This week is another Nice Games Jam! We got a prompt from Martha's Boyfriend Dylan to "make a puzzle game that includes a written document that updates as you play." You can play the game we came up with in the episode using the rules in the show notes below!
Prompt
Make a puzzle game that requires a text/readme file or some other sort of text thing that you have to use as a guide to figure out the game. Then as the level progresses, the guide changes, to be harder to understand, or to tell a story, or to taunt.
Game type
Tabletop game
Player count
2
Materials
Some set of blocks (we used 10 cubes), different colors
Pencil/Pen
Paper
Setup
The Codemaker comes up with sequence of blocks
Rules
- The Codemaker creates a list of four rules to help the Codebreaker player guess the sequence
- Rules cannot specifically place a cube in a place in the sequence
- Rules can only involve one relationship between two sets of cubes
- Read first rule, and the Codebreaker creates a pattern based on rule
- If the sequence is not correct, read the next rule and have the Codebreaker make a new pattern based on the revealed set of rules
- Repeat until the player has created the correct pattern
- If the Codebreaker needs more than the four rules, the code maker then makes a new rule immediately, and the Codebreaker makes a new sequence with these rules.
- The Codemaker can call for a mulligan up to 3 times total in the game so the player can make a new pattern with the same sets of rules
- Scored based how many rules are needed before the code breaker solves the sequence
- Some example rules:
- 1. No same colors touching
- 2. If a sequence of colors appears in the line, it must appear again in reverse
- 3. Green cubes appear before yellow cubes
- 4. Pink cubes appear in-between red cubes
- 5. Any brown cube must touch a dark green cube
- 6. A brown cube may not touch a red cube or a yellow cube
- 7. Light versions of colors come before dark versions of colors