Game: Way, The

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Howitzer_120mm — 2008-07-17T01:39:10+00:00

Some of the different tiles

Thread: Trying out a two player AS P&P game

tiggers — 2008-07-08T13:05:31+00:00

So I'm thinking that The Way might be a good option of a simple two player game that my wife and I could play together. I download it, print it off and cut it up. The rules are simple enough (ticks that box), plays in a short time (another tick) so lets see how it goes...

First game we play with the easier rules to get acquainted with the game. We ignore the one way arrows and play that each player can replace a card with one from their hand (and pick up the one they are replacing) so we always have four cards each throughout the game. We take turns tick-tacking our way across the board, meeting once near the centre during the game for a turn but otherwise uneffected by each other and in the end it's quite close. She wins by one spot.

It didn't really do much for me as I was kind of always waiting for the fun to start. I'm determinded not to write it off with one play so we go again. This time we use the one way arrows and change the rule so that once you play a card that's it - it stays down. Each player can only play four during the course of the game. These changes make it a little more interesting and require a little more thought and planning but I still find myself wanting to play something else. This game is a little more one sided after she gets trapped briefly by a one way piece I put down in front of her and I win by four spots or so.

I like abstract strategy despite the fact I'm relatively new to it, and I want to like this game, but I can't. I can see the effort that's gone into it but it just doens't interest me. I think I'll send it to my sister to see if her 5 year old will like it.

Thread: Not the Way I'll be Going

tiggers — 2008-07-08T12:50:34+00:00

Intro:
After trying out my first print and play game recently in Zombie in My Pocket and really enjoying it I thought I'd see what else was out there. After looking through BGG for a bit I came across The Way and looking like it might be something my wife and I could play together I decided to give it a go.

Components:
Well as a P&P game the quality is really up to you. Not being sure that I'd like it or not I jst printed it onto simple plain white A4 paper and cut out the squares. There are 34 sqaures - 25 laid out in a grid in 4 in the hand of each of the two players. ]]>

Rules:
The idea is to move your marker (anything you want to use - we used Carassonne meeples) from one corner diagonally across the board to the opposite corner and back again. On your turn you can turn a square 90 degrees (and so realigning the route) or place a card out of your hand and then move your marker one space.

Gameplay:
Since you take turns moving one space at a time and can't ever do more than that, you basically swap progress with your opponent. Both moving at approximately the same rate. Even in getting 'held up' briefly didn't really make that much difference. The interaction between players is limited and only occurs when your paths overlap.

Vedict:
The whole game is laid out before you, which is not necessarily a good thing. It's far too simple and there aren't a great deal of decisions to make and the ones you do have to make aren't at all varied. This may be a good game for parents/teachers to play with children as it's not too long and perhaps as a teaching tool; about planning ahead for example. For adults it can be summed up in one word: uninteresting.

Thread: Re: Stalemate.

mttbstrd666 — 2008-06-23T06:35:22+00:00

My wife and I have also hit stalemates. It seems as if this could happen quite often. This seems to me that it will make the game not as fun.

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Howitzer_120mm — 2008-05-17T16:12:51+00:00

I win! White is so close though. (I got back to my starting corner after reaching my midpoint - opposite corner)

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Howitzer_120mm — 2008-05-17T15:37:03+00:00

Using 4 sided dice for pieces

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Howitzer_120mm — 2008-05-17T12:49:25+00:00

The game, ready to go

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Howitzer_120mm — 2008-05-01T15:13:49+00:00

All cut, ready to go - for reference, this is printed on 65 pound cardstock

Thread: Re: Stalemate.

k1w1 — 2007-10-14T21:27:11+00:00

No, she is just ridiculously competitive full stop!
I can just see this scenario happening time and time again. (Yes, I would use it too, I never said I wasn't ridiculously competitive as well.)
My point was whether we were mis-interpreting a rule somewhere that would stop this puerile behaviour by both of us!
:-)

Thread: Re: Stalemate.

russ — 2007-10-14T14:38:00+00:00

k1w1 wrote:
my ridiculously competitive wife refused to move her piece from the last tile I needed to rotate in order to get home.

She's "ridiculously competitive" because she didn't let you win?

Thread: Re: Stalemate.

Krem — 2007-02-11T16:19:12+00:00

Also! Getting stuck due to one-way arrows that have been placed on other tiles and thus cannot be rotated!

Thread: Missing The Way?

cogstockeros — 2007-01-11T04:24:11+00:00

The Way is a print and play game by Joshua Howard, presented by BoneGames. It is for two players, and takes about 15 minutes to play three full rounds.

Of course, components for print and play games are what you make of them, but this game can use the components direct from the printer. There is minimal work involved in cutting out the pieces. There are five pages to print out, two pages of rules and three pages of tiles. These tiles are approximately 2x2 inches, and there are 34 of them. There is not much ink used to print this game (that can get pricey on print and plays).

Even though the language is clear, the rules can be hard to understand. For one thing, the terms cover and replaced are used interchangably, however this is not stated in the rules. The confusion is cause as rules for covering cards contain both words, and one does not know whether that these are two different actions or if they are the same action. Other than that, the rules are clear with a few visual examples.

The goal of the game is to get from your starting point to your midpoint and back before your opponent. The game is played in three rounds, winning two rounds is a win, winning all three is a victory.

To set up the game, the two starting tiles and the two midpoint tiles are removed from the deck. The rest of the tiles are shuffled and placed face-up in a 5x5 matrix. The corner pieces are removed and replaced with the starting and midpoint pieces. Each starting and matching midpoint piece must be on opposite corners. The remaining tiles are shuffled again and four are dealt to each player. The one remaining tile is removed from this round.

On each turn you may rotate one tile by 90 degrees, or cover a tile with one from your hand. Then you may move your piece one space along the path. That ends your turn and play moves to your opponent. You never have to do any or all of these actions. The only stipulations on rotating or covering a tile is that you cannot change any tile your opponent currently occupies. However, the rules never say anything about rotating or covering pieces that your own piece occupies. Also any tile can be covered any number of times.

The winner of the round is the player who gets to their midpoint and back to their start first. Then the board stays as it is, the pieces that have been covered are removed leaving only the pieces on top. These pieces, the one that was removed from the round, and any pieces left in the players hands are shuffled and four are dealt to each player. The one remaining is removed from this round. The player who won the last round gets to pick whether to go first or which piece to play. Remember, the board has remained the same as the end of the last round, and one piece my have an advantage at the beginning of the round. This round is played the same of the previous one.

All in all, it is a simple, quick game with some light strategy involved. You have to be able to plan several moves in advance to win. The rules contain some variations that can change the game considerably. Such a simple game to prepare and play should be given atleast a try.

Thread: Stalemate.

k1w1 — 2006-02-14T09:55:59+00:00

On our very first attempt at this game we ended up in stalemate because my ridiculously competitive wife refused to move her piece from the last tile I needed to rotate in order to get home.
The rules state that you cannot rotate a tile with a players piece on it and that a player does not have to move if they don't want to.
Have we missed something?

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Urhixidur — 2002-09-16T12:42:24+00:00