ClimbingMan

Players 1
Length 15 minutes
Equipment Required single standard piecepack (2 piecepacks and a 30s sand clock for the 2 player variant)
Designer JorgeArroyo
Version 1.2
Version Date 2007-09-25
License Copyright 2006-7 JorgeArroyo. Released under the GNU Free Document License, dual-licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Description

Reach the top of the rock wall to complete this solitary. In the game you control the climber's hands and feet and also the position of the body in relation to the extremities. Find a way to move upwards choosing spots that are strong enough to support your weight.

NEW: Play this game on a ZX Spectrum! (see links section).

Images

http://george.makasoft.net/piecepack/ClimbingMansmall.jpg

A game about to start.

http://george.makasoft.net/piecepack/CMendgame.png

A screenshot from the Vassal module, with an end game position after reaching the top.

Rules

http://george.makasoft.net/piecepack/ClimbingMan.pdf

Designer Notes

This is my first piecepack design. I've played it quite a lot and had fun, but I haven't really seen all the possible layouts, so feedback would be welcomed. There are some options for adjusting the difficulty of the game if it is too hard or too easy...

About the use of suits: Right now the coins are placed on the tiles with the same suit, I mainly did this to randomly distribute the different numbers (strengths) for the gripping spots. I think it's better than using a big stack of 20 coins and also gives the option of using the small suit figure for a completely random coin placement.

Update: After playing this game quite a lot, I've reached the conclusion that it's better if any die can be used as any extremity (arm or leg). So, as long as three dice sum 10, you can take the other die and place it anywhere in range without worrying about it. This makes the game much faster and less fiddly to play, and doesn't change it as much... I'll try to update the rules to show this change soon...

Also, for a two player variant, use two piecepacks to generate 2 walls or a wider one. You'll need a sand timer of about 30s. The first player turns the timer and can make as many moves as he wants. The other player in the meantime watches for mistakes. When the timer is finished, the second player turns the timer and can move. Continue like this until one player reaches the top, winning the game.

Update Sep 07: I've added these rules to the pdf and corrected/cleared some of the rules. I've also added some graphics to clarify some of the concepts.

I still would love to see comments, if anyone has actually tried this game...

Links

BGG page: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/24338

ZX Spectrum version: http://george.makasoft.net/climbingman.tzx (playable using one of the many available emulators)

Image credits

Rock climbing, public domain (selected by RonHaleEvans)


CategoryGame SolitairePuzzlesCategory CategoryNeedsTesting ThemeSportCategory