Blast Radius
Blast Radius Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Stack
A stack consists of one or more like-colored checkers.
Radiation Exclusion Zone (REZ)
Each stack is surrounded by a REZ with a radius equal to the stack height. Figure 1 shows two overlapping REZs. [This position would not arise in play. It's only intended to illustrate example REZs.]
Play
You can place your checker anywhere on the board, subject to the following restrictions.
- You can't place a checker within a REZ, except on a friendly stack at ground zero.
- You must form the smallest stack that you can. [If you can place a checker on an unoccupied cell, you must do so. Otherwise, you must place on your smallest stack.]
Legal placements for Red are indicated by green dots in Figures 2 and 3.
Captures
Upon forming a stack of height 2 or more, you must remove all stacks (enemy and friendly) within the newly formed REZ, concluding your turn. In Figure 4, if Red places a checker on the 3-stack marked with a green dot, the two stacks marked with yellow dots are immediately removed, concluding Red's turn.
Object of the Game
If there are no enemy checkers on the board at the conclusion of your turn, you win (except at the conclusion of Red's first turn).
Design Notes
Blast Radius is a very unusual game. It's about as far from [country x] Draughts as a game can be. Blast Radius was my attempt at a war game, though of course it's an abstract. I put the design through innumerable mutations over the course of a few months before finally arriving at something that worked.
Author's Note
Feel free to publish this rule sheet and to program the game of Blast Radius. No licensing fee or royalties are expected. However, please don't change the name or the rules, and please attribute the game to me, Mark Steere. My other games can be found at marksteeregames.com.
Copyright (c) 2024 by Mark Steere