The Complete Devlog for Roshi

I invented Roshi before getting on Itch.io, so rather than shorter devlogs that discussed my progress, I kept a very long personal log of ideas and testing.  I thought it would be fun to share it here.  I did my best to clean it up and include images from the journal.  

Rugby was the initial inspiration for this game.  The first guiding question: what might a rugby-like folk game for trolls, goblins, and other ogre-folk look like?  The second guiding question: what might a folk-game look like that doesn't have scoring into a goal or through a hoop as the objective?  Inspirations for the answer to these questions came from games like Red Rover and Tag.  What might be a challenging task for typically dunce creatures like ogres and trolls, that could involve pushing and running, and still be considered a game?  I jokingly thought to myself, getting organized into a straight line!  And there is the premise for Roshi.  You are the field captain of a team filled with Ogre-folk and it is your job to get them into a straight line.  Eventually, this idea would evolve to include a shared stone (sort of like a ball for the game), and your n-in-a-row must include that shared stone (called the Roshi Stone).  So, in my mind, I picture orcs, goblins, and trolls pushing and running around the field trying their darndest to get in a straight line with the roshi stone.  

From here, I will just copy over the notes I kept during play testing.  Much of it might be nonsensical, but I think it will still convey the enormous number of ideas that came and went through testing with the ultimate result being a much simpler game.

The objective is to get four of your pieces in a row either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

5x5 square grid

Each player gets 5 pieces of different strengths (4,3,2,1,1)

Also tried 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 which seems good. 

Coin Toss

Winner chooses to place first or move first.

Phase 1 - Taking the Field

Starting with player 1 (white), Starting with the player designated to place first, players take turns placing their pieces on the board in ascending order according to strength in any order they wish.  The center space is off limits during phase 1 occupied by the umpire unless playing by the backyard rules.  Either way, pieces cannot be placed on the center space when taking the field.  It is possible for a player to win during phase 1.  

Phase 2 - Play!

Again, depending on the outcome of the coin toss, the designated player may move first.  Pieces 1 - 6 can move orthogonally, but piece number 1 (the Sneak) can move diagonally).  A piece is able to move other pieces as long as the total value of those pieces is equal to or less than its value.  For example, if a 3 piece wants to move right on the board, and there is a 2 and 1 piece next to it in that row, it may move those pieces to complete the turn.

A piece cannot be moved back into a space that it just moved out of on the previous turn. (No pushbacks)

For a three player game, each player also gets the 5 strength piece and the game is played on the 6x6 grid.  For a four player game, each player also gets the 6 strength piece and the game is played on the 7x7 grid. Maybe both 3 and 4 player games are in a 7x7 grid. 

In the center of the board is a 1 power referee die (refs always seem to get in the way). Backyard rules mean no ref. 

Things to try

Try 1 - 6 and the 1’s are sneaks that are allowed to move diagonally. Players may place their pieces in any order during phase 1 (called Take the Field)

Backyard - no umpire

Association Rules - umpire in center

Dirty Ump - players can move ump

2/27/24

Played with Cristina. Played 1-5, ump, and no ump. Settled on no ump being better. Decided that when placing, your piece must connect to a previously played piece either diagonally or orthogonally. 

Next time try: coin flip, connected placement, and 1,2,3,4,6, no ump, 1’s are Sneaks.  ALSO try that dice must be placed in an adjacent spot next to a pre existing die and the four in a row must be vertical or horizontal. NO DIAGONAL

What if 1=move on top of pieces, 2=sneak, 3=jump, 4=carry (pick up, move, put down), 6=throw 

What if the goal is to get four in a row WITH the yellow piece?  What if each piece could throw?

3/1/2024

About 5 games in 40 minutes.  Tried no diagonal connect fours, we tried setup with adjacent placements, and we decided that placement with any side or corner touching is good, connect four in any direction is good, 1-2-3-4-6 felt okay.

Next time try: 1-1-2-3-6 with all ones being sneaks.

What if pieces have starting spaces? As in there are five blue starting spaces and five red. The umpire die is used to determine which pieces are placed first, then from there players just ascend the rank and take turns placing. Worth a try.

TRY THIS TOO

The yellow die is the ball.  At the beginning of the game, one player says even or odd.  The ball is rolled.  The number rolled becomes the weight of the ball and determines which pieces are capable of moving it.  The ball is placed in the middle of the board.  If the player who called even or odd is right, they choose place first or move first.  Then the “take the field” phase begins.

