Game: Batik

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pmboos — 2008-10-27T02:39:33+00:00

Another Batik box design

Thread: Re: A very delightful $1 Goodwill find.

GaryP — 2008-08-28T20:21:35+00:00

Heh, I'm also in the high rolling $3 Goodwill league. However, I still want a copy of the kid version with the cartoon sea creatures.

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airship51 — 2008-08-15T01:53:08+00:00

1997 Batik box (back).

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airship51 — 2008-08-15T01:52:04+00:00

1997 Batik box (front).

Thread: Child's Play

beauka — 2008-05-25T19:24:50+00:00

Anybody familiar with the game Batik knows that you can’t really report about a session of playing the game - that’s why this is the first session report on the game. If this were a strict session report it would go like this:

I put a piece in. Then my opponent put a piece in. I put a piece in. My opponent put a piece in. I put a piece in. My opponent put another piece in. Then I put a piece in. The pieces were getting close to the top. My opponent put a piece in. I put another piece in, but it stuck out of the top and I lost. On to game two.

This report is more about the first time I played with my two year old son. He’s used to trying out new games, even if just to mess around with the pieces. He enjoys almost any game, from Hi Ho Cherry-O and Candyland to Kids of Catan and Gulo Gulo. Batik has such a simple basis and clear winning condition that I thought he would enjoy it.

First though, we had to mess around with the pieces. After a while, I revealed to him how we could build shapes like tangram-style, creating faces, running characters, etc. Then we broke out the divider and he started putting the pieces in there. He’s familiar enough with “playing” Connect Four with his older brother, so this worked out alright. Once we were through with that, I told him about how to play the game and we played a few.

See the green section above if you want specifics about the actual game. The point here is that this is such a great and uncomplicated game for even the simplest and developing of minds. We spent about 45 minutes messing around with the game, and have revisited it for further quick games and playtimes with the pieces since then. Not many games can provide all this and still be fun to play against more-advanced players as well.

Thread: Re: Do all pieces fit?

petegrey — 2008-05-13T20:51:19+00:00

Here it is:

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petegrey — 2008-05-13T20:49:50+00:00

Batik- the only way I've gotten ALL pieces in legally.

Thread: Re: Do all pieces fit?

gamemark — 2008-04-30T22:46:44+00:00

In the words of Styx: "Too much time on my hands... t-t-t-too much time on my hands..."

Still, impressive nonetheless. Looking forward to seeing the pic.

Thread: Do all pieces fit?

petegrey — 2008-04-30T18:29:42+00:00

For months I tried and tried to get all pieces in, fitting under the top.

I would play with it on the phone or watching tv. Today, I was barely paying attention and I got them all in.

Without cheating, has anyone else gotten every piece to fit?

*I define cheating here as laying the pieces out on top of the board first. It'd be much easier to do this...probably.

To give people time, I'll post a pic of the correct answer in a week.

Thread: Re: A very delightful $1 Goodwill find.

petegrey — 2008-02-20T16:09:03+00:00

I give it a thumbs up even though I paid big money ($3) for mine at the Goodwill!

Thread: Re: Pieces stop halfway down...is this common?

Ninjabob — 2007-09-30T15:12:27+00:00

I'll try that, thanks!
Are your plastic walls glued in?

Thread: Re: Pieces stop halfway down...is this common?

Psauberer — 2007-09-30T02:59:05+00:00

Is one wall bigger than the other? If that's the case, then you may have to sand an edge down. I'd try every other possible remedy before doing that, though.

If both are bowed in, then maybe the wooden frame edges need to be stretched apart a little bit so that the walls will straighten out.

Thread: Re: Pieces stop halfway down...is this common?

Ninjabob — 2007-09-30T02:52:26+00:00

The walls are bowed in

Thread: Re: Pieces stop halfway down...is this common?

Psauberer — 2007-09-30T02:10:34+00:00

In many games I have never had this problem.

Are they getting stuck because the pieces are too thick or are the "walls" bowed inward so that they are too close to let the pieces down?

Thread: Pieces stop halfway down...is this common?

Ninjabob — 2007-09-30T02:01:22+00:00

I just got this game today and some of the pieces don't drop all the way to the bottom when dropped. Is this a common problem? Is this normal? (I hope not). Do people sand their pieces down so that they will drop cleanly?
I would appreciate feedback form others who own this game. Thanks!

