Re: [piecepack] New Game ChickenTracks

["Mike Schoessow" <mikeschoessow@...>]

My son, Arik, and I just played Chicken Tracks tonight. We both enjoyed the game, but I do have some constructive comments. Firstly, a couple of grammatical catches. Under Story, in the third to the last line, *to* should be *too*. Under Scoring, in the first line, *giving* should be *given*, and *bonus* should be *bonuses*, and followed by a comma. Regarding game play, we liked the game very much, in terms of how fun it was to play, and played a number of times since it went so quickly and we learned as we went along. I suggest making an *official* game be either 2 or 4 rounds (we prefer 4), with a round consisting of the game as you describe it, with players alternating going first. There are a couple of reasons why I think this is a good idea. Firstly, the game plays very quickly (only a couple minutes if you don't count initial setup), and secondly, this is a game in which going first has a significant effect (not necessarily an advantage, but the game is definitely moderately asymmetrical), so I think it makes sense to define a complete game in such a way that this asymmetry is removed by having each player go first an equal number of times. I do have one additional concern, and that is that expert players may be able to predict from the first or second move who is going to win (in other words, I suspect the game may be solvable due to too few degrees of freedom in the game play). There is no luck in the game, and there are a limited number of moves per turn and not many moves per player per game. This could be a problem. Perhaps you could introduce some random factor (even a small one that only happens once or twice) or give more choice to the players in some way.  Anyway, an enjoyable new game; Thanks Tim!

Mike and Arik


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tim Schutz 
  To: piecepack@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 2:20 PM
  Subject: [piecepack] New Game ChickenTracks


  I just uploaded a new game called ChickenTracks. Not sure if a like the name yet, any suggestions for a better name would be appreciated. It is a two player abstract strategy game that can be played with paper and pencil. The version I uploaded to the file section has been adapted to be played with the piecepack. It is a short game and can usually be played in 5 minutes. Any other comments beside a new name will also be greatly appreciated. Are you ready to play chicken? 
  Thanks
  Tim Schutz