"2Xd6"

OVERVIEW

A beautifully strategic deck-building stack-chaining tower defense game for multiple players.

REQUIREMENTS

  • One "2XD6" deck of 54 cards per two to six players

  • 2 X D6 (one Sicherman high and one standard preferred)

  • One playing space and game board

CONFIGURATION

First, configure the cards.

A stack is multiple cards stacked without necessarily being hidden from view; a patch is multiple cards stacked backside up, so that no one may know which card is where.

  • Separate 2-10 (Pips) and J-? (11-15, Faces) cards into two separate stacks: 36 Pip cards and 18 Face cards.

  • Shuffle stacks thoroughly.

  • Provide each player with the appropriate amount of Face cards:

    2-3 players: 5 Face cards

    4 players: 4 Face cards

    5-6 players: 3 Face cards

  • Reserve any excess Face cards for the Draw Patch.

    Provide each player with the appropriate amount of Pip cards:

    2-3 players: 6 Pip cards

    4-6 players: 5 Pip cards

  • Add reserved Face cards to the stack of remaining Pip cards.

  • Shuffle combined stack thoroughly and place backside up to create the Draw Patch (directly adjacent to the Board, where everyone can see it).

Mod: For more cards with any even number of players, combine the cards from 1 deck per every 2 players, separating into Faces and Pips as you do so, and then provide the amounts of cards listed for 2 players. Multi-deck play with 4 or 6 players is not pre-approved.

Second, configure the board.

  • Board size is dependent on the number of players and their preferences.

  • The Board consists of cells (larger than the cards in use) laid out in rows and columns — at least 1 row & 1 central column per player & 2 columns on each side of the center.

  • Traditional, pre-approved play for 2 or 3 players shall take place on a 6 column by 3 row grid, with a 2-cell Basic Square at the center of the middle row (B3:B4, with row A being the bottom-most row and column 1 being the left-most column).

  • The Basic Square at the Board's center may be a single cell or multiple cells, but its placement (and the board as a whole) should be symmetrical, and in any case must be approved by consensus before match play may begin (see Limitations).

PROCEDURES

The objective is to occupy and hold the Basic Square for as many full turns as there are players.

The game consists of acts, which consist of each player doing these four scenes in this order in the order of acts (see Interactions).

Scene 1: Roll 2XD6

This is to determine acting points. Pairs are doubled, so there are a maximum of 24 possible points per act.

Scene 2: Play/recycle 1 card

The number of pips on a card represents how many acting points it costs to play, with one exception: a 10 card costs 10 points if played in an empty cell, but only 1 if added to a stack.

The card's power number, at the bottom center, represents the number of power points used in its Advancement, Targeting & Resistance calculations.

In the first round of acts, only a Face or 1 card may be played, and only in the acting player's outermost cell (e.g. the A1 cell for the lower-left player).

In subsequent turns, cards may be only be added to stacks or played in empty cells directly adjacent to existing cards or stacks on the acting player's side of the board. Either Face or Pip cards can be played atop existing cards, which is called stacking.

When playing a card to a stack, the played card must be lower in number than the existing card if they are the same color. Recycling a card costs one acting point, and the player can draw a replacement, but not offer it for trade as in scene 4.

Scene 3: Decide

Three decisions can be made with the acting points available: Advancement, Targeting, or playing/recycling more cards.

Replacement cards may be drawn, including one total to replace all played cards.

Scene 4: Draw 1 card

This final card may optionally be offered for trade to all other players, but if multiple offers come forward, they have to accept the best card offered and hand over the traded card.

If only one offer comes forward, they may accept it or reject it, but if they reject the offer, they must recycle the unwanted card.

INTERACTIONS

  • All players shall agree to a consistent and linear order of acts based on the outcome of the rolls.

  • Each player has an identifier corresponding to their place in the order of acts — e.g. Player 1, Player 2, etc. — in addition to any real names.

  • Card colors are central to emergent play in matches of 2XD6. Every card has multiple colors with multiple purposes, all of which should be taken into account as you build your hand, monitor the board, and carefully observe your opposition's decisions.