If a player causes a double four in a row (meaning that once they have finished moving, both they and their opponent have a connect-four) they win with 2 points instead of 1.  This is called a Roshi.  This is if we don’t play with a ball of course.

SESSION 2

Played with rolling ball, calling even or odd, and 1,1,2,3,6.  Number rolled is weight of the ball.  Played with this starting placement:

Placement still alternated with players choosing which die they place on which spot.  Person who placed second gets to move first.  The ball went in the center space.  The first game was fantastic.  A little tricky to remember we need the connect four to include the ball, but that is easily fixed with more reps.

I NEED to clarify how the no pushback rule works and if I am going to keep it.

It’s not a ball, it’s a stone. 

No need for numbers or the no pushback rule if the pieces are simply different sizes. Just try playing with possible pushbacks and 

see how it goes. For now, play with a size one stone

3/2/2024

Tried with 1,2,3,4,5 and not math.  Just stones can push any number of stones smaller than them.  Felt okay.  Not great.  NEVER MIND FELT AMAZING after changing it to stones can push any stone of equal size or smaller!!!

So, we played 1,2,3,4,5 with pieces able to move anything of the same size or smaller.  We will keep the numbers on the players denoting their size.  The Roshi Stone will be a six sided thing that you roll to determine its size as well as who places first/moves first.  We played using the hourglass starting formation pictured above.

NEXT TIME try the following rules:  hourglass starting formation, roll roshi stone to determine weight and who places/moves first.  1,2,3,4,5 strengths, can push any number of dice with strength equal or less than AND ALSO TRY a piece can PULL ONE OTHER PIECE of equal strength of smaller.  AND ALSO TRY…. okay let’s reformat this…

Try a piece can also pull one other piece of equal strength or less with 1,2,3,4,5

Also try with just four pieces 1,2,3,4 and the square starting formation.

3/3/24

Tried hourglass push and pull with rolled roshi stone, 1,2,3,4,5.  Also tried flexing man with push and pull.  Worked really well!  Playing with 4 pieces was too fast.  We preferred the flexing man starting position.

Next time try everything but also include a slide move.  Also, try the following starting position.

Try a 7x7 board with two teams, all rules apply from before (1-5, push, pull, slide), a Roshi stone, and four “stone men” that begin on the diagonally adjacent corners of the roshi stone. Use the flexing man starting formation. This should be tried with different size pieces as well!  All stone men are 1’s, but the roshi stone is still rolled. 

One player rolls the roshi stone and the other player says even or odd.  The number rolled determines the roshi stone’s weight.  Place the roshi stone on the center space of the board.  Place the four blocker stones on the designated spots around the roshi stone.  If the player was right about the number being even or odd, they choose whether they want to place first or move first.  Whoever places first chooses one of their pieces and places them on any of their team’s starting positions.  Continue placing pieces by alternating turns.  The player who placed second now begins the match by moving any one of their pieces.

Pieces 2 - 6 may move orthogonally.  Piece 1 (the sneak) may move orthogonally and diagonally.

A piece can be used to push any other piece (or pieces) orthogonally that is of equal size or smaller.  It is possible for a piece to push multiple pieces in the same row as long as they are less than or equal to that piece’s size.

A piece can pull any one piece one space that is orthogonally adjacent and the same size or smaller.

A piece can grab and slide any one piece one space that is the same size or smaller.

The sneak is able to move diagonally, but it cannot push, pull, or slide pieces diagonally.

The roshi stone and the blocker stones are all size 1, and they can be pushed, pulled, or slid like any other piece.

The first player to align three of their pieces with the roshi stone either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally wins the match.

GETTING INTO THE WEEDS A BIT HERE. TIME TO DIAL IT BACK. 

5x5 grid, 5 pieces per player numbered 1-5, 1’s are sneaks. Roshi stone is rolled to determine its weight and who places first.

Okay, forget the theme and find the fun. Theme follows fun here. Let’s put the roshi stone aside for a second and go back to four in a row with your pieces. Pieces 1-5, pushing only, push any number of pieces that are less than the value of the pusher (try this as well as equal to or less than), if a piece is pushed off the board or is moved off of it, it comes back on the opposite side of the same row or column depending on which direction it was pushed. I’ll refer to this as the Mario brothers rule. 

Try a 4x4 board, no roshi stone, placement phase, 1-5, pieces can only push a number of pieces which total the same or less in size. 

