Game: SiegeStones

Thread: Re: Rules?

jhebert — 2008-09-05T12:09:44+00:00

The rules have moved again!

Online at http://www.liveoakgames.com/siegestones/rules.htm

PDF at http://www.liveoakgames.com/siegestones/SiegeStones%20Instru...

Thread: Non-Gaming Wife Scores Big!

sdonohue — 2007-08-07T05:13:07+00:00

Siegestones is a great abstract game from Liveoak games. I’ve played and enjoyed it with 2, 3 and 4 players. I find games typically go about 30 minutes although it can be a little slower if you have an analysis prone player or are playing with younger players. My non-gaming wife picked it out for me one Christmas, and I have to admit it is the best game she's every bought me, including a few that I had told her I wanted.

Components
The game comes with a wooden board, 9 wooden towers (12 in later editions) and 80 stones in 4 different colors.

Setting/Theme
As an abstract, there isn’t much theme, but the idea is that you use your stones to control the towers by laying siege to them. The first player to control 4 towers wins.

Rules
The rules of the game are pretty simple but they hide a lot of depth.
On their turn a player either places a stone or a tower. Once they do that the placement is studied to see if it has changed ownership of any of the towers. If it has, then the changed towers are marked with the stone of the new owners. If anyone own 4 towers, they win.
The siege element is very interesting. Each stone starts out with a basic value of 6 points. It takes 5 points to control a tower. The tricky part is that a stone loses 1 point of power for each adjacent tower. This makes it possible to use towers both offensively and defensively and is one of the key strategies of the game.
If two or more players are adjacent to a tower, the one who has the most points threatening that tower controls it. If there is a tie, then it is uncontrolled.

Production
The game is very well made. The wooden components are of great quality and the board feel solid. The glass beads are opaque and are 4 clearly different colors, something that always worries me with glass beads. I have no complaints at all about the production of Siegestones.

Recommendation
If you like abstract games, you really owe it to yourself to try this one out. It’s a great area control version of an abstract. I think 7 might be a little young to really grasp the changing point values of the game. They can play, but will probably not win. I’d recommend 10 as a better starting age. (Obviously if your child is an experienced gamer, your mileage may vary).
In addition to Siegestones, the Liveoak website offers a number of other games which can be played with the Siegestone board and pieces.
All in all, I would highly recommend Siegestones.
It is complex enough to be challenging and simple enough to be taught in minutes.

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SiskNY — 2007-05-11T13:08:56+00:00

Homemade with pieces leftover from other game projects

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gamephotos — 2007-05-02T15:20:34+00:00

MunchStones Setup (MunchStones is an Official Variant)

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gamephotos — 2007-05-02T14:50:19+00:00

MunchStones Mid Build Phase (MunchStones is an Official Variant)

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gamephotos — 2007-05-02T14:48:55+00:00

Build Phase Finished (MunchStones is an Official Variant)

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gamephotos — 2007-05-02T14:46:59+00:00

Mid Munch (MunchStones is an Official Variant)

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gamephotos — 2007-05-02T14:46:09+00:00

MunchStones Final Position - Most Stones Wins (MunchStones is an Official Variant)

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gamephotos — 2007-04-30T21:53:43+00:00

Topotics End Game (Topotics Is An Official Variant)

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gamephotos — 2007-04-30T21:52:10+00:00

Topotics - Midgame (Topotics Is An Official Variant)

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gamephotos — 2007-04-30T21:51:21+00:00

Topotics - An Early Game (Topotics Is An Official Variant)

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gamephotos — 2007-04-27T15:15:15+00:00

Player Stones

Thread: New Variants!

Pat Matthews — 2005-12-20T13:11:59+00:00

Hey everyone, our game design contest has been concluded.

We've got the winners posted on our website over at:
http://www.liveoakgames.com/siegestones/contest.htm

We had lots of great submissions, which we'll be posting to the site in the coming months. Keep an eye out for fun new games you can play with your SiegeStones set!

- Patrick Matthews
Live Oak Games
www.liveoakgames.com

Thread: Spelling mistake

jeremiah — 2005-04-20T00:43:25+00:00

I misspelled 'iridescent'. Sorry.
-- Jeremiah

Thread: User Review

jeremiah — 2005-04-11T14:47:18+00:00

I picked up SiegeStones this weekend, deciding it was time for a new game. I generally enjoy abstract strategy games, and given its relatively low cost, I decided SiegeStones was worth the risk.

When I opened the box, I was immediately struck by the beauty of the components. The wooden board and towers and irridiscent glass beads make quite an attractive package. This game could easily sit on your coffee table next to games like Caprice.

The mechanics of the game are simple. Players take turns placing either towers or stones in vacant spaces on the board. The goal is to control four towers; each tower are controlled by the player having the most stones adjacent to it. But stones which are near several towers are weaker than stones next to only a single tower, so it is possible to weaken your opponents by plopping a new tower down next to their pieces.

The first couple of games I played, a begin to get an inkling of the strategy and tactics behind the game. While there isn't as much strategic depth as the games of the Gipf series, there is depth enough given the pace of the game, and plenty of tactics to explore.

Another big plus, the game is both quick to teach and quick to play. Including learning the rules, I managed to play 2 two-player games in less than 30 minutes total. Also, unlike some abstract strategy games, it supports up to four players. Given these two characteristics, SiegeStones would make a good lunchtime game at work, or a good warm-up game.

Even if it doesn't have the depth of some other abstract strategy games, the attractiveness of the components, the quick gameplay, and the light strategic depth make this a good game to have.

Thread: Re:Rules?

docreason — 2005-01-15T04:29:38+00:00

ekted wrote:
Anyone know where I can find the rules to this?

Try here:
http://siegestones.liveoakgames.com/SiegeStones%20Instructio...

The game does look interesting.

Thread: Re:Rules?

Pat Matthews — 2004-12-15T03:12:42+00:00

ekted (#61196), I need to check boardgamegeek more often! I just restructured the site a little better to make the rules easier to find. I've a link to them in the FAQ on the site, and also in the Variants section at:
http://siegestones.liveoakgames.com/houserules.htm

Please let me know if you have any more questions!

- Pat

Thread: Rules?

ekted — 2004-10-22T19:21:52+00:00

Anyone know where I can find the rules to this?