Pikemen
| Pikemen | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jacob Davenport | ||
| ||
| Defend your pieces from jousting pikemen! | ||
| Players: | ||
| Length: | unknown | |
| Complexity: | Low | |
| Trios per color: | 5 | |
| Number of colors: | 1 per player | |
| - - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - - | ||
| chessboard | ||
| Setup time: | 2 minutes | |
| Strategy depth: | Medium | |
| Random chance: | None | |
| Theme: | jousting | |
| BGG Link: | [1] | |
| Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 1997 | ||
Pikemen is a chess-like Icehouse game with simple rules and some interesting resulting strategies. It can be an absolute blast when played on strange boards.
Setup
3-player setup
Setup for 3 players:
4-player setup
Setup for 4 players:
Gameplay
Movement
- Each turn, the active player may do one of two things:
- Reorient a standing-up pyramid to face one of the eight compass directions, or
- Cause a pyramid to charge in the direction it is already pointing.
- The charging pyramid may travel any number of empty spaces.
- It must stop before it enters a space with a pyramid of its own color, and it must stop on a space occupied by a capturable pyramid.
- At the end of the movement, the player may choose to leave the pyramid lying down in the direction it traveled or stand the pyramid back up.
Capturing
- Pyramids lying down, no matter what their size, are vulnerable to attack by an opponent's pyramid of any size.
- Pyramids standing up are in defensive position and may only be captured by a bigger piece.
- Large pyramids standing up are, as a result, invulnerable.
History
It was originally known as "IceChess" but the name was changed to avoid confusion with Martian Chess.
Strategy
An interesting property of Pikemen is the dichotomy between attacking and defending. An attacking piece has very little defensive value, since any other piece can capture it, yet it must become vulnerable in order to threaten an opponent's pieces. A defending piece, being upright, cannot attack at all, but can only be captured by a limited number of pieces; 3-point pieces cannot be captured at all while upright. A player who creates a strong attack formation will be exposed to counterattacks, and a player who plays very defensively will be slow in acquiring points. This creates an interesting balance between aggressive and cautious play styles.
A common and obvious strategy in Pikemen, as well as Chess, is pinning. An upright piece cannot be reoriented if it is being pointed at by another piece, lest it be captured. A 3-point piece can be immobilized by a 1-pointer, but only as long as the 1-pointer is there. Pinning is commonly resisted via counterattacking the pinning piece.
It gives you a definite advantage to have as many 3-pointers mobile as possible. The game is all about points, and 3-pointers are the best way to rack up points. Each pinned 3-pointer is diminished in its ability to apply offensive pressure to your opponent.
The Rock/Paper/Scissors variant
An optional capturing rule where 3-pointers can not capture upright 1-pointers and 1-pointers can capture upright 3-pointers. All other rules are exactly the same. The effect is like that in the game of rock/paper/scissors: Each type of piece is superior to one of the other types of pieces and vulnerable to the third.
Criticism
Some people exposed to the game have criticized it for being called "Pike-men" in a era when gender neutrality is in fashion. Suggestions for alternative names are currently being collected.
External Links
- Rules are available online.
- Pikemen can now be played online at Super Duper Games
- French rules available at jeux-icehouse.com
| Featured in Pyramid Arcade 22 More Great Games |
|---|
| Little Else Required |
| Apophis · Egyptian Solitaire · Freeze Tag |
| Gleebs and Grues · Logger · Timelock · Penguin Soccer |
| More Pyramids Required |
| Icehouse · Quicksand · Torpedo · Undercut |
| More Pyramids + Other Stuff Required |
| Alien City · Blam! · Builders of R'lyeh · Gnostica |
| Pikemen · Pylon · RAMbots · Stack Control |
| Subdivision · Synapse-Ice · Zendo |
| Featured in Playing with Pyramids |
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| Gnostica · Martian Chess · RAMbots · Pikemen |
| Volcano · Zagami · Zendo · Martian Backgammon |
| IceTowers · Icehouse · Thin Ice · Homeworlds |