Search Play Game

Introduction

The next in a series of 3Will training games has arrived. The main features are:

• a sense of rogaining with a hint of geocaching.

• two or four players searching fields for hidden gains.

• a dice master manages plays, caches and scoring.

• five dice, four with colours matching the pieces held by each player; the fifth die is used in scoring.

• each round includes up to four simultaneous plays.

• an instruction set (dice lay), thrown at the beginning of a round, is played by each player.

Protocol

The instruction set lets  you do various things. You compute (work out) the things you can do and then play them, according to the relevant rules.

Objective

Players attempt to find hidden caches. Each time this occurs, points are accrued until a winning score of 30 points is achieved.

Scoring

Points for each discovered cache are awarded to players in the following way:

• 10 (5) points if found by an individual piece.

• 10 (5) points to the leader (higher) and 5 points to the follower (lower) if found by a stack.

• Double  points if you receive a double in the discovery round. A double is defined as the white die displaying the same number as your play colour die.

Bracketed values are for the two player game.

Setup

The game is intentionally physical and designed to be assembled from commonly available materials. The essential parts are:

• five different coloured dice:  four play dice (RGBY) and one double die (white).

•  a securable dice container, scoresheet and cache mapping system for the dice master.

• sets of stackable pieces matching the dice colours. Each set has three pieces. In the two player game each player has two sets. In the four player version each player has one set.

• two chequered boards, typically prepared as shown in Figure 1. Note the active field areas in the middle of each board and the neutral zones around the edges.

• four direction charts (refer to Figure 3); provide relative movement directions based on the coloured play dice. Players can set a reference orientation (one of four primary directions) for each set of their pieces.

Game Length

A typical duration for the four player game is about 30 minutes. The two player version might be slightly longer.

Entry Points

Before the game begins, players must place each of their pieces at field entry points. An entry point can be any location in the neutral zones, but with the following restriction;

• there must be a gap of at least one empty space between your chosen entry point and any other piece in the active field area.

LETS Play

Beginning of each round

• players can change their reference orientation by rotating their direction chart(s) to any one of the cardinal angles (90° apart). 

• the dice master generates an instance of the instruction set (throws the dice). 

• players can commence their play in any order, potentially simultaneously.

Your play

Four Players:

• move one of your pieces one step in the direction indicated by your play colour die and your direction chart.

Two Players:

• choose either one of your two play colour dice; move one of your pieces (from the matching set) one step in the direction indicated by its direction chart.

All Players:

• if you can  move, you must  move. If you can't move you miss out on the current play.

• the outer opposite edges are connected, so you can freely move your pieces around the boards in any given direction. 

• the inner  adjacent edges are joined so you are able to move directly between the boards (see Figure 2).

• when your play die instructs you to move with a 6, you can choose any one of the three relative directions indicated on your chart.

Discovery round

When a cache is discovered the dice master informs the players and the following events occur; 

• play is temporarily halted.

• points are awarded according to the scoring rules.

• players must move their successful piece(s) to an entry point of either field. If a cache is found by a stack then the constituent pieces must be separated before re-entry.

• a discovered cache is remapped by the dice master to a new unoccupied location within it's original field.

• normal play resumes. 

Stacking

In the field, stacking another player's piece is a form of capturing. Stacking one of your own pieces is a form of teaming. Either of these actions temporarily excludes a piece from active play and you control both. A stack moves together as a leader-follower  unit and can affect your points when scoring.

Stack Protocol:

• a stack can contain a maximum of two pieces.

• if the instruction set allows, your active piece (the source) can stack any player's piece (the target).

• if the stack limit is exceeded, the lowest target piece is ejected and placed lowest in the source location (injected).

• stack arrangements are binding in the field and non-binding in neutral zones;

In the field, a leader can separate from a stack but only to stack another target. The follower is otherwise bound to the leader.

In neutral locations, no pieces are bound and all must separate from a stack.

Dice Master

The role of dice master includes the following functions;

1. Mapping and managing caches:
   Field cache locations are determined using dice and a coordinate system (refer to Parallel Play). Two caches are mapped within each field during setup. Mapping and remapping decisions are ultimately made by the dice master after entry points have been selected by the players.

2. Generating instruction sets and adjudicating plays.

3. Scoring and determining winners.

Analysis

A deep dive into 3Will 3Cache by chatGPT:
3Will 3Cache Review