IceFloeTextVersion

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IceFloeA Changing Landscapes game for the piecepack and piecepack pyramids  by Tim
SchutzCopyright © 2002 by Tim SchutzRev. 0.4, December 20023-4 players - 60 minutes
Game requirements 1 piecepack1 set of piecepack pyramids1 candlePaper and
pencil/pen for keeping score StoryIt’s the middle of the winter and Whirlpool Pond
is frozen solid. You’ve been icefishing, you’ve played hockey, you’ve done a lot of
different ice sports and nowyou’re looking for something new to do. How about a
game of IceFloe? Neverplayed before? Well, grab your chain saw, some spray paint,
some smallexplosives and meet me on the pond. First we start by spray-painting the
large 5x5 grid of spaces on the ice. Then wedrill a small hole in the middle of
each space and place a small explosive in it.Next get your chainsaw and start
cutting along the grid-lines to create the giantgame board of 25 ice floes. OK, now
we use the torch to light the fuse andremove the center ice floe with a “boom” and
the game begins. You got a love agame that starts with a bang. Time to play. This
game is fairly easy to learn. There are 3 or 4 teams of sixplayers. Players can
jump from ice floe to ice floe, but be careful because if thereis too much weight
on one ice floe it might crack and into the lake and out of thegame you go. Ice
floes will be removed with a bang one by one and hopefullyyou’re not standing on
one when it goes, but hey you won’t get hurt because theexplosion is not that
strong, it’ll just break up that ice floe into little pieces andyou’ll be a little
cold and wet, and out of the game. The game ends when a teamhas lost all of its
players into the pond or all the remaining players are on one icefloe and then the
team with the most points, which are scored throughout thegame and have a lot to do
with the size and weight of a player, wins. Setup  The BoardYou will need all of
the tiles to build the board. The tiles are placed suit sideup to create a 5x5
grid. The center space does not have a tile. The tilesshould be placed so they
follow the pattern in the diagram below. In a three-player game the four corner
pieces (the #2 sun, #3 moon, #4 arms and #5crown) are removed from the board.

  Player’s PiecesEach player selects a piecepack suit and takes the 6 piecepack
  pyramids, theace and number two coins, the pawn and the die that matches their
  suit. Therest of the coins are separated by numeric value and placed into four
  sets offour coins. Each set should have all four suits in it. Each player then
  takesone set of the four coins. Don't worry about the numeric value of the
  setsbecause the numeric value has no function other then creating sets of
  fourcoins with all four suits in it. The PawnThe pawn is your colored mascot and
  stands proudly in front of you rootingfor your team. He also makes it easier to
  remember who is who.  Roll The Die All the players roll their die. The highest
  number (5 being the maximum) wins;if there is a tie then those that tied re-roll
  until a winner is found. That’s it thegame is over, only kidding. Placing The
  PyramidsStarting with the player that won the die roll and going clockwise,
  playersplace down their “A” pyramid on the board, then again starting with the
  playerthat won the roll place down the “B” pyramid and keep going in this
  fashionuntil all the pyramids are on the board. Only one pyramid may occupy a
  tile ata time at this point of the game. In a three player game there should be
  twounoccupied tiles left after all of the pyramids have been placed. Note: This
  isstill part of the setup of the game although there is some strategy in
  placingthe pyramids. The TorchThe player that won the die roll gets the candle
  and is the first Torch Bearer. Ifthere is no candle available to use you can use
  some other flame-bearingitem instead. Some suggestions, a wooden match, a
  lighter, a candle stickholder, etc. The candle represents the torch that is used
  to light the fuse onthe explosives. The torch will be passed clockwise from
  player to player at theend of each round during the game. The player that has
  possession of thetorch is the current Torch Bearer and starts that round and
  decides the

outcome of all ties during that round. There is more information in the TorchBearer
part of the rules. Game SummaryThe game is played in rounds. Each round starts with
the movement of gamepieces. Players then vote on the numeric value of the tile to
be removed and thenthe suit of the tile to be removed. The tile and any pieces on
it are then removedfrom the game. The scoring part of the round is next, however
scoring does notstart until the forth or fifth round depending on the number of
players in the game.Players are allowed to make comments about the current status
of the game oron a tile they would like to see removed from the game, however there
somerules regarding comments please see Commentary for the rules. The round
endswith the passing of the torch to the new Torch Bearer. MovementStarting with
the Torch Bearer and going clockwise a player must either moveone of his own
pyramids or slide one of the tiles. See Piece Movement for therules. Note: It is
possible for a tile and any pyramids on that tile to be removedfrom the game during
this part of the round.  Vote On The Number Value Of A TileBefore you cast your
vote this is a great time to make a comment in anattempt to sway the vote. Remember
to follow the rules of commentary if youdo decide to speak. The Torch Bearer should
always say: ”before we vote arethere any comments”. The players then vote on the
number value of the tile tobe removed by placing that number so it is the face up
number on their die.The die should be concealed under a cupped hand until all the
players areready and then everyone reveals their vote at the same time. If a
playeraccidentally (or on purpose) votes for a value that is no longer valid, his
voteis void. “Oops”. If there is a tie the Torch Bearer is the tiebreaker. See
TorchBearer for the rules. Players can also add weight to their vote by using
theAce and/or #2 coin. See Voting Coins for the rules. Vote On The Suit Value Of A
TileOnce again another great time to make a comment in attempt to sway thevote and
once again the Torch Bearer should always say: ”before we vote isthere any
comments”. The players then vote on the suit value of the tile to beremoved by
selecting that suit from one of the four identically numbered coinsthey have. The
coin should be placed number side up to conceal the suit orcan be concealed under a
cupped hand until all the players are ready andthen everyone reveals their vote at
the same time. If a player accidentally (oron purpose) votes for a value that is no
longer valid, his vote is void. “Oops,once again”. If there is a tie the Torch
Bearer is the tiebreaker. See TorchBearer for the rules. Players can also add
weight to their vote by using theAce and/or #2 coins. See Voting Coins for the
rules.

Remove The TileThe tile that was voted on is removed from the game by the Torch
Bearer (heis the one responsible for lighting the fuse) and if any pyramids are on
that tilethey are also removed from the game. Remove An Empty TileSometimes a Torch
Bearer gets a little excited from the explosion of an icefloe and lights another
one by accident. In an attempt to appease those TorchBearers with little self-
control it has been decided that after a Torch Bearerexplodes the voted on ice floe
and if there is more then one unoccupiedicefloe, he may also explode one of the
unoccupied ice floes of his choice ifhe so wishes. Translation: If there is more
then one unoccupied tile at thispoint the Torch Bearer may remove one of his
choice. ScoringThe scoring part of a round does not start until the fourth round in
a three-player game or the fifth round in a four-player game. Basically, scoring
startsafter everyone has had one turn as the Torch Bearer. Starting with the
TorchBearer and going clockwise each player selects one tile that is still in
thegame and any and all pyramids on the selected tiles score for their players.So
you probably want to pick a tile that benefits you the most and score theleast for
the other players. See Scoring for the rules. End Of The RoundThe Torch Bearer now
hands the torch to the player on his left (the new TorchBearer) a new round begins.
RulesPiece MovementA player must move either one of his pyramids or slide a tile on
his turn. Morethen one pyramid may occupy a tile at a time, however pyramids have
aweight assigned to them and if the maximum weight of a tile is exceeded thenthat
tile and all of the pyramids on that tile are removed immediately from thegame. The
maximum weight a tile can take is 5. The chart below shows theweight of the
pyramids. A=1B=1C=2D=2E=3F=3It is possible to have up to 5 pyramids on a single
tile, but impossible to havetwo E pyramids, two F pyramids, or and F and an E
pyramid on a single tile. Pyramids can move one space in any of the 8 directions
either diagonally, ororthogonally.

  Pyramids can also move by jumping over one space to the space directlybehind it
  in any of the 8 directions either diagonally or orthogonally and canjump over a
  space that no longer has a tile on it to a space that does.

  A pyramid can move one or two times for a maximum of three spaces.Example: You
  move your pyramid one space to the right, and then jump twospaces diagonally down
  and right over a missing tile for a total ofthree spaces.

  Tiles can slide one space in any of the 4 orthogonal directions only and youmust
  have a least one of your own pyramids on a tile to slide it. Tiles cannotbe slide
  outside the original 5x5 grid and cannot push other tiles while sliding.Example:
  You slide a tile with your pyramid on it one space to the left.



CommentaryDuring the game and before voting players are allowed to make
commentaryabout the current state of the game or board in an attempt to try and
sway thevote. There are some rules to making commentary.You cannot:• Mention the
name of a suit, color or numeric value of a game tile.
• Mention a player’s suit, color or proper name when referring to the boardor
pieces on the board.• Point to, or use the words “left, right, bottom, top, center
or any otherdirectional word in an attempt to give a clear idea to everyone what
tileyou intend to vote on.• Make a deal with another player to vote the same way as
you. You can speak in a way that does not break the above stated rules.Some
examples of acceptable commentary are:• I don’t know if anyone noticed but someone
has some major pointsfloating out there all alone.• It would be nice to get an
empty tile out of here. If a player breaks the rules stated he does not get to vote
until the next round. Ifthere is any doubt about his breaking the rules then the
other players vote on ifhe gets to vote or not. Ties are always decided by the
Torch Bearer. Yes, theTorch Bearer can decide if there is a tie and the vote was on
whether he gets tovote or not. During the scoring part of a round, players are
allowed to state the name of a tileor point to it to indicate that is the tile they
wish to score on. Torch BearerThere are certain responsibilities that come with
being the Torch Bearer. Ofcourse everyone likes that they get to blow up an ice
floe when the time hasarrived, but it not all fun and games. The Torch Bearer also
is the first playerto move in a round and gets to decide the outcome of a vote if
there is a tie,but he can only choose one of the choices that was actually voted
on.Example: if there were two votes for Arms and two votes for Moons he wouldonly
get to pick between Arms and Moons. Okay, so it’s not a lot ofresponsibility and it
is all fun and games. Voting CoinsEach player starts the game with an Ace and a #2
coin. These coins can beused to add weight to your vote. Example: It’s a 3-player
game and your twoopponents vote to have the icefloe that you have a piece on
removed. Youplay your #2 coin and change the vote from a 2 to 1 vote against you to
a 3 to2 vote in your favor. A player can add either one or both coins to his vote
oranother player’s vote, but once a player uses a coin he cannot use that
coinagain. An ace would add one to your vote; a #2 adds two to your vote andboth
coins add three to your vote. Once you add the coins to a vote you

cannot change your mind and take them back and the other players still havethe
option to add coins to a vote if they have any left. If you cause a tie byadding to
your coin the Torch Bearer decides the outcome. ScoringIn the scoring part of the
round, starting with the Torch Bearer each playerselects any one tile that is still
in the game. Players are allowed to choose thesame tile. Once a player selects a
tile all pyramids that are on that tile scorespoints for the owners of those
pyramids. Points are scored according to theScoring Table and are recorded on a
piece of paper.  Scoring TableA = 1 pointsB = 2 pointsC = 3 pointsD = 4 pointsE = 5
pointsF = 6 points Scoring example: Joe selects a tile that has his F, Bill’s A and
Jill’s A pyramids on it,Bill selects a tile that has only his D pyramid and Jill
selects a tilethat has her E and Joe’s A. The total scores for this round wouldbe
Joe with 7, Bill with 5 and Jill with 6. End of GameThe game ends when either a
player has lost of all his pyramids or all of thepyramids still left in the game
end up on one tile after the movement part ofthe round has ended. There is one last
scoring round although it is a littledifferent at the end of the game. Instead of
players selecting a tile, they scoreon all of their pyramids that are still left in
the game according to the scoringchart, and the player with the most points is the
winner. If there is a tie thenthe player that is the Torch Bearer decides who the
winner is and if he is notone of the players that are tied for the winner, then you
can now bribe himwith whatever you want. Money always works for me. If he doesn’t
want tochoose a winner because no one bribed him sufficiently or he is afraid of
therepercussions then he can call it a shared victory and feel his burden hasbeen
lifted. Credits and ThanksThanks to the play-testers Chris Sjoholm, Ron Hale-Evans,
Marty Hale-Evans, JTThomas, Steve Dupree and Jason Chein. Thanks to everyone for
their suggestionsand comment during game play. A special thanks to Ron Hale-Evans
for help in thedevelopment of the scoring mechanism which was created after the
first play-testrevealed a flaw in the game. Copyright © 2002 by Tim Schutz
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify thisdocument under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any laterversion
published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-
CoverTexts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license can be found at
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html.