Paint Clash

TBD

Designer(s): elara Match Type: MM (for 8 players)
Featured in: The Genius Puzzler

Main Match 7: Paint Clash

In Paint Clash, players break into two teams that must work to paint as much of the ground as possible with their team's color.


RULES

This is a 4 versus 4 team game, featuring the teams Green and Pink. First, players will split into two teams as follows:

Each player selects a color, and bids some number of Garnets to be on that team. If 4 people bid for each team, then the teams are automatically selected. Otherwise, the four players who bid the most Garnets on the team that had more than 4 players choose it get on that team, spending that many Garnets. The other four players spend no Garnets and get on the other team. If there is a tie in Garnets bid, the player who wins the tie is the one who had more Garnets at the start of the Main Match.


This game takes place on a hexagonal grid with side length 9, as shown:



The coordinates of the grid work by taking the row letter of the cell and matching it with the diagonal down-left column number that matches it. For instance, the top right cell is A9, and the the top leftmost pink cell in the diagram is O7.


After teams have been decided, players will choose their starting locations. The green team must start in one of the cells colored green in the above image, and similar for the pink team. It is allowed for two players to start on the same cell.

After this initial selection, the entire board is wiped clean (so there are no painted cells at the start of the game, unlike the above image), and Round 1 begins.


A single round consists of two phases: Moving and Shooting. You submit for these two phases simultaneously, so each round takes a single deadline cycle.

In the Moving phase, players move to a different cell. There are two options for movement.

The first option is normal movement. In this, you may move up to two cells away in any direction.

The second option is squid movement. In this, you may transform into a squid and move further--four cells away in any direction. However, when moving as a squid, all cells you traverse, including the ones you start and end on, must already be painted with your team's color.

It is allowed for multiple players to end on the same cell.

Here are some valid moves (showcased within a smaller grid), for a player on the Pink team:



In the Shooting phase, players select a gun and shoot it, covering some cells with paint. There are six different guns, and each gun can only be used once for each player.

This image shows the effective range of all six guns, colored in different colors to differentiate them. Each gun covers the cell you are standing on at time of use, and with the exception of Guns 4 and 6, each gun covers a connected component of cells. The direction which you shoot the gun can be rotated (for instance, Gun 2 can shoot rightwards).



In general, cells you cover with your gun will be painted your team's color. However, you cannot paint over already-painted cells; covering those cells will have no effect. In addition, if the same cell is covered by both teams, it will remain unpainted, regardless of how many players on each team attempt to paint it. Covering a player with paint has no effect.

After all paint has been processed, the round ends, and the current grid (featuring each player's current location and the paint status of each cell) is posted.


The Main Match ends after six rounds. At this time, the number of cells painted each color is counted. The winning team is the team that colored more cells.

In the case of a tie in total number of cells, the winning team is the one that was ahead at the end of Round 5. If this was still tied, we consider Round 4, then 3, etc. In the event that the game was always tied, then no player wins a Token of Life and the Elimination Candidate is picked at random.

Each player on the winning team receives a Token of Life and 3 Garnets. Together, they select a single player from the losing team as the Elimination Candidate, who must then choose someone from their team as their Death Match Opponent.


ADMINISTRATION

Timing

This game has two pregame phases: Team selection, and then starting location selection. Afterwards, there are 6 rounds of gameplay. Each round (and pregame phase) takes 24 hours.


Submissions

During team selection, you submit a team color (green or pink), and some number of Garnets.

During starting location selection, you submit a single cell to start at. Green team must choose one in rows A, B, or C, while Pink team must choose one in rows O, P, or Q.

During gameplay rounds, you submit movement (choosing either squid movement or regular movement, and deciding your final destination), as well as your shooting action (a gun to use as well as a direction if applicable).

Failure to submit in team selection randomizes your team selection with 0 Garnets spent; failure to submit in starting location selection randomizes your starting location, and in gameplay rounds, failure to submit means you do not move and use a gun at random.


Information

Publicly announced, after team selection:

  • The two 4-player teams (but not the specific bids that caused them)

Publicly announced, at the start of each round:

  • The location of all players
  • The paint status of all cells (whether they are green, pink, or unpainted)

Publicly announced, at the end of the game:

  • The final location of all players (not relevant for any scoring)
  • The final status of all cells
  • Which team is the winner

There is no private information in this game, aside from which guns you have used and still have remaining.


Garnets

Garnets may be spent in the following way:

You can bid for the team you want at the start of the MM.


Garnets may be earned in the following way:

The players on the winning team receive 3 Garnets each.


Clarification: You are told whether you spent any Garnets during the bidding round (though not anybody else).

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