Boardgame Development - Tank Master (2 or more players)

Adapted from the old Macintosh Computer game, this game pits 2 or more players in a battle to see who can programme the most efficient tank. The tank with the most efficient yet adaptable programming and subroutines will dominate the battlefield and vanquish the other tanks.

Storyline
You are a battlefield commander of an evolutionary new tank in the battlefield of the future. Wars of today are fought by remote war machines. Pitted against you is your enemy, fielding their latest war machines. This will be a fight to the finish, the struggle for supremacy.

With your superior skills as a commander, you are to programme your tank and set it loose. Win or lose will depend on your intimate knowledge of your own tank's inherent abilities as well as your uncanny reading of what your opponent's tank will do and how you perceive it would react in battle.

Win or lose, after each round, redesign, re-programme, rework your tank's subroutines and primary programming to fine-tune your tank's performance. Remember, your enemy is doing the same thing. He would have watched the previous battle and noted his tank's and your tank's performance. He too will be working to reduce deficiencies and weak points in his own programming so as to triumph over yours. Then when you're both done with your re-programming, set let them go at it again! Send out prototype after prototype until either your tanks now reign supreme in every engagement, or they all lie devastated, crushed under the steel treads of better enemy tanks.

Gentlemen, start your engines.... and let the games begin.

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Game Pieces

1 dice (to determine your tank start position on the board)
1 main "battlefield" board - (for 2P board 17steps across, + 1P add 3steps across)
2 primary programming plates
8 subroutine programming plates; 2xFight, 2xEvade, 2xFlee, 2xDamaged
1 red team light tank
1 orange team light tank
1 red team heavy tank
1 orange team heavy tank
6 "damage" pins

A) 1 step Action Tiles
i) Move Forward 1 - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
ii) Move Forward 2 - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
iii) Move Forward 3 (only Light Tank) - (for 2P 3pcs, + 1P add 2pcs)
iv) Turn Left 1 (60 degrees) - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
v) Turn Left 2 (120 degrees) (only Light Tank) - (for 2P 3pcs, + 1P add 2pcs)
vi) Turn Right 1 (60 degrees) - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
vii) Turn Right 2 (120 degrees) (only Light Tank) - (for 2P 3pcs, + 1P add 2pcs)
viii) Reverse 1 - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
ix) Complete Halt - (for 2P 3pcs, + 1P add 2pcs)
x) Detect Level 3 (Logic Gate) - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)

B) 2 step Action Tiles
i) Detect Level 4 (Logic Gate) (only Heavy Tank) - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
ii) Fire - (for 2P 3pcs, + 1P add 2pcs)
iii) Shield Activated - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
iv) Shield Deactivated - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)

C) Decision Tiles (goto)
i) FIGHT subroutine (Logic Gate) - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
ii) FLEE subroutine - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
iii) EVADE subroutine - (for 2P 5pcs, + 1P add 3pcs)
iv) return to PRIMARY - (for 2P 8pcs, + 1P add 5pcs)

notes:
1) Tank start positions are determined by a throw of the dice and placed on the corresponding number on the board
2) Action and Decision tiles are limited. Programming limited to total number of tiles on the board.
3) Tank collisions results in mutual destruction
4) Barrier/edge collisions results in halt in motion
5) Tank fire without prior detection of enemy does not hit
6) Tank fire disabled when shield is activated
7) Player to select target to hit if firing on multiple enemy
8) 2 step tile "Fire" hits on tile 2
9) 2 step tile "detect level 4" detects on both tiles 1 and 2
10) 2 step tile "shield activated" activates on tile 2
11) 2 step tile "shield deactivated" deactivates on tile 2
12) Fire range equal to detection range

Copyright 2007 Liang Jieming