http://www.marksteeregames.com/Mad_Bishops_rules.pdf
Mark Steere Gameshttp://marksteeregames.com
Mark, you are on fire lately! I marvel at your creativity.
Thanks fizzy :) Before I settled on Jostle I explored a variety of other
concepts that didn't immediately lead anywhere but which were interesting in
their own right. Those concepts kind of took on a momentum of their own and
had to be born out.
One thing
I see about Mad Bishops right away is that numerical superiority
doesn't necessarily mean victory if you are forced to engage first.
Exactly. I've played a mini version (8x8, 8 checkers each) 20 times to
explore move order advantage. It came out 11-9 blue. I think (and could be
wrong) that MB is particularly resistant to move order advantage. Although
the initial position is polarized, MB is an omnidirectional game. There's
no "boundary line" for checkers to shove up against.
Because of the far reach of the bishop, a bishop is much more interactive
with the other bishops on the board than would be a king with other kings
for example. The emphasis on position is elevated and the emphasis on
checker count is reduced. What sometimes happens is that in the end, the
guy with more checkers has to sacrifice his checkers one by one, losing the
game. So the checker count might go from 3-5 to 3-0. The more I play, the
more interesting the gameplay gets. That doesn't always happen.
I can't rule out Mad Bishops as my best game at this point. It's an ultra
simple game with TAD (total assured destruction). What's not to like?
It's clearly possible to be up 2 and 1 and have a forced loss. What
is the maximum advantage that could still be a forced loss?
I'd say about 2 for beginners, though that could change for more experienced
players, becoming higher or lower. I don't know.
I might not be back on BoardGameGeek for a while since they're making
me read and accept a long user agreement when I try to go there and I
don't want to just click it blindly. Have you see that thing, and are
there any bombs in it?
I haven't seen that but I'll give it a once over if I have to agree to it.
I don't think there could be anything to fear from BoardGameGeek.