Love Links is here in Beta.

[robert44444uk]

Love Links is a domino-type game best played on BGA as a 2-a-side team game, and also as a 2- or 3-player game. There is a short version that lasts for about 15 minutes and the standard game which is 20-25 minutes.

During your turn you lay 2 bracelet links for your stock to join to one or more of 5 bracelets-in-assembly in the playing area. Once the bracelets-in-assembly reach 4 links or more, then they can be completed by adding the joining link. After a player completes a turn they receive fresh links from stock. As with dominos a link is made if numbers match but also if the white numbers are a multiple of black numbers. Most points are scored when bracelets are completed but can also be scored just by matching white numbers with black numbers.

Strategically a player must take into account the opponents' possible next moves (the links the opponent might place are visible) and the links that are yet to come from stock, which are also shown in the playing area.

There is a helpful video out there that explains the game mechanics and the more detailed rules. This can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epB2dUQYdLY

[robert44444uk]

There will be a slight change to the game coming either this week or next.

Currently players do not get sight of their first allocation of silver links untll all bronze links are played. This will change so that players receive their first silver allocations once all of the bronze links have been allocated, Although these silver links are allocated, they may not be played until the silver round commences. Other players will see which silver links are allocated to any player. This allows more strategic planning that is currently the case. One less link is allocated as the number of silver links in a player stock is only 4 rather than 5.

For example - a player lays two bronze links from their stock of 5 bronze links but there are none in the stock to replenish. Instead the player receives 1 silver link and now has 3 bronze links and 1 silver link. At the players next turn the player lays two links completing a bracelet and starts a new bracelet-in-assembly, exhausting their supply of bronze links. The player now receives 3 silver links. The player will now not play until the silver round commences.

A similar situation will happen once all silver links are allocated, and non-playable gold links distributed. These can be played only when the gold round has begun.