3/5/2024

Played 5x5 grid, 1,1,2,3,6, played with roshi stone placed by player, played without roshi stone.  Roshi stone placed by player was not too hot.  Having problems with Roshi stone getting trapped in outside edges.  I really like the two phase game with no roshi stone.  Player gets to place first or move first.  Pushing only, piece or pieces that equal or are less than the pusher.

Thoughts to try for next time: 1 moves in 8 directions, 2 moves orthogonally two spaces, 3 can move orthogonally and jump over a piece orthogonally, (4 only moves diagonally and can jump diagonally), 6 (5) is the only piece that can push, one space orthogonally, and it can push as many pieces as are in its way.  Try this with two phase game no roshi stone as well as pre existing placement game with roshi stone AND two phase placement with roshi stone placed by the player who placed first (they place the stone first anywhere but the center).  Well, what if once placed, the roshi stone doesn’t move?  Again, getting trapped is an issue.  Maybe the stone needs to be placed back in the center once trapped?

3/6/2024

After some more playtesting with myself, the pieces with their own moves just didn’t work.  Maybe if they all have the ability to push as well as move in a special way, it might work.  But, tonight, nothing seems to be working.  I played with no roshi stone and placement, and figured out how player 2 can win the placement phase no problem.  If we play that way, player one has to place first AND move first.  Established starting position with a stone

Played with Cristina and showed her how placement with no roshi stone was broken for player 2. We got to the point where we finally tried having a player choose where the roshi stone goes and riffed off of that. It seemed to work. Soo…

For next time, pieces 1,1,2,3,6, visiting team calls even or odd for roshi roll. Chooses place stone or move first. Stone cannot be placed in center space. Questions that need answered: for this setup, do pieces have to connect during placement?  How to solve the pushback problem in a simple way?  The same two pieces cannot push back and forth (stalling). If a 3 pushes a 3 into a 6, that 6 can push both 3’s back into their starting position. That’s not stalling. But a 3 pushed by another 3 cannot just push back. 

3/10/2024

Played with the following rules:

• Pieces 1,2,3,4,5
• Roll roshi stone to determine its weight as well as who places the stone and moves first.
• During placement (take the field), pieces have to be put on the board adjacent to an existing piece either orthogonally or diagonally. 
  • No pieces (including the roshi stone) may be placed in the center space 
• On a player’s turn, they must move one piece.
  • A piece can be moved as many spaces as are available, or as many as a player wants the piece to move without jumping.
  • Or, a piece can push orthogonally
    • A piece can push one piece or more than one piece whose weight is equal to or less than the pusher
• The 1’s (sneaks) are able to be moved both orthogonally and diagonally
• No pushbacks (a piece that is pushed cannot push back)

The home  rolls the roshi stone, and the visiting team calls odd or even.  If the visiting team calls correctly, they choose offense (place stone, move first) or defense (place first).  If not, the home team decides.

Each team has five players and each player has a weight (1,2,3,4,5).

MOVE

There are two types of movements: run and push.

 A piece can run as many spaces as are available and as far as the player wants to move it within the available spaces.  

Pieces are able to push any other orthogonally adjacent piece or pieces that are equal to or less than the value of the pusher 

For next game: try allowing the 2’s to jump orthogonally (leapers).  Also think about how having a circle board on which pieces can be shifted somehow - maybe back and forth like a foosball table, or in a circle like a rondel.  

3/11/2024

Placement of the roshi stone on the inner square is broken.  Starting with the roshi stone on the outside perimeter is still fine.

We moved on and tried all of the same rules, but the four in a row must be in sequential order.  This worked out well.  The roshi stone can be placed anywhere but the center still.  Playing this way really changed everything as far as the feel of the game.  Played sneaks and leapers, run as many spaces as the player wants or until the piece comes up against another.

3/12/2024

Played with sequence requirement, ran into trouble when the number was 6 or 3.  The six could not be moved and the game was jammed up.  The 3 cannot be part of a sequence once it is in the corner.  We decided to try with the roshi stone always wild and that shows promise.

Next time, play with all previous rules but the roshi is always wild.  Red is “home” and blue is “visiting team”.  Home team places roshi stone and first piece, visiting team moves first.  The roshi stone is weightless.  1’s are sneaks, 2’s are leapers, and pieces can run as far as the player wants or until it comes up to another piece.

