Maze to the Middle

Originally posted on http://www.heywetried.com/jalak by: CarlPalmner

A note about the players: This game can be played with 2-4 players, but best results will probably be obtained with 4. In addition, it can be very helpful if another person is willing to act as a neutral party to "referee" the game and act as a constant Arbiter (see below for details on what the Arbiter does).

SETUP

Place a small cube in each corner

Set up the playing field as follows (the numbers correspond to the number of clicks to raise that column to the appropriate height)

0 1 2 1 0
1 1 0 1 1
2 0 0 0 2
1 1 0 1 1
0 1 2 1 0

Each player goes to a corner. If possible, a fifth NEUTRAL player should be present to act as Arbiter--otherwise, the 2-4 players can take turns acting as Arbiter.

GOAL

The goal of the game is to be the first to bring your cube to the center square of the playing field. Gameplay goes by turns, but during each turn, all players will be acting simultaneously (see the next section for details). Good players will be able to accurately predict other players' moves and use them to their advantage. If two or more players manage to do this at the same time, the game is a tie between those players.

A SINGLE TURN

If an extra person is available to act as a neutral Arbiter, this is helpful. If not, players will take turns acting as Arbiter.

The Arbiter yells "Choose!"

Each player picks out a column that they intend to raise or lower by one step, and positions his mouse-cursor correctly but does NOT click. Once each player has picked out their column, they indicate that they are ready by saying so.

When ALL players are ready, the Arbiter yells "Go!" (Alternatively the Arbiter could give a 1,2,3 count and then yell "Go")

Every player immediately raises or lowers his/her chosen column. If a player mistakenly moves a different column from what was intended, tough luck--gameplay continues.

As soon as a player has clicked a column, he/she is free to move. Players may push their cubes AS MANY SPACES AS DESIRED, but only in ONE direction and the cube MUST remain on its level. So if you push your cube onto a square, you can keep pushing it in that direction ONLY, and only if the cube will not end up falling off of a column. Diagonals are not allowed--the player may move his cube forward or backward, or to either side.

The turn is over when all players have pushed their cubes as far as they wish in the desired direction, and all indicate to the Arbiter that they are ready for the next turn.

The Arbiter yells "Choose!" and the new turn begins. Gameplay continues until a player manages to get his cube onto the center square and wins, or a tie occurs.

FINAL NOTES

Special thanks to explorer "Sane", who helped me playtest the game and modify its rules.

The game has not been playtested with more than 2 players but should, in theory, work even better with more players.