Lights, Camera, Action!
In this Main Match, take turns placing lights, using cameras, and directing actions to get the highest score.
| Designer(s): e_is_cool, elara | Match Type: MM (for 11 players) |
| Featured in: The Genius: Contractual Obligation | |
Main Match 4: Lights, Camera, Action!
IMAGE SUMMARY
SUMMARYThis game takes place on a 2-dimensional grid, known as the studio, with some solid walls.
There are three rounds, each with its own mechanics. During Round 1, players will place lights in a studio; in Round 2, players set up cameras, and in Round 3, players direct actions. Additionally, players can earn points from filming, which is scored on the combination of the three aforementioned things.
Players are informed on how many points they earned from lights, cameras, actions, and filming.
✏️ Note that in some rounds players may earn fractional points. However, at the end of each round, the number of points a player earns will be rounded down.
LIGHTSIn Round 1, players place 3 lights in order to brighten up the studio. Players will submit a priority list of 5 distinct locations they wish to place a light at. For the first light in each player's list, if it's empty and no other player submitted it (in that priority), they will place a light there. Otherwise, that location is skipped in a player's list. This repeats for each player until a player has placed 3 lights, or gone through all 5 locations.
Lights brighten all cells within 3 orthogonal steps that do not travel through a light or wall. Lights do not brighten their own cell.
For each cell in the studio, if a player placed a light that brightened up that cell, they earn points depending on its brightness. A cell's brightness is the number of lights that brighten it, but cannot exceed 5.
✏️ Do note that this is per player, so a player is not rewarded more for having multiple lights contribute to the same cell.
Brightness 1: 3 points
Brightness 2: 2 points
Brightness 3: 4 points
Brightness 4: 2 points
Brightness 5: 1 points
All light locations are revealed at the end of the round, as well as the brightness of each cell.
✏️ Note that which player placed which light is not revealed.
CAMERAIn Round 2, players will be placing 3 cameras. A camera has a 3 by 3 view of the grid, and a player cannot submit multiple cameras that overlap.
Players are awarded points equal to three times the total light level of the cells their cameras have captured. If a cell is captured by multiple cameras, its light is shared evenly between them.
✏️ A solid wall has a light level of 0.
All camera locations are revealed at the end of the round.
✏️ Note that which player placed which camera is not revealed.
ACTION!In Round 3, players will be directing 3 actions, which can be placed on any empty cell (i.e. cell with no light and is not solid); a player cannot place multiple actions on the same cell.
Each action will earn points if they are part of certain formations. Points from different formations can stack on the same action. Multiple players playing an action on the same space will merge the actions together, with all players splitting the points evenly.
- An action gains 20 points if it is part of a diamond formation.
✏️ The diamond formation is only the exact formation as shown in the example. Scaling and rotation are not allowed.
- An action gains 3 points per consecutive action in the direction that contains the longest line, capped at 50 points.
✏️ Direction is defined as either up, down, left, or right, and the line does not include the current cell.
- An action gains 5 points per orthogonal step to the nearest other action, capped at 50 points.
✏️ Note that these steps cannot go through blocked cells.
✏️ An action earns 50 points if there is no orthogonal path to another action.
Action locations are NOT publicly revealed.
FILMINGIf a cell has at least one brightness, is captured by a camera, and has an action on it, players who contributed will get points (in the filming category).
Each triplet will give some number of points.
Lights: Each player who contributed to the cell’s brightness receives points equal to the number of points the action got (in the action category), divided by twice the number of players that did contribute to the cell’s brightness.
Camera: Each player with a camera gains points equal to two times the light level; this is tripled if the action is in the center of the camera.
Action: The player who submitted the action earns points equal to three times the amount of unique lights and cameras on it.
ENDGAMEPlayers are ordered by the number of points they have, with ties being broken by a higher filming score, then by previous MM results.
The highest ranked player earns a 3/4 ToL.
The second highest ranked player earns a 2/4 ToL.
The third highest ranked player earns a 1/4 ToL.
The player with the highest lights score will gain one additional shard on their ToL if they have one (it doesn't go into their shard inventory, even if it is unused). Same with the highest camera and action score.
✏️ Multiple players may tie for highest score; in that case, all such tied players would get the bonus. A player may also have the highest score in multiple categories, in which case they would get multiple additional shards on their ToL.
The player with the highest filming score (even if they already have a ToL) earns a 4/4 ToL.
✏️ If multiple such players exist, only the highest ranked player will earn the extra ToL.
The two lowest ranked players are ECs, and the player with the lowest filming score (without a ToL) who is not already an EC is also an EC.
CONTRACTS
There is one optional contract, you may choose whether you wish to accept it:
Supremacy Pact
If you are not the highest ranked player of all players who accepted this contract, you gain a Mark of Elimination and do not get this contract's reward.
Bounty: 3 Shards
In addition, please pick one of the following contracts to accept:
Contract of Lights
Light up at least 50 distinct cells with your lights.
Bounty: 1 Shard
Contract of Camera:
Have at least two of your cameras overlap with no other players' cameras.
Bounty: 1 Shard
Contract of Action!:
Get at least 50 points on a singular action.
Reward: 2 Shards
SCORING EXAMPLE: FILMINGAssume that each placement within a single round in this grid is from a different player.
Only the five cells with actions are scored for filming (they all have at least one brightness and are captured by at least one camera).
- For Lights, we need to look at the amount that each action scored. Going in reading order, the scores are 30, 30, 28, 28, 8. Then, divide by 4, 2, 4, 2, 2, respectively (since only the 1st and 3rd are illuminated by two players) to get those scores. So, the player who placed the top right light would receive
7.5+7+4=18.5points from this. - For Camera, double the brightness level of each cell. Then the scores are 4, 2, 4, 2, 2. However, for the player who placed the orange camera (the right one), the 3rd cell is in the center of their camera, so their bonus is tripled for that cell, and they receive 12 points there instead. Thus that player will receive
4+12+2+2=20points. - For Action, we count the number of lights and number of cameras that see each cell; they are 4, 2, 4, 3, 3 respectively. Tripling each of these quantities receives the action result of each of these cells. If you placed the topmost action here, you would receive 12 points.
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Amendment: In the Filming category, Lights' condition is being changed to the following condition:
Lights: Each player who contributed to the cell’s brightness receives points equal to the number of points the action got (in the action category), divided by twice the number of players that did contribute to the cell’s brightness.
The wording of this is more complicated, but basically it's just half the score of how it's written in the graphics.
Clarification: The image and text rules were inconsistent with how Action placements work. During the Action round, you will just submit three locations, and if multiple players submit the same location they split the points of that location.
Clarification: For the purpose of Action's "Distance" scoring metric, a blocked cell is either a wall or a light.
Tags
Area control (The game involves controlling more area on the board in order to win.)
Grid-based (The game involves play on a grid.)
Piece placement (The game involves pieces being placed on a board.)
Points-based (The game involves players earning points.)