Jalak Game Directory

FAQ

What is Jalak?

Jalak is an Age released by the DRC which features a 5x5 grid of columns that form a life-sized game board. These columns can be raised or lowered at any time, depending on the needs and rules of the game being played. There is also a collection of three-dimensional shapes that can be "spawned" into the playable area, and the board also features an optional force field that can keep players and shapes from leaving the play area.

How do I play one of these games?

To play a game with others on Jalak, you'll need to get a group together either in-game, or by recruiting others in another online space, like the Cyan Chat Discord server. Once you have a group, you should all either head to the Library, or meet in a public space where you can share your Relto Book with everyone else. If you meet at the Library, you can share the Jalak Book with other players by using the "share" action on the left-hand page. If you meet in your Relto, you can share your Jalak Book with others by simply unlocking the Book's tab on the bookshelf.

Players will need to enforce the rules of the game on their own, as Uru doesn't provide a way to enforce the rules automatically. We suggest playing with others you can trust not to cheat or grief, but broadly speaking, people in the Uru community are pretty good sports.

How do I create a game?

You can make a game however you like! The only rules are that it has to be playable on the Jalak game board, and that the actions players need to take can be physically performed by Uru avatars. Other than that, the sky's the limit! Just write down the rules for how to play your game and post them to the Directory.

What is a "column configuration" and how do I use it?

The KI includes a pair of commands to save and load the current state of the Jalak game board's columns: /savecolumns and /loadcolumns.

By entering /savecolumns filename, the game will write the position of each column on the board to a text file named filename.txt in Uru's install directory (by default C:\Program Files (x86)\Uru Live). You can then upload that text file to the Jalak Game Directory along with the rules for how to play your game. In order for /savecolumns to work, you will need to run UruExplorer.exe as an administrator, or run the game out of a custom directory on a separate drive.

Typing /loadcolumns filename into the KI will instruct the game to try and load a column configuration file called filename.txt from the game's install directory (you don't need to include the file extension in the command). If the game you want to play calls for the board to be set in a specific configuration, at least one player in the group will need to download the column configuration for that game from the Jalak Game Directory and manually place it in their Documents/Uru Live directory. Not everyone needs to have this file downloaded in order to play, just whoever is coordinating the game. That way you can enter the /loadcolumns command and set the board before the game starts.

Note: The column configuration file does not save the placement of any game pieces, nor does it save whether the force field is turned on.

Directory filtering tips

When browsing the Directory, you'll see a list of filters down the left-hand side of the page. You can use these to filter the list of games. Be aware: each filter's selections are combined using logical "OR" operations, so selecting multiple options from the same filter (e.g. "Game type") will show all of the games that match any of the selected options, instead of only the games that match all of them.

Resources

For additional game creation resources, like images of the game board and available pieces, check out the Resources page.