Pyramid Dash

Pyramid Dash

A race game that does not use any dice

Aims

• For Pyramid Dash I wanted to create a game in which two players were racing against each other, but the players have the ability to hinder the others progress.
• I wanted to create a game which is engaging for both players and evokes the competitive nature of a player vs player game.
• Lastly, I wanted the game to get progressively harder as the player advances towards the end, making a tense experience for both players.

Coming up with the game

I needed to find a way to create a game that players could race each other without the use of die. So, I thought perhaps players could move one space at a time. Originally, I had the idea of having a board with rotating disks so players would use their turn to twist the disk and match colours to advance their player counter. The issue with this however is I felt that this type of gameplay could get repetitive, and two players could get stuck in a loop of rotating the same disk trying to advance. However, I then had the idea of a pyramid shaped board that a player would lay traps on for the other player. The players would move towards the top of the pyramid row by row, and the game would progressively get harder as players would be more likely to run into the opposing players traps the further up the board they moved. I felt this would create a tense experience for the players and an enjoyable experience for a competitive pair of players.  

The game was a small bit inspired by the way Battle Ships works. Players call out a position on the board and the other player would confirm they could move to that position or shout ‘Trap!’ in which the player trying to move would have to place a red Caught counter in that position instead of advancing.

The Rules

Players both must have a pyramid shaped board each, 1 Yellow Player Piece, 25 Traps to lay down for the opposing player, and 25 Caught pieces to lay down when triggering a Trap.

Players must sit with a divide in between so as the players cannot view each other’s board. Once set up, players must then place the 25 Trap pieces they are given anywhere they like on the rows of the pyramid. There should be the following number of Traps per row:

• Row A. 5 Traps
• Row B. 5 Traps
• Row C. 4 Traps
• Row D. 3 Traps
• Row E. 3 Traps
• Row F. 2 Traps
• Row G. 2 Traps
• Row H. 1 Trap

The number of Traps on each row should match exactly the numbers laid above.

Once Both players are happy with the position of their traps, the game may begin.

1. The player with the least travel experience will go first. The Yellow Player Piece will start off the board. The player must make their way up the board row by row, A to B to C etc. The player may move to any number on the next row regardless of their current number position, but they may not skip rows. The player must declare the space they choose to move too, for example they may say A4.
2. The opposing player must check to see if they have placed a trap on their A4 position. If it is clear the opposing player must say ‘Clear’, and the player may move their Yellow Player Piece into that space and advance into row B on their next turn. If the opposing player has placed a Trap in the space however, the opposing player must shout ‘Trap’, the player may not move forward and instead must place a red Caught piece in the space to declare that position unsafe.
3. Once the player has taken their go, regardless of the outcome, they must mark it down as a turn in their notebook to keep track of the number of turns taken.
4. The opposing player may then take their turn.
5. The game continues this way until one of the players has made it to Row H. The player who makes it to Row H first is declared the winner on one condition, as long as their number of turns is not exactly one more than the other player, for example if they took 8 turns and their opponent took 7. If it is exactly one more turn than the opposing player than the game is declared a draw.

Play Testing

Issues Summary:

• The first half of the board wasn’t challenging enough
• The lack of challenge made the game finish much sooner than desired
• The first player had an unfair advantage in that they go first and can win by being one turn ahead
• There are design issues for the Trap and Caught pieces.

The games rules have changed very little from the initial conception of the game, the only difference is the amount of Trap pieces involved. In the first play test the number of Trap pieces was set at 17, and the players were not required to record the number of turns they take.

The first play test found that moving up the first half of the board was far too easy as the probability of hitting a trap on the first few rows was slim. This made the game too easy and led to a very quick experience. Towards the top of the board however is when the players seemed to enjoy the challenge more, therefore I knew I had to increase the number of Traps present on the board. Another issue brought to my attention from tutors is the game could give the player who goes first the advantage as they could reach the top first despite the other player playing the same way just with the disadvantage of being one turn behind. Therefore, players are now required to record their turns and in the event that the first player wins due to their advantage the game is declared a draw making it a fair experience.

Lastly there was an issue with the original design of the pieces. The original Trap piece was shaped as a cross and covered the number of the square it was placed on. It was also too thin and hard to pick up. The Caught piece also had issues such as being too large and could be easily placed over the top of a Trap piece which could then be missed or forgotten about.

Changes made after the play test

After the play test I increased the number of Trap pieces placed on the board making for a more challenging experience. This also required the number of Caught pieces to increase, even thought it is unlikely that a player would trigger every trap. Also added was the notebook to record the number of turns taken by each player.

The Trap and Caught pieces were also redesigned to fit into each other and so they were always visible and much easier to use.

Conclusion

In conclusion I have successfully created a prototype race game that does not use dice. I believe I have fulfilled my aims I set out to meet. The game allows players to hinder each other progress along the way and this in turn creates a sense of tension and competition between the two players. The edits made after the play test has helped to make the game progressively harder for players as they advance as the probability of hitting a trap increase.

I also feel I have learnt much from this game by way of methods to make the game fair when one player has an unavoidable advantage over the other just by playing first. This will also be something I will be more aware of in future games.

What I would improve

If I were to continue with the game something I would add would be an indicator on the board as to how many Traps need to be placed on each row. For the prototype this is indicated in the rules of the game, so it is easy to edit in the event that more or less Traps were needed. But for a final game it was suggested to me by tutors, and I feel the same, that it would be beneficial to include a number on the board to indicate the number of Traps needed. Reasons to include this would be so players who play regularly would not have to refer to the rules each time and it would be a better reference point for players anyway.

I would also like to make sure that the way in which players move up the board is the most efficient and engaging. Other ways I was considering was perhaps if the space number you moved to determines the space numbers on the next row you could have access too. However, to avoid overcomplicating the process I avoided this for the prototype, it would be too easy to trap players in depending on the position of the traps and it had the potential for creating a confusing set of rules.