decision, it will also be announced as such and their time bank will start counting down until they lock in their decision. Any player that has made their decision at the end of the 60 seconds cannot change it, but their time bank will not count down either.

Your time bank will also decrease if you are considering of using an item (specifically Crystal Ball and Rush Order); see below under the "submissions and allowed tools" heading. IF you run out of time bank in this manner, you don't lose, but we will progress the game, assuming you are not using your item this way.

During bridge building, you have to explicitly state you are done building bridges in order to stop the timer.

📌 🧠 Submissions and allowed tools

During bidding card selection, simply state the value of the card you wish to play. This decision is done in your private table channel. Your decision is locked at the end of the 60-second period; if you haven't yet submitted, you must submit a card and then explicitly lock it to stop your time bank from counting down.

During bridge building, simply state the coordinates of the bridges you wish to build on. You are not considered done until you explicitly state you are done building. This decision is done in the public game room.

If you wish to use Specialist's Aid, state so along with your bidding card submission. If you wish to use Emergency Delivery, state so along with your bridge building submission.

The window of time to use Crystal Ball or Rush Order is rather brief. If you need time to think, call out "wait" or similar; we will wait for your decision on whether to use the item or not. The time taken for waiting will be deducted from your time bank.

If you use Crystal Ball, you will be informed of the prize cards in your private table channel.

You may use any available tools for note-taking. However, you may not talk to other people or use any automated programs.

📌 📡 Information

The following lists describe who knows each piece of information. If anything is not listed here, feel free to ask.

The board and materials

• Current board: public
• Your materials: public

Bidding cards

• Your bidding cards and which ones you have upgraded: public
• Your remaining bidding cards in hand: public
• The bidding card you're submitting this round: only you know yours

Prize cards

• Prize card for this round: public
• Prize cards for future rounds in the set of 7: only the player using Crystal Ball knows
• Prize cards for future sets of 7: nobody

Miscellaneous

• Your current turn timer: public, ask any time, reminders expected at 30/15/5 seconds
• Your current time bank: public, ask any time, reminders expected at every 30 seconds

📌 New rule: Avoiding stalemates

A stalemate happens if either of the following conditions happens:

• One set of 7 prize cards goes by with both players tying every single round.
• Two sets of 7 prize cards go by without any new bridge built on the board.

If a stalemate happens, the game ends prematurely. We will compute the minimum number of materials still needed by each player to connect their sides (each one assuming the opponent doesn't do anything). The player with less materials needed wins the game; in case of a tie, Danny with the DM Advantage wins the game.