21 replies to this topic

[SonReeceSonJensen]

Two points with this thread: 1) prepare MN peeps for the war in 2 days, and 2) get NIC input and possibly work out kinks or oversights beforehand.

The game is Territories: there are depots that must be claimed by each team. For this thread I will main focus on the ideal of three teams.

First we have the depots: 12" lengths of 3" PVC taped to an 18" wood stake.


I made ten for the configuration I have planned. And you get this many from a full PVC length.


Here are the markers. This game was inspired by Demon lord's efforts at a MN war and me having an absurd number in 2' lengths of 3/4" PVC from making mobsticals. Here are 10 of each of the three team colors.


OBJECTIVE: run around and "claim territories" by putting your team's colored marker upright. Here you cam see blue and green are tied 1 to 1.


Here pink has made some solid grabs.


Here is a configuration map. The orange are depots, the squares are modsticals, and the big circles are team-neutral spawn points with 10' no-hit zones around them to be marked with orange soccer cones. All depots start with all neutral markers.


Other points:
- there is no set size, but for the war the max size we can get is about 200' diameter based on the area we will be in. I would have liked 300' but whatever.
-easily converted to two teams, or have an odd man out be a 'blighter' who converts depots back to neutral.
- all teams start from a spawn point as opposite from others as you can get.
- 20 min time limit, unlimited instant respawn, most held territories at the end wins.


So that's what I got. Hopefully I just shaved 5-7 minutes of down time off the war and got your gears turning on strategy.

[Keo]

This looks like amazing fun! I wish I were going!

I have a question though, so there's already a red thing in and someone with a blue one comes along, do they just switch them in the post and leave the older one from not their team out or once claimed is it unchangeably under the control of that team for the rest of the duration of that round ?

Also with unlimited respawn is it like shot anywhere need to respawn ?

[andtheherois]

Ugh, why don't we have something like this in jersey? This looks awesome.

[SpokkyLucaz]

now thats a match! wish wars around me were this creative
take the best of both rounds! kill, claim, and clean house!

[Curly]

Oooh,I likey. I really love how it's tamper-proof, seeing as to score points you must tamper with the depots. Perhaps if the depots were set up irregularly you could have some be worth more points. I'm definitely telling Angel about this for HBH, if you don't mind.

[LTJG Rob]

I like it. When you flip your team's length of pvc up do you also flip down whatever other team that may have claimed it? I would think that is the way it is meant to be played. Also, I think that it might be difficult to tell who has claimed which of the depots. Maybe some kind of flag would be ideal/necessary? Also, who would you deal with people trying to camp the depots? Does each team start with a depot their color or do they start from naught?

[Carbon]

Yes! Can't wait to play this one.

I really like the "depots". The only thing I'm not sure of is that when you get to the depot, you have to pick around and find your flag of the three that are in there. It seems to me that it would be more streamlined as a two team game: the depots have one stick, one color on each end. Each team starts with an equal number of depots. To grab one, just flip over the stick. Grabbing the right one and fittng it back in between two other poles seems a bit fiddly.

[Curly]

'LTJG Rob', on 23 Jul 2011 - 3:04 PM, said:

Also, who would you deal with people trying to camp the depots?

You shoot them. Perhaps put all the teams' solid colored sticks outside the depot, and put the appropriate stick into the depot when it's captured. Fiddly removed.

[Langley]

Have you played this yet? I'd be interested in how the common spawn points work out for you. I was thinking about a similar set up, with a neutral zone around the spawn points, but with the additional rule that you would have to count in 3-15 style as well after tagging the spawn, and move out of range of any opposing team members. My main concern was that two players on opposite teams running from the same spawn to the same 'depot' (or flag/base/bucket/whatever for the gametype) would have to clear away from each other. Which is fine if they don't both run full-tilt straight towards their goal, or get into an argument about who's responsibility it is to move away to clear in.

[SonReeceSonJensen]

@keo - the markers are manually switched out by whoever get to it and changes whenever someone else wants to and is able. The depots are held by force.

@AndHero - make some

@Spokk- make some! Copy me!

@Curly- go nuts, absolutely use this idea. Tweak it all you want.

@LTJG - yes: manual flips. There is a good foot of neon color so they should be easy to see. And each team starts with none.

@carb - thought of that: the butt of each marker has a small amount of paint on it so it is very easy to find the right one

@curly again - yes: force!

@Lang- no, tomorrow will be the first time. I do see your concern but I think that will be part if the challenge and strategy: maybe goto a different point, maybe hope you beat your opponent on the draw. However "hanging out" in the nutral zone will not be tolorated nor will be shooting from inside it.

[VelveetaAvenger]

Lookin goooood!

This looks like it will solve all the problems with the last territories-like game we tried. Hopefully there aren't any new ones! Haha.

I actually like the 3 stick thing. Instead of making it super easy to switch colors you have to spend a bit of time "capturing", but it's not just an arbitrary "count to 15". Should be fun to try.

[RedShot]

Very nice! Looks like I may be trying this game or a type of this game at my next tepaw war!

