Turning Points

Turning Points
Joseph Kisenwether
Pyramids spin like interconnected gears as each new piece is added
:Players	Players:	1 - 6
:Time	Length:	Short
:Complexity	Complexity:	Low
Trios per color:		1
Number of colors:		4
Pyramid trios:
Monochr. stashes:
Five-color sets:
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
[[Equipment/|]]
Setup time:		1 min
Playing time:		5 - 10
Strategy depth:		Medium
Random chance:		None
Game mechanics:		Reactions
Theme:		The wikipage input value is empty (e.g. <code>SomeProperty::, [[]]</code>) and therefore it cannot be used as a name or as part of a query condition.
BGG Link:
Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 2004

Overview

Turning Points is a puzzle-strategy game where the pieces on the board react like cogs in a machine to each new piece that is added. Players try to get the most pyramids to be pointing at themselves by the end of the game.

Materials

9-25 pyramids in any sizes/colors and a grid

Players	Pyramids Needed	Grid
1 player	20 pyramids in 4 different colors	4×4 square grid
2 players	16 pyramids in any colors	4×4 square grid
3 players	9 pyramids in any colors	3×3 hex grid
4 players	25 pyramids in any colors	5×5 square grid
5 players	16 pyramids in any colors	4×4 hex grid
6 players	16 pyramids in any colors	4×4 hex grid

Play

• Randomly select a start player.
• Each turn consists of placing one pyramid lying down in an empty grid space, pointing at another grid space or at the edge of the board.
• If the grid space that the pyramid is pointing to has a piece in it, that piece turns clockwise.
• This newly-rotated pyramid may point to another piece, which will in turn rotate clockwise and may consequently rotate another piece, and so on.
• The turn is over when all affected pieces have been rotated. An empty space breaks the chain.

Example turn: A 4-player game is in progress. The pyramids are arranged as shown.

				::MPE
::MPE	::MPE	::MPN	::MPE	::MPE
::MPE	::MPE	::MPE	::MPE	::MPE
::MPE	::MPE	::MPW	::MPS	::MPE
::MPE	::MPE	::MPE	::MPE	::MPE

The current player places the black pyramid. Example turn: A 4-player game is in progress. The pyramids are arranged as shown.

				::MPE
::MPE	:MPE	::MPE	::MPS	::MPS
::MPE	::MPE	::MPE	::MPS	::MPE
::MPE	::MPE	::MPN	::MPW	::MPE
::MPE	::MPE	::MPE	::MPE	::MPE

The black pyramid causes yellow to rotate 90 degrees,
which causes the blue pyramid to rotate 90 degrees,
which causes the purple pyramid to rotate 90 degrees,
which causes the green pyramid to rotate 90 degrees,
which causes the red pyramid to rotate 90 degrees.
The chain reaction stops when red points at an empty space. Note that it doesn't matter that red is pointing at yellow across a gap; yellow does not get affected because it is not in the square directly adjacent to red.

Game End

Game end is triggered when the last space on the board is filled and the last rotation action has been performed as a result. The winner is the person with the most pyramids pointing at him- or herself.

Solo Variant

For the solo game, colors matter. You will need five pyramds in four colors. Use a 4×4 grid and place one pyramid on the table next to each side. These pyramids serve to indicate what color each side is on.

::MPE			::MPE
::MPE			::MPE
::MPE			::MPE
::MPE			::MPE

Credits

Turning Points was designed by Joseph Kisenwether, 2004.

External Links

• The rules to Turning Points are available online.
• Turning Points on BoardGameGeek

Entered in the Icehouse Game Design Competition, Summer 2004
Winner: Sprawl 2nd: Missile Command 3rd: Turning Points 4th: Moscow Ice
5th: Breakthrough 6th (tie): Martian Shogi and Venusian Bowling
8th: Antshouse 9th: Limn 10th (tie): Arena and the Icehouse Null Game