3/13/2024

Played two games with wild roshi stone and sequence requirement, red player places roshi stone and first piece, blue player moves first after all pieces are placed.  Sneaks and Leapers.

3/15/2024

Played on 5x5 grid but pieces on intersections rather than spaces.  It was okay.  Switched over to rhomboid grid playing on intersections and it was awesome.  The outside corners are rounded meaning that a piece could potentially move all the way around the board.  This also means the roshi stone cannot get trapped in a corner.  Once a piece is on the outside edge, it can move around perimeter or move the roshi stone around a corner.  This removes the need and ability for a sneak piece, but the leaper still works well.  

11/7/2024

I need to think about the end of the game more.  It seems that once all 16 pieces are on the board, it might be a good time to end the game.  That would introduce a nice timer, and it would make all 8 turns extremely important.  At the end of a player’s turn, if all 16 pieces are out on the board, the game ends.  Whoever has the most pieces connected to the roshi stone wins.  Tied?  Draw. 

For next time, try allowing all pieces to also jump.

At this point the game became Strya and I started using the above diamond board.  

3/18/2024

Played Strya with Emma.  The only hiccup was once the puck is along the side or in the corner, it really brings the game to a halt.  It felt like we were just teeter-tottering back and forth until someone made a mistake.

We discussed keeping the puck off the wall by limiting it to the inner diamond.  Show this by making those circles orange like the puck.  We also talked about letting the pieces jump like in checkers.  We also talked about letting the connect four be any number as long as it was in ascending order.

For the next test, let’s limit the puck to the inner diamond and allow pieces to jump.

To Do for next time:

• Play Roshi Lite (no roshi stone) with running, jumping, and pushing (1,2,3,4,5 piece can push equal or less)
• Play Roshi with wild roshi stone, running, jumping, and pushing (1,2,3,4,5 piece can push equal or less)
• Play Strya with the puck locked into the center diamond, allow running, jumping, and pushing (1,2,3,4,5 piece can push equal or less)

3/19/2024

Roshi Lite did not work because of the setup, there are placements that are indefensible.  We played with jumping, pushing, and diagonal running.  Just didn’t work.

Roshi with Stone with only orthogonal movement (running allowed) and pushing worked.  Stone had to be placed on the outer ring.  Pieces could move as many as available, and there was no diagonal or jumping.  This worked okay. 

Strya according to the rules document worked very well!  Cristina loves it.

3/25/24

Played Strya with restricted stone area, diamond board, and rules from rule sheet. I think we’ve got ourselves a good game. 

Now, try the exact same concept with no board and cards as well as with tiles. Try standard cards like button shy as well as square tiles and triangle tiles. 

Try each player’s pieces are shuffled and picked at random for placement phase. Also try that the Strya stone is in one of the player’s bags. 

3/31/24

Playing with pieces turned upside down and choosing at random for  placement worked well!

Try during the placement phase, players may either Place or move/push. 

4/3/2024

Played with the above rules and it was awesome!  Only played two games, so more testing is needed.

Try two roshi stones. 

Try a board with one more outer ring 

Try allowing players to push a piece off the board

4/11/2024

Played two new ways: with two yellow stones and with a blue and a red wild stone. Each player having their own wild stone was pretty cool!  Need to keep resting this b

Try a board with one more outer ring. 

4/12/2024

Played two games with bigger board (7x7) and each player having their own strya stone that must be in the connect four.  We played a single game with 5x5 board and pushing off (meaning a piece can be pushed off of the board) allowed, but it actually never came up that pushing a piece off the board helped. So far, I really like the 7x7 board and player specific strya stones.

I would like to continue testing the current setup, and I would like to find a better board setup that helps players realize they can “orbit” on the rings.

Try 7x7 board, each player has their own wild stone, and players can “orbit” on any ring.  Orbit meaning the same behavior as the “fast lane” on the 5x5 board.  Win by getting four in a row including your own wild stone.  Try with wild stones only being pushed as well as wild stones being able to move.

Also try, 7x7 board, each player has their own wild stone, and the game starts with one neutral stone in the center that must be included in the four in a row for the player to win.  In this version, wild stones can be moved or pushed, but they cannot push other pieces.  Also try a randomized starting space for the neutral stone

4/19/2024

Played on 7x7 board, each ring is an orbit, one neutral stone, each player has one wild stone.  Wild stones are weightless, can be moved as the other stones, may only push other weightless stones (including the neutral stone).  Neutral stone starts in the center, players place from a randomized group, may place, push, or move on your turn.

