Hey there. I am going to use this space on the Game Club blog to post some of the additional tile ideas for Diceland that I came up with, with images of them that would be printable and usable. I've had some demand from folks on BGG. I will post the link to this entry so they can come get them at their leisure... And we had always promised we do game features, game reviews, and game variants on the site, and we just haven't had time to do it, due to all the game playing we do!
Click on the pic to get an even higher res version...
BARBED WIRE -- "Barbed Wire gives soldiers under attack a bit of protection. Or, at the very least, a little payback."
When attacking an army that is in a Barbed Wire hex, the attacking army will always lose 1 due to damage inflicted by the barbs. On a perfect attack, the attacker’s die is reduced by one. On a valid attack, the attacker’s army is one less than his/her die roll. On a failed attack, the attacker’s die is reduced by TWO.
EX: Blue has a 4 in a Barbed Wire hex, and Red has a 5 adjacent to it. Red attacks…
If Red rolls a 5, Blue is eliminated, but Red is reduced to 4 by the barbs.
If Red rolls a 3, Blue is reduced to 1, as usual. And Red goes to 2 (normally it would be 3, Barbs reduce him by 1).
If Red rolls a 6, the attack fails, Blue is unaffected. But Red is reduced to 3. (One for the failed attack, one for the barbs.)
There is no penalty for moving in or out of Barbed Wire, or attacking FROM a Barbed Wire zone.
BARRACKS -- "The Barracks have a building which allows room for a second army in that hex."
You can move a second army into this hex during movement phase. If there are two armies in this hex the two can be used in a combined attack on an adjacent hex, but don’t have to be. (NOTE: The limitation of the Hills and Mountains still holds – you can never use a combined attack against these spaces. If a Hill or Mountain is adjacent to a Barracks, only one of the armies in the Barracks can attack.) If there are two armies in a Barracks hex, the only combined attacks possible are with these two armies. You can’t combine one of the armies in a Barracks hex with an army in an adjacent one. If there is just one army in this hex, a combination attack with an adjacent hex can be performed, as usual. Armies can move out of a barracks during normal movement, and must follow the usual rules (can’t move if adjacent to an enemy, for example).
NOTE: When placing initial armies at the start of the game, only one army may be placed in the barracks. The second army must be moved in later in the game.
BUNKER -- "The bunker gives you total cover; thick walls with small holes to shoot through."
The Bunker hex is reinforced with a structure that allows an army to attack from a bunker, but can never be attacked. It's a bit of a squeeze into the bunker, so a 6-valued die can NEVER enter a bunker, only 5 or lower. An attack from a Bunker can never be part of a combined attack, even with an adjacent Bunker. (The only way to move into a bunker is in initial placement, or during movement phase. Since it can’t be attacked, occupation of it as a defeated territory is not possible.)
We recently decided that the cut back a little of the power to this tile that the movement restriction of being adjacent to an enemy is lifted. Basically, all of the surrounding tiles of a Bunker are thought of as being woods tiles -- the guys in the bunker can't hold you there; you can run away from a Bunker.
CANYON -- "The Canyon hex is a tight spot that larger armies cannot navigate."
The Canyon hex is off limits to movement by a die showing a 5 or a 6. Any others can pass through it normally. A large army can attack into a Canyon from an adjacent hex, but cannot occupy that territory afterward. All other movement and attack rules remain the same (for example, it is just fine for an army in a Canyon to be part of a combined attack with a large army adjacent to it out of the Canyon). The Canyon hexes can be chained together to form a ‘Grand’ Canyon which can be hard to navigate.
PAVEMENT -- Due to the smooth, solid nature of pavement, a Pavement hex is extra easy to move through.
If you move onto a pavement hex during your movement phase, you may move an additional hex. If multiple Pavement hexes are adjacent, you may be able to move multiple spaces on the turn. Once you move off a Pavement hex, your movement must end. Also, all regular movement restrictions are in effect -- you can't move through other armies, and if you get adjacent to an enemy you must stop, as well.
NOTE: Occupation still only gives you one space of movement. If you defeat an army on a Pavement hex, and decide to move your army into that space to occupy it (or you’re forced to because you are playing the Fill the Void variant), you must remain there, and can’t move that army during that turn’s movement phase (your army is tired from battle!); Pavement only helps during the movement phase. The Pavement hexes can be chained together when creating a map, effectively making roads that any army can use to move troops quickly(late in the game, especially).
SNIPER TOWER -- "From the Sniper Tower, a single soldier can take a stealthy shot."
If you have an army in this space, and it has a value of exactly 1, any attacks it makes from a Sniper Tower hex will always succeed (as if a ‘1’ was rolled); no actual dice roll is done. Any other die value is unaffected by this hex, and just moves or attacks as normal. No matter what the value of the army, this hex can be attacked as usual.
EX: Blue has a die with a 1 in a Sniper Tower hex. Red has a 4 adjacent to it. Blue declares the attack of that die… Red just immediately goes down to 3. (Blue’s 1 may be attacked as usual on the next turn. Sniper Tower provides no defense.)
