abstract

curated written for the tool not checked yet

In the group Theme.

No story — just shapes, colours, patterns. Like Chess or Go. The game is the game.

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Entries with abstract

abstract drafted not checked yet
The abstract theme gives the game no story or setting, just shapes, colours and moves, so the rules are the whole experience.
excited · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling excited.
clever · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract supports the feeling clever.
silly · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling silly.
tense · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling tense.
together · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling together.
sneaky · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling sneaky.
lucky · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling lucky.
in charge · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling in charge.
surprised · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling surprised.
thoughtful · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling thoughtful.
fast · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling fast.
unfair in a fun way · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling unfair in a fun way.
careful · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling careful.
daring · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling daring.
friendly · abstract drafted not checked yet
abstract neither supports nor works against the feeling friendly.
Pig — the dice push not checked yet
Push your luck in its plainest form: after every roll, keep what you have or risk it for more. Change one number, the bust or the target, and the whole table plays more boldly or more carefully.
Three-card Hanabi — hidden hands and clues not checked yet
Hidden hands turned inside out: you see everyone's cards except your own, so the team depends on a few limited clues. It shows how a limit on talking can become the whole game.
The blocking grid — workers fight for spots not checked yet
Worker placement at its smallest: taking a spot denies it to the other player. It shows how turn order and denial create decisions even with no luck at all.
Paper auction — bid for the prize not checked yet
Bidding with a budget that never refills: every token spent now is gone later. It shows how players come to price the same prize differently as their money runs down.
Pick-and-pass — the drafting game not checked yet
Drafting: each card you keep is also a choice about what your neighbour gets. It shows how passing cards along turns every pick into a gift or a block.
Last-card-out — race to empty your hand not checked yet
A race where what you hold limits what you can do. It shows hand management, and how one flexible card (the wild) changes every decision around it.
Nim — take the last stone not checked yet
No luck and nothing hidden, yet the winner is often settled many moves before the end by a pattern the players can't yet see. It shows why designers add uncertainty to a game that can be solved.
Dots and Boxes — close the square not checked yet
A rule that lets you move again after closing a box turns a simple drawing game into one of sacrifice and long chains. It shows how one rule can create deep strategy.
Bulls and Cows — crack the code not checked yet
Pure deduction from counted clues. It shows how much information a single answer can carry, and how a guess can be made to learn rather than to win.
Cram — the last domino wins not checked yet
On boards with even sides the second player always wins by copying. It shows how symmetry can break a game, and how changing the board fixes it.
SOS — write S or O, make SOS not checked yet
Both players write the same letters, so anything you write can help your opponent. It shows how shared pieces create tactics of giving and avoiding.
Three Men's Morris — three in a row, then move not checked yet
Placing pieces, then moving them: a second phase keeps a tic-tac-toe-like game from ending in a draw. It shows phases as a design tool.
Set — three that all match or all differ not checked yet
Everyone looks at the same cards at once, with no turns, so perception wins over planning. It shows simultaneous play, and how a single matching rule can carry a whole game.
3 Quarters — complete the three-quarter circle not checked yet
Every piece placed can complete someone else's circle, so each move weighs your gain against what it gives away, under a 20-second clock. It shows interaction through a shared board, and time as pressure.
Eleusis — guess the dealer's secret rule not checked yet
The rules themselves are what you discover. Players learn by testing guesses against right and wrong, which is how a designer learns what a rule does. The Rulemaker also feels the balance: a rule nobody finds is as dull as one everyone finds at once.
Sprouts — the drawing that ends itself not checked yet
The board is drawn by the players, and the moves close the board in. It shows how a game can be made of its own map, and how a growing picture can carry the state of a game.
Hex — connect your two sides not checked yet
Every move is both an attack and a defence, because the same chain that connects one player blocks the other. It shows how a geometric fact can rule out draws, and how the swap rule balances first-player advantage.
Sim — don't make a triangle not checked yet
A game about avoiding, not achieving. It shows a misère goal, and a mathematical guarantee: with six dots someone must make a triangle, so the game always ends.
Chomp — don't eat the poisoned square not checked yet
The first player can always win, yet on most bars nobody knows how. It shows the difference between knowing a strategy exists and finding it, which is often where play lives.
Kayles — knock down one pin or two not checked yet
Each move can break one game into several smaller games. It shows how a position can be a sum of separate parts, a way of thinking that helps in designing any game with independent areas.
Ultimate tic-tac-toe — your move sends them not checked yet
Each move has two meanings: a mark here and an instruction to the other player. It shows how linking small games turns a solved children's game into one that rewards foresight.
Mū Tōrere — the Māori star game not checked yet
A board with a single empty point makes every move a question of who gets stuck. It shows how one restriction, the centre rule, can keep a tiny game from being won at once.