4/23/2024

Played half a dozen games with Cristina.  We played with the rules in the rules doc.  Decided to try a strya that has five player pieces and the strya stone.  It made for an intense game!!  

5/2/2024

7x7, three orbits, one neutral stone, one wild stone per player is codified in the rules.  Starting to get rules in front of people for proofreading: Alex, DJ, John, Michael, Alek have all read the rules.  Still waiting on feedback from John.  Emmy and Bram have played.  

Playing with Alex.  The game went 40 minutes!!  He enjoyed it, and felt that he just didn’t know how to play optimally.  He did finally miss a couple moves he could have made to slow me down, but he felt that he was on the defensive the entire time.  I think I will have to implement a blitz mode for people that get really good at the game.

5/5/2024

Played three games with Cristina, and we added pieces 6 - 10 for each player.  It.  Was.  AWESOME.  Each game was under ten minutes, and placement felt so much different.  The game really seemed to open up.  It felt like I could set up more combos and future moves.  There is definitely more to keep track of.  I think we stumbled onto the next evolution of the game.

5/9/2024

Play with the coil board rather than the orbit board and didn’t really feel any difference.  Played two games with Cristina but she had the wrong rules in mind: believed you needed your wild stone as well as the strya stone in the strya in order to win.  Need to keep playing.

Try coil, no wilds, Strya stone cannot move

5/11/2024

Played three games with Cristina: orbit board, no wilds.  NO GOOD.  The game locked up and became quite boring.  Cristina won all three games, but I did not have fun.  We played Donuts prior, and I really enjoyed that game.  Probably due to it being fresh and new.  We need to play again with the wilds to see if Strya is still worth continuing in its current form.

Maybe try just 1 - 7 with a wild.  Maybe without a wild as well.

5/13/2024

Played with pieces 1 - 7 and wild for three games.  The first game went about 20 minutes.  The second game lasted two minutes.  The final game went about 10.  Seven pieces plus wild seems to be a good number.  Will continue to play with this and see how it feels.  

To help with gridlock situations, try letting pieces that are smaller run over top pieces that are bigger.  So a 1 could run across 2’s, 3’s, 4’s and so on.

5/15/2024

Played three games with Cristina including the skimming rule and with NO ORBITS.  The game definitely worked just fine, but the opportunity to skim only happened once.  And I won doing it.  Need more games with that rule.

5/24/2024

Played with Cristina. The game went well!  No orbits and included jumping. This proved to be wonderful. 

9/5/2024

Let’s try something.  Blank pieces, x pieces per player, one roshi stone on the same diamond board.  Roshi stone cannot be moved outside of it’s zone like normal.  Players may place, move, push, or jump like normal.  Pieces are not weighted though.  Need to determine how to push an opponent’s piece or pieces.

Played by myself, never jumped, don’t think it needs it.  Question is, can player 2 win?  Can player 2 stop player one from winning before P1 runs out of pieces?

Try player one gets to place roshi stone and first piece, then each turn players get two actions: place, slide, or push.

9/7/2024

Played the following with Cristina: checkerboard, twelve checkers per player, one roshi stone.  On first turns, player one places roshi stone within the roshi area and one of their pieces then player two places two pieces.  For every turn following, a player may complete two actions: place, slide, or push.  When sliding, a piece can move as far as it is able.  Pushes can only happen orthogonally, and slides can happen in any direction.

This worked out super well!  Now try a player can use up to two actions, but they cannot use the same action more than once.

9/9/2024

Played the following: checkerboard, twelve checkers per player, one roshi stone.  Player one places roshi stone and piece, player two places two pieces.  From this point on, a player may complete two of the following moves on their turn: place, push, or slide.  A player may only do one thing on their turn if they choose.  You may not perform the same action twice in one turn.  We play that a piece can slide as much as possible.  A piece that is pushed can push back. 

Roshi is a traditional rugby five-in-a-row game played by the Ogrefolk.  Add pieces to the pitch, push your opponents, or sprint into position to align with the Roshi stone.  Only then, can the Roshi stone be passed to (or beyond) the goal. 

9/11/2024

Played with Andy Mack!!!  It went very well.  He really liked the game.  We had no issues.

Try all the rules as they are, but include piece powers. Two copies of each power for each player.  

If not using power, pieces may move one space unless otherwise noted.

