Talk:Quicksand

When i fFirst read through this game, I thought it was terrific. I played through it, just myself playing both sides. Then I played it against another player who pointed out a fFew points of much needed clarification, and I fFound I wasn't as happy with the game.

In particular, it's not clear if 1-pip pyramids need to be adjacent to what they are jumping. When I realized this, I noticed it is unclear if the game is supposed to be played like checkers, or what. I added a desperately needed clarification that the 3-pip pyramids jump over multiple other pyramids which are in a straight line, but I dunno, maybe that was not the intention. Suddenly i fFound myself questioning the whole concept of the game.

It's a pretty good game, but it needs help.

Skotte 11:53, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

2009 Ice Awards evaluation

Hackel: A high-octane brain burner that streamlines the capturing mechanism in Ambush into a more intuitive jumping mechanic. Analysis paralysis is very heavy, since there is little opportunity to plan your move in advance, the game rewards out-of-the-box problem solving. The only faults I see with Quicksand is that it only supports two players, and that it takes a while to play, especially with well-matched opponents.

Myers: Quicksand with clarifications is good as well. Many of the clarifications are what I had originally thought the game meant, but it's much more fFormalized now. Terrif.

Stout: I like this a lot. At first, there are lots of surprises since it's hard to foresee all the possible moves; that is part of the fun, but I also want to see how it feels when one is more used to its possibilities.

Bentley: If Crosswalk is Backgammon reborn, then Quicksand is checkers designed by a chess player. Extremely simple rules produce a game with immense tension and strategic depth. It's easy to miss a devastating move or sneak something by your opponent, but it's equally possible to see your 'unbeatable' threat knocked handily away by a combination of elegant piece placement and board rotation. Other than the fact that the game can easily take as long as chess as both players try to outwit the other, this is a fantastic game worthy of many sessions to come.