  • There are five core colors:

    Onyx (or black)

    Gold (or yellow)

    Wyte (or white)

    Pink (or magenta)

    Cyan (or blue)

    Onyx and Gold generally work well together, as do Pink and Cyan. However, there are many ways to build a hand and hold the Basic Square.

  • Each card has 2 numbers (pips and power) and 3 colors. The color of the card's pip(s) and center box (behind the power number) is its core color. The color of the box to the left of the center is the Resistance color, and the color of the box to the right is the Targeting color.

  • Matching core colors allows for stacks to “connect” with adjacent stacks, called stack chaining. Stack chaining allows multiple stacks' numbers to be used together in Advancement, Targeting, and Resistance calculations. Stacks can be chained as long as they are in adjacent cells and at least one Face card in each stack matches the chaining color.

  • When Targeting (or Resistance) calculations are made, two cards of the same Targeting (or Resistance) color in a stack chain are able to use multiplication and division. If the core colors of the two cards ALSO match, the cards are able to use exponentials.

LIMITATIONS

  • All subjective judgements, and any further buffs, nerfs, modifications or enhancements to play (including rules, values, factors, physical pieces, and integrations) are fully encouraged and allowed, but must be agreed to by consensus and so cannot be covered here nor ever considered pre-approved.

  • All movement shall be Advancement, meaning directed towards the Basic Square.

  • It costs acting points to Advance: [the total power points of a stack chain] divided by [its number of cards (with standard rounding to the nearest whole number)] equals the number of acting points it costs to Advance a stack chain one cell. The same rule applies for single stack chains as for multiple (as all rules do).

  • Cards or stack chains on the board can only Advance towards the Basic Square within the allowed limit(s) of the Face card(s) in the stack chain; any Face card's limits in a stack chain may be chosen by the player, but only one may be used per act:

    Advancement Limits

    10 - 1 cell in any direction

    J/11 - up to 2 linear cells

    Q/12 - up to 3 cells, with turns

    K/13 - up to 3 linear cells

    A/14 - up to 4 cells, with turns

    ?/15 - up to 4 cells, diagonal only

  • You cannot advance to an occupied cell.

  • If the acting player ends their act in occupation of a cell outside their own or the central columns — they must give the occupied player one Pip card.

  • To Target an opposing card or stack chain, the acting player's targeting cell needs to be within targeting distance of the targeted cell:

    Targeting Distances

    10 - 1 cell in any direction

    J/11 - 2 cells forward or upward (4 in any direction if the 2XD6 roll was a pair)

    Q/12 - 3 cells in any direction

    K/13 - 3 cells forward or upward

    A/14 - 4 cells in any direction

    ?/15 - 4 cells forward or upward

  • There can't be any Resistance-occupied cells in the path of the [hypothetical] targeting line (called the pottle) drawn directly between the targeting cell and the targeted cell.

  • Targeting costs 1 action point per pottle cell.

  • Targeting (Tc) and Resistance (Rc) calculations are determined via addition and subtraction of the power numbers on the targeting cell or stack chain's cards and the power numbers on the resisting cell's cards.

  • Multiplication, division, and/or exponentials are also allowed if color-matching criteria are met. Any acting-player-occupied cells in the pottle can be included in the Tc as long as the in-pottle card's core color matches the targeting cell’s stack chain.

  • A Tc cannot be more than 10 points in either direction of the targeted cell's Rc — e.g., if the Rc is 72, then the Tc must be between 62 and 82 points. This, in conjunction with being within targeting distance and unobstructed, is called being within target range.

  • If a Resistance cell within range is targeted, the acting player rolls 2 x Onyx D6 and the resisting player rolls 2 x Wyte D6; pairs get doubled as per usual. These rolls are added to their respective players' calculations; if the final Tc is higher than the final Rc, the targeting succeeds. After a successful targeting, the acting player collects the entire stack from the resisting cell. Any adjacent stacks are unimpacted (other than potentially becoming unchained). However, the acting player must hand over one Face card (or a 10) to the targeted player. If the acting player claims they don't have any Face cards, they should show their entire hand to prove it. If a targeting is unsuccessful, the acting player has to hand over one Face/10 and one Pip — but they get to draw one additional cold comfort card. It may not be offered for trade or discarded.

The game ends when the objective is achieved.