Deception

Deception
Jeremiah Wittevrongel
In Deception, players try to get their secret pyramid to the other end of the board while avoiding capture.
:Players	Players:	2
:Time	Length:	unknown
:Complexity	Complexity:	Medium
Trios per color:		5
Number of colors:		6
Pyramid trios:
Monochr. stashes:		6
Five-color sets:
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
chess board
Setup time:		5 minutes
Playing time:
Strategy depth:		Low-Medium
Random chance:		None
Game mechanics:
Theme:		Abstract
BGG Link:
Status: Initial design (v1.0), Year released: 2005

Deception is a quick and simple abstract strategy game for two players. It requires six stashes. Players take turns moving pyramids, trying to get their secret pyramid to the other end of the board while simultaneously trying to capture the opponent's secret pyramid.

Status

Under development

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This game is currently under development, in the Initial Design stage. Feedback is strongly encouraged! Feel free to give comments on game design or structure on the talk page.

What you need

• 6 Icehouse stashes, including black and white. The rest of these rules presume red, blue, green, and yellow are being used, but any colors will work.
• A 6 x 5 section of a chessboard
• 2 players

Setup

One player takes the large and medium black pieces, and the other player takes the large and medium white pieces. Each player takes the following:

• 2 small red pyramids
• 2 medium red pyramids
• 2 small blue pyramids
• 2 medium blue pyramids
• 2 small green pyramids
• 2 medium green pyramids
• 1 small yellow pyramid
• 1 medium yellow pyramid

No other pyramids are used during the game.

In secret, each player takes one of the two yellow pyramids, and nests it underneath an opaque (black or white) pyramid one size larger. Each player then nests 9 of the red, green, and blue pyramids underneath the nine other opaque pyramids, again in secret.

Players cannot put both of their yellow pieces in play. They may, however, use the other colors in any combination they desire.

The unused pyramids should remain hidden from your opponent for the remainder of the game.

Orient the board so the short sides face the players. Each player places the ten partial nests on the two nearest rows, in any desired arrangement. The resulting board should have two rows of white nests, two empty rows, and two rows of black nests.

Figure 1: Starting board configuration for Deception

Play

The player playing white goes first.

On each turn, the player moves one piece one space forward or sideways on the board. The destination space must either be empty, or occupied by one of the opponent's pieces.

At any time, a player may look underneath one of his own opaque covers (being careful not to reveal the color to his opponent).

Combat

If a player moves his piece into a space occupied by an opponent's piece, combat results. Both players reveal what color of piece is underneath the opaque piece.

If the pieces are the same color, then both are removed from the game. If both pieces are yellow, the game ends immediately in a draw. If the pieces are different colors, the combat is resolved as follows:

• Yellow and any other color: The player with the non-yellow piece wins immediately, for he has found the secret pyramid.
• Green and Blue: (Grass soaks up Water) The Blue piece is removed from the game.
• Blue and Red: (Water puts out Fire) The Red piece is removed from the game.
• Red and Green: (Fire burns up Grass) The Green piece is removed from the game.

Removed pieces should be placed beside the board underneath their opaque covers. Both players should always be able to see the number of pieces removed from the game, but are not allowed to look at the colors underneath their opponents' pieces once they have been removed from the game. They can still, however, look at their own pieces.

Winning the Game

You win the game if you accomplish one of the following two goals:

1. You capture your opponent's yellow (secret) pyramid during combat
2. You manage to advance your yellow (secret) pyramid to the other end of the board without it being captured

In other words, the goal of the game is to either capture your opponent's yellow pyramid, or move your own to the other end of the board.