[b1g13en]

This game is like a real time RISK. I think maybe should color the tips of the blank end of the sticks so it's easier to flip the appropriate one. On the other hand having players to search for the correct stick makes things harder and maybe better for the game itself.

[Eh Watt]

Okay, we played this game today at the Late July War, and it was fantastic. It was great, I had tons of fun. ReecesPieces had some issue with the spawning, but he said they should go away with a different-shaped field. It was still the best game of the day by far. Everything worked smoothly. One other thing we did that worked well: There was an uneven number of people, so we had a Greecer (Greifer). The Greecer (played by Reece, hence the pun) just went around and neutralized all the depots he could. It was a blast and a half. It might've even been two blasts! It was great. Highly recommended!

[SonReeceSonJensen]

This is now a tried and true game and the majority opinions were posative.


Materials
-markers were easily identifiable and manipulable.
-the depots were sturdy and 3" was perfect size.

Game play - pros
-constant movement and play: which i like.
-not even the slightest chance to camp due to the constant need to be actively engaged: which I like.
-incessant need to reclaim territories and regain ground make it a challenge to literally the last second.
-easy to divide teams or reassign roles: MAN I loved being a troll/blighter!

Game Play - Con
- need a pretty big field, 300' across or more, to fit all the spawnpoints in. If I had ONE problem, and I had only one, was that we could not accommodate a 360 degree field of play with 360 degrees of spawning. Ensure this factor and you have one HELL of a round!

[Archangel45]

This was a really fun game to play- however not everyone was prefectly clear on the rules(happens I know). and my damn gun kept jaming... but AWESOME otherwise!

[Curly]

How difficult was taking guarded depots? With large teams of strong players this could prove difficult depending on the layout. You may have heard BuffDaddy has something for clearing points, his entire neighborhood probably has.

Like in videogames, it's pretty easy for a solid team to go to town. I would try separating the game into a few short rounds, with changing spawns and depot locations. It's also an extra opportunity to use an air horn- whoopee!

[Archangel45]

'Curly', on 26 Jul 2011 - 02:02 AM, said:

How difficult was taking guarded depots? With large teams of strong players this could prove difficult depending on the layout. You may have heard BuffDaddy has something for clearing points, his entire neighborhood probably has.

Like in videogames, it's pretty easy for a solid team to go to town. I would try separating the game into a few short rounds, with changing spawns and depot locations. It's also an extra opportunity to use an air horn- whoopee!

Taking Depots wasn't really the problem- there wasn't really enough people on each team so most of the time there ended up only being 1-2 people gaurding a depo- also the respawn points happend to be a good deal away from most of the depos(at least ours was). so you just tag the 1-2 people guarding and while they walk/run back to respone you take it and move on.

The game end as a 3- way tie(green, idk the second color and the blighter(SonReece) were all tied) because some people kept forgeting the rule of flipping 1 flag at a time(green would have been up 1 over everyone else but someone yanked out the green flag and their own and ended up leaving them both on the ground because time was called).

over all it was some crazy fun- and I think SonReece said for everyone to take and use/change the idea as much as they want. So go for it at a local war to you Curly.

[SonReeceSonJensen]

"How difficult was taking guarded depots?"

Not hard at all, sometimes you could run by and switch a marker while someone was not looking and often depots go unguarded to defend other depots. Also I set up the cover so the advantage was on the taker's side.


[quote name='Curly' timestamp=I would try separating the game into a few short rounds, with changing spawns and depot locations.
[/quote]
THIS I like! I can see setting up three 20 minut rounds with 10 min between to reconfigure the field and then count total scores for the three rounds! Next time . Thanks for the idea.

[Curly]

'SonReeceSonJensen', on 26 Jul 2011 - 1:53 PM, said:

THIS I like! I can see setting up three 20 minut rounds with 10 min between to reconfigure the field and then count total scores for the three rounds! Next time . Thanks for the idea.

I was thinking of an even more intense setup, like several 10 or 15 minute rounds. Being a gamer I like fast-paced craziness, and I think this game could become one of those "Dangerous to play for over and hour" games. I think MIG's RC car could get that kind of results.

Edited by Curly, 28 July 2011 - 01:52 PM.

[Carbon]

We gave this a try at MANO yesterday, and ended up playing it for most of the afternoon. We tweaked it for the supplies we had on hand:

1. The depots were 3'x3' squares of tarp, and we used bandannas. To take a depot, your flag had to be on the tarp.

2. We had no mobstacles and our play area has a lot of trees, so we modified the respawn method: after a hit, you had to go touch a central spawn point, and then go touch your team's medic. The medic himself had a 15 count before respawning.

3. The action was close enough that we pretty quickly decided that it needed to be a stock-ish gun/pistol game. The first round I passed on a lot of shots just because people were way too close.

Overall, it went well. We had five depots, but I think that we could have done with three. There was very lfew guarded/camped depots, and more sneaking over to depots that weren't being watched...which was fun all it's own (we lost a game in the last minute by not keeping an eye on all the depots). Fun game! I think it's going into regular rotation.

[z80]

We play at similar game at the Battles for New York, but with two teams. I love the pvc idea, I think I'm going to make my own for next time we play.