Thread: A very delightful $1 Goodwill find.

edosan — 2007-05-24T23:12:03+00:00

I picked this up a while back at Goodwill for a dollar. Honestly, I don't expect a lot from Gigamic games, so for the coast of a couple of Diet Cokes at the vending machine, I thought it was a fair bet.

I'm not exactly sure how to explain this game -- "dexterity" doesn't quite cut it but comes closer than anything else. Imagine Tetris with tangram pieces. Both players get a set of tangram-like pieces and they take turns dropping them one after another into what looks like and Ant Farm with the tom and bottom removed. The first person that drops a piece that doesn't go into the ant farm thing all the way (and had a part exposed above the top) loses. It's the kind of game Gigamic seems to make: looks nice, natural wood, and you can figure out the gameplay be looking at the front of the box. (Oh, and the cover has a lot of people with greased-down hair).

Anyway, it's an interesting enough game and it looks cool, but if I paid full retail I'd be really disappointed. As it was, it was a good investment for a dollar. (The kids' version uses sea creatures and looks really cute though.) (My rating: 6 or 7 since it cost me a dollar, but much lower if I paid full price.)

Thread: Re: Abstract strategy with gravity

Sexy Amy — 2007-05-07T16:21:26+00:00

My least favorite also. Still, a fun diversion to kill a few minutes from time to time. On a par maybe with some of those balancing games like Blockhead or Jenga ... but faster thank goodness.

Thread: Abstract strategy with gravity

Randall Silver — 2007-05-07T08:10:30+00:00

Well, "strategy" is maybe a bit overrated in this case. But I'll let you find out for yourself with this review!

The look

I said it with the other Gigamic games I've reviewed, and the same goes here. The game looks nice on the coffee table, and encourages visitors to try and play it.
Don't play it on a glass table though

Once again, there are multiple versions. You have the normal wooden one, the Deluxe Edition, a version with bright colours and a Kid's Version with sea animals instead of the different shapes.

If you're an adult: go with the normal or deluxe version, as they are the prettiest. They cost more, but they look better.

Gameplay

The rules are really simple: each player (of 2) chooses a colour. Then, everyone slides a piece inside the board, one at a time. The player who inserts a piece that protrudes from the top, has lost the game. You can only let them "fall", not swinging around or pushing other pieces away.

Tournament play rules: that losing piece can't be used again by the player in the next round. If there's a round where no pieces can be inserted anymore, and still none are above the top line, the game is over and the person with the most wins has won.

Final verdict

So soon? Yes, sorry. I explained all the rules, so this will be one of my shortest reviews ever

The game is really easy to play, fast (take 5 minutes, maybe 10 at most) and appeals to a lot of people who don't like to think too much when playing a game.

Of all Gigamic games I own, this one is my least favourite. Probably because there's not enough thinking to do, and I miss that.

It's not a bad game, and casual gamers really love it when they visit my place, but it's not one I'd suggest to play myself.

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Friendless — 2007-03-27T12:48:22+00:00

Gigamic box cover

Thread: A co-operative variant by my 4-yo son

lightnng — 2007-02-20T01:24:02+00:00

My son and I enjoy playing Batik - he beats me quite often - but as he often does, he has come up with a neat little variant that I thought I'd share with you.

He likes co-operative games - Lord of the Rings (the kids one) is a big hit with him - so this variant is a co-operative one. It's not about winning or losing, but rather about the experience.

To play, set up a play area. The Batik "board" (the stand-up) should be placed in front of one player. The other player should have an empty space in front of them that is roughly the same size (area) as that of the stand-up.

The player who has the empty space in front of them starts.

They pick any piece and place it in front of them. The idea is that they should be placing it in such a way that the other player can then "copy" their move by dropping the same piece into the stand-up. If the copying player is not able to do so because of bad placement (for example, putting a piece in such a way that when it would be dropped it would need to land on its point with no support), then the initiating player must change their last placement.

The copying player then has to copy the initiating player's last move. If they do so successfully, the initiating player then places the next piece. If they attempt to do so but the piece falls differently inside the stand-up, then the initiating player must adjust their own "picture" to reflect the one currently in the stand-up. Then they will place the next piece.