(NOTE: This tile was inspired by the lack of power of a 1-valued die. And it is dedicated to the memory of the die known as "Rambo" -- Alex's 1-valued die that fully defended against THREE 3-valued die; they always failed their attack against him until they died. Hail, Rambo!)
SWAMP -- "The Swamp makes an attack a bit harder and unpredictable than normal, due to the rugged terrain."
When attacking either from OR into a swamp hex, that attack die roll is reduced by one. Due to the unpredictable nature of the swamp terrain, this may actually HELP the attack.
EX: Blue has a 3 in a Swamp hex. Red has a 5 in an adjacent Plains hex. Red attacks…
If Red rolls a 6, that counts as rolling a 5, and it is a perfect attack! Blue is destroyed, Red stays at its current level, and can occupy the Swamp hex if desired.
If Red rolls a 4, that counts as rolling a 3. Blue is destroyed, Red is reduced to a 3, and can occupy the Swamp hex, if desired.
If Red rolls a 1, that counts as rolling a ZERO! Blue takes ZERO damage, and Red is reduced to a value of ZERO (a critical failure of the attack!), removing it from the board.
(If, in the above example, Red were in the Swamp hex, and Blue was in the Plains, everything would happen exactly the same.)
TACTICAL OUTPOST -- "The Tactical Outpost allows you to redeploy armies, to some extent."
Instead of regular movement, during the movement phase you may switch an army adjacent to a Tactical Outpost, with the one in the Tactical Outpost. This counts as your movement phase. NOTE: No army involved in battle can use the ability of the Tactical Outpost. If you occupied an Outpost because of winning a battle, no Tactical switching can occur. If you attacked from a Tactical Outpost and are still occupying it, the army is too tired… you can’t use the Outpost ability. Any army adjacent to a Tactical Outpost which occupied it that turn from battle, or was actively involved in a battle, cannot be switched into the Outpost, either.
TRAINING GROUNDS -- "The Training Grounds can return troops to the game."
(It is probably one of the only special terrains that must be vacant in order to be used!) If you have lost a die at some point in the game so far, AND if you have at least 3 dice bordering a vacant Training Grounds hex, and none of those dice have been involved in battle this turn, you may, instead of the usual movement phase, take one of your destroyed dice, roll it, and place it on the Training Grounds hex. Reinforcements and new recruits have arrived!
(Note: Thanks to Ashlei for the idea of marching dice. They may not match the stylistic theme of the rest of the tiles, but they are irresistably cute! March on, little dudes.)
TROOP TRANSFER -- "A Troop Transfer hex can be used to move troops from one hex to another."
Instead of regular movement, you can reduce the die of an army in the Troop Transfer hex, or any adjacent one, and increase the die of an army in the Troop Transfer hex or any adjacent one by the same amount. (So, it is possible that the army on the Troop Transfer hex doesn’t change at all, just tweo armies that are adjacent. The troops sort of ‘pass through’ this hex.) This counts as your movement phase. NOTE: No army involved in battle can use the ability of the Troop Transport. If the Troop Transport hex was occupied because of winning a battle, no Troop Transport can take place. If you attacked from a Troop Transfer hex and are still occupying it, the army is tired from the attack… you can’t use the Transfer ability that turn. Any army adjacent to a Troop Transport which occupied it that turn from battle, or was actively involved in a battle, cannot have any troops transported in or out of that hex.
TURRET -- "The Turret has a gun emplacement which can be used to increase the value of a battle die."
When attacking from a Turret hex, you may increase the die roll by one if you wish (you do not need to use the turret). You decide AFTER you roll the die. NOTE: If part of a combined attack, the Turret ability may not be used.
EX: Red has a 4 in a Turret hex. Blue has a 2 adjacent to it. Red attacks….
If Red rolls a 6, there is no hope. The attack fails, Blue is fine, and Red is reduced to 3.
If Red rolls a 4, it’s a perfect attack! No need for using the Turret. Blue is destroyed, and Red stays the same.
If Red rolls a 3, the Turret can be implemented to increase its value to a 4! Blue is destroyed, and Red stays the same.
If Red rolls a 1, the Turret can be implemented to increase its value to a 2. It’s a valid attack, and Blue is destroyed and Red is reduced to a 2.
That's the ones I've come up with.
In discussions with the group some other ideas were discussed -- how about a radiated area? If you have an army in that space, the last part of your turn (after movement, where you would check to see if you could use the city to increase an army) you reroll that die to represent mutation caused by the radiation -- could help, might not. You might move a 1 or 2 into that space to try to help it...
Or an area like a Mesa, where you have a clear view and tactical advantage -- if you wish, after you attack, you may make another attack from the Mesa.
Have fun with it... I like hearing ideas, as well! Post em to the comments section here, or send them right to me: fenwic89fd@yahoo.com. Or, even better, post to the BoardGameGeek forum!
