Iceminers
| Iceminers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sam Zitin | ||
| Collect Gems from hidden Veins | ||
| Players: | 2 - 4 | |
| Length: | unknown | |
| Complexity: | Low | |
| Trios per color: | 5 | |
| Number of colors: | 6 (1 opaque) | |
| - - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - - | ||
| Martian coasters (including black), 6 sided die | ||
| Setup time: | 2 minutes | |
| Strategy depth: | medium | |
| Random chance: | high | |
| Theme: | Gem Collecting | |
| BGG Link: | Iceminers | |
| Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 2010 | ||
Summary[edit | edit source]
Iceminers is a complete reworking and reimplementation of my previous (not so good) game Diamond Mine. Played on a + sign arrangement of 5 martian coasters the gem veins will always be arranged in a standard configuration but will randomly contain different colors. Rather than players delivering the mined pieces to their own starting spaces they must deliver them off the end of the appropriately colored coaster in order to score them. Players will roll a die on their turn to determine their allowed movement, and may steal from other players by landing on them during their movement, however they may not end their move in another player's space.
Components Required[edit | edit source]
- 2 Treehouse sets (of the same color scheme) and one additional opaque set
- a Martian Coasters set (including black)
- a 6 sided die
Setup[edit | edit source]
- Set up the coasters in a + sign shape with the black coaster in the middle.
- Randomly fill 4 medium opaque pieces with 1 DIFFERENT small colored piece each and place them on the centers of the colored (non black) coasters. These should be mixed up, shell-game style, to ensure that no one knows exactly what was placed where.
- Randomly fill 4 large opaque pieces with a medium and a small of differing colors, shuffle them shell-game style, and place them at the corners of the black coaster.
- If available, fill the 5th matching large opaque with another color not being used by any player (i.e. if you were using a white opaque set, fill it with a medium and small black from your Treehouse sets), and place it in the center of the black coaster. If not available, simply fill it with 1 small of the opaque color being used.
- Each player takes a different colored large piece to use to represent their miner. They should begin OFF of one of the coasters that is opposite the coaster matching their color. For example, blue might start right off of the green coaster, which touches the black coaster, and then the blue coaster.
| Initial setup for a 4-player game (opaque pyramids not shown) | ||||
A player should start most distant from the matching coaster.
- Determine first player. The player with the most gemological knowledge goes first. In lieu of that, a die may be rolled.
Movement[edit | edit source]
On each players turn, they will roll the 6 sided die to determine their allowed movement points. It costs one point to move onto the board from off of it. Orthogonal movement costs one point per square.
Movement restrictions:
- Players may only move onto the board in one of the 3 squares at the end of a coaster most distant from the center (black coaster).
- Diagonal movement is allowed but costs double movement points, even across coasters.
- Players may (and will likely want to) move through other players during their turns, but may not end their turn in another player's square.
- If a player has no legal move (such as being surrounded by players on all sides and rolling a 1) than they must roll again until they can make a legal move (even if they don't want to).
Once a player's movement points are exhausted, play passes to the left.
Gem Collecting[edit | edit source]
When a player lands on cache they remove the opaque piece on top from the board. A player may also take any of those pieces that they can carry. Each player may carry 1 piece at a time regardless of size. It costs one point of movement per pip to pick up a piece. Players may drop the piece they are carrying in any square they pass through at any time for free. Players may end their turn in any square that is also occupied by gem. Other players subsequently passing through this space must pay the requisite movement to pick it up.
Stealing from Other Players[edit | edit source]
Players moving through a square that is occupied by another player may pay the requisite movement (1 point of movement for a small, 2 for a medium) to steal a piece that the player is carrying. If the stealing player is also carrying a piece, it is automatically picked up by the stolen from player (they swap). If the stealer doesn't have enough movement to steal the piece AND move onto an unoccupied square, they may not steal.
If a player lands on a space that is occupied by another player and multiple gems (i.e. one that the other player is holding and another that they are not), they can pay appropriate points to pick up either one. In either case, any gems the active player is carrying swap places with the one they take.
Delivering gems[edit | edit source]
A player carrying a piece must move off of the end of the matching colored coaster (of the piece they are carrying) in order to deliver it. If players only have enough movement to land off of the board and not make it back on, this is permitted and they may spend the turn (until their next roll) off of the board. Players may exit and enter the board in different squares (of the same coaster). Delivered gems are taken by that player out of play and kept till the end of the game for scoring.
The opaque gems that begin in the center of the black coaster must be delivered off the end of the coaster of the matching color of the player (blue must deliver it off of the blue coaster).
Ending the game[edit | edit source]
The game ends when all pieces have been delivered off of the board and scored.
Scoring[edit | edit source]
Small pieces are worth 1 point, mediums are worth 2. Any pieces that are of a player's color are worth DOUBLE. Additionally, the extra opaque pieces that begin in the center of the black coaster are worth 2 points for a small and 3 points for a medium. (note, these should be the only pieces that are always in the same place every game). Ties are broken in the following order.
1. The player with the medium opaque gem 2. The player with the small opaque gem 3. The player with the most colors represented in their scored pieces
Any ties after that are true ties and you must live with the consequences of not having gotten that opaque piece!