Hap-Tac-Toe
TBD
| Designer(s): elara | Match Type: DM (for 2 players) |
| Featured in: The Choice is Yours, Squeaky Genius: Legends Untold | |
Strategy + Observation DM: Hap-Tac-Toe
In Hap-Tac-Toe, players place blocks on a board in order to construct three-in-a-row haps.
Basic Rules
Players alternate placing blocks down on a 5x5 grid. Each block has three properties: background, color, and shape. Each category has three possibilities, and there is one copy of each block, for a total of 27 blocks. You may not place a block down in a square that has already been placed in.
A hap is defined as three blocks for which every property is either all the same or all different. Your aim in this game is to build as many haps as possible, such that they also satisfy the following property: the three blocks used all appear in one line (either horizontal, vertical, or diagonal at an incline of 45 degrees). They do not have to be adjacent.
Gameplay
Players alternate turns. On a player's turn, they select one block that has not yet been placed, and place it on a square that has not been used. If applicable, they may also claim haps. To claim a hap, call out three squares that form a valid hap. (Obviously, a hap may not be called multiple times.) You may call as many haps as you'd like on your turn.
Scoring and Endgame
A player earns 1 point for a valid claimed hap, and loses 0.5 points if they claim an invalid hap. (Your final score at the end of the entire game is rounded up to the nearest integer.)
This game will be played twice. First, one player will move first, and then the other player will do so. At the end, the scores will be summed up. The player with more points wins the DM.
Timing
Players have one minute per move. This includes both placing and calling haps. I will not give a board update during a move or confirm correctness of haps until after the turn is over.
Players also have 5 minutes of reserve time. This time is shared through both games, so you do not have your reserve timer reset after the first one. If a player runs out of reserve time, they automatically lose the DM.
Advantage
The player with the Advantage decides which player moves first in the first game (note that it is reversed in the second). In addition, if the scores at the end are tied, the player with the Advantage wins.
Remember earlier when the sky was literally falling? Someone’s gotta put it back. And that sounds like WAY too much work for me to want to do.
In When Stars Align, players will be placing stars on a 5x5 grid in order to form sets over two games.
There are 27 different stars that can be placed. Each star has a color (yellow, blue, or white), a pattern (solid, hollow, or striped) and a shape (4, 5, or 6-pointed).
A set of stars is any three stars whose colors, patterns, and shapes are either all the same or all different. Additionally, stars in a set must all be on the same horizontal, vertical, or diagonal (45 degree) line. Stars do not have to be adjacent to each other. The grid does not wrap around.
As seen in the image above, Row 2 satisfies these conditions because all three stars have the same color, same pattern, but different shapes. Column B also satisfies these conditions with the same star shape and pattern, but different colors. The diagonal of A5 to E1 satisfies these conditions with same color and pattern, but different shapes. The diagonal of A3 to C1 is also a set, as it consists of all different star shapes, colors, and patterns.
The diagonal of A1 to E5 has two sets. One consists of B2, D4, and E5 and the other of A1, B2, and C3. However, the diagonal of A2 to D5 plus E1 does NOT contain a set, despite having stars that do form a set, diagonals do not wrap around the grid.
Players will alternate turns, with the Death Match Opponent, Ian, deciding who plays first in the first game. Whoever plays first in the first game will go second in the second game.
On a player’s turn, they must first select a star that hasn’t been placed, and play it on an unoccupied space of the board. To select a star, list its attributes (“yellow solid 4”), and to play it, choose a coordinate (“C3”).
Then, the player may claim sets. To claim a set, first declare ‘set’, then name the coordinates of the stars which form a valid, unclaimed set (“set A1 A2 A4”). A player may claim as many sets as they wish on their turn.
After a player has placed their star and claimed sets (or chosen not to), they must say “done” to stop their turn timer. It is only then that any sets will be scored.
For each valid set a player claims, they score 1 point. If a player attempts to claim an invalid set, or a set that has already been claimed, that player will receive a strike. If a player receives 2 strikes, they will lose 1 point, and be reset to 0 strikes. A player may amass any amount of strikes (and therefore lose any number of points) in one turn.
After two games, the player with the most points across both games will win the Death Match, and be awarded A Literal Star. The other player will be lost to the cosmos, and be eliminated from the game.
In the case of a tie, the Death Match Opponent, Ian, will win.
You will have one minute to make your turn and say “done”, with a five minute bank of reserve time. If you run out of reserve time, you will immediately forfeit the match. Reserve time will never be replenished or increased.