Last week I introduced the idea of Looney Pyramids, which are simply fantastic game pieces used in a rather broad array of games.
This week we’ll look at Icehouse, the first of four games using the pyramids I will cover through September.
Popping over to www.wunderland.com we find a great page dedicated to one of the games which was released in the early days of Looney Pyramids.
“The game can be played with two or more players, with virtually no upper limit. However, with only two players the game is not as challenging, and with five or more, it can get pretty confusing. Four players is considered optimum,” notes the site.
“Each player gets 15 square-based pyramids, all of one colour. The pyramids come in three distinct sizes: small, medium, and large. In addition to the pyramids, each player must also have a “stash pad” on which to store his pyramids. They are called stash pads since each player’s supply of unplayed pieces is called his “stash.” This pad must be large enough to comfortably hold all of your pyramids.
“There’s nothing magic about what you use for stash pads. You can use almost anything as a stash pad, as long as it separates your unplayed pieces from the pieces that have been played. Therefore, if you’re playing in a restaurant, you can use napkins as your stash pads. If you’re playing on the beach, you can just draw a square in the sand with your finger. The thing about Icehouse is that it can be played almost anywhere, from the floor of a subway station platform to the lunch counter of a diner. The only requirements for a playing surface are that it be flat and free of clutter, and that each player can reach across it conveniently. A small area is considered best. If, however, play occurs on a large surface without distinct natural borders, like a floor, legal plays can technically be made at any point upon that field.
“To setup the game, each player sets down his stash pad and sets his 15 pyramids out onto it. The exact location of the stash pad is unimportant, it can be put anywhere on the playing field. Once placed, the stash pad is not moved for the duration of the game.”
Icehouse is immediately intriguing as a ‘real time’ contest, meaning there are no defined turns of play.
The game runs in real time - each player can play at any time they choose. “This means you can play all of your pieces in the first 30 seconds of the game, or that you can wait 10 minutes before playing any pieces at all,” detailed www.wunderland.com
It is also a game with some ‘culture’ attached to it, such as the way to indicate readiness for a game to begin. Each player signifies that he or she is ready to start by placing a finger upon one of the pieces on their stash pad. “As soon as all players are touching (but not lifting) a piece on their pad, play can begin. Note that the player is not required to use the piece he or she touched as the first piece played; this is merely a universal signal for being ready to start playing,” notes the site.
Once started Icehouse has a sort of free-for-all feel.
“A pyramid can be played in either of two ways: standing upright or lying on its side. Standing pyramids are “defending,” while pyramids that are lying down are “attacking.” Defensive pyramids can be placed anywhere upon the playing field. Attacking pyramids, however, can only be placed such that they are pointing at a defensive piece of a different color. Attacking pyramids cannot attack other attacking pyramids. Once a pyramid is placed on the playing field, it cannot be moved or removed except under special circumstances,” states the site.
“The size of the pyramids is important, both for strategy during the game and for scoring at game’s end. The small sized pyramids have a value of 1, the medium pieces have a value of 2, and the large pyramids have a value of 3.
“The object of the game is to neutralize as many of your opponents’ defensive pyramids as possible, via attack, while keeping as many of your own defensive pyramids free from attack as you can. The game starts with all pieces held in storage on their stash pads. During the game, players select pieces from their stashes and place them out in the playing field, in either the Defending position or the Attacking position. The game continues until all of the pyramids in the game have been played. At the end of the game, players only get points for their pyramids that are either successfully attacking or successfully defending. The player with the highest score wins.”
Now when you think about a game without an actual board, limited pieces, and being quick, 10-minutes is suggested as defining time limit to avoid player paralysis, you might expect a simple game.
That is not the case with Icehouse. There are a number of rather detailed rules surrounding defence and attack, how pieces are played, and the scoring. In fact, the rule set is a tad daunting at the outset.
But with a good read through and some common sense the game is rather intuitive.
The great thing is that it plays anywhere, and it plays fast. Those attributes make it a perfect coffee break game.
Check it out once you have Looney Pyramids to play with.
