Last week began a rather in-depth look into the development of a new game from Polish designer Michal Zapala.
The winner in Tumbleweed is the player that occupies the most spaces at the end of the game.
On a turn, you may settle a space by placing a stack of pieces on a space. The number of pieces in the placed stack is the number of spaces occupied by the player in the space鈥檚 line of sight. If the space is occupied, the stack 小蓝视频 placed must be larger than the stack already occupying the space.
So the rules for the game played on a hex board are rather simple.
So, what in Zapala鈥檚 mind as designer is the best element of the game?
鈥淕ood question,鈥� he replied. 鈥淭umbleweed is a great and ongoing adventure. The community around it is growing slowly but surely, and I keep discovering new tactics and behaviors. Perhaps this in itself is the best thing of all: its ability to keep surprising me on all fronts.
鈥淥ne thing I particularly like about it is the presence of stacks: I always liked this mechanics, and it鈥檚 put to good use here. The stack height almost feels like its 鈥榟ealth points鈥�: a very modern concept, yet it arises in a natural way and it serves a very classic territorial goal.鈥�
But, what does the game offer others don鈥檛?
鈥淚t鈥檚 always hard to compare one鈥檚 own game to others, let alone to all others,鈥� offered Zapala. 鈥淚 feel like the most irritating mistake a rookie designer can make is exclaiming: 鈥榟is is the best game ever!鈥�
鈥淭hat said, I feel like Tumbleweed has a very unique, 鈥榮yncretic鈥� aesthetic to it: precisely the reason why it can stand on its own and not compete with well-established classics.
鈥淔or instance, some games, like Chess or Draughts, are 鈥減iece focused鈥�: your main consideration is the position of each particular piece. Others, like Go or mancala, are 鈥榞roup focused鈥�: your main consideration are the groups of pieces and, in particular, each group lives or dies as a whole. Tumbleweed is both and neither: it鈥檚 largely (though not entirely) 鈥榩iece focused鈥� in the opening and early middle game, but becomes more, though not entirely, 鈥榞roup focused鈥� towards the endgame.
鈥淥ne of the players remarked that it feels 鈥渓ike a mix of Go and Amazons鈥�, and there鈥檚 a grain of truth in that. Hearing this, one would expect an over complicated Frankenstein monster of a game, but no! 鈥� Tumbleweed has a very simple ruleset, and everything feels very natural once you start to play.
So far Tumbleweed exists online only, unless someone 鈥榖odgers鈥� a game together.
鈥淭umbleweed is a 鈥榪uarantine child鈥�: the 鈥榩rototype鈥� was drawn in MS Paint, and all the playtesting was done online. So physical playability wasn鈥檛 my top priority, and it shows,鈥� offered Zapala.
鈥淪ome people have tried playing it with poker chips, with mixed results: it鈥檚 somewhat hard to distinguish stack sizes. Another method is to use bulk dice instead of stacks, with number of pips signifying height.
鈥淓ither way, a Tumbleweed set isn鈥檛 very cheap to make, and the game take longer than in most commercially successful modern abstracts.
鈥淪o while I would love to see more over the board game and I feel like Tumbleweed deserves it, I wouldn鈥檛 expect any company to take the risk while it鈥檚 still largely unknown, and I have neither the resources nor skills to self-publish.
鈥淔or now, expanding the game鈥檚 online presence feels like the best way! I also like that it鈥檚 currently free to play.鈥�
Zapala is putting some effort into online promotion of the game.
鈥淪o far, the game has largely spread by word of mouth,鈥� he related.
鈥淏ut for such a grassroots, noncommercial effort that鈥檚 not even half a year old, I feel like we鈥檙e in a good spot: apart from MindSports and IG Game Center, our main playing hub, Tumbleweed can be played on Ludii, SkudPaiSho.com, Tabletop Simulator and Ai Ai. There is a dozen or so active players, and around 20 more casual ones: it鈥檚 consistently rated as one of IGGC鈥檚 most popular positions, with a few games 小蓝视频 played each day.
鈥淏ut obviously I have appetite for more! We鈥檇 love to see the player base grow, and the game be implemented at more mainstream platforms.
鈥淯ltimately, I鈥檇 love the Tumbleweed community to be a few hundred players strong, with a few local playing groups and regular tournaments. I believe this can be done, even in our over-saturated market: for instance, Nick Bentley鈥檚 Blooms only came out two years ago and it has over six thousand players.鈥�
The next step will be a tourney.
鈥淭he most serious effort we鈥檝e undertaken so far is planning a Tumbleweed tournament for this March, with cash prizes for new players: $100 for the best performance among newcomers, $50 for the runner up, and $20 for a randomly selected participant,鈥� said Zapala. 鈥淲e hope this will attract some new people. All these prizes are funded out of pocket by the current players, and I鈥檓 very touched by their commitment!
Check out Tumbleweeds on the game鈥檚 Facebook page.
