Lockpick
| Lockpick | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nicholas Vaccaro | ||
| A solitaire lock-picking challenge | ||
| Players: | 1 | |
| Length: | Medium | |
| Complexity: | Medium | |
| Trios per color: | 1 | |
| Number of colors: | 5 | |
| - - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - - | ||
| Color die, six-sided die, Zark City deck | ||
| Status: Playtesting (v1.1), Year released: 2016 | ||
Lockpick is a solitaire game in which the player attempts to hack through a complex firewall using her homemade software, "Lockpick 1.0". The player attempts to break all of five different colored locks before the system detects the hack.
Equipment
- The Color Die
- One regular die
- Zark City Cards
- 15 pyramids, one trio from each color on the Color Die
Terminology
- Firewall
- The set of 15 pyramids representing the security system to be broken.
- Tumblers
- Individual pyramids representing the different parts of the firewall. Tumblers are Frozen when cards are added to their respective Lock Stacks.
- Code Stack
- Face-down cards representing the available codes. Cards are Popped off the Code Stacks.
- Pick Stack
- Face-up cascaded cards representing possible codes. Cards are Pushed onto or Jumped between parts of the Pick Stacks.
- Lock Stack
- Face-up cards representing correct codes. Cards are Locked Into the Lock Stacks.
- Detected
- The hack is detected by the security system when all Code Stacks are depleted.
Goal
Freeze all three tumblers in each of the five firewall locks before the hack is detected.
Setup
Place all pyramids standing in a line grouped together by color, ordered Red > Yellow > Green > Cyan > Purple. Separate the deck of cards by suit, shuffle each stack together, and place face down in front of the same-colored trio. Leave enough space between each stack and the pyramids for another stack of cards.
How to Play
Begin each turn by rolling both dice. If the result of the color die is wild (), the player may choose any color as the result.
If the Code Stack of the rolled color has any cards, the player must Pop cards from that stack, then Push cards onto the Pick Stacks. See Pop and Push below.
If there are no cards left in the Code Stack of the rolled color, the player may optionally Jump a card. See Jump below.
- Pop
- Take a number of cards off the Code Stack for the rolled color equal to the rolled number into the player's hand. If there are not enough cards in the Code Stack, take as many as are available.
- Push
- Place one card onto the top of any of the Pick Stacks. Ensure that the cards are cascaded so that the values of all cards are visible. If a value of two or more was rolled, choose a direction, left or right, and place one card onto each stack moving in that direction.
- Push Details
- The order in which to play cards from the player's hand is up to the player. If there is not another stack to the left or right of the last stack and there are still cards to push, wrap around to the other side. See example below.
- Lock In
- If, after pushing all codes, any Pick Stacks have three adjacent cards forming a Set, the player must Lock In these cards into the Lock Stack. Take the cards from the stack and place them into the Lock Stack for the same color lock. Then, Freeze one Tumbler by placing a standing pyramid on its side.
- Set
- Three cards of a single value or forming an ascending or descending run of values. Runs of cards can wrap around between the King, Ace and 2. Sets do not have to contain all cards of the same suit.
- Lock In Details
- The cards do not have to be on top of the stack to be locked in. If, after performing all available Lock Ins, others Lock Ins become available due to cards being pulled from the center of the stacks, they must also be performed.
- Jump
- From the top of any of the Pick Stacks, count a number of cards less than or equal to the number rolled. If there are any cards matching the rolled color, the player may take that card into her hand and place it on top of any Pick Stack, including the one from which the card was taken. After placing the card, Lock In any cards if possible.
- Jump Details
- The card on top of the Pick Stack is accessed with a roll of one or greater. If a stack has 7 or more cards, the player could not access any beyond the sixth without removing some from the stack.
Example Pop and Push
The player rolls Red and 6. There are 6 or more cards on the Red Code Stack, so she pops 6 codes (takes 6 cards) from the top of the stack. She decides to place her first card on the Green Pick Stack and move left. The next cards go onto the Yellow, Red, Purple, Cyan and Green (again) stacks.
Example Jump
The player rolls Cyan and 4. There are no cards left in the Cyan Pick Stack, so the player decides to Jump. There are 7 cards in the Red Pick Stack. Counting from the top, the third and fourth cards are Cyan. The player chooses to take the third card from stack and place it on top of the Yellow stack. Removing the card from the Red stack causes three cards to form a run in the center of the stack. The player Locks In these cards.
How to Win
Freeze all Tumblers to win. If the final card is Popped from the final Code Stack, the player has until the end of her turn to Freeze the last Tumbler. Otherwise, the hack is Detected and the player loses.
Miscellaneous
- Popping cards and Locking In are mandatory actions when possible. Jumping is optional.
- If all three Tumblers of a color have been Frozen, cards are still Locked Into that color's Lock Stack.
- If the player notices a Set of cards she failed to Lock In previously, she Locks In the cards immediately, even during another action.
- If the player rolls a wild, she may choose a color which allows her to Pop cards or Jump cards, whichever are available.
Notes
This game was designed to be a solution to Glotz Challenge #2 from the Pyramid Arcade instruction book.