Pusher = can push any number of pieces one space orthogonally 

Puller = can pull one piece one space orthogonally 

Jumper = can jump over any number of connected pieces orthogonally 

Runner = can move freely around the board as many spaces as possible/desired 

Climber = can move on top of any orthogonally adjacent piece

Thrower = can grab and throw an adjacent piece one space orthogonally in any direction 

Complete two different actions on your turn: place, move, or use power

Try with the same “take the field” phase as before.  Try with all pieces available, try with random draw.

A lot of the powers seemed useless until the board state advances. Maybe cut it down to four powers and 8 plain pieces. Push, jump, run, climb?

10/7/2024

Played powers with Cristina.  No good.  Not an avenue I want to continue down.  The simplicity of Roshi as it stands is superb.

Played with new bigger board.  Played with only 8 pieces.  Definitely don’t need twelve per player.  Need to try playing with only 6 per person.  Tried a partnership game, and that was fun!  Need to try that with real people.  Maybe try a smaller, more circular board.

Try adding the tackle/climb move as an option.  Maybe this requires both actions to accomplish.  Maybe it can only happen as soon as all pieces are on the board.  This is 

10/7/2024

Played with smaller board, and it was lame.  Played with 8 pieces and bigger board and it was awesome.  As of now, the bigger board is the way to go.  We also added the stack action.  You must use both of your action points in order to stack.  You can only stack on top of an orthogonally adjacent piece.  Once on top of a piece, you may move around the board on top of other adjacent pieces.  When on top of a piece, you can only move one space at a time.

What if you are also allowed to place a stacked unit (two pieces) on the board…. But that takes up both actions.

10/8/2024

Made a 6x6 board and a 7x7 board.  The 7x7 board seems to be a great balance between space and claustrophobia.  We also played with the following:

• Red places stone and one piece
• Blue places two pieces
• From this point on, each player gets two actions per turn, and may complete up to two different actions (unless the action they complete costs two actions)
  • Place one piece
  • Move one piece as many spaces as desired
  • Push one piece one space
  • Place a two piece stack (costs two actions)
  • Stack a piece on top of an adjacent piece (cost two actions)
• Once a piece is on top of another piece, it can move one orthogonally adjacent space per turn, and this includes along the tops of other pieces. 

NEED TO TRY: A two piece stack which is composed of the same color pieces may be moved as a single stack one space.  This costs two actions.  A two piece stack which is composed of the same color pieces may push any individual piece or stack one space.  This costs two actions.

10/14/2024

Played some games with Cristina.  We tested stacking and non-stacking, and we decided that stacking just didn’t fit.  It felt like a tacked on extra.  No stacking from here on out.  Now time to do something creative with the board.  Back to orbits!  Square board with orbits.

Okay, after some further thought, I don’t like the idea of orbits. It adds too many new if/thens.  However, I am willing to try stacking again, but I need to go back up to 12 pieces per player.  No putting stacked pieces out on the board though.  Creating a stack costs two actions.  Once on top, you may move freely on the second layer, you may push one space, basically just like playing on the first layer.  You may move across the roshi stone, but you may not stop upon it.

10/16/2024

Okay, tonight try the following:

On a player’s turn, they may perform two different actions: place, move, push.  When placing, you decide the size of the piece: size 1, 2, or 3.  Once a piece is placed, its size cannot change.  

Try this with the typical rules.  All pieces can move freely, but a piece can only push another piece of the same size or smaller.  Let’s see how it goes!

So, we tried it, and the game got pretty locked up.  We should try it again with a bigger board.  We also asked “what if we can “punt” the roshi stone.”

10/22/2024

Test the following, each player has the following pieces: 3, 2, 1, 1, 1.  3’s can push pieces equaling 3 or less, 2’s 2 or less, and 1’s 1.  Might not even need punting with this limited tool set.

This tested well!  It is a very tight game.  Played on the 6x6 board.  Need to keep testing. Try six pieces per player just for funsies.

10/23/2024

Tested 3 2 1 1 1 first game, then 3 2 1 1 1 1 the second game, and went right back to 3 2 1 1 1.  Five pieces seems to be the sweet spot on the 6x6 board.  Six plays with this so far.  Goal is 21 before making any decisions.

AND HERE ENDS THE LOG I KEPT.

At this point, I took some time off development completely and just let the game simmer.  I came back to it with Cristina and ultimately landed on pieces with no numbers, a 6x6 grid, and a roshi zone.  We played that iteration a ton and was ultimately happy with it.