DOUBLE BLIND

 

Winner of 2005 About.com Game Design contest

by Bruce Glassco

 

 

Introduction

 

Both players draw a hidden victory condition.  They then alternate placing tokens until one player has fulfilled BOTH conditions.

 

Components

                                      

Board with small squares (as in Go or Pente)

Colored stones for each player (ditto)

(Graph paper and pencil may be used instead of the above components)

A set of cards labeled 1-5.

 

Setup

 

Each player draws one card.  Then consult the chart below to see what your victory condition will be. The orientation of the pattern does not matter.

 

Key to diagram:

O = your piece

X = your piece or opponent’s piece

- = any piece or no piece

 

1. (LINE)

 

--O-  ----

--O-  ----

--O-  OOOO

--O-  ----

 

2. (SLASH)

 

O---  ---O

-O--  --O-

--O-  -O--

---O  O---

 

3. (SQUARE OR DIAMOND)

 

----  ----

-OO-  -O-O

-OO-  ----

----  -O-O

 

--O-  --O--

-O-O  -----

--O-  O---O

----  -----

      --O--

 

4. (X)  (Zero or one of the four arms may belong to opponent)

 

----

-O-O

--O-

-O-X

​

5. (CROSS) (Zero or one of the four arms may belong to opponent)

 

--O- 

-OOO 

--X- 

---- 

 

 

To Play

 

Choose a player to go first.

 

Players alternate placing pieces on intersections of the board, as in Go or Pente. 

 

Whenever a player fulfills any of the five victory conditions, he or she must announce this to opponent.  (It may be helpful to give each player a different suit of cards labeled 1-5.  Then, each player may display cards to show which victory conditions have been completed.)  It is possible to complete more than one condition on the same move, or to complete condition 4 or 5 on your opponent’s turn.

 

There is no benefit to completing the same victory condition more than once.

 

When a player completes his or her second different victory condition, he or she may ask opponent “Have I fulfilled your victory condition yet?”  Opponent must truthfully answer yes or no.  A player may ask this question again whenever he or she completes another new victory condition.

 

Winning the Game

 

If your opponent has answered “yes” after being queried about his or her victory condition, and you have completed your own victory condition as well, then you have won.