The game ends when both sides have placed all their pieces. The laid-down and stand-up pictures should be compared for accuracy, and then sides are switched. A complete game takes two rounds with switched sides.

I adore this variant, and was very proud of my son when he came up with it. It teaches some very valuable concepts, such as being able to visualize and predict physical interaction between pieces. The biggest challenge is to create such placements as to make the final result in the stand-up "crazy" - make it so there are large gaps, or many pieces standing on their points (supported by others) etc.

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rossum — 2007-02-01T05:40:15+00:00

1997 Gigamic edition.

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kpetzing — 2007-01-28T15:55:01+00:00

BGG with all Batik pieces

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kpetzing — 2007-01-28T15:48:28+00:00

All the pieces

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kpetzing — 2007-01-28T15:47:36+00:00

Box insides. Pieces in very sturdy bag

Thread: A little dexterity and a lot of spatial awareness

sdonohue — 2005-08-26T18:27:48+00:00

One of my jobs as the gaming husband of a non-gaming teacher is to help her find games that her kids will like and learn something from. Batik is a great game because unlike many other games, it relies on a combination of spatial awareness and dexterity.

The components of the game are good - the wooden pieces are durable and the plastic screen is decent. I think it is important to always put the wooden pieces back in the screen for storage though - otherwise, the screen can bend and the game will be useless.

The objective is simple and the kids get it right away. The best part is that it doesn't emphasize the same mathematical/interpersonal intelligence that a lot of games do and that makes it easier for kids with a more artistic bent to play and win.

Normally the game will form a line and we stick to rounds as a match - ie, the first person whose piece doesn't go down loses and another player gets to play. It's not quite as satisfying as a match, but sometimes there's the logistics to consider. Another good logistical thing is that the rules are so simple kids can teach them to each other after playing a single round (or game).

Overall, I'd call it a fun, lightweight game that doesn't rely entirely on memorizing the oddes of certain die combinations appearing.

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dbucak — 2005-06-10T12:15:21+00:00

Batik Kid

Thread: User Review

mrraow — 2004-07-12T03:03:36+00:00

(This reviewlet originally appeared in G3)

Batik, while undoubtedly a game of skill, is not a strategy game. In fact, if I had to classify it at all, I'd call it a mixture of the old arcade game Tetris, and Bausack (sack of bricks)!

Each player starts with a set of wooden pieces, in various shapes. The playing area is formed from two sheets of perspex, parallel to each other, with just enough of a gap to allow the pieces to slide between them. Players take turns dropping pieces into the playing area, until one piece protrudes from the top of the perspex. The owner of that piece loses the round, and forfeits the offending piece. A new round begins, with the winner of the previous round playing first. Play continues until one player has no pieces when it is their turn to move; they lose the game.

That's all the rules there are to this simple game. (In fact, the inventor claims that he doesn't regard Batik as a game - more an agument that abstract games can be accessible to the public at large, not just die-hard gamers like me...) Play is fast, and requires a mixture of spatial awareness and digital dexterity rather than heavy thinking, so it appeals to everyone - at least, everyone I've played!

Thread: User Review

silverpenny — 2004-02-13T12:38:32+00:00

A short and quick game, attractive in its own way. The "game board" consists of a standing plastic "window" in which the game pieces are placed. There is room for each piece to be slid into the window from the top, where they fall to the bottom of the window. As the pieces are played, they stack up higher and higher towards the top of the window.

Once a player has played a piece that cannot fit completely in the window, he loses that piece from further play in the game. The "winner" of the previous round starts the new round.

Play continues until one player no longer has a piece to play. The game usually lasts around 4-7 rounds, once a player loses three of their pieces, it is rather tough to stay in the game.

Pieces are made out of 1/4 inch wood, dyed brown and yellow. The pieces are simple triangular and square shapes, ranging from 2 inches to three inches across.

The instruction booklet is well done in a number of languages. The rules are easy to learn and can be picked up within a couple of seconds. Even my four year old can play.

Not overly strategic, generally, you try to drop your larger pieces into the bottom of the window and save your smaller pieces for later in the round, when space is tight.

This is a good game for passing a couple of spare minutes on a weekend or in between other games on a gaming night. It is not "Puerto Rico," but then I don't think it was meant to be.