Tic-Tac-Toe Re-Re-Reeeeeemix!

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As Hurricane Sandy approached us here in Oshawa, we were given a break from creating another one of our exciting board games.  This week, we were responsible for making a modification to the classic game Tic-Tac-Toe!  This proved to be a more difficult task then I thought, as the classic game works so well, that many of my rule changes messed with the core mechanics of the game.  After a lengthy thought process however, I was able to implement a new rule into Tic-Tac-Toe that adds an element of luck that has not been present in the game.

Before I get into my rule change, let me outline the original rule set for Tic-Tac-Toe:

-  The object of the game is to get three in a row.

-  One player uses the letter X as their pieces, the other uses O

-  Players alternate placing X's and O's on the board until one player has three pieces lined up in a row (Horizontal, Vertical, or Diagonal)

-  If the board becomes filled before a player has won, the game board is cleared and the players start again.

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The rule I decided to implement that adds a sense of luck to the game is adding the role of a dice to the game.  If the player chooses to do so, they may role a die at the end of their turn to "Test their Luck".  If the player roles a Five or a Six, they have beat the odds and are allowed to add another X or O to the game board.  If however they take the chance and they fail the role (Four or lower), they will have to remove the X or O that they placed at the beginning of their turn.  This adds a certain challenge to the gameplay because players who feel as though they are going to lose are willing to risk their pieces for a chance at gaining the lead!  

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For the second part of this assignment, we were to take an old game designed in the Game Production class, and re-design it so that it was played with either pure luck, or pure skill.  The game I decided to remix was Battle for Asgolonia,  which was the second prototype created by Bobby Muir and myself.  The original rules for Battle for Asgolonia are as follows:

Battle of Asgolonia is an action packed game where four players must fight to become the rulers of all Asgolonia and claim the mythical treasure.  To begin, each player must roll a die. The player with the highest number will be the first to take their turn.  If there is a tie, then the two players will roll again until the tie is broken. Once the first player has been selected, the order will go clockwise from that player.  To eliminate a player, an opposing player must destroy their home tower.  These home towers are automatically fortifications until they are destroyed.  To begin the game, the starting player will roll a single 6 sided die to see how many tiles will be placed on the game board.  For example, if the player rolls a five, they may place five tiles adjacent to each other.  Once a tile has been placed, all the remaining tiles to be placed must start from the first tile.  If a player places a tile in a spot that is not adjacent to one of their own tiles, the move is deemed illegal and they must re-place the tile.  Combat is a very crucial part of Battle of Asgolonia.  When a player wishes to take over an opposing tile, they must roll the dice.  The player must have one or more moves left to initiate an attack.  Multiple attack sequences may be initiated as long as the player has moves remaining.  If the tile is unfortified, the player must roll a 4 or higher to invade the square with one of their tiles. However, if the tile is fortified, the player must roll a six or higher to successfully invade. If a tile with either a fortification or a siege engine is captured, the fortification/siege engine is destroyed.

To make a fortification you must give up any of the moves you gained from rolling the die. For instance if you rolled a 4 you may move 3 times and make one fortification on any of your tiles or move twice and build 2 fortifications.  If a fortification is being attacked multiple times in one set of moves (Example: The player rolled three and is attacking the fortification all three times), then for each failed attack, the amount of hits needed is reduced by one each time (Ex: If the first two attacks fail, the player only needs to roll a four instead of a six to destroy the fortification).  At the end of the attacking players turn, if all the attacks failed, the fortification returns to normal strength.
To make a siege engine you must give up your roll. A siege engine can only be built before you roll. When you move in your following turns you may move the siege engine along with them.  Siege engines allow the player to roll two dice during their attack.  The highest die will be used in the attack. Only one siege engine may be built per player.  

At the beginning of the game, the golden idol is placed in the center of the game board.  The first player to place a tile on the golden area will earn the golden idol, adding +1 to each attack role.   This idol will stay in the player’s possession until the game is completed, or they are defeated.  If the player with the idol is defeated, the idol will be transferred to the player who won the battle.  If a player’s home fortress is destroyed, the player who destroyed the fortress gains all of that players land tiles.

A Game of Battle for Asgolonia

I decided that I would take this game of skill and re-design it so that it is based purely on the luck of a die roll.  To begin, the fortifications and siege engines that added a unique dynamic to the game will be removed from play altogether.  The new rules will also have the golden idol removed, as well as all forms of combat and defence.  The new set of rules only requires that the player roles a die to determine what form of action they will take.  If the player roles a One, Two, or Three, they make no action and their turn ends.  If however, the player roles a Four, Five, or Six, they place the corresponding amount of tiles anywhere on the board.  This continues until all of the tiles on the game board are filled.  Players are not allowed to place their tiles on any space that is filled with another players piece.  The player who has the most tiles filled at the end of the game is the ultimate winner and champion of Asgolonia!