Las Médulas - mining-themed labyrinth
Posted: 13 February 2021, 17:30
Las Médulas is an abstract strategy game in the public domain. The players create a labyrinth to trap their opponent. The theme is fairly strong for a combinatorial/abstract game, which is part of what makes it so much fun to play.
The central mechanic of the game is that no tile can ever touch more than 3 other tiles - this generates a labyrinth of forking paths during the game. Occupying choke points with your stones can exclude your opponent from parts of the board. If your opponent can't legally place a tile, you win.
Existing implementations:
Play in a browser on MindSports.nl or review already-played games.
Tabletop Simulator
Stephen Tavener's Ai Ai, where you can play against the built-in AI.
Rules
Rules and examples
2-minute rules video
Some favorable quotes:
"Arguably one of the most original territorial games out there, a breath of fresh air in a genre that can often feel repetitive. It has a very distinctive aesthetic and cleverly crafted mechanics." - Michał Zapała, designer of Tumbleweed
"I said I had high expectations of Las Médulas and they were justified. ... The game is very unusual which makes it initially hard to read a position, but once you learn how to do that, it becomes very natural and organic. I can really recommend it as a fun game with considerable depth and very unique tactics. Update: 'considerable depth' is certainly no exaggeration." - Christian Freeling, designer of Havannah and many other great games
BGA Implementation
After seeing the response to ONE and the interest in Tumbleweed, I'm excited to see more modern abstracts on BGA. Las Médulas is also a modern abstract, and I've gotten some great feedback to it so far. It's also doing well in the nominations for Best Combinatorial Game of 2020.
I set out to create a light, thematic combinatorial game with Las Médulas. It certainly is that, but I'm continually surprised by the tactical and strategic depth that has emerged during play - even on the smaller hex5 board. I think BGA is the ideal place for Las Médulas, as a thematic combinatorial game. The basic act of playing the game has a simple aesthetic pleasure in it, as you create a labyrinth together with your opponent.
The thing that the game most needs right now is a larger player base to explore the depth of strategy and tactics that it has to offer. BGA is the place for that, so I'd love to partner with a developer to implement it.
I've gone back and forth on the amount of theme to use, but BGA would be a great place to really play up the mining theme design. Here is a mock-up of possible thematic game design:
Here's the MindSports version:
My personal set:
The central mechanic of the game is that no tile can ever touch more than 3 other tiles - this generates a labyrinth of forking paths during the game. Occupying choke points with your stones can exclude your opponent from parts of the board. If your opponent can't legally place a tile, you win.
Existing implementations:
Play in a browser on MindSports.nl or review already-played games.
Tabletop Simulator
Stephen Tavener's Ai Ai, where you can play against the built-in AI.
Rules
Rules and examples
2-minute rules video
Some favorable quotes:
"Arguably one of the most original territorial games out there, a breath of fresh air in a genre that can often feel repetitive. It has a very distinctive aesthetic and cleverly crafted mechanics." - Michał Zapała, designer of Tumbleweed
"I said I had high expectations of Las Médulas and they were justified. ... The game is very unusual which makes it initially hard to read a position, but once you learn how to do that, it becomes very natural and organic. I can really recommend it as a fun game with considerable depth and very unique tactics. Update: 'considerable depth' is certainly no exaggeration." - Christian Freeling, designer of Havannah and many other great games
BGA Implementation
After seeing the response to ONE and the interest in Tumbleweed, I'm excited to see more modern abstracts on BGA. Las Médulas is also a modern abstract, and I've gotten some great feedback to it so far. It's also doing well in the nominations for Best Combinatorial Game of 2020.
I set out to create a light, thematic combinatorial game with Las Médulas. It certainly is that, but I'm continually surprised by the tactical and strategic depth that has emerged during play - even on the smaller hex5 board. I think BGA is the ideal place for Las Médulas, as a thematic combinatorial game. The basic act of playing the game has a simple aesthetic pleasure in it, as you create a labyrinth together with your opponent.
The thing that the game most needs right now is a larger player base to explore the depth of strategy and tactics that it has to offer. BGA is the place for that, so I'd love to partner with a developer to implement it.
I've gone back and forth on the amount of theme to use, but BGA would be a great place to really play up the mining theme design. Here is a mock-up of possible thematic game design:
Here's the MindSports version:
My personal set: